Howard’s mood was still very low. He sat silently on the sofa, quietly gazing at the steaming teacup in front of him.
It was nearly dusk, and Rachel Lan and the others hadn't come in. Leo Liu kept glancing inside through the window from time to time.
Regarding what Master Jianyun said, that when the karma of a Buddhist cultivator reaches a certain level, it may manifest physically—I wanted to notify Putian Temple, but Howard Zhang shook his head, seemingly unwilling to seek help from them.
"You know, Howard, the karma you create must be borne by yourself. No one can help you."
It felt as if I’d fallen from heaven to hell in an instant. I looked at my cousin—though I’d heard a lot about karma, I’d never seen a case like his. For karma to manifest physically, one needs immense power as a foundation, something I now clearly understand.
It's like manifesting your instincts. For me, it's not hard to do now, but I don't do it lightly, because the power required is simply more than I can bear at this stage.
Suddenly, something occurred to me. I stared blankly at my cousin and asked.
"How are Zhang Dan and Zhang Mo doing now?"
"They're still at Putian Temple, being cared for by Master at the altar. Most of the resentment in them has already been dispelled. Soon, they'll be able to reincarnate as our son and daughter."
I glanced out the window and sighed. The sky had darkened; the weather had changed in an instant from clear to gloomy.
"Howard, you asked Master Jianyun to transfer the miasma from Zhang Dan and Zhang Mo onto yourself, didn’t you? You bore it for them, but you might not be able to withstand it. Plus, since you’ve started practicing Buddhism, your karma has begun to manifest physically."
Howard Zhang nodded silently and began to smoke. I remembered he had quit, but now he was smoking again. After only a few puffs, he started coughing. The glass door outside was opened, and Susan Li hurried in, snatching the cigarette from his hand, dousing it with water, and tossing it into the trash bin.
"Don’t smoke, Howard. It’s bad for your health."
Surprisingly, Howard Zhang didn’t talk back. Normally, he would have had something to say, but this time he just nodded.
I didn’t know what had happened between my cousin and Luo Xiaoting in the past. All I knew was that these brief three months might have been a painful experience he’d never want to mention again.
"Let me talk to him properly."
I walked over to my cousin and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me and nodded.
After dinner, Leo Liu quickly fell asleep. Redmond and Lord Shenyan hadn’t left; the two seemed very interested in the Voidfire that Leo Liu possessed, eager to know who gave it to him.
With Lord Shenyan’s help, my ghost network smoothly connected to Howard. Gradually, I lost consciousness.
The moment I opened my eyes, I stared wide-eyed. Crystalline white lights flickered all around—fragments of memory drifting in the black space. Leo Liu was already waiting for me, looking coldly at me, his appearance still exactly like Howard’s.
"My cousin really regrets what happened in the past. Can we talk?"
Leo Liu nodded. Suddenly, with a wave of his hand, we were standing on the rooftop of a tall building. The wind howled, and the night streets below were unusually lively. Looking around, I realized this must be Howard’s memory.
"What is your goal?"
"To take everything from Howard, to make him watch as his life falls apart bit by bit."
I sneered, quietly staring at Leo Liu.
"Doing this won’t solve anything. It’ll only make things worse. You’re already dead, so why do you still stand here?"
Tonight, Leo Liu seemed willing to talk. I needed to learn as much as I could from him.
"Yes, I’m dead. When I woke up, I thought the car accident was just a dream. But when I saw Zhang Hao crying over my corpse, I realized it was real. After that, I knew nothing—just glimpsed things about Zhang Hao now and then. When I saw Xiaoting die, I woke up again and returned to the world of the living. I still don’t know why I came back to life."
I looked at Leo Liu in confusion. He stared blankly at his own hands, as if doubting he was really alive. Normally, after death, people are either taken by the people of the Yellow Springs, delivered to the hands of ghost messengers, judged in the underworld and sent to hell, or become wandering spirits. If the resentment is strong, they might even become Yellow Page Ghosts, Shadow Wraiths, or other kinds of fierce ghosts.
Once you become a ghost, the people of the Yellow Springs won’t take you in. But Leo Liu’s case was strange—after his death, no one came for his soul, and he didn’t become a ghost. His consciousness flickered, often staying near Howard, knowing much about him. Yet now, he’s come back to life.
Though I didn’t want to believe it, Leo Liu in front of me was indeed real—a person with a complete body and soul. I’d already confirmed that. But now, we were inside Howard Zhang’s memory space. I didn’t know what Leo Liu truly was. Usually, beings in memory spaces are just thought-forms, yet Leo Liu could leave Howard’s body and manifest at will.
"What about Brother Owen? You and him..."
"He only taught me some things—Buddhist teachings and a few spells. I have no direct connection to him, so Ethan Zhang, you needn’t interfere any further. Good and evil are always repaid; sow good and reap good. Heaven’s net is vast and lets nothing slip through. Everything Howard Zhang faces now is the karma he created, and he must bear it himself."
I didn’t argue. Indeed, most of what Howard had done was his own doing. Though he wasn’t evil by nature, his actions became evil. Long ago, when my niece and nephew turned into infant spirits and tried to consume him, Howard began to suffer his karmic retribution. In Buddhism, this is called cause and effect.
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"What will it take for you to let Howard go? If I can do it, I’ll try my best to satisfy you."
"Only when Howard is ruined, his reputation destroyed, and his family shattered will this end. I won’t accept any other conditions."
I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth, glaring fiercely at Leo Liu.
"Then I could choose to kill you and end all this."
Leo Liu gazed at me with a hint of a smile, his face radiating a wickedness.
"That depends on whether you have the skill. Yesterday, we were in your Nightmare Realm; today, we’re on my turf."
"The result will be the same."
Suddenly, my head buzzed. In a daze, I stared wide-eyed—Leo Liu gripped a staff, coming at me upside-down. But I quickly realized it wasn’t him who was inverted; I was the one hanging upside-down at the now-flipped rooftop.
I tried to twist my body, but couldn’t. With a bang, Leo Liu’s staff struck my chest hard. I was sent flying, still upside-down, my mind in chaos. I’d never faced something like this and couldn’t react in time.
"You know, every world has two sides—one positive, one negative."
Leo Liu’s words echoed in my ears. I widened my eyes, instantly summoning two Deathbane Aura Blades to my hands. I slashed to the left, but with a bang, my right rib was struck. It wasn’t my left side—it was my right.
Now Leo Liu stood before me, staff in hand, horizontally poised. My mind was dizzy—those last two hits had caught me off guard. Shaking this sense of reversed reality was difficult.
My mind raced for solutions. Leo Liu attacked again, and the Deathbane Aura spilling from my body transformed into blades of wind, shielding me. With several clangs, Leo Liu retreated, this time slanting through the air.
"Looks like you’ve got a brain, but it’s worthless."
As soon as he finished speaking, I saw a staff thrust out in front of me. With a bang, it struck my jaw, sending me plummeting downward. The blow nearly shattered my consciousness.
But I quickly steeled myself, staying alert. Leo Liu was trying to eject me from Howard Zhang’s Dreamspace. Suddenly, I realized that since this was Howard’s Dreamspace, Leo Liu must have already seized control. By manipulating the dream, he created these reversed battle conditions, leaving me helpless. In a fair fight, he might not be my match.
The only way was to find my cousin’s true dream. Instantly, I was crouched upside-down in midair.
"Instinct... coexistence..."
"You realized it too late, Ethan Zhang."
With a bang, the staff struck the back of my head. My eyes widened as my consciousness shattered—I couldn’t hold on any longer, and everything went black.
In a daze, I opened my eyes. According to my instincts, I’d only been unconscious for a few seconds, but what lay before me stunned me.
Below me bloomed clusters of multicolored lotuses, floating quietly on a rainbow-hued surface. Waves of nausea swept through my body—I felt wretched, staring silently at this lotus world.
Ten meters beneath me, more multicolored lotuses bloomed. I’d never seen such flowers before. Some parts of the water were black, some gray, some red.
I pinched my nose, trying to fly upward, but found I couldn’t. My body was numb, and the sight of these strange lotuses made me sick to my stomach, my mind spinning with confusion.
But there was nothing I could do—I slowly descended, bent down, and began to examine them closely.