Chapter 334

Noticing that nonexistent embrace, Li Ang couldn't help turning his head, glancing briefly at the little girl's condition with the corner of his eye.

Though the dead little girl hadn't stopped, the tears on her face had vanished; her terrified expression had grown calmer, her swollen eyes, once red from crying, now opened fully, the fear and sorrow quietly fading as she regarded the path ahead with curiosity.

"In the world of the living, flesh is real, and the soul is untouchable. In the realm of the dead, flesh does not exist—only the soul is acknowledged; the body becomes something ungraspable."

Opening her palm to show Li Ang the tear stains upon it, Emma softly explained:

"The soul and body of the living are inseparable, so in the realm of the dead, they become nearly nonexistent. Only will, belief, or emotion can affect other dead souls."

"Unless one harbors an especially strong desire to touch a particular dead soul, we in the realm of the dead are merely a gentle wind with a fixed form."

After explaining the situation, Senior Emma turned slightly toward Li Ang and said seriously:

"Also, your soul's strength is still low—remember not to touch those dead who seem unusual, like those filled with rage, burdened by regret, or wailing in grief."

"Their souls carry emotions too intense; prolonged contact will destabilize your own soul, and you may suffer for a long time even after leaving the realm of the dead."

"I understand."

Watching Senior Emma, still pale but patiently explaining the precautions, Li Ang nodded slightly, then tightened his grip on her hand.

He wanted to warm her cold palm, as she had embraced the little girl and wiped her tears, to give her courage to face the path of no return.

"Don't worry—I'm here," he thought.

Sensing his inner thoughts through their clasped hands, Emma's gaze softened slightly; she drew a deep breath, returned his grip with equal resolve, and stepped toward the black-and-white stone bridge ahead.

…

【Name: Black-White Bridge (Memory, Memory)】

【Appearance: An ancient, long bridge spanning the Yellow Springs of the realm of the dead, paved with black and white stones. Each step onto a new stone triggers a memory from one's life.】

【Ability: Happy Memory, Painful Memory】

【Cost: None】

【Archive: After the death of the realm's ruler, the Faceless One, he extracted all his memories from his long life, sorting them into happiness and pain, crafting them into black and white stones.】

【These ever-shifting black and white stones have entirely different effects: stepping on a white stone recalls joyful moments from one's life; stepping on a black stone recalls painful ones…】

【Evaluation: Just as no one can know whether their next step will bring joy or sorrow, no one can tell if a stone is black or white until they actually step on it.】

【No life is forever weeping, nor forever laughing—only those who have truly felt all sorrow and joy have truly lived their life.】

【Contamination Level: Matches the user's】

A memory player?

Habitually reaching out to touch the bridge's railing, Li Ang received the information on the Black-White Bridge and glanced worriedly at Emma beside him.

If his guess was right, the Black-White Bridge's memory retrieval was limited to the user's own memories—and his own memories of this world spanned only the past three years.

Though he'd been forced to scramble for survival since recovering from illness, encountering much ugliness and hardship, the presence of his younger siblings had made his life, overall, bearably happy; though the pain had been sharp, it had never drowned out the warmth in his heart.

The only memory that had left him unbearable anguish was when Anna coughed up blood at night, begging him to hide her death so he could keep collecting the pension—and he'd avoided it by joining the Clearance Bureau.

So for him, the Black-White Bridge's effect wouldn't be too hard—even if he couldn't bear it, just thinking of his current life would be enough to get through.

But Senior Emma…

Thinking of the great tree at the entrance of Bao Hua Manor, Li Ang fell into deep silence.

With her entire clan executed, leaving only her and her daughter, even if every step landed on a white stone, replaying only happy memories, the moment she remembered the final outcome, it would bring even deeper torment.

And beside him, Emma clearly knew this too; even before stepping onto the Black-White Bridge, merely imagining the scenes she might witness, her lips had turned white from biting them.

"What if… I go first?"

After a moment of silence, Li Ang suggested:

"I just touched the railing—it seems once someone steps on a stone, it stops changing. I'll go ahead and step on all the white ones for you, so you'll have an easier path."

Hearing Li Ang's suggestion, Emma's pale lips trembled, as if to refuse, unwilling to let him bear her painful memories.

But before she could speak, a wave of deep relief, mixed with heavy guilt, flowed plainly through their clasped hands into Li Ang's heart.

"Then it's settled!"

Squeezing Senior Emma's hand tightly, he sent back the thoughts of "It's fine" and "I want to do this for you," then took a deep breath and stepped firmly onto the black-and-white bridge.

White stone.

As Li Ang's foot landed, the misty bridge surface sharpened instantly—a single white stone, barely wide enough for an adult's foot, appeared calmly and warmly beneath him.

Thank you. Truly, thank you.

With her gaze softened, Emma rose onto her toes, stepped forward, and lightly placed her foot on the edge of the white stone Li Ang had claimed.

"Brother, you're back!"

As her toes touched down, the world before her plunged into darkness. Every muscle in her body throbbed violently, exhaustion so crushing it made her vision blur.

In this world saturated with physical and mental darkness, the only thing still glowing was a distant dim oil lamp—and the pale, slender face of a girl, lit by its light, filled with joyful surprise.