Fu Su opened his eyes, complex emotions flickering within them.

His finger had already left the Candle Dragon’s Eye, the light faded, and the eye had returned to being an unremarkable yellow jade sphere.

Zhao Gao still stood beside him, his expression the same ambiguous smile as before, as if Fu Su’s closing and opening of his eyes had been but an instant.

Minghong on his shoulder continued its anxious chirping until Fu Su reached out to stroke its back, finally calming it down.

“There’s still plenty of time. You can continue watching,” Zhao Gao said leisurely.

Fu Su didn’t ask what price he would need to pay, because he knew that from the moment he reopened this brocade box, events would no longer be under his control. Whatever Zhao Gao was scheming, he would be unable to resist.

Who could blame him when the bait was so tempting?

“What exactly do you want?” Fu Su stared at Zhao Gao, trying to detect even the slightest change in his expression.

Without waiting for Zhao Gao’s answer, he shook his head and answered himself: “Do you want immortality? No, you already have it.” More than two thousand years had passed, and he was still alive—that alone was proof enough.

Zhao Gao smiled without speaking.

Fu Su turned to look at the still brilliant lights of countless homes below, saying in a low voice: “Do you want this world? No, you’ve already had it before.”

Zhao Gao’s pupils contracted slightly, but he didn’t refute. From a certain perspective, he had indeed once possessed this world.

Fu Su didn’t continue. He even felt that even Zhao Gao himself didn’t know what he wanted.

As if guessing Fu Su’s thoughts, Zhao Gao smiled eerily, then without saying another word, turned and melted into the darkness, leaving silently.

Fu Su stared in the direction of Zhao Gao’s departure for a long moment, but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of being able to see the future. He lowered his gaze to the Candle Dragon’s Eyes.

That child was actually Bi’s junior disciple? It seemed Bi didn’t particularly want to acknowledge that doctor. He should probably switch to observing someone else’s future…

Fu Su placed his hand on it once more.

After much persuasion, the doctor had returned to his shift duty. Tang Yuan obediently went home and paced around the house like a caged beast.

Although he could leave the bracelet at home and pretend he hadn’t gone out, breaking his promise to the doctor uncle so quickly made him feel particularly guilty.

Just as Tang Yuan was racking his brains for an excuse, the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Huh? Uncle, did you forget your keys?” Tang Yuan muttered as he went to open the door, but was startled by the person standing outside. Then he said happily, “Senior Brother! How did you find this place? I was just wondering how to find you! You didn’t put a tracking bracelet on me too, did you?”

Watching his unreliable junior disciple hopping around on the ground searching, the Boss could only feel his eyelid twitching. Did he need tracking? It wasn’t like he hadn’t been to the doctor’s house before.

“Are the fragments of the green stone tablet with you?”

“Oh! Yes, yes! Please come in!” Tang Yuan hurriedly invited the Boss inside. After changing shoes, he led him toward his room.

When the Boss saw the reassembled green stone tablet standing in the cramped room, his eyelid twitched even more severely. Just how thick were the doctor’s nerves? With such a large object added to the house, hadn’t he noticed at all?

“Hehe, Uncle generally doesn’t come into my room, and he’s been busy at the hospital lately, so he didn’t notice,” Tang Yuan explained thoughtfully, as if knowing what the Boss was worried about. “So don’t worry, Senior Brother. He’s an ordinary person who doesn’t know anything.”

Ignorance truly was bliss. The Boss remained silent for a moment, at a loss for words.

“Senior Brother, what should we do about this green stone tablet? Oh, right, I still have the last piece in my pocket.” Tang Yuan pulled out the stone fragment he had snatched from that young woman possessed by the green stone tablet, aligning it with the missing spot, planning to fit it in.

“That’s not urgent. I’d like to ask first—when did Master take on another disciple?” The Boss looked Tang Yuan up and down, already believing in his identity. Though they had just met, this youth was indeed the type Master favored.

Like himself, back in the day.

However, the Boss’s concern was why Master would place his junior disciple with the doctor. Could there be some deeper meaning?

Tang Yuan’s movement of attaching the stone piece to the tablet paused. With his back to the Boss, his expression was conflicted. He actually regretted seeking out his senior brother for recognition. If Master couldn’t handle the situation, could Senior Brother manage it? They might just trap another person. Moreover, several months had passed since the incident occurred—it was probably too late to rescue Master now…

“Um… this…” Tang Yuan fidgeted with the stone fragment in his hands, carefully considering his words.

The Boss didn’t rush him, patiently waiting for his explanation.

“Senior Brother, let’s finish assembling the green stone tablet first!”

“I’m not questioning your identity—after all, Master likes clever children.”

“The spirit of the green stone tablet has escaped! If we don’t hurry to find it, innocent people will be possessed by it again!”

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Master. Hearing that the old man is still well brings me great comfort.”

“But since it suffered a setback, it definitely won’t return to that T-intersection!”

“Did Master irresponsibly abandon his disciple again? How irresponsible—he should have personally brought you to me.”

“Senior Brother, where do you think we should look for the green stone tablet’s spirit?”

“Or perhaps Master had no way to come personally?”

“…”

After this exchange of talking past each other, the room fell into awkward silence. The Boss had already sensed that his junior disciple was evading the topic—there must be more to the story. And his speculation might already be close to the truth. Could that person from back then really still be alive… Then Master was truly in danger…

Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity. Tang Yuan weighed the consequences and chose to reveal some information selectively.

The Boss listened quietly, but just as he was about to ask for details, the sound of keys turning came from the front door.

Tang Yuan jumped three feet high, spinning around anxiously in the room. Someone with keys! Who else but the doctor? How had he returned so quickly? Hadn’t the doctor uncle gone to work his shift?!

The Boss only had time to take out his bamboo cage and collect the assembled green stone tablet before the doctor opened the door.

“Little Tang Yuan, I switched shifts with someone else. You should be obediently at home… Why are you here?” The doctor’s voice changed abruptly, his gaze becoming very wary.

The Boss looked at the other’s guarded expression. Though he knew this was a normal human reaction, his heart still constricted twice.

Strange. He clearly no longer had a heartbeat—why could he still feel pain?

Fu Su opened his eyes again, not feeling that much time had passed. Around him, Minghong was chasing a blue-green point of light.

A very familiar blue-green point of light.

Noticing that Fu Su had awakened, Minghong immediately stopped chasing the blue-green light and flew back excitedly, landing on Fu Su’s shoulder and affectionately nuzzling his neck with its head.

Fu Su stroked its back, suddenly missing his troublesome younger brother a little.

He wondered where exactly Zhao Gao had imprisoned that kid. He had searched for so long without finding him. Earlier, he had refrained from bringing it up, fearing Zhao Gao might think he could use it as leverage. Yet that fellow had left without saying a single word about Hu Hai.

Was this to whet his appetite? Or to warn him not to act rashly?

Unfortunately, Hu Hai also counted as one of the departed, so the Candle Dragon’s Eyes couldn’t see his future.

As Fu Su was deep in thought, the blue-green light, seeing that Minghong was no longer chasing it, actually approached him and asked in a flickering voice: “Are you weary of this cruel world?”

Fu Su looked around—there was no one else present. Had this spirit of the green stone tablet that had escaped from Bi’s grasp seen him standing on the rooftop and assumed he was planning to jump to his death?

Fu Su took a step forward, now standing at the edge of the rooftop, as if a slightly stronger night wind could blow him off from here. Startled, Minghong spread its wings and flew up from his shoulder, chirping frantically.

“Wait… wait!” The blue-green light immediately spoke up, stopping Fu Su from taking another step forward. It flew to his ear, gently coaxing: “If you don’t want this body of yours, how about letting me have it? Whatever unfulfilled wishes you have, I promise to help you complete them!”

Fu Su slowly extended his hand. His movements weren’t particularly agile, but he accurately caught the blue-green point of light between two fingers, leaving it no escape.

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to die just yet. The things I want to accomplish—no one can take my place…” The corners of Fu Su’s lips curved into a smile. Looking at Minghong, who was eager to try, he smiled and handed it over: “Here, take it and play.”