John had barely taken a few steps when a voice stopped him cold.
"Wait."
His heart dropped.
He was certain Lin lan had changed his mind.
John didn't dare turn around. He bolted forward instead—panic driving his legs faster than thought. Then a rush of wind swept past him.
In the next instant, Lin lan was standing in front of him.
Like a ghost.
It's over.
John's face drained of all color.
He watched in horror as Lin lan removed his black leather gloves. Beneath them was a skeletal claw, smooth and translucent, gleaming like polished jade. A faint pale-gold light pulsed across the bones.
Not human…
No wonder.
John shut his eyes, trembling.
Just make it quick. Please.
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
Confused, he cracked one eye open.
The skeletal claw was holding a thick stack of bills, extended toward him.
"Use this for your daughter's treatment," Lin lan said evenly. "Take it."
He pressed the money into John's hands.
John stared.
At least a hundred thousand dollars.
More money than he had ever touched in his life.
His mind went blank.
This creature—this undead—had spared him. Not only spared him, but given him money.
His knees gave out.
John collapsed to the ground, clutching the bills as if they might vanish.
"You saw nothing tonight," Lin lan said quietly, leaning closer. "You know nothing."
He slipped his gloves back on.
John nodded frantically, lips sealed, head bobbing like a frightened child.
Lin lan patted his shoulder once, then turned and walked away with Liang Wan.
"…Thank you."
John watched their figures disappear down the street, tears finally spilling over.
His daughter could live.
After they were well out of sight, Liang Wan glanced at Lin lan, her expression complicated.
"That surprised me," she admitted. "I knew you wouldn't kill him. You're not that kind of monster. But giving him money… that I didn't expect."
She paused.
"Who would have thought an undead could show mercy?"
"Why can't the undead have compassion?" Lin lan replied. "I was human once. Just like you. Becoming undead doesn't erase that."
"But your methods are extreme," Liang Wan said calmly. "People will see you as cold, even cruel. That man earlier—Gorm. Turning him over to the police would have been more… acceptable."
Lin lan shook his head.
"I'm not some costumed symbol of justice," he said flatly. "I don't follow rules like that. I act according to my conscience. Nothing more."
Liang Wan fell silent.
After a moment, she sighed. "That's probably why you're different."
She hesitated, then added softly, "Sometimes, I wish you weren't a skeleton."
Lin lan blinked. "That's… interesting."
Liang Wan shot him a sideways look, a faint flush rising to her cheeks. "Don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it."
"I know," Lin lan said with a light chuckle. "You couldn't possibly have feelings for a skeleton."
Still, a thought flickered quietly in his mind.
If I ever regain my body…
After escorting Liang Wan home, Lin lan activated the Nine Netherworld Divine Jade and returned to the Nine Netherworld Immortal Realm.
Shen Daolun was floating lazily in midair, clearly bored out of his mind.
The moment he spotted Lin lan, he rushed over. "You little brat! Why did you take so long? I was about to rust from boredom! So—did you learn anything about the Golden Blood Pool? Anything interesting happen?"
Lin lan recounted everything that had occurred in the mortal world.
Shen Daolun listened with growing excitement, nodding and laughing. "Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Then his expression shifted. "Looks like you'll regain your physical body sooner than expected. But…"
He grinned. "Once you do, handling those two women is going to be a nightmare."
"Two?" Lin lan paused—then glared. "You fat bastard. Nancy and I are business partners."
Shen Daolun snorted. "Business partners? You expect me to believe you have zero interest in a stunning, seductive mature woman? Don't kid yourself."
"I'm not as sleazy as you," Lin lan shot back. "She's a partner. Nothing more."
Shen Daolun rolled his eyes, exhaling a puff of white mist.
Ignoring him, Lin lan retrieved the soul crystal he had won at the Dark Arena.
The crystal was pitch black, like a fragment of the abyss itself. Yet deep within, faint sparks of light pulsed quietly.
Carefully, Lin lan injected a thread of death energy into it.
Instantly—
A massive surge of soul energy erupted outward.
Lin lan staggered, soul flames flaring violently in his eyes.
Shock.
Then exhilaration.
How many souls had been consumed to condense energy like this?
For him, this was nothing short of a divine gift. If absorbed completely, his soul flame would finally evolve.
The soul flames of the undead progressed through eleven colors:
White, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, silver, and gold.
Each color was divided into three stages: light, deep, and dark.
Lin lan's soul flame had remained at white for far too long. Breaking through required an absurd accumulation of energy.
By conventional cultivation, it would take at least another year.
This crystal could change everything.
"Guard me," Lin lan said to Shen Daolun.
Clearing his mind, he carefully guided his spiritual energy into the soul crystal, drawing the soul energy out little by little.
Too fast—and his own soul would be torn apart.
This was no ordinary cultivation.
This was evolution.