Legend of the Demon Soul

Chapter Seven

It’s strange. She’s really nowhere to be found, not anywhere.

Ever since Emily vanished without a trace, James had been observing his surroundings more carefully than usual. Four days had passed, and there was still no sign of her.

Had she gone to another place? Or had his ability to see her disappeared? James couldn’t fathom the reason, his gaze fixed on the row of peace lilies by the window.

Four days ago, when Emily came to work with him, she’d stood quietly there, her eyes wandering between the gray sky outside and the green leaves and white flowers of the peace lilies.

Back then, he’d been reluctant to engage with her, trying his best to pretend she wasn’t there. And she’d stood silently in that corner, waiting for him to finish work. It wasn’t until they got in the car that she’d timidly asked if he could do her a favor.

She was never noisy or bothersome, just quiet—consistent with her gentle nature. But her constant presence, even without a sound, had driven him to the brink of frustration.

So four days ago, he’d yelled at her out of exasperation. Yet that was the very day he’d finally agreed to her request, only for her to vanish without a trace.

Once, he’d longed for her to leave his life, but now that she was gone, he felt as if something were missing.

This was a strange emotion. Was it compassion? Pity? Sympathy? Or the friendship of a chance encounter? He didn’t know. In any case, it was a complex feeling.

Originally, his task had been to ensure Lily received Emily’s blessings from the other world. Now that he’d accomplished it, the matter should have been settled. He could have moved on, but he found himself unable to stop thinking about her. She was a kind woman, a friend one could trust completely. Though they hadn’t known each other long, their friendship had subtly taken root in his heart.

Now that this friend had disappeared, of course he couldn’t rest easy.

Perhaps all he wanted was an answer— to know if she was alright now.

But who would give him that answer? Her appearance had been a mystery, and her departure was another. Combined with Richard’s peculiar relationship with the sisters, Emily alone was a walking enigma, and the whole situation was a jumble of unanswered questions.

Logically, since Emily had died and Richard had another girlfriend, he should have cut ties with the Gao family. Yet he still appeared around Lily as if he were Emily’s boyfriend, even playing the role of her protector. Moreover, what was going on between Richard and Lily? Emily had said they were like fire and water, but everything James had seen contradicted that. Lily was also acting strangely—her words always seemed like carefully rehearsed lines, and she felt unreal somehow.

For heaven’s sake, where had this mess started? James had thought about seeking out Lily again, but he’d hesitated. It seemed better to wait for her to come to him. But if she never contacted him, would he just keep worrying like this?

Sighing, James felt his head about to explode. How could the kind Emily leave him with such an unsolvable mystery?

For days, he’d been sighing and fretting in the office, confusing his subordinates.

This young boss had always been cheerful, smiling at everyone, without a hint of arrogance, and had gotten along well with his staff. So why was he acting so odd these days? At that moment, his colleague Chubby exchanged a glance with Alice, motioning for her to look at the distracted James.

The two then communicated in lip-readings and gestures.

“You said it was handled, right? Why is he still acting strange?” Chubby mouthed exaggeratedly, pointing to James’s back.

“It is handled,” Alice mouthed back. “My friend confirmed she chased her away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

They conversed through lip-reading, and no one else could understand what they were doing.

The Wang family had seven siblings, and James was the fourth.

His parents had run a fortune-telling shop for years, open almost all year round except during the Lunar New Year. As time passed, the other children had found their own jobs and social circles, so family gatherings were rare.

Thus, when they did manage to get together— usually just for sleeping— they would spontaneously go out and do something as a group.

Today was a rare occasion: except for the eldest sister Sophia, who was busy with a news program and would arrive later, the other six had gathered, plus the second sister Olivia’s fiancé and the youngest sister Bella’s boyfriend, making eight of them. They’d bought barbecuing tools and ingredients and headed to the empty lot outside the Tiesuan Fortune-Telling Shop for a family barbecue.

The shop had an empty lot out front with benches where nearby elders would often sit and chat.

Now they were using this lot for a pre-Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue. Fortunately, there were few customers at this hour, so they could relax and chat freely.

The aroma of barbecued food filled the street— “one family’s barbecue, a thousand homes’ fragrance.”

The men busied themselves enjoying the food, playing chess, and discussing politics, while the women showed off their cooking skills. When they had a moment, they even played an old childhood game: jumping over elastic bands in a high-leap contest.

The family was harmonious and joyful.

This atmosphere allowed James to forget the unhappiness of the Emily incident, if only for a while.

Just as he happily won the final round of the elastic band game, a man and a woman across the street caught his attention.

It was Richard.

Richard was as enthusiastic as the first time James had seen him. Now, he had his right arm around a woman’s waist, and his left hand kept caressing her face. The two sauntered past James’s line of sight, laughing and joking.

James couldn’t see the woman clearly enough to confirm if she was the same one from the parking lot, but there was no doubt the man was Richard.

“Big brother, what’s so interesting?” The youngest sister, Twelve, leaned in to look where James was staring, but the crowd was bustling as usual, with nothing remarkable.

“What, do you like that type?” Chloe, the third sister, jerked her chin in Richard’s direction. She hadn’t missed the way James had been staring at the woman.

“What type?” Twelve craned her neck, afraid of missing something.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” James said. “I just saw someone who looks like a friend.”

“Oh, is that so? Good thing, because she’s already taken. You wouldn’t have a chance.” Chloe went back to picking up the elastic band on the ground.

“Wait, you know her? The woman across the street in the yellow dress being hugged by that man?” To confirm, James described the woman’s appearance.

“Yeah, she’s my senior from university, the department beauty. She and that man have known each other for ages— they’re even talking about marriage.”

“Whaaat?!” James couldn’t believe it. Hadn’t Richard met this woman only after Emily’s death? “You’re sure they’ve known each other for a long time?”

“Positive. Our senior chased her for two years, but he lost to that guy. If I remember correctly, his surname is Luo, and he’s a manager at some corporation.”

“How could this be?” James couldn’t believe Richard had been two-timing. But if that were true, why was he still Lily after Emily’s death? “Third sister, which woman are you talking about? I didn’t see.” Twelve was confused.