At the same time, the phantom of shanshan reappears in front of old duan's face, asking him to choose between the fate of the dead or the life of the living. Old duan decides to kill the dead man, but the phantom urges him to leave the living man to his fate. Hearing the phantom's plea for help, the old man realizes that he has been living in the fire for the last ten years, and he is finally ready to face the truth. He blames himself for the death of his daughter, and wishes that he had not left for work on that day. He then blames his father for killing him. The next day, the youth center reports that the missing man has been found, and the narrator tells us that the man's chances of survival are not good, as his spine will be fractured if he survives.