For a moment, I didn't react. I stared at Wu Ling for a while before I finally processed what she'd told me.
"He's dead?" I stammered. "How, how did he die?"
It was so sudden.
We'd gone to Headless Island, and now Bai An was dead?
"We don't know yet. For now, all we have is a notice from the company he worked for. The initial assessment is that it was suicide." Wu Ling put down her phone and looked at me again.
Suicide?
A chill ran down my back.
It was as if one of my earlier fears had come true.
What exactly was the side effect of Bai An's ability? Could he withstand those nightmares night after night? Bai An... If he was dead, what kind of ghost would he become?
"It's not necessarily that he died in the last couple of days. Something might have happened earlier, and his company only announced it now. Other people could have updated his paintings and social media... His recent posts were only new works, so it's entirely possible his assistant was handling the account," Wu Ling said. "We'll investigate. If you dream about Bai An, be careful. We still don't know what's going on with him."
"Okay..." I nodded.
We drove back into the city after leaving the port. Wu Ling and the others dropped me off at the entrance to my neighborhood and said goodbye.
I'd told my parents I was taking a short trip with Skinny and the others. When I got home, I made up a few things on the spot, then slipped into my room and lay on the bed, staring blankly.
The aftereffects of seasickness had passed, and it was still early. I closed my eyes and kept thinking about Bai An.
Time passed.
When