Ying's presence lingered long into the evening.
Not heavy.Not sorrowful.
Just… full.
Shi Mu quietly lit one last stick of incense and placed it near the window, letting the breeze carry the smoke outward—an offering, a farewell, a signal.
She stood back, letting the sisters have their moment.
Li Zhilan and Ying sat together on the old couch.
Zhilan gently stroked her sister's transparent hair—if it could be touched at all. Her fingers hovered near the outline, never quite making contact, but the emotion passed through anyway.
"I missed you," Ying said.
"I missed me too," Zhilan whispered.
The words didn't need to make perfect sense.
They were complete in feeling.
"Will you stay?" Zhilan asked.
Ying looked down.
Her outline shimmered.
"I can't," she said. "You found me. That means it's time."
"Time for what?"
"To go."
Zhilan shook her head.
"No. We just got here. I just remembered."
"I never wanted to haunt you," Ying said. "I just wanted to be found."
Shi Mu stepped forward then.
"She's not leaving you," she said. "She's just… letting go of the weight."
Zhilan looked at her. "Does it hurt?"
"No," Shi Mu replied. "Not when the goodbye is real."
Ying rose from the couch.She walked to the center of the room.
The incense flame grew brighter for a moment—then dimmed.
She turned to Shi Mu.
And smiled.
"Thank you for not being afraid of me."
Shi Mu smiled back.
"I was never afraid of you."
[System Notification]
Spirit Ying: Peacefully Released
Reunion Thread Completed – No Residual Regret
Emotional Integration: Clean
Brotherhood Value +380 (Voluntary Parting + Sibling Bond Fully Healed)
Current Total: 15,555 / 1,000,000
Ying turned to her sister one last time.
"Dream of me, okay?"
"I will," Zhilan whispered. "Every spring."
Then Ying stepped into the light.
And vanished—
Not with a scream.
Not with a wail.
But with a promise fulfilled.