Seventeen days had passed since Shin Gu's death.
Seventeen days since the dark magic that had haunted the palace for so long had finally been brought to an end.
And for the first time in many months, the Imperial Palace seemed peaceful.
There were no strange whispers.
No servants collapsing after wandering into forbidden courtyards.
No mysterious shadows appearing beneath the palace lanterns.
No sudden illnesses.
No reports of people behaving strangely.
Life had slowly returned to normal.
The Emperor had resumed his ordinary duties.
The Empress had begun spending more time in the palace gardens.
The three ghosts—Fen Yu, Wei Rong, and Li Shen—had returned to their usual arguments.
Even the palace servants had stopped looking over their shoulders every few moments.
Everyone believed the nightmare was finally over.
But nobody understood one thing.
Darkness did not always return with a warning.
Sometimes—
It returned quietly.
