Alice Carter swallowed the metallic blood in his throat and walked out barefoot. On the terrace of the Star-Picking Tower, the wind and rain were bitter and harsh, whipping his black hair and making his wide white sleeves flutter like flowing wind and swirling snow.

William Clark laughed behind him for a long time.

Alice Carter was so angry that he had already climbed onto the railing, wanting to fall from a higher place to make it even worse.

"I didn't plan to kill that merman." After laughing enough, William Clark finally spoke behind him: "We can talk."

Alice Carter blocked him with his previous words, mocking, "I don't want to talk to you."

William Clark: "But I want to talk to you."

Alice Carter gnashed his teeth.

He really intended to jump, but after climbing onto the railing and seeing the hundred-foot-high tower, he couldn't help but feel a bit timid.

The pagoda glowed red, and looking down, there was a strange, demonic bamboo forest.

William Clark was already beside him. In his soul form, his sickly pallor was even more pronounced. He spoke unhurriedly, "If you jump, I won't die. On the contrary, if something happens to me, many people will suffer because of it."

Alice Carter glared at him, but in his heart, he understood that maybe what he said about "not dying" was true. Just the setting of this pagoda was already bizarre, not to mention that this body was still enduring bone-breaking pain.

Alice Carter was exhausted, and since he and William Clark had nothing in common, he had nothing to say to him—he only wanted to curse at the system.

William Clark smiled slightly, his voice very gentle, stating, "By my side, very few people can remain uninvolved and just watch from the sidelines."

Alice Carter held his breath and looked at him coldly.

William Clark no longer provoked him, and said softly, "Actually, we can completely coexist peacefully."

Alice Carter couldn't take it anymore: "Don't tell me everything you did tonight was just for fun."

The corners of William Clark's lips curled into that pure, innocent smile again: "It was fun, it really was."

Goddamn it...

Just as Alice Carter's body was already halfway out.

William Clark then smiled and added, "But not entirely."

Alice Carter gripped the railing, turned back coldly: "Then what for?"

William Clark thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid of pain."

What the hell.

Alice Carter was so angry his jaw was trembling: "You let a ghost possess you because you're afraid of pain?"

"Mm." William Clark didn't deny it, lifting his chin slightly, looking at the demonic nine-story pagoda across from them, his tone calm.

"Every year, starting from the first awakening of insects in early March, the great demon in the pagoda becomes restless. The Chu royal family must endure the demon's aura in the Star-Picking Tower to appease it. The demon's aura grows stronger every year. Last year, I was in so much pain I wished I were dead. This year, I don't want to try again."

Alice Carter: "..."

He turned his head in disbelief and said, "So you dragged me in as a scapegoat?"

William Clark thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I thought ghosts couldn't feel that kind of pain. I didn't expect... Sorry."

Alice Carter was truly dumbfounded.

William Clark smiled again: "Aren't you cold? Let's talk inside. Since they've received my orders, they'll save that young merman. Don't worry."

Now Alice Carter looked at William Clark as if he had a split personality.

But he really couldn't bring himself to jump, so after a moment of silence, he climbed down from the railing. Meeting William Clark's gaze, Alice Carter awkwardly asked, "I'm using your body right now. Doesn't it feel weird for you to look at me?"

William Clark smiled: "Of course, I'm not looking at myself."

Alice Carter: "What?"

William Clark said, "I'm looking at you."

Alice Carter was stunned for a moment: "You can see my soul directly?"

William Clark: "Mm."

Alice Carter: Unbelievable.

Alice Carter was in a terrible mood now. After being battered by wind and rain on the terrace, his already frail and sickly body felt even worse. He sneezed, his eyes slightly red, cursing inwardly, feeling like a good person forced into prostitution.

He felt completely uncomfortable as a human, while William Clark, having left his body and become a ghost, was calm and unhurried.

Inside the sleeping quarters, the candlelight was bright and the atmosphere warm and comfortable.

Alice Carter tied up his hair—William Clark's hair was of excellent quality, cold to the touch like black water.

He was so cold, and had no idea how William Clark usually endured such pain and chill. Anyway, every second Alice Carter spent in this body was torture.

Wrapping himself in a blanket like a zongzi, Alice Carter finally spoke in a muffled voice, "I don't want to coexist peacefully with you. Let me out quickly."

William Clark: "Aren't you trying to accumulate merit?"

Alice Carter froze, raising his head stiffly.

William Clark said, "How about we help each other? Anyway, I've already dragged you into the mortal world. You can't be an outsider anymore."

Alice Carter stared at him, pupils contracting, his voice hoarse: "How much of my conversations with the system did you hear?"

William Clark tilted his head and smiled: "Probably all of it."

Alice Carter: "..."

Damn it, William Clark really refreshed his worldview every single day!

William Clark said quietly, "I heard that I'll die in three months; I heard that you can take over my body and become me, and if you accumulate enough merit, you can come back to life; I heard..." He smiled, gentle and pure: "I heard that I will love Wen Jiao in vain and finally die for him."

Alice Carter couldn't believe it: "Aren't you afraid of all this? If I told you this is the world of a book, would you believe it?"