Ji Li turned the desk lamp to its brightest setting and looked at the face in the mirror.
The face was calm to the point of numbness, its gaze detached and dull, like a frozen portrait—thin and monotonous.
Only the restless strands of hair at either side swayed gently, adding a touch of movement to the portrait.
It had been a long time since he had taken a proper look at his own face.
This time, under the orange desk lamp in Tiannan Academy of Drama's guard room, he realized that he seemed to have grown old.
What had aged was not his appearance, but his eyes.
Ji Li could barely remember when his gaze had last been sharp. His eyes seemed to have grown increasingly faded, with little brilliance left in them.
Thoughtfully, he placed the mirror back on the desk. When he raised his head, he lit himself a cigarette.
The sound of burning tobacco overlapped with the sound of snow falling outside the window, neither louder nor softer than the other.
This mission had ended here. The work belonging to the staff members was done.
One ghost from Tiannan Academy of Drama would be brought back to the Seventh Branch by Ji Li. Its foundation had not been shaken, nor had it been led to the Root Ghost.
Ji Li exhaled a smooth smoke ring, peered through it at Tiannan Academy, then closed his eyes wearily.
From this moment onward, his identity had undergone another enormous transformation.
Ji Li: dual branch manager of the Seventh Branch and Branch No. 10, and the sole Head Dean of Tiannan Academy of Drama.
Not only did he control two branches under Heavenly Sea, he also held the massive supernatural site known as Tiannan Academy in the palm of his hand.