The Love That Remains

Fang Qi takes a deep breath and begins the tale.

"When I was studying in college abroad, I met with an accident. After that accident, my life changed. I started seeing ghosts. I could even touch them." Fang Qi sighs again. With each sigh, he seems to be growing older. "It was the toughest phase of my life. I didn't tell anything to my father. I was worried that I was going crazy."

Fang Qi takes a sip from his cold tea. His expression is stiff as fear fills his eyes.

"One day, I met her. She was a beautiful woman. Her name was Xia Fengnian. She was charming and funny. She knew how to make me laugh. Her smile reminded me of spring. She told me that she could also see them and I was not crazy. We started to meet frequently. I don't know when I fell in love with her."

He pauses for a moment, meeting Sung Jun's eyes. When Sung Jun doesn't utter a word, he continues with the story. "I imagined having a family with her."

Fang Qi clenches and then, unclenches his fist when he gets to the next part of his story.

"I never knew her real side." Fang Qi shuts his eyes. "One day, she told me that she was a witch. She said that I had great potential. I was unique even in the supernatural world. If I joined her coven, she could summon the god of death himself on earth."

This time, there is a flicker of change in Sung Jun's eyes. He furrows his brows. Witch covens are not rare, but the one who can summon a god on earth is. They are not good news.

"She was fanatical about it. I didn't want to join that insanity. I asked her to choose between me or the coven." Fang Qi bows his head down in shame. "When I opposed her, she showed her true self. She abducted me to her coven. She told me that she approached me because of my curse. She was the actual leader of the coven."

Fang Qi takes another sip from the cold tea, trying to calm himself. He keeps his eyes shut to hide his chaotic emotions from Sung Jun. He stays quiet for a long time to find the mental fortitude to speak again.

"After nearly three weeks, I was saved by the council. They caught a few members of the coven, but she managed to escape. The council questioned me. They told me that the woman was more than a hundred years old and she was known as Dabria in the supernatural community."

Sung Jun sucks in cold breath when he hears the name. Dabria, the black-hearted witch leader of the deranged coven called 'The circle of phantoms', is famous for her notorious and heinous deeds in the supernatural community. It is not a surprise that she approached Fang Qi to use him in her plans. Her crimes have been numerous ranging from sacrificing infants and children at the altar to cause mass death. Even her children don't escape being sacrificed by her to gain powers.

The council has been trying to catch the witch and her coven for a long time, but she always manages to escape.

Dabria is not a complete human. Her father was a demon who ate Dabria's mother right in front of her before Dabria escaped. When Dabria grew up, she hunted down her demon father and ate his heart. Later, she founded the coven, 'The circle of phantoms'.

"After fifteen months of that incident, Fang Aisa showed up at my door," Fang Qi speaks in a grave voice. He shows a sad smile and shakes his head slightly. "On that day, I committed a grave mistake. I contacted the council."

Sung Jun knits his brows further. He can imagine what could have happened.

"They wanted to take her away. My father and I wanted her gone. I didn't even consider her as a human being. She looked so much like that woman. Looking at her reminded me of the things that woman did to me. My mother was the only one who was sane at that time."