In Chapter 12, as we were gazing at each other, someone suddenly grabbed the back of my collar...

The knocking on the door continued incessantly.

It had a stubborn look about it, as if it would keep knocking on the door forever if it wasn't opened, but it just wouldn't make a sound.

...Who could it be?

Could it be someone I knew before?

I was thinking this in my mind, but my mind was completely blank.

I hardly remember anything from before; my only memory is of the moment I jumped off the platform.

But I have absolutely no clue as to who I am or why I jumped from such a height... things that should be familiar to me.

However, I shouldn't have been surprised by this.

If it weren't for this sudden knock on the door, I probably would have already closed my eyes with peace of mind and merged into the boundless silence and darkness here.

I was already dead, smashed to pieces, completely broken, yet I felt no pain whatsoever.

Not only pain, but all other senses, including the various emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness, seemed to have long since left me.

But just as I realized I had forgotten all of this.

I felt like... I could feel the pain again.

The dull pain was concentrated on the inside of my torn chest; it was my heart throbbing.

For some reason, even though they are all part of my body, the pain bypassed my broken neck, torn flesh, and even ruptured eyeballs... and went straight to that spot.

After much thought, I finally figured out what made this heart unique.

—It is a chain.

That chain, which appeared out of nowhere, tightly adhered to the surface of the heart and rose and fell with it.

It was it that pulled me to this familiar door, and it was it that bound my broken heart together like adhesive tape.

The restoration process also brought unspeakable pain.

The other end of the chain leads to the outside...

I then guessed that perhaps the person knocking on the door was holding the other end of the chain.

This made me even more curious about what was happening outside the door.

A sudden thought struck me—

Open that door.

It's as if opening it will reveal everything.

The moment that thought arose, my heart rate reached its peak.

...But is it really necessary to do this?

It was as if another voice was speaking in my mind, gently guiding me.

At this moment, when we are only one step away from resting in peace, any action would be an unnecessary complication, especially since we have finally managed to escape from all the turmoil and arrive at this place.

I hesitated, but finally stepped forward and pressed my forehead and elbow against the door at the same time.

The knocking stopped abruptly.

At the same time, I began to exert force outwards.

Unexpectedly, the door in front of me was completely weightless.

My strength failed me, and I uncontrollably fell headlong out the door.

With a muffled thud, the door panel actually made a dull groan.

Before I could even marvel at how extraordinary these things from the underworld were, I spotted a familiar face in the white light… It was Li Xiao?!

The boy was frowning, looking at me with disgust and astonishment.

I opened my mouth, and a sentence immediately and uncontrollably blurted out: "You... why are you down here too?"

Perhaps because the shock on my face was too genuine, Li Xiao didn't immediately start cursing. Instead, he patiently asked me with a forced smile where I was.

"Of course, it's the ground—"

I suddenly stopped halfway through my sentence, because I had suddenly come to my senses and realized that where I was was not hell at all, but clearly the residence of Young Master Lan.

So what I was just doing was...

I stared blankly at Li Xiao, my eyes wide open.

As we were looking at each other, someone suddenly grabbed the back of my collar.

Li Xiao picked me up like a kitten or puppy, then placed me a little distance away from herself. She narrowed her eyes and gave a fake smile: "You can actually fall asleep standing up. You're quite the talent."

Hearing Li Xiao's sarcastic words, I blinked and nodded reflexively, saying, "Young Master Li is too kind."

"..."

I spoke with neither arrogance nor servility, and it sounded completely sincere. Even Li Xiao's smile froze after hearing it, and he fell silent for a moment. The expression on his face seemed to say, "I knew you were foolish before, but I didn't know you were this foolish."

Although I'm not smart, I'm not so stupid that I can't understand human speech.

However, I don't want to make any excuses for myself right now.

I secretly prayed that this conversation would end there.

I don't want Li Xiao to remember what I didn't finish saying. If he finds out what I originally wanted to say, given Li Xiao's usual behavior and logic, he will definitely fly into a rage because he thinks I'm deliberately cursing him to die.

So the long period of peace that had passed could very well turn into the calm before the storm in an instant.

Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned. It seems that what you fear most is what will happen to you.

After a moment of silence, Li Xiao suddenly seemed to remember something, looked down at me and asked, "By the way, what were you trying to say just now?"