Chapter 116: Backlash

The plane was scheduled to take off in fifteen minutes. Mu Ran and Lin Chong had already boarded.

Lin Chong leaned over and whispered to the woman, who was resting with her eyes closed, "Ran, do you have a feeling? A kind of ominous premonition. My heart is pounding uncontrollably."

"Hmm?"

Mu Ran adjusted her seat, preparing to lie down for a nap. The first-class cabin was not very crowded; besides Lin Chong and Mu Ran, there was only a man in sunglasses sitting in the seat behind Lin Chong.

"What kind of feeling?" She rubbed her eyes, turned slightly, and looked at the man beside her, whose face was heavy with concern.

Something was wrong with Lin Chong. His face had suddenly turned bright red, and white foam was slowly seeping from the corners of his mouth.

"Sir, are you feeling unwell? The plane hasn't taken off yet. Would you like me to call an ambulance for you?"

A flight attendant walking by noticed Lin Chong’s condition and was genuinely startled. She crouched down in front of him, hands on her knees, asking with urgent concern. The flight from the Imperial Capital to Country B would take four hours, and she worried that if he was in such bad shape now, he would only get worse after takeoff. With the plane flying over the ocean for an hour, she feared he wouldn't receive timely medical attention.

"Brother Lin, are you having another seizure?"

All traces of sleepiness vanished from Mu Ran. Her heart was filled with anxiety—what exactly was going to happen? What kind of immense danger could possibly befall her?

"Miss Flight Attendant, this is a normal occurrence for him. No need for an ambulance. Don't worry, thank you for your hard work." Mu Ran stood up, patted the flight attendant on the shoulder, and explained with a gentle, polite smile.

"Very well, Madam. If this gentleman’s condition worsens, please inform me immediately." The flight attendant looked grave, cast one last worried glance at Lin Chong, and stood up to leave.

"Danger! Very dangerous! Air disaster!"

The man, drenched in cold sweat and slumped in his seat, suddenly startled upright and grabbed the wrist of the flight attendant who was turning to leave.

"Sir..." The flight attendant looked shocked. She glanced at the man's large hand gripping her wrist and said with a polite, forced smile, "Sir, let me get you a glass of warm water."

Lin Chong frowned, eyes still tightly shut, his grip tightening. The flight attendant winced as her smile faded.

"Lin Chong!" Mu Ran had just finished sending a message to Gu Beicheng when she turned to see the "standoff" between Lin Chong and the attendant. "Let go!" She pried Lin Chong's hand away and apologized to the attendant with a sheepish expression. "I am truly sorry; he didn't mean it."

What was wrong with Lin Chong? He had never been this impulsive before!

"It’s fine, Madam. I’ll go get the water." The flight attendant’s smile seemed calm, but the way she clutched her wrist where he had grabbed her and her hurried, near-fleeing movements proved she had been terrified by the trembling, bald man.

"Brother Lin, where does it hurt? Should we get off the plane now and go to the hospital?" Mu Ran crouched where the attendant had been, her cold eyes showing a flicker of worry. But Lin Chong did not react to her words at all.

"This gentleman might have a psychological disorder." The man in sunglasses, who had been sitting there reading a newspaper, looked up at Mu Ran. His aura was wickedly sinister, even more so than Gu Xiao’s.

Mu Ran gave him an expressionless glance and quickly looked away. She didn't want any interaction with this man; he didn't look like a good person.

"I don't look like a good person?" The man stood up, walked over with a lazy gait, and loomed over Mu Ran.

Mu Ran let out a cold snort, her aura flaring, icy and gloomy to an extreme degree. Was she that obvious? She couldn't believe he had figured it out.

"It’s not that you’re obvious; it’s that I can hear what you’re thinking." The man crouched beside her, his brown eyes behind the sunglasses glancing at the unconscious bald man in the seat. His thin lips curled upward, exhaling a sinister vibe as he spoke, "This guy seems mentally unstable. Is he having an epileptic seizure?"

Mu Ran stood up, arms crossed, a cold sneer on her lips. Her sharp gaze could pierce through a person’s soul. "That has nothing to do with you. Stop meddling." She looked the man up and down, her disdain palpable. This guy was ridiculous—did he think he had telepathy just because he knew a few micro-expressions? He must be an idiot.

"My apologies for the intrusion." The man bent over, reached a long hand toward Lin Chong, snapped his fingers sharply, and then returned to his seat. "Mu Ran, I don’t just know micro-expressions; I can hypnotize, and I can even read your innermost thoughts and desires."

Mu Ran ignored him completely, not sparing him a single glance. She spat out one word: "Scram."

The man’s upturned lips dropped instantly, as he tried his best to suppress the anger caused by her indifference. "You—" His lips twitched.

"Ran..." Lin Chong weakly opened his eyelids, pointing toward where the flight attendant had gone, and muttered, "My true love!"

Mu Ran, who had leaned in close to hear him, twitched her mouth. Lin Chong was truly a master! Was he really so overwhelmed by finding his "true love" that he fainted and had a seizure?

"No, Ran, it wasn't because of the flight attendant, it was because..." Lin Chong glanced warily at the lazy man in sunglasses, who was sitting motionless with his newspaper. He pointed a finger at the paper. "Sir, your newspaper is upside down."

The man in sunglasses startled, sat up straight, flipped the paper over, and flashed a grin at Mu Ran, who was looking at him with a dark expression. The smile was incredibly eerie.

"Sir, please have some self-respect. We don’t know you. Stay away from us." Mu Ran knew this man recognized her, otherwise, he wouldn't have called her name so accurately. But this man, who took the initiative to strike up a conversation, acted sleazy, and spoke nonsense, was definitely not a good person.

The man in sunglasses nodded "obediently," picked up a blanket from the side, covered himself, and prepared to sleep. Mu Ran and Lin Chong turned to each other, whispering closely.

"Possession. Ran, do you know what soul possession is?" Lin Chong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at the calm Mu Ran with extreme seriousness. "In this lifetime, Gu Xiao is fated to die, but yesterday, he did not die."

"In this lifetime?" Mu Ran seized upon the phrase. She raised an eyebrow; though her face remained composed, her heart was racing wildly.

Lin Chong froze, his body visibly stiffening. A moment later, he reverted to his usual blunt self. "Oh, what does this life or that life matter? We only live once, right? Gu Xiao didn't die yesterday, but he will die today."

Mu Ran stared suspiciously at the rambling bald man; his expression seemed to carry a trace of undetectable fear and unease. What was possession? And what was the usually fearless Lin Chong afraid of? Plus, the man said Gu Xiao was fated to die, but in her previous life, Gu Xiao hadn't died—he had only been paralyzed.

Mu Ran asked, "He will definitely die today? How?"

"I don't know. I only know that you and I might die, and it will be in a plane crash." Lin Chong’s voice trembled violently, his pupils shaking as he looked at her.

"Let’s get off the plane, right now!" Mu Ran grabbed Lin Chong, preparing to leave. She looked at her watch in a flurry—three minutes until takeoff! There was still time! "Lin Chong, why aren't you moving?"

Lin Chong’s body seemed nailed to the seat; she couldn't budge him. The man looked up at the woman standing before him, grinned with a free-spirited, calm smile, and asked, "Are you afraid of dying, Ran?"

Mu Ran clutched her forehead. Was this really the time for such a brainless question? Who wasn't afraid of dying? Especially since she had already died once and knew the pain all too well.

"I'll go with you," the man in sunglasses said, having stood up behind Mu Ran, ready to follow them off the plane.

"Are you okay?" Mu Ran frowned. Was this guy crazy? Acting like they were close.

"Didn't you just say there would be an air disaster? I value my life! I’m only forty-two! I don’t want to leave yet!" The man in sunglasses took off his glasses, looking agitated. The sinister air that had surrounded him vanished, replaced by lingering fear and cowardice.

"No one can leave; we have to face it!" Lin Chong’s eyes lost focus. He looked up at the man who had removed his glasses. "How did you know what we were saying? You heard us?" His voice had been so low.

"I can read lips."

"Lin Chong, why can't we leave?" Mu Ran glared at the man twirling his sunglasses. He didn't look forty-two at all, and his current state suggested the previous fear might have been an act.

"Ran..." Lin Chong glanced at the man in sunglasses. "Go sit back down. It will be alright."

After the man left, Lin Chong stood up and said to Mu Ran with grave, profound weight, "Gu Xiao stole your fortune, so you have subconsciously accepted his death fate. This aviation accident is brought about by you. But if you leave, the crash will still happen. Have you thought it through? Do you really want to leave?"

Mu Ran’s heart sank. Her face darkened with a mix of anger and helplessness. She gripped the armrests tightly, the veins in her wrists bulging. "Why? Why did Gu Xiao steal my fortune?"

"Because you repeatedly warned Gu Xiao to be careful with transportation."

Mu Ran shouted, "Wasn't that you who told me to?"

"Yes, I said it was okay, but you warning him was revealing the secrets of heaven; that is not allowed." Lin Chong shook his head, looking regretful. "I only just realized that you can use me to change your own life path, but changing others... that is forbidden. You will be backlashed."

"Will this plane really crash?" As she asked this, Gu Beicheng’s handsome, resolute face flashed in her mind.

"Yes, crashing into the sea. This disaster was brought on by you; you must save them!"

"How?" Mu Ran had no idea that such metaphysical "possession" could happen to her. But listening to Lin Chong, there must be a way to save them.

"There is a way, but there is a price."

Mu Ran felt uneasy. "What price?"

Lin Chong shook his head, leaning back in his seat, utterly drained. "I don't know. It could be big or small; I can't predict it yet."

"Lin Chong, if Gu Xiao had boarded the plane with me today, what would have happened to us?"

"Heaven has ordained it; there are no 'ifs.' But if Gu Xiao had truly boarded the plane with you, you both might have died in the crash, ultimately falling into the sea. Gu Xiao's death fate has been transferred to you. As long as you are on the plane, the disaster will inevitably occur."

Mu Ran’s voice trembled. "If I save everyone on the plane, will my death fate be lifted?"

"It will, but there will be a price. Whether it is big or small, I do not know."