This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Had something genuinely gone wrong somewhere? Because right now should have been a deeply moving reunion. So why had it turned into... this?
Faced with Jie's question, Wang went silent. Then, as though a thought had struck him, he turned his head to the side — looking toward Anthony.
Anthony, for his part, had already directed his gaze elsewhere entirely. Apparently noticing Wang's stare, he began to whistle.
"Po. This whole business—"
"Second Brother. I'm talking to you." Jie's expression settled into something composed and deliberate as she turned back to Wang.
Wang had no choice but to close his mouth. He turned his face away in silence, at a complete loss for what to say. Even that last-second attempt to change the subject and redirect attention had been mercilessly dismantled by his own younger sister.
This man... Jie watched Wang, and even in the form of a soul, she found herself fighting off a headache. He has always been so clumsy when it comes to expressing himself.
But at that moment, Anthony spoke up.
"Jie, I should let you know — thirty seconds at most."
Watching the Points drain from his panel like water through a sieve, Anthony finally said it aloud, his eyes dropping slightly.
Internally, a wave of pure, wretched grief washed over him.
Holy hell, man. Two hundred-plus Points a second to resurrect someone for a few moments. Who designed this economy?
I suppose this is what you get when you're dealing with an Agent of the Sui Beast — someone who's even picked up a few traces of law-system power. Goes figure.
For Wang, those words landed like a sentence handed down by a judge. In an instant, the face he'd been stubbornly turning away snapped back around. He looked at Anthony in a panic, then whipped back to look at Jie.
Just moments ago he'd been twisting away, unable to face her — now, told that only thirty seconds remained, he was suddenly desperate.
Jie opened her mouth. There was no great surprise on her face — only a quiet sort of resignation.
"So this reunion doesn't have much time either..."
She raised a hand slightly, her voice carrying a hint of helpless exasperation, and then she turned to Wang with a smile.
"But — forget it. I won't press you on that earlier question. Knowing you, if I pushed it all the way to the end, you'd just dig your heels in and refuse to answer anyway."
A quiet, reminiscent look passed across her face.
Wang's throat moved. He started to speak without thinking:
"Jie, with so little time left—"
"It's all right."
Jie smiled and said: "It's not as though we'll never meet again. Look — my soul is still here, isn't it? Intact."
"One day, we will meet again properly."
She said it with that same gentle certainty, as though coaxing a lost soul back toward the light:
"So, Second Brother — don't be in such a rush all the time. And the burden of eliminating Sui — stop carrying it alone and hiding it in your chest. Talk to the family more. Let yourself breathe a little. At the very least... shouldn't you wait until I come back, so we can face it together?"
As she spoke, she blinked — and then, in the stillness of Wang's silence and his dazed expression, the soul's palm reached out and patted him softly.
It passed straight through his body.
Jie looked at that moment with something like sorrow. But in the end, she only said softly:
"Anyway. The next time I come back — if I find you're still doing things your way, still at odds with the family, still keeping everyone at arm's length... I'm going to call in Eldest Brother to sort you out."
Thirty seconds.
In the next instant, Jie's soul perception gradually receded, drawing back into its usual dormant quiet. Wang stood there, staring — frozen — until at last he bowed his head and said, low and quiet:
"...Yeah. I understand."
[Wordsmith of the Great Yan has entered the livestream.]
[Wordsmith of the Great Yan: How did it end? What was his reaction after he heard that?]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Report: he stopped being stubborn after you left.]
[Wordsmith of the Great Yan: Good. Then I'll consider him to have passed.]
[AAA City Female Ghost: Honestly looks like pure tsundere behavior from where I'm standing.]
[Wordsmith of the Great Yan: Hmm... I suppose that's not entirely wrong as a way to describe Second Brother.]
Anthony had been happily scrolling through the livestream chat when he felt a gaze settle on him. He reeled his thoughts back in, looked up, and met Wang's eyes.
"She..." Wang started, a note of hesitation in his voice — and then Anthony cut him off.
"You could tell, couldn't you? That was the real her. Completely genuine."
Wang nodded in silence. Then, suddenly, urgently:
"Can I see her again?"
"Of course. Her soul hasn't dispersed — what you just saw was simply the borrowed energy running out. I told you — this is my ability: calling souls back to the living."
For a moment, Wang sat back down in front of the chess board. He stared at it blankly.
And then, after a long stretch of silence — he suddenly burst out laughing.
Anthony watched. Wang laughed and laughed, like a man teetering on the edge of something — something vast and slightly unhinged — until at long last he raised his head.
Before Wang could say a word, Anthony spoke first:
"I know what you want to say. Yes — your chess pieces, or anything else of equivalent value, can bring her back for a brief moment. Each time."
"But..." Anthony tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. "Even if you exhausted every material thing under heaven, how long could you really keep her alive that way?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I'm simply asking — do you want her to truly come back? A real resurrection. Permanent."
Anthony enunciated the last two words with deliberate weight, watching Wang's pupils contract sharply. He pressed on: "It will happen, sooner or later. And it won't take long. A few years at most, if that."
"...What do you need?"
After the words landed, Wang's expression moved through several changes — and then he settled on that single question.
And just like that, everything had come full circle to the core of it:
What exactly is it that you want?
Only this time, the question carried something it hadn't before — a measure of willingness. A measure of trust.
Feeling that shift in the air between them, Anthony let a quiet smile cross his face — and continued.
"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Po. I have nothing to do with Sui — though I am, in a certain sense, some kind of avatar. I came here to acquire power, and once I've gathered enough of it, I'll have the means to resurrect Jie. Don't ask me why — I told you, I'm an old friend of hers. You can verify that with her yourself, in time."
Anthony pressed a hand lightly to his chest, his tone measured and calm: "I genuinely do need something from you."
"Specifically — I need you to help connect me with some of the other Agents. Though..." He paused. "Not right now."
Aware of the gazes that had begun gathering again at the edges of the room — surveillance resuming, the watchers returning — Anthony considered for a moment. Then he took a single step forward, closing the distance between himself and Wang.
He lowered his voice.
"Would you mind..." he said quietly, "...taking on another little brother?"
"?"
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan in "P" for more!🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
👻 P - Walnut-chan