novelraw Chapter 1259: Side Story: Regrets Mended in a Dream
Chapter 1259: Side Story: Regrets Mended in a Dream
Only when Ashton Todd found out why Stella Gibson wanted him to record the journey did he understand her reason.
After getting permission from Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, Stella Gibson directly handed him the task of video editing.
Ashton Todd nodded in agreement,
"Then you have to give me half of the reward for this task."
Stella couldn’t believe it and glared at him, "Did you even put in any effort to deserve half?"
Ashton Todd stood his ground, "How is recording the video not effort? I even accompanied you."
Stella turned to leave, "Didn’t you accompany me just for the thousand-year-old corpse soil? Do I care about your company?"
Seeing this, Ashton Todd quickly chased after her, negotiating,
"Then one-third, surely one-third is okay?"
"Get lost."
"Look at you, why are you so temperamental? Alright, it’s all yours, okay?"
...
Ashton Todd edited the video and released it that night through Mrs. Dixon’s account.
The local police soon issued a report stating that the body had been recovered. After examination, it was confirmed that Mr. Dixon died from an untreated infected wound, and they emphasized one crucial point—
The body was intact.
Although the online attention had subsided, with the video’s release, the topic surged back to the top of trending searches.
Previously, Fayella and the other three survivors had suffered online abuse due to cannibalistic speculations. The moment the video was released, they shared it.
Nothing is more convincing than showing the intact condition of the body to netizens.
It was for this reason that Mr. and Mrs. Dixon agreed for their son to appear in the video in his deceased state.
As viewers followed the video to discover the body’s location and the slightly familiar female voice explaining the situation, everyone finally understood the whole truth.
Hearing Stella Gibson explain that Declan Dixon appeared as a walking corpse because he was worried about the safety of his remaining friends, choosing to follow and guide them out of the dense forest after being left behind.
The other three survivors, much like Fayella in the video, wept uncontrollably, tormented by guilt for not bringing Declan Dixon out and the doubt and condemnation from netizens over the days.
Now, this video provided them with a relief valve.
Some netizens began leaving apologies on the survivors’ accounts, while more flocked to Mrs. Dixon’s account to express their condolences.
Their son was truly a kind-hearted boy.
In the initial sentiment, many netizens began to investigate the girl responsible for locating the body in the video.
Ashton Todd hadn’t shown Stella Gibson on camera; netizens could only see the hands and hear the voice in the video.
[This voice sounds strangely familiar.]
[The Master that Mrs. Dixon found seems quite capable, seemingly specialized in dealing with corpses.]
[My mother has been missing for years, her fate unknown. I desperately want to find her. Could someone provide the contact of this master for me? Please.]
Participation of Stella Gibson in "Spiritual Affairs" was minimal, so far fewer people online were familiar with her compared to Gregory Xander.
But that was only for the general public.
Anyone from the Mystical Sect, especially the Taoism Academy, could instantly recognize Stella Gibson’s voice.
After all, Stella Gibson was quite well-known among her batch of freshmen; even if they didn’t know her personally, mentioning the Contractor of the Undying Bone would prompt recognition.
Netizens focused on the touching story behind the body’s mysterious disappearance, whereas the Mystical Sect people were more interested in Stella Gibson’s brief use of the Corpse Control Technique in the video.
The Corpse Chasing Clan’s technique is mysterious even within the Mystical Sect.
Suffice it to say, her successful contract with the Undying Bone was enough to provoke curiosity and longing from the Mystical Sect towards the clan’s magic.
Jennings Family.
Scarlett Jennings was also watching the video online, recognizing Stella Gibson’s voice instantly, but her focus was more on the body featured in the video.
Though the person was dead, the body still held a hint of attachment.
She was planning to look more closely when her phone lit up with a call invitation from Stella Gibson.
Connecting the call, she heard Stella’s sweet voice,
"Scarlett, I remember you have the Dream-inducing Charm, and I want one~"
Hearing this, Scarlett knew exactly what she intended,
"Is it for the body you just retrieved?"
Stella’s voice instantly escalated a notch,
"You saw that too? Hehe, although the body has been retrieved, the regret of the two elders is not yet fully addressed."
The corpse retrieval and return were not only to bring the body back for its final resting place but also to mend the last regrets of the deceased and the living.
The guilt of Fayella and the other three survivors was already addressed, but the couple’s remorse lingered.
Scarlett understood what she meant, simply asking,
"Besides the Dream-inducing Charm, do you need anything else?"
"No need," Stella said, "the rest can be entrusted to Ashton Todd."
Within two minutes of hanging up with Scarlett, the spiritual delivery had brought the Dream-inducing Charm she requested.
Stella checked the hour and signaled Ashton Todd to begin.
Ashton Todd nodded, then took out the suona.
The sound of the suona penetrated directly through the Ghost Gate Fragment into the Underworld.
Because the body hadn’t been timely recovered, Declan Dixon’s soul had missed the chance to return on the seventh day. Just as the Ghost Messenger was guiding him onward, he suddenly heard a sorrowful melody.
His soul body instinctively gravitated toward the sound, and before he knew it, he had crossed the Ghost Gate back into the Mortal Realm.
"Who are you..."
Declan Dixon looked at the two people in front of him, his soul body still slightly confused.
"We are the ones your parents entrusted to retrieve your body,"
Stella Gibson briefly explained, passing the Dream-inducing Charm to him,
"Go, and say a final goodbye to your parents."
Declan Dixon’s soul body trembled, clutching the Dream-inducing Charm, and without hesitation, he flew towards the direction indicated by his blood ties.
It was already near midnight.
The night Declan Dixon’s body was brought back, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon had set up a spirit hall with the help of a funeral home.
On the first night of keeping vigil, the two had no desire to sleep, silently shedding tears while gazing at their son’s portrait.
They thought the night would be agonizing.
Yet, unknowingly, they both drifted into a shared dream.
In the dream, it was the day before their son’s departure, the scene where they were video chatting with him.
The couple held their phone, watching their son in the video, repeatedly urging him not to venture into dangerous places and that hiking was fine but exploring was unnecessary.
On the other end of the call, Declan Dixon was packing while responding to them,
"Got it, but the place this time is very special; I want to see it for myself."
He said, feigning mystery,
"I’ll give you a surprise when the time comes."
Everything seemed the same as reality, and Mr. and Mrs. Dixon thought it was their own memories haunting them.
But the dream’s progression changed.
In the dream, the news of Declan Dixon’s disappearance never arrived.
A few days later, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon received photos from their son.
The caption had only two words: [Surprise]
In the photo, the background was a sea of flowers beneath mountains and cliffs. In the foreground, their son stood next to another girl, hands clasped together, the girl holding a pendant necklace near her chest.
They faced the camera, beaming with happiness.
Following that, Declan Dixon sent a voice message—
"Dad, Mom, I confessed successfully~ Your son is officially no longer single starting today!"
In the dream, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon smiled brightly at their son’s voice.
But as they smiled, they also cried.
So this was the "surprise" their son had initially wanted to give them.
How wonderful.
If only this wasn’t just a dream, it would be even better.