Chapter 466: Death on October 30th

"I know Ye Bing has done some foolish things in the past, but some of it was just a misunderstanding. She isn't as bad as you imagine. I watched her grow up; I know her." Teacher Chen didn't press the issue. He knew the art of conversation, giving me ample time to think it over.

The hospital room was quiet. Jiang Fei, Tie Ningxiang, and Teacher Chen all looked at me, waiting for my answer.

I sat on the sofa and glanced toward the hospital bed. The true cause of Ye Bing's coma likely had to do with the fierce entity suppressed at Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. The chances of waking her up by relying on someone close to her were far too slim.

However, it wasn't impossible. I had the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman, and having just obtained the Dream Wing Gu, I could absolutely enter her dreams and bring her out.

It was just too risky. During a deep coma, consciousness often sank into the Deep Dream Layer. Down there, not only did I run the risk of getting lost, but terrifying entities like nightmares could also appear.

There was a way to save her, but the price would be enormous. The danger was no less than that of a livestream.

After thinking it over for a long while, I said slowly, "People choose their own paths. Life and death are decreed by fate. I'm just a mortal. I can't change anything."

"Saying that life and death are decreed by fate is just a compromise in the face of despair. The situation hasn't reached that point yet. She might be able to hear everything we're saying right now, unable to speak." Teacher Chen's expression remained kind; he wasn't angry at my tactful refusal. "This child has an incredibly strong personality and never bows her head easily. She is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Even if you were once the closest person to her, there are probably some things she wouldn't even tell you."

The old man fetched the collection of prose and handed me some bills and remittance records tucked inside. The dates on these receipts spanned a long time, covering five or six years.

"Why are you showing me these?" I frowned, looking at Teacher Chen.

"This is all the money Ye Bing sent to the orphanage. Starting six years ago, as soon as she entered the police academy, she worked part-time to support herself. She didn't earn much, but she sent money to the orphanage every single month. Later, when she went abroad, she remained frugal and continued sending money back every month. I'm showing you this to tell you that she's definitely not a gold digger. She isn't someone who would give up everything in pursuit of material wealth." Teacher Chen closed the book and looked at me. "Time determines who you will meet in life, your heart determines who you want in your life, and your actions determine who ultimately stays. I won't force you to make a choice. I just don't want to see one regret after another."

He gathered the receipts, put them away carefully, and tucked them back into the book. He didn't say anything more about me waking Ye Bing up or cooperating with her treatment. Instead, he took a string of Buddhist Prayer Beads off his wrist and placed them into my palm.

These Buddhist Prayer Beads weren't made of any precious wood, but having been worn for so long, they had developed a lingering charm of the passing years.

"Ye Bing is practically half a daughter to me. Let me apologize on her behalf for the harsh things she said to you before, and for the things she did that made you uncomfortable. Whether you are willing to save her or not, my doing this should at least lessen her guilt toward you. That string of Buddhist Prayer Beads isn't precious, but I've worn it for twenty years and always felt that having it brings good luck. Now I'm giving it to you, hoping it brings you good fortune." Teacher Chen maintained a gentle smile from beginning to end. You could see the traces of time on him, feel his weathered past, yet also sense a warmth like the spring sun.

"If I have the capability in the future, I'll try to wake her up. But I can't make you any guarantees," I told the old man, gripping the Buddhist Prayer Beads in my palm.

Teacher Chen smiled and nodded, then handed me a business card. "My contact info is on this. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you in the future."

I took the card. The most prominent thing on it wasn't the old man's name, but the words Heaven's Gate Orphanage.

"Heaven's Gate..."

I pocketed the business card and left with Tie Ningxiang. Jiang Fei had wanted to say something several times on our way out, but seeing me with Tie Ningxiang, she ultimately didn't speak a single word. She just stood by the hospital bed, an overcoat draped over her shoulders.

Closing the hospital room door, Tie Ningxiang and I left. When we got back to the morgue, Yun Chuan was already gone. I asked the nurses on duty, but they didn't know where he went either.

"Stop worrying about other people. Look at yourself—you just woke up from a coma. Hurry back to your room." Tie Ningxiang had been following me the whole time, afraid I'd do something reckless.

"I'm fine physically, so I won't go back to the ward. Thank you for your help this time, Senior. It's getting late, so you should hurry back too. You have work tomorrow." I took back my jacket, talismans, phone, and other belongings from Tie Ningxiang, then caught a cab away from the hospital. I returned to Ting Tang Road. Only inside my own little shop could my heart truly find peace.

Dealing with Daoist Priest Xianqing and Ye Bing's matters back-to-back made my heart, which had just relaxed after finishing the livestream, clench up again instantly.

Ultimately, the reason behind Ye Bing's and Daoist Priest Xianqing's accidents lay with the Two-Faced Buddha. If not for his schemes, Ye Bing wouldn't have fallen into a coma, and Daoist Priest Xianqing certainly wouldn't have departed.

'To break free of Destiny and defy the heavens to change his fate, it doesn't matter how many people are sacrificed?' The Two-Faced Buddha had been laying out his scheme since twenty years ago. During this time, many people had died directly or indirectly because of him, yet he hadn't repented in the slightest. Instead, he was secretly plotting an even bigger conspiracy. Killing the disabled, using residual souls to obscure heavenly secrets, and sending Lu Xing onto the Death Train to head to the Yin-Yang Boundary—these acts alone revealed the Two-Faced Buddha's ambition.

'Clinging obstinately to his own course for the sake of his Dao... is it worth it?' The fragmented images that had appeared in my mind when the Kidney Aperture Dao Lock opened flashed through my head. 'Gambling against the heavens? Can a human really triumph over heaven?'

Circulating the Profound Truth Mental Method, I entered a state of cultivation. True qi constantly surged from both my Kidney Aperture and lower dantian. My Daoist cultivation realm was advancing by leaps and bounds, and I wasn't far from a breakthrough.

'I'm still too weak right now. I have to seize every second to grow stronger. Only then can I fight for a glimmer of survival in the future.'

The Yin energy and true qi in my Yin and Yang meridians circulated without interfering with each other. The Locust Tree Flower in my Liver Aperture emitted a faint green glow, injecting a massive amount of vitality into my body and repairing my wounds. However, the Dream Wing Gu suffered for it. It tumbled up and down inside my Liver Aperture, expressing its dissatisfaction and protesting the shameless theft of its belongings.

The night passed in silence. Around eight in the morning, I received a call from Yun Chuan. He was calling from Daoist Priest Xianqing's phone, hoping I could come see Daoist Priest Xianqing one last time to send him off. He also said that Daoist Priest Xianqing had left some things for me.

I agreed immediately. Daoist Priest Xianqing spent year-round at Qingtu Temple. The Corpse Driving Lineage was shunned by ordinary people and couldn't be exposed to the light of day. Because of this, he had no friends or family in Jiangcheng. I was the only outsider who could go send him off.

Going to see Daoist Priest Xianqing for the last time, I naturally couldn't wear my usual casual jacket. I pulled out a black suit from the deepest part of my closet and put it on, then tucked a piece of white cloth into my pocket.

Standing before the mirror, I stretched a bit and looked at my reflection, suddenly freezing.

'Why is this scene so familiar? It feels like it's happened somewhere before.' I stared at myself in the mirror, using the Judging Eye to sweep over every detail. Suddenly, an indescribable fear struck my heart!

'How is this possible?'

My appearance in the mirror right now was almost identical to the version of myself I'd seen in the October 30th Carriage on the Death Train!

With trembling hands, I tied the white cloth from my pocket around my arm. At this moment, my attire was exactly the same as the "me" from the October 30th Carriage in my memory.

'I saw myself in the October 30th Carriage. And today happens to be October 30th...'

My lips felt dry. Back on the train, I had thought that I rarely wore suits, so the person in the carriage probably wasn't me. And yet, as if destined by fate, everything was gradually lining up.

'So... I'm going to die on October 30th?'

Foreseeing one's own death was not a good feeling. I stared at myself in the mirror, speechless for a long time.

Before long, the phone rang again. It was Yun Chuan calling back to give me the location and directions. First to Qingtu Temple, then to Bridge No. 3 Crematorium.

After hanging up, I deliberately thought about changing my clothes, but deep down, I knew perfectly well that even if I did, I likely wouldn't escape this deadly calamity.

'It's almost nine o'clock now. There are fifteen hours left until today is over!'