For Fang Ji, a one-and-a-half-hour performance was always a huge physical challenge.

When Fang Ji walked off the stage, his expression was still dazed.

The accompanying musicians and dancers beside him were equally exhausted.

But their condition was much better compared to Fang Ji’s. At least they could distinguish directions after leaving the stage, unlike their troupe leader Fang, who walked dazedly without knowing where he was going.

Seeing Fang Ji walking towards the wrong corridor, a backup dancer hurriedly trotted forward, grabbed Fang Ji’s wrist, persuaded him softly, and pulled him towards the correct dressing room.

“Brother Ji! The dressing room is this way; we haven’t taken off our jewelry yet!”

Fang Ji suddenly came back to his senses.

He subconsciously smiled at the speaker: “Ah, you guys go first! I’ll take off my jewelry later, right now… I have something to do.”

The backup dancers were extremely puzzled.

But since the boss and leader said so, naturally, they couldn’t say anything more.

So they obeyed Fang Ji’s words, left first, and went to the backstage dressing room.

Fang Ji’s manager didn’t leave.

Seeing Fang Ji’s strange state, he walked up with concern and confusion, asking in a low voice: “Mr. Fang, did you encounter any problems? Do you need me to do anything for you?”

Fang Ji looked at the manager, hesitated slightly, made a “shh” gesture to him, and then pulled him quietly back behind the stage.

He quietly lifted a corner of the curtain.

Looking out, he scanned the entire venue seriously, then pulled the manager to his side and pointed in a direction.

Fang Ji whispered: “Did you see those two people? One surnamed Lin, one surnamed Cheng. You… follow them out. If you see they have no intention of coming to find me, help me tell them I’m waiting for them at the back door. Remember, you must not let them leave!”

The manager was startled: “Mr. Fang, your current status…”

Fang Ji’s brows drooped: “Uncle Wang—they are all my friends! Of course, I know what I’m doing. Go quickly, or you won’t find them later!”

The manager sighed repeatedly: “Alright, alright, alright, Mr. Fang, I’ll go, I’ll go.”

Fang Ji thanked the manager with smiling eyes.

After sending away the manager, with no acquaintances around again, Fang Ji’s expression slowly returned to loneliness.

Fang Ji turned to leave.

Just then, he lifted his eyes and saw a full-length mirror leaning casually against the wall.

The young man in the mirror wore exquisite makeup, and the total price of the exquisite jewelry he wore from head to toe was unknown how many digits.

He had designed many music jewelry pieces over the years.

People praised him, lauded him, saying he was a new generation genius in the music world, saying he would surely lead a new trend.

But listening to these praises every day, Fang Ji didn’t feel happy at all.

Praise, fame, money.

He could easily obtain all these unimportant things.

But the most important thing, what he wanted most, had left him completely three years ago.

Fang Ji lowered his eyes, dazedly stroking the necklace on his neck gently. He seemed to still recall the feeling of his brother gently and slowly putting on a set of jewelry for him on the day his brother left.

Later, he tried letting his manager and makeup artist put jewelry on him.

But no matter who did it, he couldn’t retrieve the feeling of his brother putting jewelry on him back then at all.

Brother.

Brother Chengyu…

Fang Ji sighed lightly, started walking again, heading towards the back door.

That year, after the spirit medium channeled his brother for him and left a spirit bead, the medium disappeared completely. Even though he successfully got the master’s WeChat and had the master’s contact information, facts proved that most of the time, the master couldn’t be contacted on WeChat.

He had never successfully started an effective communication with the spirit medium.

Even less able to persuade the master to channel his brother for him again!

The spirit medium refused to help, so Fang Ji had to secretly seek help from other Taoists and monks; even Douki priests were sought out by him countless times.

But in three years, apart from the spirit medium, no metaphysics master had ever successfully performed something like “spirit channeling” for him!

A few “masters” who vowed they could channel spirits performed tricks that were all scams!

His brother wasn’t like that! They clearly didn’t know how to channel spirits!!

Fang Ji was almost angered by them into believing in science again!

But…

Science?

If everything talked about science, how to explain the conversation with his brother at the funeral back then?

If everything talked about science, what did his continuous sharing and confiding to his brother over these three years count as?

If everything talked about science, then after Brother Chengyu passed away, what about his soul, his existence, his everything?

Some monks and Taoists, after being exposed by him, were very angry and conversely accused the spirit medium he met of being the scammer.

Fang Ji originally didn’t care about this.

Just because they were scammers, didn’t mean others weren’t genuine masters, right?

But it would be fine if only one or two monks and Taoists accused like this.

Over three years, when all the metaphysics masters he found unanimously stated “spirit channeling is impossible” and “those who channel real voices are scammers,” Fang Ji finally couldn’t maintain his trust firmly anymore.

Spirit channeling… does it really exist?

If it exists, why do metaphysics masters all over the world think he is a scammer?

If it doesn’t exist, then at his brother’s funeral back then, who… conversed with him?

If that wasn’t his brother’s soul, then…

Why would he know things only he and his brother knew?

…

When Lin Chen followed to the back door, from afar he saw the young man who was shining recklessly on stage just now, leaning somewhat dejectedly against the back door, head lowered, hands unconsciously rolling the hem of his jacket into a thin long strip.

Their approach caused some noise.

The young man immediately came back to his senses. He released the hem, hurriedly smoothed it with both hands, regained his spirited expression, looked up sharply towards Lin Chen’s direction, the jewelry all over his head making crisp tinkling sounds.

Fang Ji smiled and walked towards them: “Long time no see, Master! How was it, Master Lin? It’s your first time watching my performance, right? Did today’s performance satisfy you?”

“Huanzhen, you too. Knowing such a powerful master, why did you keep hiding him? If not for the incident a while ago, we wouldn’t have known at all!”

The three exchanged simple pleasantries. After Fang Ji expressed concern about Lin Chen’s disappearance a while ago, he led the two backstage.

Fang Ji smiled and said: “It’s good that you are okay. You don’t know how anxious Huanzhen was during the time you were out of contact. heard he couldn’t sleep for many days.”

“By the way,” Fang Ji stopped in front of a room, smiling friendly, and said, “Master Lin, if you are interested in music jewelry, I have a jewelry set here very suitable for you. Take it as thanks for your help to me three years ago.”

Lin Chen declined politely: “No need, I don’t have the habit of wearing jewelry usually.”

Fang Ji changed the subject naturally: “If you like listening to concerts, I happen to have extra family and friend tickets for every concert. If you need, I can also…”

Lin Chen interrupted with a faint smile: “I also don’t have the habit of listening to concerts often.”

Fang Ji: “…”

Fang Ji stared at Lin Chen quietly, pushing the conversation to the final step quietly: “Regarding the matter three years ago, I have some questions to ask Master Lin. This matter involves privacy…”

He looked at Cheng Huanzhen and said to him: “Huanzhen, I brought several sets of jewelry today, including paired sets, all in the next room. Go with Uncle Wang to see if there’s anything you like. Take whatever you like; consider it my gift congratulating you on getting into a relationship.”

Talking about gifts, Cheng Huanzhen knew clearly in his heart that this was clearly trying to send him away.

He thought somewhat unhappily, Qi Xiuyi didn’t send him away when showing Little Uncle around the museum yesterday. What did Fang Ji have that he couldn’t hear?

…Clearly he had bumped into their secret transaction scene three years ago!

But Little Uncle seemed somewhat interested: “Paired sets? What kind, are they as good-looking as other sets?”

After getting an affirmative answer, Little Uncle turned to him and said: “Sounds good, A-Zhen, go take a look. I trust your taste.”

Cheng Huanzhen: “.”

Cheng Huanzhen asked Fang Ji: “Just next door? This room?”

Fang Ji: “Yes, yes!”

Cheng Huanzhen scanned Fang Ji up and down.

Jewelry set, seemed to include head ornaments, forehead ornaments, earrings, neck ornaments, waist ornaments…

Oh. Waist ornaments. Good. Just treat it as picking a nice waist ornament for Little Uncle.

Just like this, the manager took Cheng Huanzhen away temporarily. Fang Ji took Lin Chen into the room he prepared in advance, where several plates of fruits and snacks were already prepared.

Fang Ji pointed to the sofa: “Please sit, Master Lin. Have some fruit?”

There were quite a few styles of fruit prepared on the coffee table.

Lin Chen scanned them, seeing they were basically fruits he liked, so he casually forked one to eat.

He didn’t give Fang Ji any chance to beat around the bush, lips curving, asking Fang Ji directly: “Young Master Fang, asking to meet me alone isn’t for a second spirit channeling, is it? I’ve made it very clear on WeChat. Spirit channeling violates the Heavenly Way; the deceased cannot be pursued. One spirit channeling is already the limit. If Young Master Fang wants to try again, I’m afraid I can’t help.”

Fang Ji’s smile stiffened, and he silently put back the box of spirit channeling tools he was about to take out from under the coffee table: “What are you saying! I didn’t have the idea of asking the Master to channel my brother for me again, just…”

Fang Ji’s voice lowered, saying softly: “Just that three years have passed. I said so many words to my brother using the spirit bead you gave me, Master, but never received any response from my brother, not even the most common dream visit. I don’t know… Brother, can he really hear everything I convey to him?”

Fang Ji gazed at Lin Chen seriously.

When he asked this question, the young man didn’t even blink, and said with a very natural expression: “Of course he can.”

Everything seemed to have no trace of falsehood.

Everything seemed to be sincere words from the bottom of the heart.

Didn’t look fake.

Fang Ji quietly ate a piece of fruit.

Compared to when they met three years ago, the young master’s attitude towards him today was much gentler.

Didn’t know if it was because of Cheng Huanzhen, or because he didn’t intend to channel spirits for him today and didn’t need to work.

Fang Ji hesitated for a while and said: “Master Lin, I wanted to see you today mainly because… I went to ask some people.”

He took out his phone somewhat apprehensively, opened WeChat, picked two metaphysics practitioners he met recently, and played their voice messages.

Monk 24: “Dialogue with the deceased? Benefactor, listen to this old monk’s advice. The cycle of life and death is irreversible. There is no method in this world that allows people to cross Yin and Yang to talk with the deceased. The conversation three years ago you mentioned is likely an illusion born of delusive attachment. Benefactor missed his elder brother eagerly, this obsession became a gap, taken advantage of by that so-called ‘master’. The other party was clearly using Benefactor’s greed and ignorance to scam!”

Taoist 17: “The Heavenly Way has order. After people die, souls return to the underworld to be judged for reincarnation. How could they be summoned back so easily? Even if there really is a great power capable of summoning them back just after death, three years have passed. Except for evil ghosts, what normal deceased soul can remain in the mortal world after such a long time, and even hear what you say in front of the grave? Little Fang, I suggest you investigate the truth of the so-called spirit channeling back then. Could it be that you were scammed by someone using AI voice!”

While the WeChat voice messages played, Fang Ji quietly observed Lin Chen’s reaction.

Would he be angry?

Would he be panicked?

However, the master’s speed of eating fruit didn’t pause or slow down at all.

When the voice messages finished playing, the young master even leisurely pulled out a tissue, wiped his mouth, and smiled faintly.

Lin Chen: “So you are suspecting me.”

The young master raised his eyelids.

Fang Ji subconsciously sat up straight nervously, the jewelry on his body tinkling softly.

Only heard the young master say: “Buddhism and Taoism each have their methods, but the world is vast; how can the profound mysteries of nature be exhausted by the words of one school? The so-called order of the Heavenly Way is not a monolithic block. The sun has eclipses, the moon has phases; there are gaps to be found between Yin and Yang. As long as one can find this gap between Yin and Yang, naturally one can communicate across Yin and Yang. Buddhism and Taoism talk about salvation, severing the deceased’s worldly ties. I talk about spirit channeling, resolving the living’s obsession. Different paths lead to the same destination; they just haven’t seen it.”

“As for you—”

Lin Chen glanced at him lightly and asked: “What you suspect, is it my spirit channeling, or the existence of your brother’s soul?”

“Of course I…!”

Fang Ji widened his eyes and stood up instantly, the jewelry all over his body tinkling in unison!

But words stuck in his throat for a long while, and finally couldn’t be spoken.

He slowly closed his mouth, lowering his eyes dejectedly. His words also gradually fell silent.

He said in a low voice: “I… I never suspected the existence of my brother’s soul. I just, I just…”

Fang Ji was quiet for a longer time.

Finally, a sorrowful and painful sigh leaked from his throat. Fang Ji slumped back onto the sofa, burying his head in his arms.

He said sadly: “I just… just missed my brother somewhat.”

Missed him so much that he searched for all kinds of metaphysics practitioners in the world, just to seek a chance to talk to his brother again.

Missed him so much that when he had the thought of suspecting the spirit medium, countless fantasies and guesses even more bizarre than “spirit channeling” would pop up in his mind.

Missed him so much that sometimes he would curl up in bed crying secretly, secretly fantasizing whether his brother actually didn’t die, whether the one talking to him at the funeral back then was really his brother…

What suspicion, what trust, what spirit channeling.

He was just…

Missing his brother again.