In the original plan, the Environmental Auntie had not fully trusted Bai Ling. She had merely proposed a mutually beneficial deal.
That was to give [Eternal Night Cemetery] two Masters, each holding half its authority.
To put it plainly, after [Lush City] fell, Bai Ling would have a place to settle.
If the Environmental Auntie had not known that her life was nearing its end, and thought of her only child, she would never have proposed such terms.
She was not foolish either. She knew Fang Yao could not be offended, so she had always avoided getting involved with the Main Quest.
But after [Timid Ghoul] arrived, she suddenly fell out with Fang Yao... and ultimately took the extreme step of hurting each other!
The only source Bai Ling could think of for such an anomaly was Ji Yan.
Ji Yan neither denied nor confirmed it, only asking, "Then how will you handle her child?"
"I'll treat her as my only family."
"It isn't entirely about keeping my promise. I caught a familiar scent from her—a scent that only those two parents had..." Bai Ling said, pinching a strand of the little girl's hair.
Ji Yan did not linger on the subject. "The Main Quest has been cleared. [Lush City] has been freed."
"You can leave this place and return to a normal life."
"But only within [Lush City]."
Bai Ling asked, "What about you, Brother Ji?"
With his hands in his pockets, Ji Yan's hair dampened by the morning mist, he said, "I want to see where this [Devil] pass will take me."
Bai Ling asked in return, "The Real world has already returned. If you keep going... does the Eerie Game have an end?"
"Or perhaps I should ask: what lies at the end?"
Ji Yan shrugged and