[So, when a chance to leave the Game comes, I have to try, whether it's a trap or not.]
[If I clear it, that proves there's a way forward, that this Game has an endpoint.]
[If I die... you have to help everyone find a new way.]
[...]
Those words Yang had once spoken... still rang in his ears.
Even his decision to attempt the challenge of permanently leaving the [Eye Realm] after acquiring more than five hundred Spirit Pupils had been because of those words Yang had spoken.
Since Yang couldn't make it down this path, let me try...
That was indeed what Qin Manjiang had thought.
Yet ironically, the closer he got to this Ghost Story, the further he grew from the Yang he had first known.
The Yang who had put a hand on his shoulder and let Qin Manjiang see "another world" for the first time, the Yang who had told him, "Because you're the only one who's still normal"...
Qin Manjiang remained silent for a long time. Xia Nan waited quietly as well, not speaking to disturb him.
Until he lowered his head and continued reading the documents in his hands.
"Are there any secret religious groups in Fu City?"
Qin Manjiang asked.
Xia Nan paused. Since Qin Manjiang had specified secret groups, Buddhism and Taoism certainly didn't count.
"Probably not. Fu City has kept a tight rein on that sort of thing over the years. At least, I haven't heard of any."
After carefully thinking back, he spoke with certainty.
Qin Manjiang raised his head, his eyes full of gloom. "Not necessarily in recent years. It could be a religion that appeared twenty years ago."
Xia Nan's expression shifted slightly. Understanding what Qin Manjiang meant, he nodded at once. "I'll look into it carefully