Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Where Did You Hide Your Future Self?
The little boy looked at Gao Tian.
"Do you know the future Xu Yuan?
"What kind of person did the grown-up Xu Yuan become? Did he fulfill his childhood wish and eliminate all the ghosts in the world?"
This was an extremely difficult question to answer.
Gao Tian had indeed been in contact with the future Xu Yuan. It was just that the man he became was the complete opposite of his childhood self.
This cruel world had no room for well-intentioned lies. Gao Tian decided to tell him the truth.
"You created an organization called the Jialan Society, recruited a large group of Ghost Hunters, and handled many supernatural incidents.
"You entered a haunted place called the ’Living Persons’ Apartment,’ completed ten missions, and became the only person to ever leave it alive.
"You were truly a remarkable person.
"Unfortunately, you still died."
The little boy’s eyes widened.
"I died?"
Everyone dies eventually, but for someone his age, death was still something he had never encountered and found difficult to accept.
Although his parents had died long ago, he had grown up in a state of naive ignorance, only hearing about their deaths from others.
Gao Tian sighed.
This was the cruelest part.
"You just said your wish was to eliminate all the ghosts in the world, right?"
The little boy, Xu Yuan, nodded.
"Yes, that’s right. It’s a wish my teacher and I made together.
"Because... everyone else said my father died in a car accident. But my teacher told me he died in a supernatural incident. While he was driving on the highway, a pair of pale hands covered his eyes, causing a fatal crash.
"Add to that these special eyes of mine—I’ve seen too many people slowly killed by ghosts, bit by bit. So my teacher and I made a pact. When I grow up, I will definitely expel every single evil ghost from our world, leaving none behind."
Gao Tian looked at his face. The Gao Tian from decades in the future was now clearly telling the Xu Yuan from decades in the past:
"And then, you died.
"You became a new vengeful ghost.
"No different from all the supernatural incidents you had previously resolved."
THUD. The little boy, Xu Yuan, fell off his seat.
A child’s bones are resilient. He rubbed his bottom, and within seconds, he was back on his feet. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his lips had paled, and he started trembling, unable to speak for a long moment.
"Th-th-this... How is that possible?
"Tell me, mister, you’re lying to me. The future you saw isn’t real."
Gao Tian looked at him.
"Xu Yuan, I hope that when you grow up, if you still remember this day...
"...you will absolutely remember what you said today.
"Your wish is to eliminate ghosts, not to become one. Many years from now, when you’re grown, you will be killed by a vengeful ghost in a place called Sapphire Mall. But even so, even if that place becomes the final stop in your life, do not try to escape death by becoming a ghost."
He didn’t know if the Xu Yuan of the past would take his words to heart.
He also didn’t know if this could create a butterfly effect in spacetime, with this conversation with the past Xu Yuan directly influencing the adult Xu Yuan of the future.
The little boy kept his head down, silent for a long time, lost in thought. Fortunately, he finally accepted reality. He raised his head to look at Gao Tian again and nodded solemnly.
"I understand, big brother from the future."
The speed at which he accepted his fate was somewhat beyond Gao Tian’s expectations.
Gao Tian asked,
"Aren’t you even a little bit skeptical of what I’ve told you? How would I know the future you, or that the adult Xu Yuan became a ghost?
"It’s also possible that I’m just making all of this up."
The little boy’s gaze fell on the Ghost Transformation Spear in his hand.
"I recognize that thing in your hand.
"It’s my teacher’s most treasured possession. He told me he would give it to me after I came of age. If the future me died and became a ghost, and this item ended up in your hands, it must mean you’ve definitely met the adult Xu Yuan.
"You’re not just spinning some ghost story to fob me off."
’So that’s how it is.’
The Ghost Transformation Spear he’d unintentionally brought into this chaotic timeline had proven his identity. Otherwise, with young Xu Yuan’s intelligence, he would never have believed a stranger’s words so easily.
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
Little Xu Yuan asked,
"Have you solved it?
"The mystery that has puzzled my teacher’s lineage for three generations."
Gao Tian naturally knew he was asking about the secret of the Ghost Transformation Spear—the legendary special item said to be able to change an era.
Gao Tian just shook his head.
"It wasn’t solved, not even at the moment of your death.
"This supernatural item passed through so many hands, for over fifty years, and not a single person could unlock its secret. After you became a ghost, you also grew disheartened. In your eyes, the item had almost no value.
"It was only under those circumstances that you gave it to me."
The light in the little boy’s eyes dimmed in an instant.
Another piece of bad news.
If he had known his future was so bleak, little Xu Yuan might have preferred not to ask so many questions.
Little Xu Yuan scratched his head, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed.
"But you said earlier that I founded that Jialan Society. There might be some misunderstanding. The future me would never give an organization that name."
Gao Tian asked, surprised,
"Why not?"
Little Xu Yuan said,
"Because Jialan is the name of my class monitor in Class 3 at Honglong Primary School—Li Jialan. That girl is fierce and short-tempered. She’s always supervising my homework, forcing me to stay after school, and personally teaching me the English grammar and math formulas I don’t understand. I would never use that hag’s name for anything.
"There must be some misunderstanding there. When you go back, you can investigate it further."
Gao Tian nodded.
"I see."
What little Xu Yuan said had unintentionally revealed another piece of information.
The elementary school he attended was Honglong Primary School, and he was in Class 3.
His class monitor was named Li Jialan.
As these bits of information came together, a true profile of Xu Yuan—his movements before death, his background, what he did, where he went—was on the verge of being uncovered.
The vengeful ghost hiding in the chat group had tried everything to conceal his identity. He never would have imagined that his real information would be leaked, piece by piece, in this way.
Facing the young Xu Yuan in the mist before him, Gao Tian had one last question.
"Xu Yuan, I’m playing a game with the future you.
"You died here in Sapphire Mall, the very place we’re standing on. The future you said he didn’t properly handle his own body before he died, and he wanted me to come and take care of it for him.
"But the problem is that after so many years, this place has changed dramatically. It’s become a bustling mall, yet his body has never been found. He also never told me where he hid it.
"Little Xu Yuan, please try to put yourself in your own shoes and guess. Where would the future you hide his body?"
Hearing this incredible request—asking little Xu Yuan to find his own body, the body of the adult Xu Yuan from more than twenty years in the future—was an incredible ask. The challenge was so bizarre that, besides little Xu Yuan, probably no one else in the world would ever get the chance to experience something like it.
Little Xu Yuan furrowed his brow, looking like he was thinking hard.
’If it were me... before I died, where would I hide my body...’
He suddenly deflated like a popped balloon.
"Um, can I not look for it?"
Gao Tian tried to persuade him earnestly.
"I’m afraid that’s not an option. I need you to use your head and think hard about what the future you would do.
"If we don’t find this body, it will soon reanimate and become a new vengeful ghost. With so many people in this mall, there’s no telling how many will die."
Xu Yuan climbed back onto the chair in front of the arcade machine, looking at his fingers and muttering to himself.
"This place was already a small shopping center twenty years ago. Back then, the arcade was also called Sapphire.
"Because Honglong Primary School is just three streets away from the arcade, my teacher always took a while to pick me up after school, so I would always come to this arcade to play games for a bit.
"When I ran out of tokens, I’d just stand next to other kids and watch them play.
"I never thought that after so many years, this place would change so much, but there would still be an arcade here."
Seeing him muttering to himself, Gao Tian felt a little disappointed. It seemed that even though they were the same person, time really could change someone so much. The young Xu Yuan had no idea why his older self would willingly become a ghost, nor did he know what he truly wanted.
Just then, from the distance, through the mist, came the sound of leather shoes on the floor. And the footsteps were getting closer.
Little Xu Yuan glanced in the opposite direction, as if he had seen something. He turned back to Gao Tian and said anxiously,
"My teacher is here to pick me up.
"He has a special ability. Whenever he’s nearby, most supernatural phenomena, as well as my own special power, are temporarily nullified or eliminated.
"As soon as he gets close, my Ghost Eye will disconnect. We’ll both be sent back to our own timelines.
"Our conversation today... is probably over."
Gao Tian looked at the little boy from over twenty years ago, the vengeful ghost who would want him dead more than twenty years later. He nodded.
"I understand. You be careful.
"And make sure you remember what you promised. You absolutely cannot become a vengeful ghost, no matter what happens in the future."
The little boy and his brand-new arcade machine began to turn transparent in the mist, twisting and warping. It seemed that as the owner of the leather shoes drew nearer, the connection between the two timelines was growing thinner, about to "disconnect" completely.
In the final moment before he vanished, little Xu Yuan suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted toward Gao Tian from afar.
"I know!
"I know where my future self would hide the body!
"You said that the Sapphire Mall built here twenty years later is always bustling with people, but my body has been lying here all this time without ever being discovered, right?"
