Xue Tingtao sometimes wondered whether, when that day truly came, he would really be able to do it.
Human nature was the hardest thing to change. Whether innate or acquired, at his age, many things had already settled deep into his bones and were difficult to root out.
After the mission at Tiannan Academy, he had realized what important things he had lost and begun to look forward to changing.
He wanted himself—and especially Xue Tinghai, who no longer existed in his memories—to see that he had changed.
But what was the reality?
When seventeen threads targeted Hou Guisheng and four targeted Mei Sheng, he saw only a single thread drifting through his collar.
It seemed that even the ghost thought nothing of him, believing a mere thread would be enough to control him.
When he saw that single thread, his pupils still trembled, his legs went weak, and an uncontrollable wave of faintness rose naturally, threatening to knock him down.
It hardly counted as humiliation, and there was nothing worth humiliating him over. Yet this time, he felt an unprecedented sense of shame.
In that moment, he suddenly felt that this proved one thing—perhaps Xue Tinghai's death had changed nothing at all.
Xue Tingtao was still the same Xue Tingtao. No matter what kind of person he resolved to become, all the vows he had sworn before his loved one's grave meant nothing...
Even the ghost dismissed him, grinding his courage to dust with a single thread.
"It shouldn't be like this..."
At that moment, Xue Tingtao suddenly remembered something, something that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
"Brother, that cut on your face is so deep. Aren't you scared?"
"Scared? Ting Tao, how could I not be? But if I don't fight them with everything I've