As punishment, Julian West's computer had its network cable unplugged, so he could only kill time playing offline mini-games—Plants vs. Zombies.

...And so, later, he got beaten up by Carter Shaw again.

Julian West lay on the desk, hugging his head and whimpering, "I can't go on like this."

Carter Shaw spoke up, "Looks like you’re bored out of your mind. Xiao Guo, don’t bother writing that report. Someone here has nothing to do—let him take over."

Charles Gray glanced up at the teary-eyed Julian West, who was still busy taking selfies of his "weeping beauty" look, and smiled good-naturedly, "It's fine, I'll write it."

Julian West lay on the desk, looked at Charles Gray, and after a while, looked at him again.

Charles Gray quietly tapped away at the keyboard. He worked slowly, but with meticulous care. Finally, Julian West couldn’t help but stand up and, across the desk, quickly plucked a hair from Charles Gray's head.

"Oof!" Charles Gray cried out, looking up at him in confusion.

Julian West chuckled, "Hehehe, uh, I’m just doing a little research."

"That burning smell is just burnt protein," Carter Shaw sneered without even looking up. "Hair is just a shell. You change shells every lifetime—what’s so special about it? Superficial."

Julian West: "...How do you know what it smells like when it burns? Don’t tell me you’ve burned it before?"

Carter Shaw: "..."

"Actually, I still don’t get it," Julian West toyed with Charles Gray's hair, his joking expression fading. "Such a good young man, how could he be... Hey, Xiao Guo, do you think there’s anything special about you? Anything different from others?"

For some reason, no one mentioned anything about the Soulbound Lamp in front of Charles Gray. Charles Gray was momentarily puzzled, not quite understanding what he meant, so he shook his head, "Oh, maybe I’m just a bit dumber than others?"

"But..." Julian West paused mid-sentence—Charles Gray was the wick of the Soulbound Lamp, confirmed by Warden of Highspire himself. He had endured countless lifetimes and tribulations, his original heart unchanged, his merit rivaling that of Nuwa who created mankind. Yet he had no fortune, no blessing, no luck, no destiny—silent and unaware—Julian West fell silent. He realized he didn’t want to tell Charles Gray any of this, not even though this young man had lit the final Soulbound Lamp, and in a way, truly ended the struggle with chaos. It was such an incredible feat.

He had no yin-yang eyes, but could see all truths.

Great merit bestowed from the heavens, yet he remained unknown.

"But what?" Charles Gray asked in confusion.

"No... I was just wondering, why is the token left by Warden of Highspire called the 'Soulbound Order'?" Julian West murmured, and before Charles Gray could catch it, he changed the subject, "By the way, what are you doing after work?"

Charles Gray: "Oh, I’m going to drop something off at Grandma Li’s house first, then the Southern Outreach Corps's summer program is starting up, so I’ll help them make some posters and brochures tonight."

Julian West absentmindedly fiddled with his Buddhist prayer beads. "The Lesser Vehicle focuses on self-cultivation, then came the Greater Vehicle, which is about saving all beings—actually, I’ve always been curious, Xiao Guo, you’re always running around helping out everywhere. Why do you do it?"

Charles Gray: "No... no reason, really. I just don’t have anything else to do."

"Then how do you decide what to do and what not to do?" Holly Harlow interjected.

Charles Gray looked like a goose just pulled out of water, stretching his neck in a daze. He didn’t know why everyone was suddenly so interested in him. Maybe he’d watched too many TV dramas, but being the center of attention always made Charles Gray feel like he had some terminal illness and wouldn’t live much longer.

So he started to stutter unconsciously.

"I-I just don’t do bad things, and if I happen to run into something I can help with, I lend a hand. I don’t really know how to do anything." Charles Gray's voice grew softer and softer, until it was barely a whisper.

"I suddenly remembered something," the always-silent Carter Shaw spoke up, "I saw it in a mural in an ancient tomb. The era is impossible to determine now. It went, 'When the human heart harbors filth, there is constant worry and much suffering; stubborn anger breeds resentment, and one may do all manner of things that should not be done. But if one simply does not do evil, that alone is the greatest virtue under heaven, enough to save the world’s Soulbinder, nothing more.'"

"Enough to save the world’s Soulbinder, nothing more..." The words seemed to drift out of half of Blackstone, from Mr. Sullivan Sr.—no, from the mouth of Embergrower’s Cauldron. "I’ve been puzzled about this for a while now."

Logan Sullivan leaned against the window, lazily crossing his legs, gazing outside. Right outside was the main campus of Blackstone University. Maybe it was exam season—William Sherman, just out of class, was surrounded by several students asking questions. Watching this, a faint smile appeared in Logan Sullivan's eyes. He asked absentmindedly, "Hmm? What is it?"

"Why was the great wooden token left by the Mountain Sage called the Soulbound Order?"

Logan Sullivan glanced at him, "What do you think?"

Embergrower’s Cauldron paused, choosing his words carefully, "I’ve heard there are two kinds of people in this world who aren’t afraid of death. One is those with great obsessions in their hearts, who have no regrets. The other is those who know what lies beyond death. For five thousand years, the Soulbound Lamp has been burning. Now the small cycle is broken, and the great cycle is linked together by the Wraith King's Soul as a medium, borrowing the great merit of the Soulbound Lamp. Could this also be a grand gamble by the ancient sages?"

Logan Sullivan’s lips curled up, revealing a dimple in his cheek. "If we were really that capable, why would we all die off one by one? Embergrower told you to watch over the Soulwarden, and after five thousand years, you’ve become a conspiracy theorist?"

Embergrower’s Cauldron looked even more puzzled. "Then why did the Mountain Sage leave the Soulbound Lamp and the Soulbound Order? Why did the founder release your memories and powers at that exact time?"

"When William Sherman decided to erase my memories, everything in the contract was already fulfilled," Logan Sullivan poured himself a cup of tea. "With the contract ended, the power Embergrower placed on the two of us completely dissipated, so I could finally 'wake up.'"

Embergrower’s Cauldron: "So... it was just a coincidence?"

"Not exactly," Logan Sullivan thought for a moment.

Embergrower’s Cauldron looked even more confused.

Logan Sullivan glanced at him—not as a son looking at his father, but as if seeing through both their bodies, his gaze landing on Medicine Cauldron himself.

In that moment, he suddenly seemed like an elder.

"Just wait a bit longer," he said. "Maybe in another thousand or two thousand years, you’ll understand. These things don’t work if someone else tells you—you have to experience them yourself. When you’re ready to sacrifice yourself for your path, you’ll always touch on things others can’t understand. Whether it’s the Soulbound Lamp or Embergrower's contract, back then, for us, the future was just a vague shadow. Maybe things will turn out well, maybe..."

Embergrower’s Cauldron asked, "What if things don’t turn out well?"

"If we die, new Sanctum will naturally arise in the world. Let our deaths be a lesson—not in vain." Logan Sullivan heard familiar footsteps and knew William Sherman was coming upstairs. He stood up, grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, and turned to glance at Embergrower’s Cauldron. "Aren’t you one of the 'new Sanctum' yourself?"

Embergrower’s Cauldron was stunned for a moment. William Sherman had already come up, nodding at him with cold politeness, but when his gaze fell on Logan Sullivan, it instantly softened. "Leaving now? Are you two finished talking?"

"Yeah," Logan Sullivan replied, then said to Embergrower’s Cauldron, "Drive slowly on your way back, don’t let my dad notice anything, and take care of his health."

Embergrower’s Cauldron stood up and said respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, Mountain Sage. Actually, I came today to bid you farewell. I’ve done what I needed to do, and it’s no longer appropriate for me to remain attached to a mortal."

Logan Sullivan was taken aback. "When are you leaving?"

"Today," said Embergrower’s Cauldron. "I’ll take Mr. Sullivan home right away."

"Alright then." Logan Sullivan thought for a moment, then waved at him with easy grace. "Take care. If anything comes up, you can always find me."

The two of them went downstairs together. Embergrower’s Cauldron stood silently by the window, watching them slowly walk toward the garden villas across from Blackstone University at a leisurely, afternoon-stroll pace. He remembered Logan Sullivan mentioning moving in together with William Sherman.

Looking farther, he saw that in the greenbelt of the neighborhood, on the huge terraces of the houses, clusters of flowers were blooming silently wherever they passed. Only then did Embergrower’s Cauldron realize that spring was already in full swing.

Soulbound Extra Story 3 (Irresponsible Extra, and end of the extras)

Later, the Special Investigation Bureau moved from No. 4 Guangming Road to No. 9 Daxue Road. Just one traffic light away from Blackstone University.