Chapter 22 Chapter 21

As Tristan walked, the scenery around him gradually turned pale, and he hardly noticed it.The mountains disappeared, collapsed and shattered into floating sand seas, and then evaporated into mist.The path he had just taken had become a featureless plane, uniform in every direction as far as the eye could see.A white light flickered, the apex of which was so bright that he could not keep his eyes open. As the light gradually faded, countless colored particles began to form.They circled the top of Tristan's head before landing on the ground, forming the background where the spirit on his next channeling mission was about to leave.

As he walked, the road under his feet became tarmac, black and glistening with rain.Buildings rose on either side of Tristan, and lighted windows illuminated the dilapidated front garden.The garden was overgrown with weeds and the fence was broken.There were cars parked on the curb, and a few in the paved garden, each old and rusty.The main door was open, and from inside came heavy percussion music and loud laughter. The whole place has a run-down, vulgar vibe that is depressing to look at. Thinking of welcoming the next soul, Trista was neither excited nor nervous, and he didn't even have the usual disgust and indifference in recent years, he only felt a pain of loss.

He stopped at the penultimate house at the end of the street.Amidst a mass of dilapidated buildings, the house was exceptionally well-kept.The lawn in front of the house is clean and tidy, surrounded by flowers; the stepping stones are carved with flying bird patterns, paving an attractive path, leading directly to the newly painted red-painted gate.Tristan knew that this was the abode of the next soul about to separate from its body.He didn't go in, just waited outside. Several passers-by looked at this stranger wandering around the door of No. 24, and they knew he was a foreigner.But people here are used to clearing their own doors, so they just keep walking without saying a word.Tristan was absent-minded, his eyes glazed over, and he didn't notice people's inquiries, or even people looking at him.He ignored their curious eyes and deafened their whispers a few steps away.

For the man who lives here, he already knows everything he needs.She has lived here alone for ten years, except for work and visiting her mother who lives on the other side of the town once a week, and rarely goes out.She doesn't socialize with the locals, who think she's snobby and fake, when in reality she's just afraid of them.She had just been stabbed to death in her bed by a burglar.The man wanted to find some valuables in her house, but was disappointed and killed her in a fit of rage.Soon she'll be waking up and going about her daily chores as usual.She won't notice that her jewelry box is gone, or that the smart digital camera she bought with years of savings isn't tucked away in a drawer in the dining room.She just thought she was a little late and decided not to have breakfast.

She would meet Tristan whenever she went out, and she would go with him no matter what. By now, Tristan had absorbed all the relevant information in his mind.All he needed to do was mix facts and stories together to get the job done.He knows these things well, but doesn't give them much thought.He will guide the soul through this journey because that is his job.He's only here because he can't help himself.Yet he would have no pity for the unfortunate, no sympathy for her, no kind words to comfort her.He just leads her, that's all. The moon was directly overhead, a pale beam seeking and dispelling shadows.Tristan felt as if he had returned to the chaotic and fragile state at the beginning of creation, as if all his feelings and thoughts had been exposed, and anyone could see through him.He knew it would be hours before the soul appeared, and he didn't know how much longer he could last.From the bottom of his heart, he longed to get out of here and find a place to hide, wallowing in pain and sorrow.His mind gave instructions to his feet, telling them to turn around and go straight away, to keep going until he had let go of his grief.However nothing happened.

His charming blue eyes filled with tears again.Of course, it is impossible for him to escape from his post. Above him, there is a higher law of nature and an unshakable destiny.His anguish, his despair, his desire to abdicate his duty are of little consequence.He can't control his own destiny, he can't even control his own feet. "Dylan." She realized someone was calling her name behind her, but she didn't turn around.As if she was alone in the safe house that night, her eyes were fixed on nothing but the front.If she looked away, Tristan was really gone. Who is she fooling?Tristan is gone, and will never return.She just wasn't ready for it all.Dylan continued to stare at the road provocatively, and pressed his lower lip hard until the smell of blood filled his mouth.No, she couldn't taste it.Her senses had been numb.

"Dylan." The call sounded again, and her body flinched.She couldn't guess whether the person calling her was a man or a woman, old or young.The voice was neither anxious nor urgent, it sounded polite. She doesn't want to be welcomed by anyone. "Dylan." Dylan got angry and flew into a rage.She understood that she had to wait for her to answer the voice, otherwise she would never let it go.Slowly, reluctantly, she turned around. She blinked, completely confused, and there was nothing behind her.She opened her mouth, intending to yell out, hoping to hear it again, but she slowly closed her mouth again.What does it matter if it doesn't ring?

She was going to turn around, keep her eyes on the ground, and continue walking step by step, still thinking that Tristan would miraculously suddenly appear by her side.However, the moment she turned her face away, a strange thing that was incompatible with this place caught her eyes, it was a beam of light.Her heart suddenly jumped wildly, thinking of those balls of light she had seen on the bloody wasteland. But this time is different, the beam of light gradually grows bigger, changes its image, extends, and finally takes shape.He was smiling at Dylan, still very polite.A pale, flawless face surrounded by a tuft of light blond hair.His body shape looks almost human, but something is always wrong.

Just like the souls she had seen before, they were both real and illusory, and the reality was unknown. "Welcome." He said, opening his arms.Dylan scowled, and he was grinning wildly to himself, as if she should be happy to be here. "Who are you?" "My name is Sally, and I came here to meet you. Welcome, welcome home." go home?go home!This is not home.The place she just left is home, twice. "You must have something to ask me. Please come with me first." He still had a fitting smile on his face, his arms outstretched.The eyes are golden, without pupils, but warm and not scary.He was watching her, waiting for her to follow.

Dylan shook his head slowly but firmly.The thing—it might not be fair to call him a thing, but he was definitely not human—looked at her with polite confusion. "I want to go back," Dylan said calmly. The confusion on his face immediately turned into understanding, "Sorry, you can't go back, your body has disappeared. But don't be afraid, you will see your loved ones soon." "No, that's not what I mean. I mean the wilderness. I want to go back to the wilderness." Dylan looked around at the flat wilderness overgrown with heather, and when he looked back, the rolling horseshoe-shaped mountains were still there.Strictly speaking, it seems that she is still in the wasteland at this time.However, since crossing that dividing line, she has been in a foreign land, not the same place at all.

"I think..." Dylan hesitated.The thing, Sally, cast her a suspicious look. "You have completed cross-domain." He spoke in a mysterious tone. Dylan frowned even tighter, she didn't understand what she meant at all. "Where is my ferryman now? Where's Tristan?" She stuttered at the mention of his name. "You don't need him anymore now, he's done his job. Please come with me." This time the thing turned and pointed behind it.A little further on from the path came what could barely be called a porch, and then a five-barred gate terminating in a wide stock-ditch fence.There were no bars extending out either side of the door, and it looked ridiculous that there was just a door hanging there pointlessly. Dylan crossed his arms, raised his chin, and said "no" through his teeth. "I want Tristan. I'm not leaving here until I see him." "I'm sorry, but it's impossible." "Why?" Dylan asked immediately. Sally didn't seem to understand Dylan's question at all. "That's impossible." He just kept repeating the sentence, "Please come with me." He took a wrong step to the side, and once again pointed to the door behind him.He smiled patiently and waited.Dylan thought he would stand there so quietly until she moved. What would he do to her if she ignored him and kept walking back, back to the Great Lake? Will he hold himself back?She stood up straight and took half a step back to watch his reaction carefully.Sally still kept smiling, her head tilted slightly to one side, and her brows were slightly frowned as if puzzled.Dylan took another step back, still not moving, just looking at her.She could ignore him as much as she wanted. She looked away from him for a moment, then ventured back to glance behind her, the mountains still there.She felt that she could vaguely make out the outline of the last safe house through the boundary line separating the two worlds.There is no sign of demons there, and there is no sign of danger, so I can stay there safely. But what's the point? Tristan wasn't there.He lied to himself, she might already be busy with the next task and accompany the next person to be saved. He may have forgotten himself. No, a cry came from somewhere in the back of her head, "He said he loved you, and he meant it." Maybe, maybe not.Now there is no way of knowing the truth.What's the point of staying there if Tristan doesn't come back? Dylan sighed and spread his arms, letting them hang naturally.There was a throbbing pain in her hand, and blood flowed back to her fingertips.She didn't realize how tightly she hugged her arms just now, as if she was afraid that she would fall apart. "Okay." She muttered with a laugh, taking a step in Sally's direction, and then another step, "Okay." Sally smiled warmly at her and waited patiently until Dylan was beside him, and they walked side by side on the path toward the door. They came to the door, and when Sally pulled the door open, it felt as if he hadn't just turned the rusty metal grill, but had carved a hole in the world, and let the door appear in the place of the door. A window to another world. "Please," Sally said quietly, signaling Dylan to step over. "Where are we now?" she whispered from the other side. It was a huge room, almost out of proportion.She couldn't see the wall clearly, but she could feel that she was in a room.The floor is clean and tidy, not one color. "This is the recording room. I think this is the ideal place for you to start. Here you can find the souls who stayed here. They died before you and crossed the wasteland." "How do I find it?" Dylan muttered to himself, feeling a strong curiosity involuntarily. As soon as the words came out, the furnishings in the house began to appear automatically.The edges of the room began to shrink, forming sharply defined walls.Bookshelves lined the walls, stretching from floor to ceiling, filled with tomes.A thick black carpet appeared at Dylan's feet, adding a touch of magnificence to the whole room and isolating the sound of footsteps.Dylan felt a sense of déjà vu as she looked around, her mind replaying a trip to the library with Joan.She was only ten years old at the time, and in her eyes, the place was deep and empty, quiet and silent, like caves and labyrinths.She got lost inside, and finally a gentle and kind cleaner found Dylan crying under the table.Could the scene in front of her be a projection of her mind like the wilderness? Sally said softly beside her, "I'm sure you have family and friends you're looking for." He paused, then said, "Do you need me to find you? Is it your grandmother Moore or your aunt Yvonne?" ?” Dylan looked at him in amazement that he knew the names of his loved ones like the back of his hand. "Can you find everyone's?" she asked. "Yes, anyone who has completed the journey of the wasteland. We have registered every soul, and every ferryman has a book that records all the souls they have guided." What?While thinking about Sally's words, Dylan scanned the room with his eyes. But instead of going to her grandmother or her aunt who died of breast cancer three years ago, she had other plans. Dylan turned to Sally, her eyes lit up suddenly. "I want to see Tristan's booklet," she told him. Sally froze for a moment before realizing, "This place is not..." "Just look at Tristan's booklet," Dylan repeated. Sally looked very displeased, his expression mixed with concern and disapproval, but he led her around rows of towering bookshelves, past countless volumes, and into a dark corner.A bookshelf there was empty except for a large volume.He reached out to take the book down. The green cover was faded, the pages were gilded, and the corners looked limp and rotten, as if they had been turned by fingers several times ago. "This is Tristan's booklet." Sally said, putting the book on an empty table, "What are you looking for, may I ask?" Dylan didn't answer, and she wasn't sure what she was looking for.But she still reached out and opened the cover, inside was like an account book, every page was densely filled, and the souls line after line were registered in the book with neat fonts.Each line has their name, their age, and a date. Dylan was a little surprised to find that it was not their birthday, but their death. She flipped the pages of the booklet silently.One name after another flashed across the eyes, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, these countless souls survived thanks to Tristan, and she was just a drop in the ocean.She clutched the heavy book, and struggled to turn it from beginning to end until she saw the last blank page, and then turned back to find the last record, which belonged to her.Dylan felt weird seeing her name written in a cursive script she couldn't imagine.Could this be written by Tristan?Next to her name was the date of her ride.She ran her fingers across the next blank line, whose name was going to be listed, and where was Tristan now?Has he reached the first safe house yet? Dylan sighed and continued flipping through the pages at will, she didn't want to think about Tristan extraditing other souls.He is her ferryman.Hers, she smiled wryly, but the roster in front of her made it hard for her not to think about it.She glanced at the list and frowned. "What's this?" she asked, pointing to a line near the bottom of the page.The entire entry had been crossed out, a thick black ink blot completely covering the name.He didn't answer.Dylan looked to the left, wondering if he had been abandoned, but saw Sally standing there still motionless.His eyes were looking away, but he didn't seem to be seeing anything. "Excuse me... Sally?" She hesitated and called out his name, "What does this mean? Why was this name deleted?" "That spirit isn't here now," he replied, still not looking at Dylan.not there?Are they the souls caught by evil spirits?If she were to look it up, would she find the little boy who died of cancer here?The little boy that Tristan accidentally fell into the hands of the devil.She opened her mouth to ask, but Sally turned her head and looked at her with a bright smile, making her hesitate, "Why are you so interested in this booklet? If you say it, I will help you." .” Dylan's doubts were resolved by this bright smile, and Shi Shi lost his mind again.The mystery of the obliterated record was on the back of her mind. "Do you know every soul here?" she asked, pointing to the book. Sally nodded affirmatively. "I'm looking for someone, but I don't know his name. He's a soldier, a Nazi soldier." Dylan blinked, slightly surprised by his own words. This is definitely not the reason for asking to see this roster. But the idea popped into her mind.She realized right away that she had always intended to do this, at least subconsciously.She wanted to talk to other people who knew Tristan, she wanted to talk to people who knew Tristan as well as she did.Of all the stories Tristan told her, the young soldier in World War II moved her the most. She expected Sally to shake her head and ask her for more information.Yet out of the blue, he went to the desk and confidently turned the creamy pages until he found the one she wanted. "Here," he pointed to the penultimate line, "this soul is what you're looking for." Dylan sat across from him, staring at the scrawled name. "Jonas Ball," she whispered, "eighteen. Died February 12, 1941. Is that him?" Sally nodded. Dylan bit his lip, thinking.At eighteen, he was only a few years older than he is now.Somehow, in her imagination, he was supposed to be an adult, but in reality he might have been a student.She suddenly thought of the senior boys, the president of the student council, and the seniors at Gischel Middle School.They were immature, silly little boys, and she couldn't imagine them wearing military uniforms and carrying guns.She even didn't believe that they knew that this decision would lead to their own death, and they would refuse to obey orders without hesitation. Eighteen years old, both a boy and a man.Who would Tristan become before him?How did he let Jonas go with him? Dylan looked up from the roster, looked at Sally and said, "I want to talk to him."