Ho Qing was filled with despair.
It was as if she was feeling powerless for the first time.
But wasnât it just her feeling powerless?
Gu Shengyin, as the Grim Reaper, had no way either as she watched Qiao Zhiheâs life draw nearer to its end.
All Gu Shengyin could do was to spend more time with Qiao Zhihe in these last two months.
Every time she went to see Qiao Zhihe, she could see his happy smile.
She thought, in this lifetime, she must be a very good friend of Qiao Zhihe, right?
Qiao Zhihe wasnât introverted, but he leaned towards being quiet, and when he had free time, he would travel alone with his easel to seek inspiration.
From Gu Shengyinâs observations, she likely was one of Qiao Zhiheâs best friends.
Sometimes, Gu Shengyin would watch him from afar without revealing herself.
Watching him carry his easel at a square full of children, adults, and windmills, offering free drawings for others.
But he never drew portraits.
Gu Shengyin saw him study portraits for years, aside from classroom imitations, she had never seen him draw portraits.
Some say portraits are Qiao Zhiheâs shortcoming; aware of his unskillfulness, he avoids it completely.
But Gu Shengyin didnât think so.
Perhaps in her eyes, her own people were always the best.
She felt Qiao Zhihe had his reasons for not drawing portraits, not because he couldnât.
Another month passed.
One month left until Qiao Zhiheâs death.
And that manâs illness was worsening.
Ho Qingâs patience seemed to reach a limit.
People began dying in this city.
No accidents, the killer had no target, as if they felt like killing and did it.
The methods werenât sophisticated, yet the police couldnât trace the killer.
Every investigation, they couldnât find the crucial clues, as if something unseen was erasing those traces.
Gu Shengyin watched coldly.
Because of Ho Qingâs Life Pattern, she couldnât die, she wouldnât have legal trouble, she wouldnât be caught.
But what about others?
Those innocently killed while going home to have a warm meal by Ho Qingâs hand.
Indeed, those people had their names in Gu Shengyinâs records.
It showed their lives ending on those specific days.
Gu Shengyin might comfort herself that even without Ho Qingâs action, they might die from an accident or car crash.
But Gu Shengyin thought it laughable â those people seemed to pay for Ho Qingâs debt.
Because Gu Shengyin had clearly seen her records change as Ho Qing made her move.
The fate of some changed with her actions.
And the Merit Power on Ho Qing was gradually diminishing â but at this rate, she could freely roam for countless years before this Merit Golden Light disappeared.
In these countless years, who knows how many souls would be added to her tally.
Most hateful was Ho Qing writing a brazen message in blood every time she killed: "Salute the Grim Reaper."
The police thought it was a criminalâs declaration; they assumed it was taunting the police.
But it wasnât.
It was Ho Qing taunting the Grim Reaper.
On this day, when Gu Shengyin went to see Qiao Zhihe, she saw him sitting forlornly on the bed.