However, by this time, it had already been almost half a year since he ended his last relationship, and Mr. Sherman was exactly the type he liked. Logan Sullivan couldn't help but waver for a moment.

Should he make a move, or let it go?

William Sherman was the kind of person who, at first glance, made people think, "he's very serious."

Logan Sullivan was well aware of what kind of person he was. Not only was his job unconventional, but he also had endless social engagements waiting for him every day. He lived a life of indulgence, his days a complete mess—driving luxury cars but living in a dump. He was not the kind of good match who could settle down and seriously maintain a relationship. Finding someone carefree to have a fling with was one thing, but he probably couldn't afford to promise anyone forever. It was best to avoid getting involved with good people from decent families like this, but...

William Sherman seemed to be somewhat interested in him. Letting go of such a high-quality person for nothing, Logan Sullivan felt it was a bit of a pity.

William Sherman cleaned up Logan Sullivan's arm, applied medicine, and even tried to wrap it with gauze, but this was firmly stopped by Director Sullivan.

"It's just a scrape, who wraps gauze for this in the middle of summer? If I show my arm, people will think I'm a mummy." Logan Sullivan stubbed out his cigarette and naturally put his arm around William Sherman's back. "I'm planning to go in and check on that girl. Want to come with me?"

William Sherman immediately stiffened like a rock at his touch, stumbling along for a couple of steps, his skin flushing red from his neck to the tips of his ears. Then, realizing what was happening, he hurriedly broke free from Logan Sullivan's embrace, pretending to be calm as he tugged at his shirt.

"Why are you acting like a shy girl?" Logan Sullivan laughed it off at first, but before William Sherman could catch his breath, he suddenly changed the subject. "Have we met before, Mr. Sherman?"

Chapter 8: The Reincarnation Sundial Seven …

William Sherman was caught off guard and met his gaze. His mind went blank, and for a second or two, he just stared at Logan Sullivan, unable to look away for a long moment.

William Sherman knew himself that he had lost his composure too many times today... He shouldn't have met Logan Sullivan at all.

That person knew nothing, remembered nothing... After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, drinking the water of Forgetfulness, passing through the Gate of Reincarnation after experiencing three good and three evil deeds, the soul is washed clean and empty—what could possibly be remembered?

William Sherman looked at the other's handsome face and penetrating gaze, and he really wanted to reach out and touch his face, to feel, even through the years that had cooled, just a trace of the other's warmth...

After who knows how long, William Sherman finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse: "I've seen you before."

Logan Sullivan waited for him to continue.

In my heart, countless times. I don't dare to see you, but I know everything about you... William Sherman almost blurted this out, but in the end, what he managed to say, with difficulty, was: "It was during a case you handled."

"Which one?" Logan Sullivan asked, a little surprised.

William Sherman's words became a bit more fluent, probably because after telling the first lie, the rest came easier: "When there were twelve consecutive jumpings at the Twin Towers near Wanqing Bridge, about five or six years ago. I was about to graduate then, had just moved out of school, and was looking for a place to rent nearby. Because of the murder cases, the Twin Towers' business was bad, so the rent was cheap. I was one of the few people who still dared to live there at the time."

Logan Sullivan frowned and thought for a moment: "I'm sure I didn't see you at the scene."

"You didn't see me, but I happened to live on the top floor, so I saw you. I also saw..." William Sherman paused, showing an expression as if recalling something unbelievable, "I saw you catch a black shadow from one of the rooms on the top floor, stuff it into a bottle, and then say to someone, 'The suspect has been caught, everyone can wrap up.'"

Logan Sullivan was surprised: "You not only lived there, but on the top floor? You've got guts."

William Sherman lowered his head: "You can check the lodging records. I'm telling the truth."

Of course he was telling the truth. He really was at the Twin Towers at the time, but only because he wanted to secretly catch a glimpse of someone—not for some silly reason like looking for a place to live. This lie was mostly true, but telling it nearly exhausted him.

Fortunately, Logan Sullivan seemed to accept it. He even joked with a bit of emotion: "Negligence at work, really our negligence. By the rules, we should have erased the memories of unrelated bystanders, but I didn't even notice you... By the way, how did you feel at the time? Did your whole materialist worldview collapse afterwards?"

William Sherman forced a smile, not answering.

Who knows how much Logan Sullivan actually believed, but at least he didn't press further.

When the two of them walked into the campus clinic together, they saw Quinn Barnes sitting against the wall with a window, holding a cup of hot sugar water poured by the school doctor.

She happened to be sitting in the shadow, her expression looking even gloomier.

Logan Sullivan raised his hand and knocked on the door. Quinn Barnes jumped, looked up in alarm, and only relaxed when she saw who it was.

Logan Sullivan glanced at his watch. The face still reflected the image of the old man, but the hands hadn't turned red—very strange. The vitality of this newly dead ghost seemed to have grown stronger.

If a living person shows signs of death, it means the end is near, but what does it mean if a dead person shows signs of life?

Could it mean reincarnation is near?

As he thought about this, he sat down grandly on the hospital bed opposite Quinn Barnes: "Classmate, I need to ask you a few more questions."

Quinn Barnes looked at him, her face pale.

Since Mr. Sherman had made it clear that he knew what kind of people they were, Logan Sullivan didn't bother to hide anything from William Sherman and asked directly, "Lately, have you been seeing things you shouldn't be able to see?"

Quinn Barnes didn't have time to answer in words; her terrified expression said it all.

"I see." Logan Sullivan stared at the spot between her eyebrows, leaning forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees. After studying her for a while, he continued, "But I see your third eye isn't open. In theory, you shouldn't be able to see anything. So, is it because your birth chart is too light, or did you mess with something you shouldn't have?"

Quinn Barnes couldn't help biting her lip, her fingers twisting so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Oh? Looks like it's the latter. Tell me, what did you touch?" Logan Sullivan lowered his voice.

At first, Quinn Barnes refused to speak. Logan Sullivan sneered, "If you won't talk, then be prepared to be haunted for the rest of your life. Haven't you heard that curiosity killed the cat, little girl? Not everything is meant to be messed with."

"…A sundial." After a long time, Quinn Barnes finally spoke in a low voice. "A family heirloom, it's turned black with age. There's a disc on the back, inlaid with lots of fish-scale-shaped stones, black, kind of like obsidian. The elders called it..."

"Wheel of Return," Logan Sullivan said.

Quinn Barnes looked at him in surprise, then nodded hesitantly.

"A sundial makes one full turn a day, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, over and over, symbolizing endless life and unceasing reincarnation," Logan Sullivan said, his tone becoming subtly complex. "But there's another saying, that reincarnation is a process of constant 'killing.' The old is replaced by the new, what is lost is lost forever, the past never returns. Once a moment has passed, you can only look back, never go back. And once a cycle is complete, you don't even know where to look back to."

He didn't see William Sherman suddenly shudder behind him.

"What did you do with it?" Logan Sullivan asked.

Quinn Barnes bit her lip.

"Fine, let me put it another way. Did you ever use it to do something bad?"

Quinn Barnes's eyes widened instantly: "I did not!"

Logan Sullivan stared at her in silence.

"I didn't!" Quinn Barnes stood up, took a step back, hunched over, turning sideways to face Logan Sullivan, instinctively making a very defensive gesture. "How could I use a family heirloom to do something bad! You're talking nonsense! You... cough, cough..."

She got too worked up and started coughing violently.

William Sherman frowned, walked over to block Logan Sullivan's pressing gaze, and patted Quinn Barnes's back. "Take your time, don't rush."

Then he turned to Logan Sullivan and said, "This child has just been through a shock. Officer Sullivan, whatever you ask, could you not push her too hard?"

Logan Sullivan rubbed his nose. "Alright, I won't ask about unrelated things. Just one last question, and then I'll get out of your hair."

He took the victim's photo out of his pocket. "Have you seen this classmate recently?"