As they headed out, the three of them spotted some water stains in the front hall of the ancestral shrine. They were irregular, scattered patches, and most importantly, they hadn't been there when the three first entered.
A terrifying suspicion flashed through their minds: River Goddess had been there!
Since they had no idea how far River Goddess had gone or whether she was waiting outside to ambush them, none of them dared to leave.
They waited until dawn began to break and, after confirming it was safe outside, cautiously made their way out.
On the way back, Fatty took a deep breath. The damp scent of rain-soaked earth, tinged with a faint grassy smell, filled his nostrils. Never before had he felt such a longing for the sensation of being alive.
Having his soul sealed inside a body made of paper had been an indescribable kind of despair.
It had even been more terrifying than death itself.
Fatty thought about a lot on the way back. In the span of just ten minutes, face after face flashed through his mind: Huai Yi, Wang Qi, Pi Ruan... One vibrant life after another had been cut short at the height of its brilliance. The culprit was that vehicle... No, to be more precise, it was the Deep Abyss Plan and the Night Watch's bottomless greed!
The Doctor, Fatty himself, and countless innocent people had all been sacrificed to this.
Looking back at people like Yu Chengmu and Jia Jinliang now, Fatty didn't think they were all that hateful. He pitied them instead. In certain ways, they were all the same: a bunch of wretched people struggling to survive.
Some still held on to the most basic principles, while others had had theirs ground away by one mission after another.
But he