Yanbai watched with a conflicted expression as the puppet on the screen gave him an eerie smile.
At first, the singing was merely an eerie sound. The puppet's mouth hadn't even opened.
By the end, the puppet had become just like a human.
The smile on its originally stiff face grew increasingly natural;
Its originally rigid lips moved more frequently, opening wider;
Gradually, the eerie singing began to sound normal, even drawing listeners into a hazy trance like a siren's song.
"I will not forget you;"
"I will remember the time we shared and the love you gave me;"
"Though everything has changed, you are still the strength that keeps me alive;"
"In depths deeper than the sea, guarding a future of farewell;"
"I miss you, I still love you;"
"In the sorrowful night that lasts forever;"
"Love will live within it;"
"For you, I will stay here forever;"
"Even now, I am still making wishes, here in this warm darkness..."
Goosebumps spread across his body. Without a change in expression, Yanbai silently deactivated the Heavenly Eye Technique.
Madara Uchiha had yet to make sense of the scene, which had looked like something out of a paranormal short film, when Yanbai abruptly shut it off. He immediately looked at Yanbai in displeasure. "What's wrong?"
"Stop watching..." Yanbai closed his eyes in anguish.
"Why?" Madara Uchiha asked, puzzled.
He had barely finished speaking when a knock came from outside the door.
"Knock... knock... knock..."
The knocking had a slow rhythm, carrying the knocker's casual indifference.
Madara Uchiha's pupils contracted slightly, and he glanced at Yanbai without betraying his reaction.
But Yanbai seemed frozen in place, showing no intention of opening the door.
Yet the knocking continued, unhurried, in one series after another.
The visitor seemed neither impatient nor willing