Something clawed its way out of those black vortexes, burrowing into Jiayan's eyes until it swallowed her, too.

Amid the unbearable silence, that omnipresent curse sounded once more in her ears:

“What are you doing? Weren't you trying to find that corpse? I promised to tell you, remember? This was our agreement.”

“I'll have the female ghost's hair genetically tested. You can take the results back and use them as leverage in a deal, so you can free yourself from the Old Madam's control.”

“I don't care what deal you made with Mother, and I don't care whether you've actually escaped the Old Madam's control. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you everything.”

“But what's with that expression?... Jiayan, are you afraid of me?”

Jiayan collapsed onto the floor.

In an instant, all the pressure and pain left her. Her expression was blank for a moment before she instinctively answered:

“I'm not...”

She froze, then instinctively asked:

“But, Miss Ci’an, what's the price? What do you want?”

Jiayan slowly lowered her head.

“I was raised by the Old Madam. I served as her eyes, her ears, a pawn she could find anywhere. Freedom and the right to choose were never in my hands.”

“When I was little, I saw her as a substitute for my mother. As I grew older and became more aware, I realized she wasn't Mother at all. She was a devil wearing human skin.”

“With devils surrounding me, I gradually became accustomed to living this way. The most frightening thing was that, at some point, a devil quietly began growing inside my own heart.”

“I've forgotten what day it was when I overheard some older servants discussing my background behind my back. They said my mother had once worked beside the Madam, and then, one day, all traces of her disappeared.”

“She died.”

“I was the only one who knew she had died. Even her body was secretly disposed of. I don't know where in this house they buried her.”

“I tried everything. No matter what, the Old Madam refused to tell me where she was buried. I had no other choice. I became her dog. I became the Yu family's dog. I even came to resent Yu Xin for treating me like one.”

“I volunteered for every vile, filthy task. But I was in so much pain. Yu Xin was born bad. It was as though her malice could never be exhausted, and I suffered terribly because of it.”

“When I realized I couldn't let her attention remain fixed on me, I decided to find a scapegoat.”

“Feng Jiang. I gave her to Yu Xin.”

“She is innocent. I am not.”

“I've done too many unforgivable things. I don't ask for forgiveness. I have only one wish. I want to know where that corpse was buried. I only want to know where my mother's body is buried.”

“Miss Ci’an, there's no way for me to turn back now. So, what's the price? Whatever you say, I'll do it all. Even if it means dying.”

“The corpse isn't in the flower field, and it isn't in the box.”

Ci’an wiped away her tears and pulled her into her arms.

“She isn't dead. She's still alive.”

Jiayan's expression, however, was as though she'd just heard the most absurd joke in the world.

“Didn't I tell you? Whatever you want to know, I can tell you everything. It's all right. I don't blame you. And don't die, either. You have to stay alive, living in the nightmare for the rest of your life.”

“Live well in my world. This world is full of illusions, and every person is indispensable. If you're gone, how am I supposed to finish the dream?”

She stroked Jiayan's hair as though she were holding a doll, and softly hummed a nursery rhyme:

“Mother in the dream has long, long hair,

lying on the bed without saying a word.”

“Mother in the dream bares a rabbit's fangs,

her crimson eyes never blinking.”

“The butterfly in the dream plants blood to grow flowers,

the flower field in the dream struggles against the demon.”

“Aunt Yu in the dream wears her hair pinned up.

Perhaps you should call her Mother.”

The final glimmer of dusk was swallowed by an enormous, extinguishing maw, and the entire world sank into deep night.

Flames surged inside the black box. In the blink of an eye, the sacrificial offering born from flesh and blood turned to ash, while wisps of smoke slowly rose.

Ci’an lowered her head and looked at her palm.

It was stained a bloody red. She couldn't tell whether the blood was on her hands or tears were flowing from her eyes.

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.

Smoke climbed up to kiss the branches. For one instant, flames leapt upward, then spread like wildfire. Every burning leaf vanished before it could even reach the ground. The dying screams were heard only by the wind.

Gold and crimson filled the sky, roaring without end.

She reached out and cupped the ashes in her hands. She had expected them to burn her fingers, but nothing happened.

The force that had once been impossible to resist had become nothing more than this tiny handful.

Human ashes were so light.

Ci’an lowered her eyes and smiled, murmuring:

“People have to pay the price for their mistakes. The dead are no exception.”

“He's dead. He can't even have his ashes buried in peace. I've forgiven him.”

“But what about Mother?”

“Kai Xin, tell me... will Mother forgive him?”

“...Kai Xin?”

The heavens and earth seemed to tremble, yet everything was utterly silent.

Ci’an turned around.

Scorching heat carried the stench of decay toward her, a sickening mixture of sweetness and putrefaction, as though reality and nightmare had converged. It surged toward her with malicious intent, shaking the world in her eyes.

The flower field was engulfed in flames.

The butterfly that Kai Xin had become was flying through the fire.

She could no longer hear its voice.

“Miss Ci’an Ah!... Miss Ci’an, are you all right? Can you hear me?”

A servant came running from afar, her expression frantic. She knelt down so that her eyes were level with Ci’an's.

“I'm sorry! I frightened you. Miss Yu Xin set fire to the flower field. The fire is spreading, and Madam ordered me to take you somewhere safe. Please, come with me!”

She helped Ci’an to her feet and took her hand, leading her forward with humble yet unquestionable authority.

Ci’an was led two steps before turning her head.

A massive charred dead tree stood silently against the black backdrop.

Corpses hung from its branches of varying thickness. Those children stared with hollow, lifeless eyes. Their dark gazes seemed to have struck a bargain with Death itself, eternally fixed upon Ci’an.

It was pursuit.

It was a gaze that never looked away.

It was a chain that even death could not sever.

Impossible to let go.

Impossible to escape.

Those black eyes were watching you.

Just watching you.

Those red mouths spoke of an attachment that could never be severed.

Death was not the end.

But...

Why are you still alive?

Why are you the one who gets to be free?

Why are you the only one who gets to live?!!

Why are you the only one who gets to be free!!!