The story has a rather arcane quality; figuring out why that family vanished overnight would likely require seeking answers from them directly. However, sudden disappearances are not unheard of; many corrupt officials or corporate employees who have committed crimes skip town before their misdeeds are exposed. Thus, the story of the Sakurako family still fits within the bounds of normal reason. What is truly perplexing is how the woods shifted from a scene of lovers dancing gracefully to the agonizing screams of a woman in labor. At first, I thought those two figures—the man and woman—were someone my companion, Xiaoshu, and I had encountered in reality. Now, it seems those two preceding scenes, much like the murder I witnessed at the Reflection Villa, were echoes of events long past.

As I pondered this, a light began to emanate from above. Looking up, the darkness in the woods receded, the heavy clouds slowly drawing back overhead, allowing a soft, rose-colored sunlight to spill onto the ground. Everything that had just transpired felt like a 4D movie, with Xiaoshu and me seated as the only two audience members—and one of those audience members was weeping uncontrollably, utterly entranced by the spectacle before them.

“My dear child, drift along the river; there you will find your destined resting place…” A mournful voice drifted again from the thicket. Xiaoshu and I both turned our heads simultaneously, spotting the figure in the moon-white dress reappear within the trees.

She was seated beneath a tree, a cradle resting before her. The infant in the cradle was perfectly still, neither crying nor fussing, exhibiting a demeanor of profound peace. She removed a jade pendant from around her neck, tied it around the baby’s neck, and then carried the cradle deeper into the woods.

“The jade pendant…” Xiaoshu and I exclaimed in unison.

An infant floating down the river, wearing a jade pendant…

I recalled when Wang Jue pulled Xing’er out of the Sea of the Departed; Xing’er had a jade pendant hanging around his neck. That pendant remained there until the very moment Monkey snatched it away; I still saw it swinging against his chest just before then.

At that moment, Xiaoshu’s reaction was far more intense than mine. He began shouting like a madman, repeating, “It’s her, it’s her, it’s really her…”

Before I could regain my composure, he lunged frantically into the woods, sprinting toward the direction the woman had vanished.

Yet, before he reached the edge of the forest, a bolt of lightning tore across the suddenly clear sky. The woods, the woman, the cradle… everything vanished, leaving only a patch of bare, jagged rock that seamlessly merged with the stone upon which I sat.

The truth was laid bare; this was the place’s true state! It turned out that the scene just witnessed, just like what I saw at the Reflection Villa, was an event from the past.

I sighed, walking over to help the shell-shocked Xiaoshu up from where he was kneeling. Just as I prepared to lead him back, I nearly stumbled over a stone at my feet. Xiaoshu picked up the rock, gazing blankly at its moon-white surface, muttering faintly, “This color is so much like the dress she was wearing.”

“Perhaps this is a Phantom Stone,” I said, taking the stone and examining it meticulously, front to back. Aside from its color, it looked no different from any ordinary rock.

Hearing me mention the Phantom Stone, Xiaoshu looked at me with a questioning gaze. I then explained, “Before, at the Reflection Villa, Mother Ali told me she used a Phantom Stone to materialize the exact moment of her murder, hoping whoever saw it would go rescue Ali. These stones can recreate events that happened in the past.”

Having said this, I expected him to be filled with curiosity about the stone, ready to fire off the usual barrage of questions. To my surprise, he paid little attention to this extraordinary object. Instead, he remained lost in thought, muttering under his breath, “It is indeed her…”