"What exactly can't be said?" Jiu Ming was rather speechless. How had things changed so suddenly? He was perfectly fine—there was nothing for anyone to worry about.
"It's very important." Konoka shook her head, clearly unwilling to say more.
Jiu Ming stared at his palm for a while. Though he knew nothing about palmistry, there was one thing he did know—the place Konoka had touched just now should have been his life line?
"Is it about whether I live or die?"
"Huh!?" Konoka blinked in astonishment, tilting her head slightly, unable to understand why Jiu Ming had said that. When she had examined his palm lines, she had noticed something—judging from them, Jiu Ming seemed to already be dead...
"So it really was that." Jiu Ming shook his head. His own state was one of neither life nor death. It sounded a little contradictory, but it was an apt description. "If that's what you mean, there's absolutely no need to worry."
"Is that so?" Konoka tilted her head and pondered for a moment before letting out a soft breath. "I thought you might be in that sort of situation."
"That sort?"
"Mm~ I once heard something like this. Some people, after they die, linger in the human world without realizing that they're already dead. And once they learn they've died, the 'normal' that used to belong to them is destroyed."
As Jiu Ming listened, his expression grew a little strange. Why did that sound so familiar? He suddenly smacked his palm. He remembered—it was exactly what had happened to Youji!
"So that's what you were worried about." Jiu Ming shook his head. "My situation is different. As you saw, I already knew I was dead back then. It's just that I later became like this. As for the situation you