After evening prayers, Ma Daozhang gathered sand, paper planchette frame, and incense. "Let us consult the underworld records," he explained. "Through the planchette we can learn if your friends truly died."
Zhao Ye knelt by the sand tray, Ou beside him. Both gripped the wooden crossbar, quieting their minds. Ma Daozhang waved his sleeve—and the phosphorescent orb from Ou's gourd ascended to hover above the planchette. A moment later, the crossbar quivered as though guided by invisible fingers.
"He is present," Ma murmured, bowing. "Ask what you will." Then he slipped away to "cancel the registration" with the City God.
Zhao Ye's voice trembled: "Speak slowly—what is your name?"
The planchette traced deep grooves in the sand: "Xu — Yi — Fei."
"Yi Fei?" Zhao Ye gasped. "Is it truly you?"
The spirit spelled out its tale: that night on the hotel roof, Xu Yi Fei and his friend Yuan Yunfeng were drawn into a swirling void. Invisible forces tore at their spirits. Xu fought to hold Yunfeng's hand, but the agony was unbearable—he nearly lost consciousness.
Suddenly the force intensified, and Xu felt himself lifted free of his body as his spirit fled across the void. A blinding white light racked him with agony, and then—everything went dark.
He awoke bound within Ou's gourd, the rooftop far above. His physical form lay abandoned in the void.