The singing went on and on atop the opera stage, while river water spread beneath it.
A yellow moon hung in the night sky, casting a bleak, silvery white light.
Everyone remained trapped in the lyrics of the ghost onstage.
Qin Manjiang watched the river rise. It had already reached his knees, and everything below them was soaked, softened into paper.
Mei Sijun's words had shaken Qin Manjiang profoundly. The opera house stood dark in the water, the paper figures around them silent, as though all that remained in this world were the ghost onstage and their table of spectators below.
"I've remembered a lot of things," Mei Sijun suddenly said.
He looked at Qin Manjiang, the confusion in his eyes deepening. "I really have met you before."
"Met me?" Qin Manjiang looked at him in bewilderment.
Mei Sijun slapped his head hard, then studied Qin Manjiang a few more times before finally saying with certainty, "Yes. It was you."
"Professor Jiang."
At the name "Professor Jiang," Qin Manjiang started in horror. His heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, and a pair of piercing eyes flashed through his mind.
Qin Manjiang felt a needlelike pain in his head. He instinctively clutched his heart, his chest heaving. He could feel a strange force preventing him from learning about "Professor Jiang," but right now... he was a soul!
The body called "Qin Manjiang" could not forcibly make him pass out, nor could it ignore the keyword "Professor" as it had on the way to Xianyang Village.
At this moment, Qin Manjiang had complete control over himself. He was free.
At least for now.
"Professor Jiang?" Qin Manjiang could not even spare a thought for the water that had reached his thighs. He immediately pressed, "Who is he? Where did you