Ji Li had not kept vigil for a long time since Yu Guo's death, and now, the sun had not even set.
The winter wind blew bleak and cold. He often stood alone on the bank, leaning against the railing and smoking as he faced the icy river.
Each drag became unusually slow. He savored the tobacco's sting against his tongue and throat, his chest and lungs, and the faint ache in his lungs gradually became something he depended on, something he craved.
The Evil Spirit was gone, but it had not entirely departed. Hallucinations and phantom sounds still arose unnaturally from time to time.
It had changed from a curse into a ghost. It no longer lived in Ji Li's eye, but it had already seeped into his bones. In the end, he could not escape its subtle influence.
Or perhaps Ji Li had a mental illness to begin with. In the past, he could blame everything on the Evil Spirit, but now it was part of the ghost card. His condition had eased somewhat but could not be eradicated, which could only mean the problem lay with the person himself.
Only a single morning had passed since his return from the Sixth Manager Mission.
The Commission Mission sweeping across the Top Ten Branches had arrived without a moment's pause. That seemed reasonable, yet it also hinted at something behind the scenes.
Heavenly Sea seemed to be rushing through missions.
It was issuing missions with increasing frequency. Ever since the Returning Home mission, the intervals between one mission and the next had become extremely, extremely short.
The Tiannan Academy mission had been an exception, because it required a very long time to coordinate and construct.
But apart from that one, the release schedule for every other mission had long