Early the next morning, I stood quietly by the window. I had spent the whole night talking with Redmond. Lan Yin was still asleep. I felt no trace of fatigue—sleep, for a ghost, is a luxury.
Rufina Howard had already spent two years in Redmond's Hall of Malice. Two years ago, something was done to her by the Immortality Society—no one knows what exactly—and to this day, she still hasn’t woken up. Redmond has tried every method imaginable, but nothing has worked.
But physically, Rufina Howard is unharmed—Vivian Maple has been caring for her. Redmond told me that only powerful Taoists, or perhaps Zhang Anle himself, could break the spell. Otherwise, there’s no hope. The only certainty is that Rufina Howard is trapped by some kind of Taoist magic and cannot wake up.
I scrolled through screen after screen of news about the Jing Le concert. Every headline from the media was about it, and the lineup included the hottest singers, actors, directors—even the city’s mayor.
I hadn’t expected Redmond’s influence to be so strong. In just one night, the effect was astonishing. Tickets were already selling fast, and all the negative news about Jing Le online was instantly wiped clean.
I glanced at the comments—any negative ones vanished as soon as I refreshed the page. I swallowed nervously. Behind me, I heard a noise. Turning around, I saw Lan Yin sitting on the bed, looking dazed. He stared blankly at me, then gave a faint smile.
There was a sense of sorrow in his smile. I walked over to him.
"How long are you going to stay trapped in the past from two years ago?"
Lan Yin took a swig of liquor and smiled again.
"Qingyuan, if I had died back then, maybe everything would be better now."
Suddenly, I grabbed Lan Yin by the collar.
"I saw Martin Lane and Helen Lane."
In an instant, I slowly let go and sat in silence beside Lan Yin.
"They don’t blame you, Qingyuan."
A wave of bitterness welled up inside me.
"So do they blame you instead?"
Lan Yin shook his head.
"My life is a mess, Qingyuan. Failure after failure... Even though I was there."
Suddenly, Lan Yin roared and started chugging from the bottle.
After a while, he started rambling drunkenly, then collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep again. I watched him quietly, clenching my fists.