At 10 a.m., I crawled out of bed. When I opened the curtains, the roar of machinery echoed from the square—many people were clearing debris from the Golden Temple.
Because so many people witnessed last night's disturbance, Old Eccentric didn't repair the front half of the Golden Temple—he only restored the ground and the damaged rear section. The front remains sunken and ruined. The power Old Eccentric showed me last night truly stunned me: he was able to mend the shattered earth and buildings with ease.
I've never encountered such power—the power of words. Today, Old Eccentric and Vincent Swallow are still here. I want to ask them about some things that happened in the Forest of Desire. Zhang Qingyuan once told me about it; that's where he awakened his instinct to coexist with supernatural forces.
Those two have been with Zhang Qingyuan for years and helped him a lot in the Forest of Desire. There must be things I don’t know yet, and I want to hear about them. We already agreed to meet last night.
Sure enough, when I went downstairs, I found Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric in the hotel lobby. John Chou and Isabelle Frost had already returned to Netherhell with Yuna Ji last night. Just thinking about the spectacle fills me with excitement—so many ghosts, it was my first time witnessing such a scene: the sky was shrouded in darkness. It looked terrifying, yet the last trace of fear I held for ghosts simply vanished.
After sitting down, I ordered breakfast. Once I finished eating, the three of us made tea in a corner of the hotel restaurant and sat together.
"This is our first time meeting, young lady. I’m Old Eccentric."
"Don’t you have a name?"
I asked. Old Eccentric shook his head and laughed.
Names have long lost their meaning for me. Besides, if someone were to truly call my name, it might invite trouble.
I let out a soft exclamation. Vincent Swallow laughed. Of the five oddballs from the Forest of Desire, Vincent Swallow was the only one I truly knew. But looking at him now, much of the heaviness in his heart seemed to have faded, and there was a new ease in his expression.
"You're worried that coming here might remind me of the past, aren't you, Ms. Rachel?"
I made a small sound of agreement. Back then, Vincent Swallow hadn't known that the Ghost Insect Monk had orchestrated the deaths of his family for his own ends. But Vincent Swallow just smiled.
"The past is like dust in the wind, Ms. Rachel. We're all truly sorry about what happened to Qingyuan."
As Vincent Swallow spoke, he and Old Eccentric formally stood up and bowed to me. I hurriedly motioned for them to sit back down.
"It's alright. We've found Qingyuan—he's in the Illusory Realm now."
As soon as I said this, Vincent Swallow's eyes widened, while Old Eccentric looked puzzled.
"Do you know about the Illusory Realm, Master Swallow?"
I asked, and Vincent Swallow nodded.
"Someone once told me a few things about the Illusory Realm. His name was Felix Fan. He should be with the Hall of Bloodbane crowd now."
I stared in surprise—wasn’t that the former Snake Zodiac Heir of the Nether Syndicate? When he first appeared, he was rather fierce, and he even stole a Dao Sect artifact all by himself. That really shocked me, but I realized I didn’t know him well.
"I'll ask him properly when I get back. It’s fine—Mona Ouyang also said that Qingyuan is alive and whole in the Illusory Realm."
Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Old Eccentric even started to smile.
"Who knows when we'll see that kid Zhang Qingyuan again."
"By the way, Ms. Rachel, you seem to know a lot about me, don’t you?"
Vincent Swallow said with a smile, and I nodded.
"I’ve heard a lot about you from Qingyuan before."
After some casual conversation, I learned a lot—details about Zhang Qingyuan’s time in the Forest of Desire. They remembered every day clearly, how they got through it all. I smiled happily. Just then, Old Eccentric dipped his finger in water and wrote the character for 'water' on the table.
Immediately, I saw the water in our cups begin to flow out on its own, leaving only tea leaves behind. I was utterly stunned. The water gathered together, forming little figures that began to dance before me.
I clapped my hands in delight, but then glanced around, making sure no one else in this corner could see what was happening.