The hospital room fell utterly silent.
After Xu Zhihan spoke, Zhou Man looked as though someone had seized her by the throat. She opened her mouth to argue, but not a single word came out.
Xu Chengyuan reacted first.
"Xu Zhihan, do you know what you're saying?"
His voice was low, thick with suppressed anger.
Xu Zhihan leaned against the hospital bed, his face deathly pale. He had used only a fraction of his power, yet his chest was already tightening. This body was absurdly weak.
Irritated, he tapped a fingertip against the blanket.
It was a tiny movement, but Zhou Man instinctively shrank back.
Xu Zhihan noticed.
So little courage, yet she still dared to hurt people.
He lowered his eyes and said impatiently, "Didn't understand me?"
Xu Chengyuan's expression darkened further. "Zhou Man is your elder."
Xu Zhihan looked up. "And?"
"And you can't slander her without evidence!"
Xu Chengyuan practically forced the words through clenched teeth.
Xu Zhihan watched him for a moment and decided he was very good at pretending.
The threads of sin on Xu Chengyuan weren't as brazen as Zhou Man's. His lay buried deep beneath self-interest, lies, and self-deception. People like him rarely killed with their own hands, but they knew where the knife was, and who would pick it up.
Before Xu Zhihan could speak, Xu Mingji began crying as he supported Zhou Man.
"Please don't be like this, brother. Mom could barely breathe just now, and you're still scaring her. You never used to be like this."
He sounded hurt, his tears falling readily.
Xu Zhihan glanced at him.
"You're noisy."
Xu Mingji choked on his words.
He stood stunned for a long while, his face turning pale, then red. In the end, he could only whisper, "I'm just worried about you."
Xu Zhihan's tone was cold. "Then you're worrying too loudly."
A nurse pushed the door open just then. Hearing that, she paused midstep.
Xu Mingji's expression nearly cracked.
Zhou Man caught his hand and barely managed to steady herself.
"Zhihan, I know you've only just woken up and you're upset. I don't blame you. If you don't like me calling myself your mom, I won't do it again."
It was a beautifully calculated retreat.
She made it sound as though Xu Zhihan was being unreasonable, leaving her no choice but to swallow her hurt and give in.
A hint of uncertainty entered the nurse's eyes as she looked at Xu Zhihan from the doorway.
Xu Zhihan didn't care.
He rarely explained himself.
When he had sat upon the Divine Throne, his only duty had been to pass judgment. Whether sinners cried, shouted, begged, or defended themselves had little bearing on the outcome.
But this wasn't the Divine Temple.
Xu Zhihan suddenly recalled the memories that had been trickling into his mind.
The body's original owner hadn't explained himself either.
Not because he hadn't wanted to, but because no one listened.
Whenever Zhou Man voiced some grievance with reddened eyes, Xu Chengyuan's face would turn cold, and he would demand that Xu Zhihan apologize. Over time, the original owner had lost even the strength to speak.
At that thought, Xu Zhihan's chest tightened again.
That lingering trace of hurt was deeply irritating.
He pressed a hand to his chest, his voice growing colder. "Does it matter whether you blame me?"
Zhou Man's expression stiffened.
Xu Zhihan continued, "He Guilan. A housekeeper at the Xu family's old residence twelve years ago. She saw you before she died."
Zhou Man's fingers trembled.
Xu Chengyuan's brow twitched. "Enough."
Xu Zhihan didn't stop.
"Her daughter's name was He Xiaoyun. She was sixteen that year. Later, she was sent out of the city and never returned."
Zhou Man's head snapped up.
The way she looked at Xu Zhihan changed completely.
It had happened so long ago that hardly anyone in the Xu family still remembered the name He Guilan, let alone He Xiaoyun.
Xu Zhihan had been ill for years, and twelve years ago, he had been only nine. He shouldn't have known any of this.
Seeing Zhou Man's reaction, Xu Mingji finally stopped crying.
He wasn't stupid.
If Zhou Man were truly innocent, she wouldn't be this terrified.
"Mom..." he called softly.
Zhou Man immediately snapped back to her senses. "That's not true. Zhihan, where did you hear this? Who told you to say these things?"
Xu Zhihan looked at her.
"A dead woman told me."
Zhou Man went pale.
The lights in the hospital room flickered again.
This time, even Xu Chengyuan sensed something was wrong.
The windows were firmly shut, yet the room suddenly turned cold. The nurse shivered and instinctively hugged her arms.
Behind Zhou Man, the ghostly figure appeared again.
She was clearer than before.
The ligature marks on her neck, her severed little finger, and those eyes brimming with resentment.
Step by step, she approached Zhou Man.
Zhou Man couldn't see her, but she began to tremble.
"Chengyuan, do you feel cold?"
Xu Chengyuan said nothing.
He looked around the room, suspicion and alarm creeping into his eyes.
Xu Zhihan looked up at the ghostly figure.
"I told you to stand down."
The ghost stopped, seemingly frightened, yet unwilling to yield.
She stared fixedly at Zhou Man, her lips moving.
I was wronged.
Xu Zhihan frowned.
He disliked trouble.
Especially old grievances that were difficult to untangle.
But the ghost's resentment had already entwined itself around this room. The longer he waited, the more likely it was to draw other things here.
He had no choice but to deal with it first.
Bracing himself on his arms, Xu Zhihan sat a little straighter. Even that simple movement brought cold sweat to his temples. This body was like an oil lamp nearly dry; the slightest movement threatened to snuff it out.
Xu Zhihan looked unwell, and his temper worsened with it.
"Zhou Man."
At the sound of her name, Zhou Man went rigid.
Xu Zhihan asked, "Did He Guilan come to see you?"
Zhou Man's lips trembled. "No."
Xu Zhihan tapped a fingertip against the edge of the bed.
The lights flickered again.
A faint red mark suddenly appeared on Zhou Man's neck.
She screamed and clamped both hands over her throat.
Xu Zhihan asked again, "Did she?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill through everyone.
Zhou Man finally broke.
"She did! But she was the one making trouble! She used those things to threaten me. What else could I do?"
Xu Chengyuan's expression changed instantly.
The nurse froze in the doorway.
Xu Mingji stared at Zhou Man in disbelief. "Mom, what are you saying?"
Realizing she had let something slip, Zhou Man immediately shut her mouth.
Xu Zhihan watched her, his gaze unchanging.
"Go on."
Zhou Man's breathing quickened, and tears spilled down her face. "I didn't kill her. I only had someone take her away. Whatever happened to her afterward, what did it have to do with me?"
At those words, the ghost's resentment surged.
The medical equipment in the room began sounding shrill alarms.
Frightened, the nurse turned to call for help.
Xu Zhihan raised his hand and pressed his fingertips down slightly.
The rampaging resentment was forced back.
A metallic taste rose in his throat. He turned his head and coughed.
Blood fell onto his pale knuckles.
Xu Mingji's gaze flickered when he saw the blood. He seemed to want to approach, but didn't dare.
Xu Chengyuan finally realized this was no longer something he could dismiss as "nonsense."
He looked at Xu Zhihan, his voice low and cold. "What's going on with you?"
Xu Zhihan wiped the blood from his lips and looked up at him.
"You'd better worry about her first."
Just as he finished speaking, the ghost behind Zhou Man suddenly raised her hand.
This time, the ghost didn't choke her again. She pulled a strand of black thread before Zhou Man's eyes.
At last, Zhou Man saw her.
She saw He Guilan's ashen face and those eyes staring fixedly at her.
The next instant, she screamed.
"Stay away! I didn't kill you! It wasn't me!"
She staggered backward, struck the edge of the bed, and buckled at the knees, falling to her knees before Xu Zhihan once again.
Xu Mingji went white with fear. "Mom, what are you seeing?"
But Zhou Man seemed unable to hear him.
She knelt on the floor, clutching her head in both hands, her entire body shaking violently.
"Don't come for me, don't come for me..."
Xu Zhihan watched her.
In his previous life, he had seen far too many sinners like this in the Divine Temple. Bold while they lived, they didn't even dare lift their heads when the reckoning came.
He lowered his eyes, his voice indifferent. "Sinners should kneel before a god."
Hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hospital room.
The doctor and security guards rushed over.
Looking grim, Xu Chengyuan immediately blocked the doorway and said gravely, "It's nothing. The patient just woke up, and the family got a little emotional."
The doctor looked at Zhou Man trembling on her knees, then at Xu Zhihan leaning against the hospital bed. He clearly didn't believe that explanation.
Xu Zhihan looked terrible.
He closed his eyes briefly, his patience wearing thin. "Doctor."
The doctor blinked. "Yes?"
"I'm tired."
Xu Zhihan said, "Get them out."
The room fell silent again.
Xu Chengyuan laughed in fury. "Xu Zhihan, do you know who you're talking to?"
Xu Zhihan looked up at him.
"I do."
His voice was hoarse, but steady.
"Someone whose turn to repay his debts hasn't come yet."
Xu Chengyuan's face darkened completely.
If he had merely thought his son had become strange after waking up, now he was beginning to consider him dangerous.
Xu Zhihan shouldn't have known about He Guilan.
Much less been able to frighten Zhou Man so badly.
How much did he know?
Xu Chengyuan stared at Xu Zhihan without speaking for a long time.
Xu Zhihan looked at him too.
A hospital bed stood between father and son, and the atmosphere was ice-cold.
In the end, Xu Chengyuan looked away first.
"Zhou Man, Mingji, let's go."
Zhou Man was still kneeling on the floor, unable to get up. Xu Mingji hurried to help her, but glanced at Xu Zhihan as he turned.
There was fear in that look, and resentment too.
Xu Zhihan saw both clearly.
He didn't care.
As Zhou Man was helped out, some of the chill in the room finally dissipated.
He Guilan's spectral form still stood beside the bed.
She slowly bowed her head to Xu Zhihan.
Xu Zhihan looked at her. "I'll investigate what happened to you."
The spirit's lips moved, as though she were thanking him.
Xu Zhihan added, "Stop crying."
The spirit froze.
Xu Zhihan frowned. "Too noisy."
The spirit silently retreated half a step and vanished by the wall.
The doctor examined Xu Zhihan cautiously, his expression growing stranger as he went.
The monitors had sounded an alarm just moments ago, yet his readings were now absurdly stable. His body was simply too weak-so weak that even the doctor couldn't help frowning.
"You can't take any more stress right now. You need to rest."
Xu Zhihan murmured his assent.
After the doctor left, the room finally fell quiet.
Xu Zhihan settled back against the pillow, fatigue showing in his eyes.
He should have gone back to sleep.
But the sky outside the window suddenly darkened for a moment.
It wasn't a natural darkness.
Something was approaching.
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes and looked toward the door.
At the far end of the corridor, an unfamiliar presence was drawing closer. It felt loose and languid, like a spark casually tossed into the wind. But beneath that spark lay hidden thunder.
Xu Zhihan's fingertips briefly stilled.
This person was close to death.
And very powerful.