Su Kun always felt that although he occasionally saw some supernatural phenomena, his twenty-plus years of life had been mostly ordinary and uneventful.

This perception was completely shattered after meeting Gu Yan, his ghostly friend from ancient times. In the past two months, he had encountered more strange people and bizarre events than in the rest of his life combined.

He thought that with Gu Yan and the crew of supernatural beings from the special department, his life in the past few weeks had already reached its peak of strangeness, and nothing could surpass it. However, now, his life had been pushed from strange to surreal by a seemingly calm statement from Stone.

When Stone mentioned that the fierce ghost had taken over a child's body, Su Kun already had a bad premonition. No, to be precise, he could already picture himself in that child's position.

When he first had this thought, his mind went blank, and by the time Stone finished recounting the events of that year, the only words left in his mind were "What the hell," in big, blood-red characters.

He was shocked, confused, and disoriented. The most complex feeling was an instinctive belief mixed with the sense that the story was too surreal to be true.

According to Stone's account, many things could be matched and explained—

The fierce ghost was the same one Gu Yan referred to as the fatuous emperor. The landlord once mentioned that while the fatuous emperor was imprisoned and could never be reincarnated, he did cause trouble before being subdued by the master, which matched Stone's story.

The family of the possessed child met Qing Yuan through a neighbor. Given the subsequent events, that neighbor was likely Aunt Zhang.

The jade pendant Su Kun wore around his neck might have been given to him by Qing Yuan back then, explaining why Aunt Zhang always checked to ensure it was intact whenever she saw him. Judging by Gu Yan's condition, the pendant likely had a soul-stabilizing effect.

Qing Yuan's odd look at Su Kun when they met at the private restaurant could also be explained.

Su Kun's lifelong susceptibility to fright, his timid nature, and his constant bad luck were probably all connected to this—just being alive was already against the odds; it was impossible for him to have a smooth and successful life.

If this was true, then the master's reluctance to discuss these matters with Su Kun was understandable. After all, anyone in such a situation would find it hard to bear.

Even Geng Zimo and Xiang Ge, sitting beside Stone, were stunned.

Geng Zimo had known Su Kun for a long time and had heard about some of his childhood experiences. If, in the past, Su Kun had been cautious about discussing these matters to avoid destroying his scientific worldview, he became completely unrestrained after Gu Yan's arrival, sharing almost all his encounters with the supernatural with Geng Zimo.

Given the master's hesitant attitude and Su Kun's current expression, Geng Zimo quickly pieced together the whole story.

Xiang Ge, though not as familiar with Su Kun's background, was smart. Throughout their interaction today, he had picked up on hints from Su Kun's and the master's conversations and linked them to Stone's account, forming a roughly accurate picture.

Young though he was, Stone wasn't stupid. Seeing the reactions of the three, he realized he had probably said something he shouldn't have, so he immediately shut his mouth tight, resolving not to utter another word.

However, Su Kun didn't press him to speak further. Perhaps he had been desensitized by Gu Yan and the others, as he found himself capable of analyzing a long series of events even when faced with such a shocking revelation. Yet, after his analysis, his mind returned to a muddled state, as if everything he had just done was a mechanical, reflexive activity.

He stared at Stone for a long time with a dazed expression, his mouth half-open, but his gaze unfocused.

Seeing Su Kun like this, Geng Zimo, who rarely saw him so shaken, put away his usual sarcasm and teasing. He stood up, intending to sit beside Su Kun and comfort him.

But as he sat down and reached out to pat Su Kun's shoulder, Su Kun broke free from his statue-like state, turned around, and opened his mouth: "...This isn't right."

"Huh? What's not right?" Geng Zimo asked, puzzled, thinking that Su Kun might be in shock.

Su Kun, though no longer immobile, still moved stiffly and wore a dazed expression. The only difference was that his brows were slowly furrowing, like in a slow-motion replay, forming two deep lines on his forehead.

"Something feels off..." He muttered, seemingly not hearing Geng Zimo's question.

Geng Zimo resisted the urge to shake him and instead patted his shoulder again, patiently asking, "What's off?"

This time, Su Kun seemed to snap out of it. His unfocused gaze gradually sharpened, finally meeting Geng Zimo's eyes: "Do you... remember what I told you when we brought Zhang Yi to the hospital?"

"Which part?" Geng Zimo asked reflexively, quickly recalling the somewhat eerie statement Su Kun had made—

"You mean when you said Zhang Yi's condition seemed familiar?" Su Kun frowned, looking up at the ceiling, trying to capture that fleeting feeling in his mind. "I felt like I had seen someone possessed before, but it wasn't me, it was someone else..."

After a moment, he grabbed his hair in frustration: "Ugh, why can't I remember?!"

"...You're only twenty-five. It's normal not to remember things from when you were a toddler," Geng Zimo said, thinking that expecting a child to remember specific events was unrealistic.

However, he then thought of something else, his expression turning complicated as he asked, "Wait! If what Stone said is true, then Qing Yuan is kind of your savior?"

=口=

Su Kun was dumbfounded for a while, thinking that indeed... as much as he didn't want to admit it, if Stone's story was accurate, regardless of Qing Yuan's true nature, Su Kun owed his extended life to him.

No wonder the master once said that while his junior brother had violated the natural order twenty years ago, his intentions weren't entirely malicious... because he saved a life.

What a melodramatic twist!

After such a roundabout revelation, Su Kun felt that the whole situation was spiraling out of control. Although he wasn't the one who had to capture Qing Yuan, and the subsequent events weren't directly related to him, witnessing the pursuit of someone who had saved his life felt complicated.

He stared blankly for a while, feeling the need to clear his mind, so he said to the others, "I'm going to the bathroom."

"I'll go with you," Geng Zimo said, rising to his feet, still worried about Su Kun's state.

Su Kun grimaced: "...I'm just going to wash my face, and the bathroom is right next door, only a few steps away." He waved off Geng Zimo's concern and left.

He was right; the bathroom was indeed very close, just around the corner. The hallway wasn't long, only taking about ten steps to reach the end. Geng Zimo, thinking Su Kun needed some time alone to process, didn't insist on following.

Standing at the black marble counter in the bathroom, Su Kun splashed cold water on his face, then pulled two paper towels from the wall dispenser to dry off. Even here, he could still faintly hear Geng Zimo and Xiang Ge talking in the hallway, mingling with the distant buzz of the lobby, making it all feel like another world.

He sighed, feeling like he was aging prematurely at just twenty-five.

As he balled up the wet paper towels and tossed them into the trash, he heard a peculiar set of footsteps approaching. The steps sounded unsteady, as if someone was drunk and stumbling.

Given that it was a hospital, encountering all sorts of people was expected, and these might not even be drunk footsteps—perhaps just someone with weak legs.

Not paying it much mind, Su Kun headed towards the door, but as he stepped out, he collided with a white figure.

Startled, Su Kun instinctively jumped back a step, only to realize it was a small nurse in a white coat. She looked frail, her coat hanging loosely on her, and her steps were shaky, as if she were unwell.

From his angle, Su Kun could only see her pale, cracked lips.

"Um, are you okay?" Su Kun hesitated, stepping forward to check on her, as she looked quite alarming.

Unexpectedly, the nurse stumbled, nearly falling forward. Su Kun instinctively reached out to steady her by the elbow, preventing her from collapsing into his arms. The moment his fingers touched her, he felt a massive jolt, as if struck by an enormous hammer—not on his head, but his soul.

In the last moment before his consciousness faded, he saw the nurse lift her head. A vague, male silhouette emerged from her body, staring him in the face. The man seemed surprised, then smiled malevolently.