What is eternal life? There may be countless myths and legends about such concepts, but even with today's advanced medicine, few people live to a hundred, let alone forever.
What's wrong with Master Raul? Why would he suddenly send me a human skin tattoo? And of the lost "Make Way for the Ghost Soldiers" design at that. What makes me even more curious is - who did this skin belong to?
Those who receive the "Make Way for the Ghost Soldiers" tattoo meet only one fate: death! No matter how robust one's Four Pillars of Destiny may be, no one in this world can survive this yin-inspired tattoo. Who would be foolish enough to risk their life for this?
At that moment, Stein seemed to have discovered something. He sighed and pointed out what appeared to be writing on the inner side of the human skin.
I quickly turned it over to look. Stein was right - there was indeed an inscription: "Ghost Soldiers appear while Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts hide. Deaths, infinite rebirths. The gates of Hell open, and the living return." Beneath the words was a signature: Kairos.
I immediately exclaimed, "What the hell? Isn't that my dad?"
I'd never met my parents, but I knew their names from reading our family's account book. My father was Kairos, and my mother was Lyra.
These words on the skin had actually been tattooed by my father. Could it be that this "Make Way for the Ghost Soldiers" was also his work? But my grandfather couldn't have done it - the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts are passed down through generations.
I remembered what my grandfather had told me: if my parents ever came looking for me, I had to kill them and burn their bodies.
It wasn't just my grandfather - both Master Raul and Webster had said the same thing to me before. But what was going on? They never explained why.
Could my father be connected to this human skin tattoo? And what was the significance of Master Raul sending it to me?
Luna said Master Raul hadn't given any explanation, only instructing her to deliver it to me with the message that I should take good care of it.
The human skin had undergone special treatment. A careful sniff revealed a faint fragrance, likely from some preservative spice. Some corpses receive similar treatment to achieve permanent preservation. Combined with storage in a sealed copper box, this skin showed virtually no signs of deterioration.
What kind of scheme was Master Raul brewing? Saying nothing, keeping everything secret - damn it, I really wanted to drag him out by his beard into the light.
After studying it for a while without discovering anything new - just the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts and the words on the human skin - I had no choice but to put it away.
With the item now in my hands, Luna had completed her task. She said she needed to hurry back to cultivate and didn't stay long, bidding farewell directly.
Stella, however, didn't leave right away. She asked if I was free tomorrow night.
At first, I thought she was asking me out, but it turned out Harper was participating in the Campus Singing Competition tomorrow, and Stella wanted to invite me to watch—because I was the one who had cured Harper's vocal cords.
I was surprised. Ghosts Performing Opera had only been in place for a few days, and it was already working? Yin-inspired tattoos really are something…* I had thought the treatment was wrong. Could Ghosts Performing Opera actually improve someone's voice? I was skeptical.
Stella shook her head and said no—Harper's voice only improved when she sang, but her normal speaking voice remained the same.
That was a little eerie. Remembering the allegory behind Ghosts Performing Opera, I couldn't help but shudder. Still, I couldn't just leave Stella to watch alone tomorrow night—who knew what might happen?
I agreed before Stella left, though she warned me not to be late—Harper hated tardiness.
I quickly assured her I wouldn't be. I'm not a judge—what does it matter if I'm late or not?
After Stella left, I hid the copper box under my bed. Just then, Moreira showed up downstairs again, dark circles under his eyes, looking exhausted—clearly, he'd been gambling all night. Yet, despite his fatigue, he couldn't hide the excitement in his expression. He must have won again.
As soon as he arrived, he sprawled out on the tattoo bed and demanded I give him the Five Ghosts Fortune-Bringing tattoo. Then, like some boss ordering around his underlings, he immediately fell asleep.
I ignored his attitude—I'd just kick him out after the tattoo was done. Pisses me off.
I prepped the tattoo needle and ink, then began working on Five Ghosts Fortune-Bringing across Moreira's back.
It was intricate work—five ghosts and a coffin filled with gold and silver. The whole thing took about five hours, finishing a little past four in the afternoon.
Once it was done, I nudged Moreira awake with my foot and held up a mirror to show him.
Squinting at his reflection, Moreira suddenly gasped. "What the hell? Why am I in a coffin?"
"Huh? You still half-asleep or something?" I said. "That's an open coffin full of gold and silver."
Moreira rubbed his eyes and stared harder at the mirror before muttering, "No, I swear I just saw myself inside the coffin—and the five ghosts were laughing. Then, in the blink of an eye, it turned into treasure."
I couldn't be bothered with him. Whether he was still half-dreaming or just disoriented, I didn't care. The tattoo was done. I told him to get dressed, get out, and never come back—from now on, we were through.