CHAPTER 312: GOING HOME

Yu Li walked up to him, looking down with an arrogant gaze. "Who told you Bo Jingmo was dead?"

Yu Chi sneered, "That's not what I meant..."

Yu Li let out a soft laugh, slowly crouching down. She blinked and whispered, "Yu Chi, you know what? There were many times I could have killed you. So why did I only act just now?"

The smile froze on Yu Chi's face as a terrible premonition struck him. "Why...?"

In response, Yu Li tilted her head with a smile, pulled the knife from his chest, then mercilessly stabbed it back in. "Because only you could kill him here."

Bo Jingmo couldn't kill himself, and she had already promised during the last instance that it would be her final attempt on his life. After careful consideration, Yu Chi was the perfect choice.

The only pity was this ghost was too cunning - if the killing came too easily, he wouldn't have acted at all. More importantly, she needed to use him to uncover Bo Jingmo's true thoughts.

Hearing footsteps approach, Yu Li released her grip and stood up, turning to face the man behind her.

Bo Jingmo stared at Yu Chi's lifeless body on the floor, then at the other "himself" lying dead nearby, his expression unreadable.

Yu Li walked over slowly. "I left a fragment of soul in that body of yours. After you absorb his soul, you'll become one again, and the restriction keeping you trapped on the fourth floor should disappear too."

This was the safest method. Unsure if other restrictions might remain, Yu Li had accounted for every possible contingency.

Bo Jingmo's fingers twitched slightly. After a moment of silence, his hoarse voice emerged, devoid of emotion. "Because he couldn't leave the fourth floor... so you wouldn't let me die. You wanted to keep me as a vessel to bring him out, didn't you?"

Yu Li: "..." How could he still be jealous about this?

She'd already explained - mere words wouldn't convince this man. It had taken countless reassurances in their past life just to give him this much security. If not for the audience constantly watching, she would've simply dragged Bo Jingmo to bed back on the fifth floor to settle this more directly.

Yu Li crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Bo Jingmo, what exactly do you mean by that? Weren't you just saying you were willing to sacrifice yourself? Now you won't even absorb a soul?"

"......"

The man pressed his lips together silently, turning away to crouch down and begin the absorption.

Yu Li couldn't help reaching out to stop his wrist. "Idiot, I was joking."

She leaned against his back, whispering softly. "Because I want you to leave this place completely - not just the fourth floor, but this entire mental hospital."

Just as the evil ghost couldn't escape the fourth floor, neither could Bo Jingmo. His soul had long been trapped in this asylum. The shadows of inferiority and fear from reality would follow him even through different instances, haunting him for life.

Hearing this, Bo Jingmo froze, throat tightening as he lowered his gaze in panic, lips pressed tightly together, his sharp jawline revealing unexpected fragility.

"Lili... you'll be afraid." His voice turned rough. "You really don't need to bring another version of me. It's just trouble for you. You don't know... before he split from me, when I couldn't even control myself..."

Bo Jingmo could barely remember when it started, but he'd never forget the helpless terror of first discovering his condition. The increasingly violent impulses and bloodthirsty thoughts gradually eroded his humanity.

At first, he'd even comforted himself - perhaps it was just exhaustion from treating too many patients. But as hospital director, he knew these symptoms all too well. This was no hallucination;

he was truly ill.

The physician couldn't heal himself, and secretly taken medications proved useless. Desperate to hide his condition, he turned to the supernatural for answers. Sometimes even Bo Jingmo found it absurd, but he'd run out of options.

The man lowered his head, strands of hair revealing bloodshot eyes as his voice trembled. "Lili... I've always known. This was never an illness. I'm not a good person."

To protect his secret, he'd allowed Yu Chi to kill, watching victims die without intervention. At this point, he was no different from the evil ghosts themselves.

After a long silence, Yu Li covered his eyes with her hand. "Bo Jingmo, the one who's afraid isn't me - it's you."

Her gaze darkened as she avoided all cameras and audience, whispering, "Now, let me take you home, okay?"

The man slowly grasped her wrist, his elegant fingers icy cold, his exquisite face filled with confusion as he murmured, "Home?"

"Yes, home. Our home." Yu Li answered gently, personally slicing open his wrist. Blood immediately began dripping.

The "Bo Jingmo" corpse on the floor gradually dissipated into black mist. After absorbing the blood, the dark energy directly entered through the wound.

Bo Jingmo's body stiffened abruptly, sitting frozen on the ground. When the process completed, Yu Li slowly released him, taking a deep breath before crouching down to meet a pair of crimson eyes.

But within seconds, the red pupils reverted to their original black. In those brief moments, something fundamental had changed.

The man's appearance remained as handsome and noble as ever, but his cold features now carried a mature steadiness. Staring dazedly at the girl before him, his lips moved soundlessly.

Finally comprehending, the man's lips trembled into a slow smile, eyes crinkling as two clear tears traced down his cheeks. "Lili..."

As the tears fell, he opened his arms to embrace the woman throwing herself against him, one hand cradling her head with practiced tenderness, every caress filled with gentle devotion.

"I'm sorry." His voice shook, eyes red-rimmed with guilt as he pressed a tender kiss to her ear, the hoarse apology thick with remorse. "I'm sorry, wife..."

Yu Li didn't speak, only clutching his clothes desperately, face buried in his shoulder as her body trembled. After a long while, she finally released her grip to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Director Bo... I missed you so much."

[Congratulations Player Yu Li for completing the mission - uncovering the truth of the mental hospital and surviving successfully.]