Chapter 088: From the Heart.

Chapter 088: From the Heart.

The sound of chains clashing echoed.

Blood started to climb the walls, twisting as if trying to form some words.

Ji Xingchen's gaze also shifted to Chi Shen. Without approaching, he merely reminded again, "It's time to eat."

Laughing, Chi Shen picked up a small bottle from the ground, collected a few drops of blood dripping from the chain, turned to Ji Xingchen and said, "I know, if we don't hurry we'll be late..."

The heart of Ji Xingchen No.2 thumped twice more, then settled. The blood on the walls suddenly dissipated before even forming any letters, leaving only the gentle sway of the chains to be heard.

Ji Xingchen glanced back at No.2, adjusted his glasses, and left indifferently.

Chi Shen placed the small bottle in his pocket, then took out two "candies" and gazed at Ji Xingchen's form for a long time.

His habits from the Death Game made him a light sleeper. He was aware when Ji Xingchen had left the night before, and he also knew what had transpired in the next room.

Ji Xingchen looked completely unchanged, as if he had fully absorbed Sheng Yulan's pain. No trace of that agony remained on him.

Why bear someone else's pain?

Chi Shen's assistance to these spirits was merely out of personal interest; he would never do anything to harm himself.

The "candies" in his hand gently tapped against each other without making a sound. Their exteriors were sticky and soft, as though coated in syrup. Looking down at the distinctly black and white candies, Chi Shen tucked them away.

Ji Xingchen didn't like them.

"Next time, I should try something that Ji Xingchen might prefer," Chi Shen thought, a smile forming on his lips.

Leaving the bedroom, Chi Shen retrieved the hot breakfast from the steamer. He discussed matters with his roommates while eating.

"I intend to take the little one out and find an opportunity to resurrect him," said Chi Shen. "Auntie, you'll have to wait a few days. This task is too intricate; I can't manage it alone."

Sheng Yulan's eyes shone with anticipation. "Really?" she stammered.

Chi Shen glanced at Du Jun, who stood hesitantly at the bedroom door. "In theory, it should work, but I haven't tried it before."

Anxiously, Sheng Yulan asked, "Do you need my help?"

Shaking his head with a smile, Chi Shen replied, "No need."

Concern filled Sheng Yulan's face. Though Chi Shen reassured her and told her to wait, she remained silent, gazing at him with worry.

After his meal, Chi Shen picked up a golden ginkgo leaf from the coffee table, ushering Du Jun into it, and left with him.

Just as he stepped out of the house, Ghost Face swiftly slipped through the door gap, wrapping his face around Chi Shen's leg.

Chi Shen paused in closing the door, looking down at Ghost Face.

Ghost Face looked back, seeming to have something on his mind.

Without delay, Chi Shen closed the door and headed for the elevator.

Ghost Face immediately flew onto Chi Shen's shoulder, whispering rapidly, "Can you truly resurrect someone?!"

Chi Shen glanced at the ginkgo leaf in his hand, where Du Jun peeked out expectantly.

As there was no one around on the floor, Chi Shen calmly replied, "I can't."

Despair clouded Du Jun's face.

Ghost Face sighed in relief, then went on in a chatter, "It's an act against nature. You mustn't do it. It'll bring a dire fate. You might vanish instantly or set off events even more significant than reviving someone..."

After rambling on for quite some time, Guilian suddenly recalled something, "You told others you could resurrect...?"

With an unchanged smile, Chishen calmly glanced at the elevator's floor display and remarked, "To help a spirit move on, you must dissipate its lingering attachment. This is a matter of belief. If it's about belief, then all we need is to make her believe."

Guilian stared blankly for a long moment, finally mustering a single word, "...Huh?"

A few days later.

It was a cloudy day.

In the living room, the curtains were drawn back. Baiwan sat at the coffee table, a memorial tablet resting on her lap. Her head bowed, her crimson bridal veil cascading down to the floor. In one hand, she held a tablet; with the other, she gently sketched on a piece of paper.

A makeup tutorial played on the tablet.

The face she was drawing was starting to take shape, significantly improved since her initial attempts.

Behind Baiwan, a paper figure bore a face – the likeness of Sheng Yulan. Though the facial features still appeared somewhat stiff, it was a testament to Baiwan's progress. Chishen had mentioned it was acceptable for now.

Sheng Yulan stood beside her paper counterpart, meticulously adjusting the clothing that draped it.

The attire, bought online by Chishen, was the loose-fitting kind Sheng Yulan adored, the style she had always wanted to wear but never had the chance to.

She painstakingly smoothed out every crease in the fabric, her gaze upon the paper figure serene and tender.

She had tried on this paper avatar before. Whatever method Chishen employed, once she wore it, the paper being came alive. Its painted eyes and brows shifted with her expressions, almost indistinguishable from a real person upon casual observation.

However, wearing the paper had its limitations: it was vulnerable to fire and water. Plus, she had to be constantly mindful of it; a lapse in concentration might result in her raising a hand while the paper figure remained still, as if it had slipped off her.

Chishen had told her she could venture outside with this paper being. Yet she dared not, fearing light, people, and being recognized as inhuman.

Even though the paper being had been ready for several days, she had never worn it outside.

After adjusting the attire, her thoughts drifted to her child. Du Jun had been away from here for many days with no news. The growing concern for him and her daughter, whom Chishen promised to help find, weighed on her.

Regret gripped her. She shouldn't have confided in Chishen. Bringing such concerns to another seemed burdensome – how could one bring back a child who had been gone for years?

Lost in thought, she suddenly felt the room's unusual quietness. Aside from the sound of the makeup tutorial from the tablet, silence prevailed. Looking up, she noticed the switched-off TV and remembered the ever-watching, faceless ghost, Guilian, was absent.

The red-clad female ghost, recognizable by a single head and two hands, was also nowhere to be found. After a fruitless search in the bedroom, she assumed they might have left with Chishen and returned to watch Baiwan draw.

At that moment, an irregular, seemingly urgent knock echoed at the door.

Bai Wan and Sheng Yulan both looked up as a hand emerged from Bai Wan's shrine, unlocking the security door.

A young boy stood outside, beaming brilliantly into the room, "Mom, I'm back!"

His frame was slender, indicative of a teenager still growing. His clothes hung a bit loosely on him. He emitted no aura of the dead, and to Sheng Yulan, he appeared fully alive. He held the hand of a little girl with twin ponytails, her big eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at the two ghosts in the room. However, she had a translucent appearance.

Sheng Yulan rose from beside Bai Wan, covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. She whispered, "Junjun…"

Du Jun led the little girl inside, the door slamming shut behind them. The little girl seemed to have some difficulty walking initially, but after a few steps, her stride normalized.

Seeing the pair enter, Sheng Yulan instinctively stepped back, seemingly wanting to leave.

Du Jun's expression shifted slightly with concern, but he quickly smiled again, "Mom, there's no need to worry. Chi Shen told me I'm not affected by you anymore because you no longer wish harm upon everyone."

Bai Wan, standing behind Sheng Yulan, reassured her softly, "Trust him. Chi Shen has resurrected Du Jun, so he won't be affected by you."

Sheng Yulan halted her retreat, staring deeply into Du Jun's eyes for a while, her eyes brimming with tears. She seemed torn, wanting to embrace him yet hesitant.

Taking the initiative, Du Jun stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Tears flowed into her collar, slipping through and dripping onto the floor.

"Mom, I've returned."

Unsure of where to place her hands, Sheng Yulan hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace, her voice hoarse, "It's good you're back. It's good..."

"I've brought sister back too," Du Jun released her, taking the curious little girl's hand and guiding her to Sheng Yulan's side.

The little girl gazed up at Sheng Yulan, tentatively calling out, "Mommy?"

Sheng Yulan appeared momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation.

"Chi Shen helped me find her," Du Jun explained. "Sister didn't die initially; she was adopted. However, she fell ill at seven and didn't survive. Thankfully, Chi Shen found her spirit before it vanished."

The little girl reached out to Sheng Yulan, her voice ringing clear, "Mommy!"

"Ah!" Sheng Yulan embraced the little girl, tears of joy streaming down her face.

The moment she was held, the little girl clung to Sheng Yulan, repeating emphatically, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

Holding the girl close, Sheng Yulan studied her face tenderly before sighing, "You must have suffered so much before, haven't you?"

The little girl immediately shook her head: "Seeing Mommy makes everything better!"

Sheng Yulan smiled, gently pinching the girl's cheek, expressing her concern: "Why are you so thin?"

Du Jun explained from the side, "She had been ill before."

As conversations filled the living room, otherworldly whispers emanated from the wardrobe.

"Can this really work?"

Ghost Face and the Lady in Red were trapped inside the wardrobe, eager to escape. But the Wardrobe Spirit watched them intently, not giving them a chance to break free.

Ghost Face voiced his doubts, but no one responded. The Wardrobe Spirit stayed silent, and the Lady in Red, furious, pounded on the wardrobe’s interior, ignoring his words.

Thanks to the Wardrobe Spirit, the noise from the Lady in Red's pounding didn't escape the confines of the closet.

Ghost Face, listening to the movements outside, sighed in exasperation: "I'll never trust Ji Xingchen again!"

It was Ji Xingchen who had tricked them into the wardrobe that morning, citing fears they might spill secrets. How could he deceive fellow ghosts?

"I get why she," Ghost Face motioned to the Lady in Red, "was locked up – she's a loose cannon. But why am I stuck here?"

In an instant, the Lady in Red's fist connected with Ghost Face’s visage, her punch distorting his features. Angrily, she yelled, "You talk too much!"

A sudden quiet enveloped the bustling wardrobe. All the spirits sensed something and simultaneously turned their attention to the balcony. Even though they couldn’t see, they all looked in that direction.

A gust of wind suddenly stirred outside the balcony.

A child's eerie laughter echoed from beyond the balcony.

In the living room, Sheng Yulan turned her head. A shadowy figure resembling a child stood outside on the balcony. With a mouth twisted into a terrifying grin and blood-red eyes, it stared at them through the glass.

"Do you think that, in my brother's absence, you can harm us?" Bai Wan turned, her aura flaring like crimson candles, blocking the path from the balcony to the living room.

Sheng Yulan quickly pulled Du Jun and the little girl back.

The little girl, however, fixed her gaze on the shadowy figure. Her lips curved into a grin similar to the shadowy child's. However, a sharp tug from Du Jun pulled her back, and she begrudgingly allowed herself to be led away, her grin fading.