1.15

Since leaving the office, I'd hailed a taxi instead of waiting for Su Meng and locked myself in the music room.

It had all been a lie. Since I'd woken up, all the warmth that man had given to me was all based on lie after lie. 

That psycho had unexpectedly never spoken another word as he left me in the office to mull over my thoughts. Leaving me in the torment of all the unknown. 

Zhiyue had loved him. Apparently, my soul was his wife if he wasn't also lying to me in that dream world he'd made for me before. 

He hadn't done anything wrong to me. 

Yet I had killed him without hesitation for another man. A man I, or Zhiyue, barely knew. 

All the memories from before the day Zhiyue had entered the orphanage weren't there. So I had no idea what her and Jianyu's relationship were like as children; if what he had said about her family and engagement were true. 

Maybe he had loved her then?

Maybe the stimulation of her being 'raped and almost murdered' had made him make a move?

I tried my best to make excuses and rectify him in my mind, but the lie was still there and it was still all a relationship between him and Zhiyue, not me, Luna. 

"It still doesn't stop the fact that he was a murderer that the CIB was after…" System nagged as I sat dejectedly in front of the intricately detailed mahogany guqin I often found myself drawn to.

My fingers plucked at the string haphazardly. 

"True," I sighed. Maybe that was why he had to leave Zhiyue when he did, why he refused to return to her life. Still, that body was dead. That identity was dead. He was now CEO Jiang.

Just how powerful was he to be able to create a dream world as a wandering soul, show me those memories from a few drops of blood, and pick the perfect candidate to enter my life again…

"Too powerful for our weak little selves to contend with," System mumbled sourly.

"How can I get more power?" I asked, feeling sick of this weak pathetic body of mine.

"All that I know is you need to collect souls or gain energy from the worlds we enter," it replied.

"How would I do that?" My fingers continued plucking at the strings, playing a tune I did not know, yet played so well without thinking. 

"It depends on the world, Host, I'll know if I encounter it."

"Useless," I bitterly spat as the string snapped and cut my finger. I sucked in my breath holding my finger as I watched the blood drip onto the wood, "we're both so fucking useless."

"I'm sorry Host," System sounded like a child being punished, making my heartstrings tug a little.

"I'm sorry too," I bit my lip and watched as the wound healed instantly. The blood was the only evidence of there having been any injury.

"At least I can do this," System beamed, awaiting praise.

I chuckled, imagining it like a cute doggy wagging its tail.

"Yes, you're a good boy."

A cold breeze washed over me, ruining the warm atmosphere.

"Oh no," System sounded aggrieved and somewhat panicked.

"What's wrong?" I lifted my head to look around the large music room that was separated from Zhiyue's study by a large glass window and door.

As I exhaled I could see a white mist appear. A guitar fell off the wall stand crashing to the floor, making me jump to my feet. 

"There's something wrong," System's voice sounded genuinely worried, "someone's done something to your body."

"Then undo it," I muttered, my eyes wandering around the room in anticipation of an attack. My hair stood up on end, alongside the goosebumps made me aware that something was wrong with the room. 

"I can't," System aggrievedly replied, "I'm trying to figure it out, but whatever they've done is by using this world's energy and it's too strong for me."

"Bitch," an eerie shriek filled the entire room as a flute flung across the room, hitting my head. 

I winced, pressing my head against the pain whilst looking at the direction it had come from. There was nothing.

"It's a soul," System answered before I could even ask, "her body is long dead."

"S-so it's a ghost?" I stuttered as chills crept down my spine, "what do I do?" Though I asked, my feet moved instinctively towards the door. 

"Gimme a sec or two," System sounded frustrated and tired.

"One, Two," I counted with sarcasm as an automatic coping mechanism as my stumbling feet quickened. 

A woman dressed in an ancient-looking white robe blocked the door, making me almost fall as I halted my steps.

She was so pale as if all the blood in her body had been drained. Her elaborately old-fashioned styled hair was in disarray and her pale lifeless eyes looked at me unfocused.

"Fuck," I cursed at System, "a bit of warning next time."

"You were too busy counting," it quipped back, "anyway, now you can see her, you can avoid her."

I rolled my eyes and took a step to the side, intending to avoid her to run for the door.

The dead woman shrieked in response, her hands stretched out to grab at me.

I ducked and her fingers caught the loose bun on my head, yanking my hair free from the scrunchie and making my scalp burn.

"Ouch," I muttered, mustering the strength to actually touch the dead thing. 

Instinctively, I hit her inner elbow, making her surprisingly release her death grip on my hair.

I could actually touch her.

Her eyes looked me up and down, reexamining me.

I didn't spare her another thought and bolted through the door.

"Luna?" Jianyu hovered at the entrance, unbuttoning his jacket.

Too shocked to care about my previous grievances with him, I pointed in the direction of my office, "D-dead th-thing."

Jianyu did not bother to even take off his shoes as he walked directly into my office without a sign of hesitation. 

I wish I had his courage or had he not believed me?

Unable to bear the not knowing when I heard the shrill shriek again, I ran into the office, lingering at the doorway of the music room, finding myself physically unable to walk through.

Jianyu stood muttering something as the dead woman screamed, emitting a strange glow.

She writhed on the spot, though never once moved her feet, which seemed glued to the floor. It was then I noticed a glowing sigil beneath her.

Once her soul vanished and the light dimmed I accidentally fell through the door as if the invisible barrier disappeared alongside her.

Jianyu then turned and looked surprised to see me standing there. He then reached out to pull me up straight and glanced over my body in panic seeing the residue of blood in my hand. The bump on my head had long been healed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah," I tried to gather my wits together at this unexpected change in my reality, "what did you do to her?"

"You saw all that?" He frowned, still not answering my question.

"What did you do?" 

His frown deepened as he let go of me to pull out his mobile phone and call someone, completely ignoring my aggrieved expression.

The anger from before, combined with his ignoring me, made me unable to even look at him as I stormed out of the room, shutting the door with a slam.