From the look in Yao Shunyu's eyes, the Fatty saw no plea for help, only a hint of relief and release. It seemed strangely familiar.
The Fatty hesitated. What he instinctively considered wasn't whether to leave, but where this sense of familiarity came from. He hadn't known Yao Shunyu for long. He shouldn't have felt this way.
The next moment, he saw Yao Shunyu's mud-smeared face break into a smile. Then, trembling, Yao Shunyu raised a hand and waved it gently in the direction of the exit.
"Go."
From dozens of meters away, the Fatty somehow understood Yao Shunyu's lips. At that very instant, his body began to shake violently, and his vision blurred.
He remembered. He remembered where the hell that familiar feeling came from!
He had seen that look of relief on Yao Shunyu's face before.
On more than one person's face.
As his vision grew increasingly obscured, Yao Shunyu's already indistinct face became even blurrier. Wang Qi had worn the same expression when he abandoned him. So had Huai Yi, as a ghost dragged his corpse away in the manor corridor... Oppressive, indelible memories gnawed away at the last of his reason, and that familiar sense of helplessness washed over him once more.
He could keep retreating, just as he had before. It would only mean one more life lost.
Besides, this man wasn't his brother, only a partner in a mission.
The other man had given up on him, too, and told him to leave.
A moment later, the calm despair in Yao Shunyu's eyes gave way to astonishment. He saw the Fatty crouch down, force the mirror's handle into the earth, then adjust its angle to face the female ghost. The next instant, the Fatty sprang to his feet and raced toward him.
He had