Lanterns Through the Years

Each chapter is a standalone story. “Countdown Survivor” meets “Novice Lamp Ferryman.” A 28-year-old office worker is diagnosed with a terminal illness. He goes from anxious and timid to resilient and decisive. At first, he enters the spirit world to extend his life. Later, by resolving the lingering obsessions of the dead, he finds meaning in life. His understanding of “being alive” shifts from “making time last longer” to “making up for regrets.”

He is deeply attached to his grandmother and can sense supernatural clues through the old things she left behind, such as buttons, a diary, and a crowbar. He also has a natural gift for empathy: he can briefly read fragments of the dead’s memories. This is the key to resolving their obsessions, but it also leaves him vulnerable to the influence of resentful spirits.

When Lin Ye’s life is once again about to end, the Core of the Sea of Lamps opens. At last, he faces his grandmother’s resentful spirit, born of her lingering obsession, and understands the true meaning of “guiding lamps”: being alive has never been only about extending your time. It also means helping others make up for their regrets and coming to terms with your own past. He takes up his grandmother’s guiding lamp and becomes the new guardian. In the general store, he continues to light lamps to guide those burdened by unfinished obsessions.