The house was quiet again.
No lingering shadows.No flickering shapes.No smoke curling with secrets.
Just stillness.
The kind that comes after healing.
Shi Mu and Li Zhilan sat in silence, side by side on the worn couch.
Neither of them spoke right away.
There was no need.
Zhilan's eyes were puffy, but her expression was calm.
"I thought seeing her would tear me apart," she said finally.
Shi Mu glanced at her. "And did it?"
Zhilan shook her head.
"No. It stitched me back together."
She stood and walked around the house like someone rediscovering parts of herself.
"This place…" she whispered, touching the doorframe, "this wasn't just hers. It was mine too."
Shi Mu nodded.
"You're allowed to remember it that way."
They drank tea on the front steps as dusk settled in. A soft wind stirred the trees, carrying no chill—only warmth.
Zhilan looked at Shi Mu, her gaze steady.
"Why did you help us?"
Shi Mu took a long sip of her tea.
"I know what it's like to be erased," she replied."To wonder if your name will ever mean something again."
Zhilan smiled faintly.
"And does it now?"
Shi Mu looked at the fading sky.
"Yes. Because I chose to write it myself."
[System Notification]
Emotional Closure: Complete – Spirit Ying Archived Peacefully
Witness Recovery: Li Zhilan Stabilized
No Regression Predicted
Brotherhood Value +365 (Support Extended Beyond Farewell + Self-Worth Affirmed)
Current Total: 15,920 / 1,000,000
They parted ways just before nightfall.
Zhilan promised to come back—to clean the house, to repaint the door, to remember.
Shi Mu watched her disappear down the path, then turned to look at the home one last time.
Not haunted.
Not broken.
Just quiet.
She walked away slowly, hand brushing the gate as she passed.
The wind picked up for a moment, carrying one final whisper.
Not from a ghost.
From a place that could rest now.