By the time Lin Du returned to his quarters, dawn was already breaking.
He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, that woman's words replaying in his mind over and over.
"Your brother's golden heart can last another two years."
"If the nine hearts gather within two years, he'll be fine. If they don't—"
What would happen if they didn't gather?
She hadn't finished.
But Lin Du knew it wouldn't be anything good.
He turned over, pulled the stone from his robe, and placed it beside his pillow.
Inside the stone, that character "Mother" was still there. That blurry figure was still there.
"Mom." He called out softly.
The stone brightened.
Lin Du looked at that faint light, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.
He had lived twenty-eight years—no, counting his past life, he had lived a hundred thousand years—but never had he felt time was so insufficient.
Two years.
Only two years.
If he couldn't find the nine hearts within two years, his mother would disappear, and his brother would—
"Host." The trash can's voice came from his robe, muffled. "You're thinking about those things again."
"Yeah."
"Thinking won't help." The trash can said. "Better to sleep. You'll need energy to investigate tomorrow."
Lin Du blinked, then laughed.
"Since when did you become so good with words?"
"I've always been good with words." The trash can's lid cracked open a slit, revealing two little eyes. "I just don't feel like talking most of the time."
Lin Du reached out and patted its lid.
"Fine. You win. Sleeping."
He closed his eyes.
But his mind kept spinning.
The second heart, in Tianxuan Sect's inner sect.
So close to him.
Who could it be?
---
The next morning, Lin Du got up early.
He washed his face, pushed open the door, and took a deep breath.
Then he froze.
Another person stood at his door.
But not that black-robed woman.
It was Lin Zifan.
"Brother?" Lin Du blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Lin Zifan looked at him, his gaze complicated.
"You went to Reflection Cliff last night?"
Lin Du's heart stirred.
"How do you know?"
"Someone saw you." Lin Zifan said. "In the middle of the night, a person heading toward Reflection Cliff. I came over first thing this morning, and sure enough, you weren't here."
Lin Du was silent for two seconds.
"You have someone watching me?"
"Not watching." Lin Zifan said. "Protecting."
Lin Du looked at him and didn't speak.
Lin Zifan sighed.
"Let's talk inside."
---
They entered the room and closed the door.
Lin Zifan sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Lin Du.
"Who did you go see last night?"
Lin Du thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
"The Corpse Collectors."
Lin Zifan's pupils contracted slightly.
"They came to you?"
"Yeah." Lin Du said. "A woman, ranked seventh. Told me to call her 'Seven.'"
Lin Zifan was silent for a moment.
"What did she tell you?"
Lin Du recounted the previous night's events from beginning to end.
The origin of the nine hearts, his mother's crisis, the two-year deadline, and that map.
When Lin Zifan finished listening, his face darkened.
"Two years..." He murmured.
Lin Du looked at him.
"Brother, that golden heart above your head—can it really only last two years?"
Lin Zifan was silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Three years was my initial estimate." He said. "But after last night, it's been beating slower. Maybe... less than two years now."
Lin Du's heart tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"What good would telling you do?" Lin Zifan smiled bitterly. "Make you worry?"
Lin Du didn't speak.
He just looked at that golden heart above Lin Zifan's head.
That heart was still beating, but much slower than a few days ago.
Very slow, very faint, as if it might stop at any moment.
"Brother." Lin Du suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"I'll find the nine hearts."
Lin Zifan looked at him.
"Within two years, I'll find them." Lin Du said. "You and Mom—neither of you will be in danger."
Lin Zifan was frozen for a moment.
Then he smiled.
A faint smile, but genuine.
"Good." He said. "I believe you."
---
That morning, the brothers went to Enforcement Hall together.
Lin Zifan pulled out the complete list of inner sect disciples and went through them one by one.
Lin Du stood beside him, staring at those names, silently thinking about that heart with the character "Hatred."
Who could it be?
Male or female? Old disciple or new? Someone who looked fierce on the surface, or the type who hid a knife behind a smile?
He didn't know.
But he knew one thing—that heart was inside someone's body, waiting to be awakened.
Just like Zhou Yuan's heart.
"Host." The trash can's voice suddenly came from his robe. "Have you considered a question?"
Lin Du asked silently: "What?"
"How does that heart seed choose its host?"
Lin Du froze.
Right, how did it choose?
Zhou Yuan's heart chose Zhou Yuan.
Because there was hatred in Zhou Yuan's heart?
Or because—the heart itself did the choosing?
"I don't know." Lin Du said. "Do you?"
The trash can was silent for two seconds.
"I'm guessing it's emotions." It said. "The heart seed senses emotions that match its own nature, then finds that person."
Lin Du's heart stirred.
Matching emotions?
The second heart was "Hatred."
So what it sought was someone filled with hatred.
Who was filled with hatred?
Lin Du didn't know.
But he suddenly thought of someone.
Zhang Gui.
That outer disciple who just died.
Could his death be connected to the second heart?
Could the second heart have found him, drained his resentment, and then—
Then what?
Lin Du's thoughts grew more tangled.
"Host." The trash can's voice sounded again. "Don't overthink it for now. Just go through the inner disciple list first and see if anyone seems suspicious."
Lin Du nodded and continued examining the list.
---
The list was long—over three hundred names.
Lin Du went through them one by one until his eyes blurred.
Until he saw a name.
"Lin Du." He suddenly spoke.
Lin Zifan looked up. "What?"
Lin Du pointed at a name on the list.
"This person—who is it?"
Lin Zifan looked down and froze.
That name was—
"Lin Yuan."
Lin Du stared at that name, a strange feeling stirring in his chest.
That was the original owner's name.
But the original owner was an outer sect handyman. Why was his name on the inner disciple list?
"This is..." Lin Zifan's expression grew complicated. "This is an old list."
"Old?"
"Yeah." Lin Zifan said. "From three years ago. Back then, you were still an inner disciple."
Lin Du was stunned.
The original owner used to be an inner disciple?
He searched through the original owner's memories—nothing. No trace of this at all.
"You... don't remember?" Lin Zifan looked at him.
Lin Du shook his head.
Lin Zifan was silent for a moment.
"Makes sense." He said. "After your dantian shattered, you forgot a lot of things."
He pointed at the name "Lin Yuan" on the list.
"Three years ago, you were an inner sect prodigy. Foundation Establishment at sixteen—the whole Qingyun Sect was shaken."
Lin Du listened, feeling dazed.
The original owner used to be that impressive?
"What happened after?" He asked.
Lin Zifan's expression darkened.
"After that, your dantian shattered." He said. "Overnight, you went from prodigy to废物."
He paused.
"After that, you went to the outer sect and became a handyman."
Lin Du was silent for a long time.
He looked at that name on the list, a complex emotion rising in his chest.
The original owner's life really had its ups and downs.
But what concerned him more was something else.
Three years ago, on the night the original owner's dantian shattered, Zhou Yuan had placed a heart beside him.
That heart had drained all the original owner's spiritual energy, causing his dantian to shatter.
That heart was the first heart seed—"Resentment."
What about now?
Could the second heart seed also be hiding inside someone's body, waiting to drain that person?
"Brother." Lin Du suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Three years ago, besides me, was there anyone else whose cultivation suddenly regressed, or whose personality suddenly changed dramatically?"
Lin Zifan blinked.
Then he thought for a moment and slowly said:
"There was one person."
Lin Du's heart stirred.
"Who?"
Lin Zifan looked at him, his gaze complicated.
"Zhou Yuan."
---
Lin Du froze.
Zhou Yuan?
"What about him?"
"Not long after your incident three years ago, Zhou Yuan's cultivation suddenly skyrocketed." Lin Zifan said. "He jumped directly from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment."
Lin Du's pupils contracted slightly.
"And then?"
"And then, he changed." Lin Zifan said. "Before, he was honest, timid, afraid of trouble. But after that, he became like a different person."
Lin Du was silent for two seconds.
"You're saying that heart seed gave Zhou Yuan power before it drained me?"
"Possibly." Lin Zifan said. "Or maybe the heart seed used power to tempt him, getting him to do its bidding."
Lin Du thought about everything Zhou Yuan had done these past three years—bringing pills, bringing food, helping with missions, playing the part of the good senior brother.
But those pills were all slow poison.
That care was all fake.
If Lin Zifan's guess was right, then Zhou Yuan had been a puppet controlled by the heart seed from the very beginning.
"What about the second heart seed?" Lin Du asked. "Could it be using the same method—finding someone, giving them power, getting them to do its bidding?"
Lin Zifan was silent for a moment.
"Possible." He said. "And that person might be in the inner sect."
Lin Du looked at that list, a chill running down his spine.
Over three hundred inner disciples. Who would be the next Zhou Yuan?
He didn't know.
But he knew one thing—
That person would definitely come for him.
Just like Zhou Yuan did.
---
That night, Lin Du didn't return to his quarters.
He went to Reflection Cliff.
Not to look for that black-robed woman, just to be alone with his thoughts.
He sat at the cliff's edge, looking down into the endless abyss. The wind blew past, chilling him.
"Host." The trash can's voice came from his robe. "What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about Zhou Yuan."
"Him?"
"Yeah." Lin Du said. "He used to be a good person. Honest, timid, easily bullied. But after the heart seed found him, he changed."
He paused.
"If the heart seed hadn't found him, what do you think he'd be like now?"
The trash can was silent for a moment.
"Probably still that honest person." It said. "Probably bullied his whole life, but at least he wouldn't have hurt anyone."
Lin Du nodded.
"So it's not Zhou Yuan who's wrong." He said. "It's that heart."
The trash can didn't speak.
Lin Du looked into the abyss below and suddenly asked:
"Bro Bin, do you think after all nine heart seeds gather, they really can reverse reincarnation?"
The trash can blinked.
"Why are you asking that?"
"Thinking about a question." Lin Du said. "If the nine hearts gather and can resurrect all the dead, then Zhou Yuan—could he also come back to life?"
The trash can was silent.
After a long time, it finally spoke:
"Host, that question... I can't answer."
Lin Du smiled.
"I can't answer either." He said. "But I want to know."
He stood up and dusted himself off.
"Let's go. Heading back."
"Back for what?"
"Sleep." Lin Du said. "Tomorrow, we start investigating the second heart."
---
Back in his quarters, Lin Du lay down and closed his eyes.
Bro Bin curled up in his arms, already asleep, snoring softly.
Lin Du wasn't sleeping.
He was thinking about what that black-robed woman had said.
"You are the only one who can stop all of this."
Stop what?
The nine hearts gathering?
Or his mother disappearing?
He didn't know.
But he knew one thing—
No matter what happened, he wouldn't let his mother disappear.
And he wouldn't let his brother disappear either.
Outside the window, the moon was full again.
In the distance, something flickered in the darkness.
Like an eye.
Or like—another heart.
But this time, Lin Du wasn't afraid.
He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Tomorrow, there was still a long road ahead.