My heart was trembling at that moment—I had no idea why Rachel Lan would enter Thousand Hands' ghost domain. Just now, Yuna Ji tried to put Rachel to sleep, but Isabelle Frost stopped her. I glanced at Rachel Lan beside me; she looked calm as she stared at Xu Fu and Thousand Hands on the stage not far away, yet her eyes blazed with anger.
"Yvette, step aside."
Yuna Ji glared furiously at Isabelle Frost, but Isabelle refused to budge. For a moment, the power within both of them surged and collided.
Just now, we had finally settled on the safest and most practical plan: Thousand Hands would perform the surgery, fully connecting Rachel Lan's soul and remains. But Yvonne May would oversee the process—if Rachel's body showed any sign of trouble, if anything went wrong during the operation, Yvonne would use her power to completely freeze Rachel's time.
Then we would look for a solution and continue step by step. As soon as a problem arose, Rachel's time would be frozen. This method was proposed by Yuna Ji, and it was the most powerful plan to guarantee the surgery's success.
Thousand Hands and Xu Fu agreed, planning to perform the surgery while Rachel Lan was asleep—without her knowledge—so she wouldn't sense anything unusual. After all, I wasn't the only one familiar with Rachel's temper; every Ghost Sovereign present knew it well.
Rachel Lan's temper was as stubborn as Ethan Zhang's. She would never accept help from the Immortality Society—and sure enough, her face showed nothing but refusal.
"Just think about it—I spent ages in my own domain picking up every shattered piece of your bones, then had The Engineer and Dr. Hawthorne put you back together. Rachel Lan, even if you don't want to, you should at least consider those of us who worked so hard for so long!"
Yuna Ji glared at Rachel Lan. I stood off to the side, helpless, not knowing what to do. I looked at John Chou, who remained silent, and the other Blue Wraiths watched quietly as well.
"Sorry."
Rachel Lan lowered her head and uttered two words. Yuna Ji grew even more furious and suddenly moved past Isabelle Frost, grabbing Rachel Lan by the collar.
Yuna, let's go outside and sit down to talk. Please, don't do this...
Rufina Howard was startled by the ghostly aura emanating from Yuna Ji as she spoke. Rachel Lan shook her head.
Miss Yuna, do you remember when we first met?
As Rachel Lan spoke, Yuna Ji shoved her away.
Think carefully—if you really die, nothing will be left. Everything, do you want Ethan Zhang...
Rachel Lan straightened up and stepped in front of Yuna Ji.
It's precisely because I don't want Ethan's efforts to be wasted that I won't accept help from the Immortality Society. To me, they are... enemies. If I really did that, Ethan would truly be gone.
Rachel Lan looked at Yuna Ji with sorrowful eyes, but Yuna was already beyond caring and prepared to use force. I quietly watched Rachel's eyes. Suddenly, I stepped in front of her and held Yuna Ji back.
Get out of the way, Earth Soul! In matters like this, only the result matters. Right or wrong is meaningless; if you're dead, nothing is left.
At this moment, Rachel Lan placed a hand on my back and smiled gently, shaking her head.
You’ve all faced moments like this, haven’t you?
Rachel Lan spoke softly, and we all looked at her.
When your faith is about to reach its end, crossing that line means death, stepping back means life. For years, you’ve made your choices—did you ever hesitate when you were alive? Clearly, it would have been better to hesitate, you might have survived, you could have chosen again. But why didn’t you?
For a moment, Yuna Ji’s eyes widened. I released my grip and stepped aside.
Because once you hesitate, the person you were dies. When you realize this, you refuse to compromise or retreat. I’m still... alive.
Rachel Lan pressed a hand to her chest, calmly scanning the room. There was no hesitation in her eyes. She walked slowly to the stage, raising one hand. A pink glow emerged—Belle was already in her grasp, its tip pointed at Xu Fu.
I can only be your enemy. Xu Fu, you’ll never understand what Ethan’s sacrifices were really for.
Let’s go, kid. This was just a farce.
At that moment, Redmond suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Rufina Howard, and left the ghost domain. The smile on Xu Fu’s face froze slightly, but he still grinned wickedly and nodded.
"How unfortunate, Rachel Lan. You and Ethan Zhang are just alike! This truly was a pointless farce."
As he spoke, Xu Fu suddenly darted behind the stage and pushed the coffin containing Zachary Justice’s corpse toward Yin Choujian.
"We only wanted to repay Ethan Zhang for the favor he showed us, but we had no choice. Take care of this, Yin Choujian."
With a bang, Yin Choujian raised a hand to support the coffin. Rachel Lan turned and walked away. I looked up, recalling the moment Ethan Zhang pushed me aside, and shook my head.
"Even if you choose death, you still refuse to side with evil? Maybe I can't understand that either."
I knew exactly what Xu Fu and the others wanted that day when they went to the Six Paths. They watched coldly, always waiting for Ethan Zhang to ask them for help. But Ethan surprised all thirteen of them.
We all left the ghost domain, and its entrance closed behind us. Then I felt Thousand Hands’ domain shifting bit by bit, soon vanishing into Wu Rong’s domain.
The coffin was set in the center of the pavilion. Yin Choujian stared at it, lost in thought, clearly troubled. Yuna Ji, arms crossed, sat at the edge of the pavilion, looking frustrated.
"Alright, alright, let’s not make things so heavy. Let’s go have a drink."
Ding Dacheng chuckled and continued speaking.
"As the saying goes, life and death are fated, wealth is in the hands of heaven. It’s nothing serious. The young lady’s got guts."
With that, Li Jiayuan and Zhang Xiaochun pulled Ding Dacheng away. Su Yuan glanced at Rachel Lan before leaving. Now, Rachel Lan and Rufina Howard sat by the bridge, gazing at the water, lost in thought.
"Yin Choujian, you can’t possibly not have another plan. That’s not like you at all."
Redmond stared at Yin Choujian in confusion, and Yvette looked over as well.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yin Choujian’s mouth. He stood up, and with a signal, Wu Rong took the coffin with Zachary Justice’s corpse and left.
"Tell me honestly, Rachel Lan, the one who told you about Ethan Zhang’s death wasn’t just the future Ethan, right? There were two lingering presences, and one of them held an extremely powerful human force."
Yin Choujian spoke up. I looked at Rachel Lan in surprise, finally realizing who had told her about Ethan’s death. It seemed everyone present knew about the future Ethan.
"How do you know?"
Rachel Lan looked at Yin Choujian in astonishment, but he immediately walked over.
"Tell me, who was it?"
Rachel Lan seemed unwilling to answer.
"That person probably told you not to reveal anything to anyone, but only until someone else noticed. Now that I’ve sensed it, there’s no need to hide."
Rachel Lan still refused to speak. Suddenly, Yuna Ji moved over, lifted Rachel Lan up, and squeezed her mouth with one hand.
"Forget about what just happened. Tell me, who was it?"
After a while, Rachel Lan finally spoke.
"It was an Ethan Zhang in white robes, carrying a sword. He claimed to be Ethan from the End of the Past, and it was the first time he'd met me."
Everyone’s eyes widened instantly, including Yin Choujian, who looked utterly shocked.
I pressed my confused head—Ethan Zhang from the past truly shocked me.
"What else did he say?"
Yuna Ji asked angrily. Rachel Lan replied.
"He told me to keep the Starshard Radiance safe. Someday, I’ll see Ethan again."
Yin Choujian immediately smiled.
"So that’s it. There’s still hope, Rachel Lan. Alright, you all go rest!"
Soon, only I, Yin Choujian, Redmond, and Yuna Ji remained in the pavilion. The others had left, and the village was lively again.
"Maybe I should just tell her that Ethan Zhang still exists in the Mirage."
I was about to speak, but Yin Choujian shook his head, and Redmond laughed.
"The Mirage? What kind of place is that? Ha, how many secrets are you all hiding? Just spit it out already!"
"Go ask that dead demon, maybe he knows something."
Yuna Ji spoke, and the three of us looked at her.
"What do you mean, Yuna Ji?"
Yin Choujian looked at Yuna Ji in confusion.
"What do you mean, don’t tell me you don’t know, Yin Choujian? There’s a limit to playing dumb. On the way to the Sanzu, you colluded with the dead demon and Ethan Zhang. Do you really think we’re idiots or fools?"
After a moment, Yin Choujian finally spoke.
"According to that dead demon, the Mirage actually exists on the edge of the dream world—it’s real. The strange beasts we saw, commanded by old hells, were only recorded in ancient texts, but they revived them. So the dead demon suspects those beasts manifested from the Mirage."
Redmond immediately stood up.
"I’ll go find that dead demon myself."
But Yin Choujian quickly shook his head.
"That guy probably won’t come out of the dream world for now. Once this is over, I’ll go find my Hundred Ghosts. We’ll talk then!"