Staring at the locket, Bing Yu was transfixed. Memories flooded back. She, too, had once known such a family, where her father, mother, and elder brother cherished her as their most precious treasure. Every weekend, the family would sit harmoniously on the balcony, enjoying afternoon tea—freshly ground coffee paired with tiramisu lovingly baked by her mother, filling the entire room with an atmosphere of pure happiness.

But happiness was always ephemeral. Before she reached adulthood, before completing her studies, before the age for marriage, tragedy struck. She was forced to inhabit another's body, lingering near her home, watching from afar as her parents and brother, heavy with grief, carried her ashes to the cemetery. The way her mother occasionally looked in her direction held both profound sorrow and a strange unfamiliarity. Clearly, in their minds, Bing Yu had already vanished from this world.

Thinking of this, Bing Yu couldn't help but sob, murmuring to herself, "If someone had struggled so hard to find me, I would never have let them down."

"He would," Xiao Shu interjected suddenly, startling Bing Yu, who was deep in thought. She widened her eyes, looking at him as if asking, How could you know?

"His name is Ming Xiaoyu," Xiao Shu met her gaze, his eyes seeming to pierce through everything, reaching directly into Bing Yu's soul. "He died without a trace of his remains for the sake of a friend. When I found him again by the water's edge at Peach Blossom Pool, my heart soared with joy, thinking a miracle had occurred, that he had safely returned to us. However, it wasn't until he vanished without explanation, until I met you and heard about that life-and-death contract involving ninety-nine souls, that I understood what had happened to him."

"Will you stop him?" Bing Yu asked dazedly after hearing Xiaoyu's story.

Xiao Shu shook his head, replying softly, "Whatever the ending, it is his choice. I cannot promise to remain his friend forever, but before everything becomes fixed, I can still do what a friend should do for him, including sacrificing myself."

His words left Bing Yu’s eyes glistening with unshed tears. How fortunate she would be to have a friend like that. She gently returned the photo locket to Xiao Shu and stepped forward to embrace his broad chest. A surge of warmth rushed through her heart, and two hot streams of tears poured down onto his shoulder.

"Can you help me find him?" Xiao Shu asked, patting her back lightly, offering the greatest comfort as if soothing a frightened child.

"I don't know," Bing Yu started to weep again. "You are a human, and we are what you call the Walking Corpses. Bringing you into our world might mean your very existence ceases, that you become the slain soul under some Walking Corpse's blade..." Before she could finish, Xiao Shu used both large palms to support Bing Yu's delicate shoulders. "I am not as fragile as you imagine. He risked his life repeatedly to pull me back from the brink of the grave. If I don't find him, I will be plagued by my conscience for the rest of my life."

The word 'conscience' resurfaced in Bing Yu's mind. In truth, she was not entirely without it. If she truly believed in the middle-aged man's doctrine of the strong preying on the weak, she might not be guarding this place, focusing her killings solely on the greedy. Anyone could become a target for her slaughter, as long as they were alive and could complete the tally of ninety-nine human lives for the sacrifice. Thus, when Xiao Shu spoke of Xiaoyu's story with such deep emotion, she was moved by this friendship. Even though Xiao Shu couldn't guarantee his future friendship with Xiaoyu, these words were evidently genuine, completely heartfelt.