White snow drifted down from the deep blue night sky, turning into ice water at the edge of Yu Sen’s hat.

One hand was held by Si Xuanyang, and the other was holding up his white dress. He wasn’t wearing socks with his laced leather shoes, and after running for a while, the tender flesh on his heels was painfully rubbed. Especially in such icy weather, the pain and cold seemed to penetrate to the bone, torturing him.

The street scenery on either side sped by quickly with their steps—pumpkin lanterns, skulls, colorful lights, glitter… In the end, all that remained in his peripheral vision were bizarre and bright streaks of light.

They encountered more parade teams than they had imagined, frequently appearing on every street. Sometimes, just turning a corner, they would encounter one or two demons emerging from houses, preparing to join the parade. All of them looked miserably terrifying and were masters of scaring people wherever they went.

The adrenaline was constantly surging, never coming down.

Yu Sen, feeling dizzy and faint, didn’t have time to speak and was dragged forward mechanically by Si Xuanyang, with his whole body aching from the cold.

He clenched his back teeth and endured, even sensing a faint taste of blood in his throat.

The closer they got to the central fountain square, the denser the parade teams on the streets became. Initially, after passing one group, they would have to wait a while to encounter another group of ghosts. But now, they had to be careful not to bump into the festive corpses and ghosts on the road.

At one moment of inattention, Si Nan bumped into a demon covered in rotting flesh. The golden glow flashed, and the protective shield collided, breaking the demon’s neck. The head rolled on the ground, eyes staring resentfully at Si Nan.

Although the head was picked up and reattached as if nothing had happened, Si Nan was still frightened, his face turning pale and his eyes wide with alarm, his attention highly focused.

The wind grew louder, and the snow seemed to be turning into a blizzard. Ice shards howled into their clothes.

Yu Sen shook his head, gasping for breath, and was momentarily blinded by the snowstorm. His leather shoes kicked a rough patch on the ground, causing sharp pain to shoot up from his toes as he stumbled forward.

His right hand was tightly grasped, and Si Xuanyang pulled him into his arms.

“Can’t hold on anymore?” Si Xuanyang quickly kissed his cold cheek and bent down to scoop him up by the knees. “I’ll carry you.”

Yu Sen grabbed him, coughing urgently. “Cough cough cough—! Don’t carry me, just give me a piggyback. It should be easier. Cough cough cough…”

Si Xuanyang squeezed his ice-cold hand tightly and lifted him horizontally. “Not far now. I can’t see you on my back, so I’ll be worried. I’m always afraid something will attack you from behind.”

Yu Sen tightened his grip around Si Xuanyang’s neck, struggling to breathe as he leaned on his shoulder, weakly laughing. “This is paranoia. Cough cough cough—!”

Si Xuanyang quickened his pace but held him steadily. “Don’t talk. Focus on controlling your breathing. Don’t inhale too much cold air.”

The person in his arms was both cold and soft, with a large dark red stain seeping through the bandage on his neck, breathing heavily as if about to suffocate.

A deep pain flickered in Si Xuanyang’s eyes. He shouted to Si Nan and the others, “The snow is getting heavier. We need to speed up. Can you keep up?”

“Yes, don’t worry!” Si Nan nodded firmly.

After running through the streets for a while, the environment had changed from a Halloween parade of a hundred demons to a snowstorm disaster, and this weather had no effect on the demons.

His eyes were stinging from the cold. In the dim light and swirling snowflakes, it was hard to see even a few meters ahead, and they often collided with the parade demons.

Fortunately, they all had golden protective shields, so the demons couldn’t harm them. Otherwise, with the number of these things and the environment, even Si Xuanyang wouldn’t be able to ensure the safety of all four to the destination.

For those without golden protection, he guessed they would probably have to leave their lives in this ghost town.

---

Despite the freezing weather, where a lake would surely be frozen, the sound of flowing water suddenly reached their ears—splashing and gurgling, hidden within the howling snowstorm. To Si Xuanyang and the others, it was like heavenly music.

He tilted his head and pressed his lips against Yu Sen’s: “We’ve arrived, baby.”

Yu Sen was in a state where his mind was about to explode, coughing softly with his eyes closed: “…Cough! I’m about to be blown into a dried corpse.”

“I’ll take you to eat something nice soon. After we eat, you’ll warm up.”

Through the biting wind and snow, a sparkling fountain in the center of the square suddenly came into view. The pool was large, visibly much bigger than a basketball court, with five layers of water columns spraying seven or eight meters high. The mist from the fountain didn’t feel cold or piercing.

Moreover, after entering the square, there were no more ghosts or demons to be seen.

The square was empty, except for the fountain and a multi-layered velvet cake towering on a round platform beside it.

A small sign not far away read: “Soul Baptism, Cleanse the Impurity.”

Underneath were the words: “Happy Halloween.”

On the platform were many clean white porcelain plates, some with half-eaten pieces of cake, hastily left behind.

It seemed some people had arrived here before them, successfully eaten the cake, and left.

Si Xuanyang shifted Yu Sen in his arms and whispered with a smile in his ear, “See you in the real world, Princess.”

Yu Sen weakly curled his lips: “When I open my eyes, remember to give me a good morning kiss.”

“Before I do that, I need to call you a doctor first…” Si Xuanyang shook his head helplessly.

He gently set Yu Sen down, and as his leather shoes touched the ground, his body trembled in pain, causing Si Xuanyang to hold him tightly.

Leaning against Si Xuanyang, Yu Sen squinted at the velvet cake presented to him and took a bite.

…

The sound of the wind faded from his ears, and Yu Sen felt as though he had been sucked into a vortex, his body floating uncontrollably.

When he opened his eyes, he suddenly saw menacing zombies retreating in the current, and behind them was the headquarters of the Eternal Life Technology Company. Then came the solemn and majestic ancient city of Huai’an and a salt merchant’s daughter dressed in a phoenix crown and robe. After that, he saw Lance’s handsome yet pale face and the eerie castle where his blood once flowed, followed by a theater filled with applause and twin sisters fighting under the spotlight. He also saw a pirate ship tossed on the ocean and ferocious sea monsters. Lastly, it was the snowy and warm Halloween Town, where smiles mingled with ghosts.

Scenes flashed before his eyes like a lantern show, the underground tunnels where they once slept and the mass graves they visited seemed to reappear vividly.

Yu Sen silently watched as the scenes, as if rewound, gradually faded into the current.

He tried to turn his body away from the vortex, a flash of bright light passed, and his consciousness fell into darkness.

…

“Clang—!”

“Ah—!”

A sound exploded in his ears, and Yu Sen suddenly woke up.

Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows, gently illuminating his face. The surroundings were quiet and peaceful.

He squinted his eyes and was suddenly hugged by the person next to him: “You’re back.”

“Mm, I’m back.” After a moment of response, he slowly leaned his head on Si Xuanyang’s shoulder, still somewhat dazed. “It’s surprising that I didn’t faint. It’s been so long since I’ve woken up with you. It’s a bit unfamiliar.”

“Oh!” Si Xuanyang quickly let go of him and grabbed the special call button by the bedside, pressing it. He then nervously touched Yu Sen’s neck.

“Where do you feel uncomfortable? Does your neck hurt? Are you dizzy? The doctor is on the way, don’t worry.”

“Tsk!” Yu Sen held his hand, thoughtfully turning his gaze. “Don’t be so nervous. To be honest, I feel a bit different this time…”

“What’s different?” Si Xuanyang touched Yu Sen’s smooth, porcelain-like white neck and, finding no injuries, relaxed slightly.

“I feel like my body doesn’t hurt anywhere! My head is a little dizzy, but it’s just the normal kind when you get up, not the draining kind… I suspect my body is fully healed.” Yu Sen said.

Si Xuanyang sat up with a start: “Really? That’s great!”

The call button had summoned the doctor, who quickly knocked on the door, all wearing serious expressions, ready to rescue someone at any moment.

But after further examination, their faces gradually shifted from confusion to amazement.

“Um… Mr. Yu’s body, for now… seems to be in good health…”

The attending physician looked doubtful, unable to believe it. The lingering illness that had been visible on the patient’s face just yesterday was now completely gone. After a thorough examination, Yu Sen’s lungs, trachea, and even stomach showed no major issues. It could even be said that he was perfectly healthy.

“Really?” Si Xuanyang still felt uneasy about Yu Sen’s health.

“Uh…” The doctor hesitated. “I recommend a full examination at the hospital. While the equipment here is excellent, it’s mainly for emergency and treatment purposes. A comprehensive checkup would be better.”

“Alright, I’ll take him.” Si Xuanyang nodded.

“By the way, did someone scream just now?” Yu Sen rubbed his neck and asked, “Did you hear it before I woke up?”

Si Xuanyang paused, frowning as he recalled, “I think I did.”

“Maybe it was your clock,” the doctor said as he was about to leave but overheard their conversation. “We saw the antique clock in your living room shattered when we came in. It seems to have scared Mrs. Zhang and the others, and they weren’t sure how to handle it.”

“It’s finally broken! Let’s go check it out.”

Yu Sen pulled Si Xuanyang to the first floor, where the once wall-mounted clock now lay shattered on the ground, its hands frozen at twelve, and the glass scattered everywhere.

Aunt Zhang hurried over, looking flustered. “This clock…”

“It’s fine, Aunt Zhang, this clock was bound to break in a few days anyway. We knew it, so don’t worry about it,” Si Xuanyang reassured her with a nod.

“Oh, that’s good, that’s good… It was so strange how it suddenly fell like that out of nowhere…”

Yu Sen lifted his foot to approach, but Si Xuanyang pulled him back. “Be careful of the glass.”

“There’s a note over there,” Yu Sen pointed out sharply.

“I’ll get it. You stay here.”

Amid the ‘remains’ of the clock, there was something that looked like the mission notes they received each time. Si Xuanyang kicked away the glass shards and carefully picked up the note, which had writing on it.

—”Wishing you: a future free of misfortune, peace, and success.”

“…Tch, what is this? Did we just get a permanent ‘safety buff’? Or is it just some empty words?” Si Xuanyang sneered and handed the note to Yu Sen.

“Better than nothing. We made it back alive, and that’s what counts,” Yu Sen waved the note dismissively and smiled.

The winter sun shone brightly outside, the house was warm like spring, and the smell of food drifted from the kitchen. They were both in their familiar, comfortable pajamas.

The phone rang. It was a call from Si Nan.

Si Xuanyang didn’t answer. He walked over to Yu Sen, grabbed his chin, and, like the first snowflake falling outside, gave him a light kiss on his pale pink lips, smiling as he did so.

—”Good morning.”