The young boy looked at Gao Tian.
"Do you know the future Xu Yuan?
"What kind of person does he become when he grows up? Did he fulfill his childhood wish to wipe out every ghost in this world?"
This was an incredibly difficult question to answer.
Gao Tian really had interacted with the future Xu Yuan—but the man he became was the exact opposite of what his younger self wanted.
This cruel world left no room for white lies. Gao Tian decided to tell the truth:
"You founded an organization called the Galan Society. You recruited a large group of ghost hunters and handled countless supernatural incidents.
"You entered a supernatural location called the Living Apartment, completed ten tasks, and became the only person to ever make it out alive.
"You really were a remarkable figure.
"It's just a shame you died."The little boy's eyes widened.
"I died?"
Everyone dies eventually, but at his age, death was still an unfamiliar concept—something incredibly difficult to accept.
Although his parents had passed away long ago, he had grown up in a haze of ignorance, only learning of their deaths from what others told him.
Gao Tian sighed.
This was the cruelest part.
"You just said your wish was to wipe out every ghost in this world, right?"
The young boy, Xu Yuan, nodded.
"Yeah. It's a promise my teacher and I made together.
"Because everyone else says my dad died in a car crash. But my teacher told me he died in a supernatural incident. While he was driving on the highway, a pair of pale hands covered his eyes, causing a fatal crash on the spot.
"Plus, with my Ghost Eye, I've seen too many people slowly killed by ghosts. So my teacher and I made a pact: when I grow up, I'm going to drive every evil ghost out of our world. I won't leave a single one behind."
Looking at his face, the Gao Tian from decades in the future spoke clearly to the Xu Yuan from decades in the past:
"And then, you died.
"You became a new Fierce Ghost.
"No different from all the supernatural incidents you used to purge."
With a thud, the young Xu Yuan fell out of his seat.
Children have soft bones. He rubbed his backside and stood back up a few seconds later. His eyes went wide with disbelief. His lips turned pale, trembling as he struggled to speak:
"H-how is that possible?
"Tell me you're lying, big brother. The future you saw isn't real."
Gao Tian looked at him.
"Xu Yuan, I hope that when you grow up, if you still remember this day, you will remember what was said here.
"Your wish is to wipe out ghosts, not become one. Many years from now, when you're all grown up, you will be killed by a Fierce Ghost in a place called the Sapphire Mall. Even if that happens, even if that place becomes the final stop of your life, do not try to escape death by becoming a ghost."
He didn't know if the past Xu Yuan would take his words to heart.
Nor did he know if space and time allowed for the butterfly effect—if this conversation would directly alter the adult Xu Yuan of the future.
The little boy kept his head down, silent for a long time. Gao Tian couldn't tell what he was thinking. Fortunately, the boy eventually accepted reality; he looked back up at Gao Tian and gave a solemn nod:
"I understand, big brother from the future."
His rapid acceptance of his own fate somewhat exceeded Gao Tian's expectations.
Gao Tian asked, "Do you not have a shred of doubt about what I'm telling you? About whether I actually know the future you, or how I know the adult Xu Yuan became a ghost?
"There's always the possibility that I'm just making this all up."
The little boy's gaze fell on the tip of the Ghost Transformation Spear in Gao Tian's hand:
"I recognize the thing in your hand.
"It's my teacher's most treasured possession. My teacher said he would give it to me when I came of age. If the future me died and became a ghost, and this item ended up in your hands, it proves you really did meet the adult Xu Yuan.
"You're not just spinning some ghost story to brush me off."
So that was it.
The Ghost Transformation Spear he had unwittingly brought into this chaotic timeline served as proof of his identity. Otherwise, with little Xu Yuan's intelligence, he would never have trusted a stranger's words so easily.
Silence lingered between them for a moment.
Little Xu Yuan asked, "Was it unraveled?
"The mystery that plagued my teacher's lineage for three generations."
Gao Tian naturally knew he was asking about the secret of the Ghost Transformation Spear—a special item rumored to be capable of changing an entire era.
Gao Tian only shook his head.
"It remained unsolved right up until the moment you died.
"This Supernatural Item changed hands so many times over more than fifty years, yet no one could unlock its secret. After becoming a ghost, you grew disillusioned. In your eyes, this item had lost almost all of its value.
"Under those circumstances, you gave it to me."
The light in the little boy's eyes instantly dimmed.
Yet another piece of bad news.
If he had known his future would be so bleak, little Xu Yuan might have preferred not to ask so many questions.
Little Xu Yuan scratched his head, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed.
"But you just said I founded the Galan Society. There might be some misunderstanding. My future self would absolutely never give a club that name."
Gao Tian asked in surprise, "Why not?"
Little Xu Yuan explained, "Because Galan is the name of the class monitor in class three at Honglong Primary School. Li Galan. That girl is fierce and short-tempered. She constantly monitors my homework and forces me to stay after school, hand-holding me through English grammar and math formulas I don't get. I'd never use that stinky hag's name for anything.
"There's definitely been some kind of misunderstanding. You should investigate it again when you get back."
Gao Tian nodded.
"I see."
Little Xu Yuan's words had unintentionally revealed another piece of information.
The elementary school he attended was Honglong Primary School, class three.
And their class monitor was named Li Galan.
As these details slowly pieced together, the true outline of Xu Yuan—the trajectory of his life, his background, what he had done, and where he had gone—was on the verge of being fully unearthed.
The Fierce Ghost hiding in the Chat Group went to great lengths to conceal his identity. He never could have imagined that his true information would be leaked bit by bit in this manner.
Facing the young Xu Yuan in the mist before him, Gao Tian had one final question:
"Xu Yuan, I'm playing a game with the future you.
"Because you ultimately died in the Sapphire Mall—the very ground beneath our feet. The future you said he failed to properly dispose of his corpse before his death, so he asked me to come here and handle it for him.
"But the problem is that this place has undergone drastic changes over the years. It's become a bustling mall, yet his body has never been found, and he never told me where he hid it.
"Little Xu Yuan, try to put yourself in his shoes and guess. Where would your future self hide the corpse?"
Hearing this bizarre request—asking a boy to locate his own corpse, the corpse of the adult Xu Yuan from over twenty years in the future... The challenge was simply too eerie. Aside from little Xu Yuan, probably no one else in the world would ever get the chance to experience something like this.
Little Xu Yuan frowned, seemingly wracking his brain in deep thought:
"If it were me, right before I died, where would I hide my body..."
Then, like a deflated balloon, he slumped in defeat.
"Um, can I just not look for it?"
Gao Tian patiently urged him.
"I'm afraid not. I need you to rack your brains and think hard about what the future you would do.
"If we don't find this corpse, it's going to reanimate and turn into a new Fierce Ghost soon. With so many people in this mall, there's no telling how many will die when that happens."
Xu Yuan climbed back into his chair in front of the arcade machine, staring at his fingers as he muttered to himself:
"This place was already a small shopping center twenty years ago. The Arcade right now is also named Sapphire.
"Because Honglong Primary School is just three streets away from the Arcade, my teacher always takes a while to drive over and pick me up after school. So I always come to this Arcade to play games for a bit.
"When I run out of tokens, I just stand next to my classmates and watch them play.
"I didn't expect that after so many years and so many huge changes, this spot would still be an Arcade."
Watching him mumble to himself, Gao Tian felt a bit disappointed. It seemed that even though they were the same person, time really could change someone drastically. The young Xu Yuan didn't know why his adult self would willingly become a ghost, nor did he know what his older self was trying to achieve.
Just then, the sound of leather shoes clicking against the floor echoed from deep within the mist. The footsteps were drawing closer and closer.
Little Xu Yuan glanced in the opposite direction as if he had spotted something. He turned back to Gao Tian and said anxiously, "My teacher is here to pick me up.
"He has a special ability. Wherever he goes, most supernatural phenomena—as well as my special powers—are temporarily disabled or erased.
"As soon as he gets close, my Ghost Eye will disconnect. The two of us will be forced back to our respective timelines.
"Our conversation today probably has to end here."
Gao Tian looked at the little boy from over twenty years ago—the same entity who, over twenty years later, would become a Fierce Ghost hell-bent on killing him. He nodded.
"I understand. Be careful.
"And make sure you remember what you promised. You absolutely must not become a Fierce Ghost, no matter what happens in the future."
The little boy and his brand-new arcade machine began to turn transparent, distorting and rippling in the mist. It seemed that as the owner of the leather shoes approached, the connection between the two timelines was wearing thin, on the verge of fully disconnecting.
In the final moment before vanishing entirely, little Xu Yuan suddenly seemed to remember something. He shouted toward Gao Tian from afar:
"I know!
"I know where my future self hid the corpse!
"You said the Sapphire Shopping Center built here twenty years later is bustling with people, but my body has been kept here all this time without ever being discovered, right?"