The moment Charles Sterling lunged, the lead officer reacted swiftly and moved forward.
He kicked the fruit knife from Charles Sterling's hand and shielded Jane firmly behind him.
"Police! Don't move!"
He launched a flying kick, knocking Charles Sterling to the floor beside the hospital bed.
Another officer rushed forward and tightly cuffed Charles Sterling's hands behind his back.
"Stay still! Don't move!"
"Let me go! Let me go! I didn't kill anyone! Those workers died on-site because of their own mistakes. What does that have to do with me? I didn't kill anyone! Let me go! Who's your boss?! I'm going to report you!"
Jane curled her lip in disdain. 'Facing death's door and still acting tough.'
Sharon Shelby was still cowering in the corner, her arm a bloody, horrifying mess. She muttered incoherently.
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me, Mom! Don't come for me! I'm not the one who hurt you. I'm innocent, Mom! Go after who's responsible, not me! It's your fault for being so old. You were just a burden. I was only trying to help you find release sooner. What did I do wrong?!"
Listening to the delirious Sharon Shelby, Jane clenched her fists.
"So it really was you who killed my mother, you bitch!"
Charles Sterling stared at Sharon Shelby, his eyes wide and bloodshot with rage. He lunged, trying to strike her.
But an officer slammed him to the ground.
"Don't move! Cooperate! You can say whatever you want back at the station!"
Jane watched as the police escorted both Charles Sterling and Sharon Shelby to the station.
Standing there, Jane slowly let out a sigh of relief.
When she felt a faint bulge from her soul-binding bag, Jane's expression soured. She tried to contact Bianca in her mind.
"Bianca, what should I do with all these ghosts inside the soul-binding bag?"
Her grandmother was in there, too. Sharon Shelby had killed her, and as a result, she hadn't been able to reincarnate.
The thought made Jane's heart ache.
Bianca's lazy voice promptly echoed in her mind.
"The Ghost Festival is in a few days. Just release them then, and they'll find their own way to The Ghost Gate."
'Was it really that simple?'
Jane's eyes lit up. She gently patted the small soul-binding bag.
"Grandma, did you hear that? During the Ghost Festival, you'll be able to reincarnate!"
No sound came from within, but the bag's surface faintly bulged into a shape.
Jane knew her grandmother had heard.
In high spirits, she tucked the soul-binding bag into her pocket and walked out of the room.
Just then, she saw a familiar figure pacing outside the door.
The moment Jane saw the Tang suit, she knew her eyes weren't deceiving her.
"Grandpa!"
she called out.
Hearing her voice, Jasper Thorne froze mid-stride. He turned and gave her an awkward smile.
"Young lady, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
He added with an embarrassed smile.
Jane didn't expect to run into an acquaintance at the hospital—though calling him a "person" wasn't quite accurate.
She waved her hand dismissively.
"It's nothing. It's all over now."
Then, she looked at Jasper Thorne with a hint of surprise.
"Grandpa, why haven't you returned to your body? Are you... dead?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Jane realized how blunt they sounded and froze.
'Who asks a question like that?'
She was about to say something to backpedal, but Jasper Thorne didn't seem to mind. He just let out a soft sigh.
"I'm not dead, no."
But Jasper Thorne looked troubled. Jane watched him, leaning forward slightly.
"But what? Is there anything I can do to help?"
By now, the gloom brought on by Charles Sterling and his wife had lifted from Jane's heart. The feeling of a heavy weight pressing down on her vanished instantly.
Jasper Thorne had been her very first client. He'd even helped her earn 3,000 yuan, which got her through a tough spot.
If there was any way she could help him, she was more than willing.
Besides, thinking of Drew Thorne's handsome face made Jane grin.
Jasper Thorne looked at Jane, seemed about to say something, but then stopped himself and waved his hand.
"Forget it. I'll leave it to fate. This old man has lived long enough. My only regret is not getting to see my grandson marry and have children."
He sighed heavily as he spoke.
The two of them went and sat on a bench in the first-floor lobby. By this time, the hospital had started to empty out.
No one noticed Jane in a remote corner, seemingly talking to the empty space on the bench beside her.
Seeing Jasper Thorne so dejected, Jane quickly tried to comfort him.
"Grandpa, don't say that. What exactly is going on? Why can't you get back into your body if you're not dead?"
Seeing the curiosity in Jane's wide, blinking eyes, Jasper Thorne thought for a moment before deciding to speak.
"You met my grandson the other day. He's a private detective, and he inevitably ruffles some feathers with his cases. I was just walking down the street that day when a few burly men approached me. They hit me over the head right there in public, and that's the last thing I remember."
As he spoke, Jasper Thorne stroked his salt-and-pepper hair.
"Maybe I'm just too old to take a hit like that. But I never expected that when I opened my eyes again, I'd be... like this."
Jane stroked her chin. 'Sounds like a revenge plot.'
Jane thought for a moment, racking her brain for solutions she'd seen in all the ghost movies she'd grown up watching.
"Grandpa, why don't you just lie back down in your body?"
Jasper Thorne looked at Jane's wide, blinking eyes and gave a wry, helpless smile.
'She really is just a kid. If only it were that easy.'
"I've tried. When I first came to, I found myself right here in this first-floor lobby. But I don't have a physical body, so I'm very limited."
"It took every ounce of my strength just to get up to the 34th floor. And if you hadn't been there that day, I wouldn't have even been able to get through the door. I tried again after you left, believe me, but I failed every time."
At this, Jasper Thorne pictured his grandson, Drew Thorne, keeping a vigil by his bedside day and night, barely eating or drinking, his face etched with guilt. The image made his heart ache.
Jane felt troubled as well. The sight of Jasper Thorne was truly pitiful.
And he was her first client, so she felt a special sense of attachment to him.
Jane reached out to Bianca in her mind.
"Bianca? Bianca, do you have any ideas about Grandpa Thorne's situation?"