Chapter 737: The Road Back Is Hard (Part 2)

Noticing that nonexistent embrace, Li Ang couldn't help turning his head, glancing subtly at the little girl with his peripheral vision.

Though the little girl corpse didn't stop, her tears had vanished, her terrified expression had eased somewhat, her swollen eyes from crying had reopened, the fear and sorrow quietly fading as she regarded the path ahead with curiosity.

"In the world of the living, flesh is real, the soul is untouchable; in the Death Realm, flesh does not exist—only the soul is acknowledged, and the body becomes something unapproachable."

Spreading 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 Death Realm, they become nearly nonexistent. Only will, belief, or emotion can affect other dead souls."

"Unless one harbors an especially strong desire to touch a certain dead soul, we in the Death Realm are merely a gentle breeze with a fixed form."

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

"Also, your soul's strength is still low—remember not to touch those dead souls 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 remain afflicted long after leaving the Death Realm."

"I understand."

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

He wanted to warm her icy palm, as she had embraced the little girl and wiped her tears, to give her courage against the Path of No Return.

"Don't worry—I'm here," right?

Sensing his inner thoughts through their clasped hands, Emma's gaze softened slightly; she drew a deep breath, returned his grip with full 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 Death Realm, paved with black and white stones; each new stone stepped upon triggers a memory from one's life.】

【Ability: Happy Memory, Painful Memory】

【Cost: None】

【Archive: After the Death Realm's ruler, "Faceless One," died, he extracted all his memories, sorted them into happiness and pain, and forged 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 one cannot know whether the next step in life will bring joy or sorrow, no one can know if a stone is black or white until they actually step on it.】

【No life is forever weeping, nor forever laughing—only by truly experiencing all sorrow, joy, pain, and bliss can one say they have truly lived their life.】

【Contamination Level: Same as the user】

A memory player? He instinctively reached out to touch the bridge's railing and, upon receiving the 【Black-White Bridge】's information, glanced worriedly at Emma beside him.

If his guess was right, the 【Black-White Bridge】 only accessed the user's own memories—and his own memories of this world extended only to the past three years.

Though his body had just recovered from illness and he'd spent every day struggling to feed his family, encountering much ugliness and hardship, his life had been, overall, still bearably happy, thanks to his younger siblings; though the pain was deep, it never drowned out the warmth in his heart.

The only memory that had made him suffer beyond endurance was when Anna suddenly coughed blood at night, begging him to hide her death so he could keep collecting the pension—and he'd avoided it by joining the Cleanup Bureau.

So for him, the 【Black-White Bridge】 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 recalled the final outcome, it would bring even deeper torment.

Emma, beside him, clearly understood this too; even before stepping onto the 【Black-White Bridge】, merely imagining the scenes she might see, her lips had turned pale from biting them.

"Maybe… I should 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 Emma's hand firmly, he sent back the thoughts "It's fine" and "I want to do this for you," then took a deep breath and stepped boldly 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!

Squeezing Li Ang's hand tightly, Emma's eyes softened; she rose onto her toes, stepped forward, and lightly placed her foot on the edge of the white stone he'd left for her.

"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 young girl, lit by its light, filled with surprise.

(End of Chapter)