Lost in thought, Bai Fan followed Gu Qingyun from street to street. He wasn't sure how long they had been walking when he suddenly snapped out of it with a jolt.
Because he had been woolgathering, he didn't realize when he had ended up all by himself. A hazy fog enveloped his surroundings. A chill ran through him, his legs turning weak as he felt like something in the dark was staring right at him.
Thump, thump, thump! Bai Fan could hear his heart hammering against his ribs, nearly jumping out of his chest. His voice rasped dryly, “Sister Yun, are you there? Sister Yun, where are you?”
Receiving no answer after a long moment, Bai Fan turned and ran back in the direction of the main street. Yet no matter how fast or far he ran, he always ended up back in this very same alley.
He halted, gasping heavily for air. In the darkness, he whipped out his saber and shouted fiercely into the empty air, “Which bastard dares to fool your granddaddy here? If you've got the guts, show yourself! See if I don't hack you to death!”
“It hurts so much... Living is so painful...”
“So sad... So painful... Come, pick up the blade, and the pain will be gone in an instant...”
An ethereal, eerily chilling voice echoed right beside Bai Fan's ears. His eyes widened, an uncontrollable surge of sorrow welling up inside him as he listened to the ghostly whispers.
Feeling as though life had no hope left, tears flowed down his face uncontrollably. He raised the blade and slowly brought it toward his own neck.
“Yes, just like that. The pain will stop very soon.”
“Ah! What is this?!” A shrill, agonizing ghost shriek rang out, only to vanish into complete silence immediately after.
Just as Bai Fan was about to slice his throat, the talisman Gu Qingyun had drawn on his shoulder seemed to hit something. It suddenly grew scalding hot, flaring with brilliant light, and snapped him out of the delusion.
Bai Fan gasped frantically for breath. A moment ago, he had almost used his own saber to slit his throat. The blade clattered to the ground, and he reached out to clutch his shoulder. Though he didn't fully understand what had just happened, he knew without a doubt that Sister Yun had saved his life.
Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder twice. Bai Fan froze instantly. Before he could snatch his saber back up, a familiar voice sounded beside his ear.
“Bai Fan, where on earth did you wander off to?”
“Meow, meow, meow.” Little Black good-naturedly circled around Bai Fan's feet.
Gu Qingyun was speechless. Spacing out while on patrol... In just a blink of an eye, this kid had wandered straight into the realm of the dead and nearly became a scapegoat ghost's replacement; she hadn't even had time to grab him.
Fortunately, she had drawn a talisman on him using spiritual energy earlier; otherwise, the kid would have been scared out of his wits or fallen gravely ill.
“Sister Yun, sob...” A man doesn't shed tears easily—unless he's scared out of his mind. Having just brushed past death, Bai Fan's whole body went limp. As he looked at Gu Qingyun, tears began to stream down his face, not caring one bit about losing face.
“Alright, stop crying. Don't let your mind wander during night patrols ever again,” Gu Qingyun patted his shoulder to comfort him.
“Sob, Sister Yun, I almost didn't make it back! Thank goodness you drew those marks on me last time. Please draw them again, I'm scared!”
Gu Qingyun: “...”
Resigned, she had no choice but to trace an Evil-Warding Talisman on him with her fingers once more. This being her second time, she was far more adept at it than before.
“There, all done. Stop crying now. Even Little Black is laughing at you. You really are too faint-hearted.”
Having recovered slightly, Bai Fan remembered what had just happened and scooped Little Black into his arms. “Let it laugh. My liver and gallbladder were nearly scared out of me just now! Ugh, talk about terrible luck.”
Gu Qingyun sighed. “Alright, stay close to me over the next few days. Get more sunlight when you can, and practice your martial arts more diligently. Running into something like this during the first watch only means your luck has been rotten lately, so keep your guard up. By the way, have you gone anywhere unusual over the last couple of days?”
Bai Fan drooped his head and thought for a moment before saying, “Nowhere special. I just made daily trips to my aunt's house these past few days. Could it have something to do with that?”
Gu Qingyun nodded, then shook her head. “I'm not sure yet. We've been on patrol for over a month without incident, so there must be a reason why your Yang energy suddenly weakened. On top of that, fear weakened your Yang energy even further, which made you a target for a ghost of the wrongfully dead.”
Bai Fan: “...Anyone would be scared!”
Gu Qingyun glanced at him. “Alright, let me take you back. Tonight, you'll stay in the duty room so nothing else happens to you. I'll patrol alone tonight.”
Bai Fan felt a bit embarrassed. “Thank you, Sister Yun! I'll cover all your meals for the next two days!”
Gu Qingyun waved her hand. “That's enough. We've just finished the first watch's patrol shift anyway, so I'll see you back to the yamen in case something happens to you along the way.”
The two constables and the cat walked toward the county yamen, lanterns in hand. This time, Bai Fan didn't dare let his mind wander for even a second. He stuck so close to Gu Qingyun that he was practically glued to her.
Gu Qingyun shuffled a bit to the side and said in a helpless tone, “Alright, don't stick so close. I'm paying attention, so you'll be fine.”
Bai Fan awkwardly took a tiny step to the side—literally just a tiny fraction of a step—and looked at Gu Qingyun sheepishly. “Sister Yun, is this alright?”
Gu Qingyun remained silent for a moment before nodding with difficulty. “Forget it, let's leave it at that. It's tough on you, even though moving that step changed absolutely nothing.”
On the way back to the county yamen, the moon illuminated the ground. The occasional croak of frogs and squeaking of mice could be heard in the quiet night. Among these faint sounds, Gu Qingyun caught a barely audible call for help: “...Help...”
Gu Qingyun looked at Bai Fan. “Did you hear anything?”
Bai Fan pricked up his ears and listened intently, then shook his head. “Sister Yun, I didn't hear anything. Could you have misheard?”
Gu Qingyun thought for a moment, then stuffed Little Black into his arms. “Take Little Black and go back to the yamen first. My five senses are sharper, so I doubt I misheard. I need to go check it out.”
Bai Fan froze briefly, then nodded. “Then be careful! Little Black and I will wait for you at the yamen.”
Gu Qingyun didn't have time to reply. Thrusting the lantern into Bai Fan's hands, she bolted toward the source of the sound.
Arriving at the destination, she looked around. She was already near the edge of the county town; further ahead lay the moat, which led out of town if followed downstream.
Gu Qingyun looked closely and saw no boats. If a child were indeed calling for help, they wouldn't likely be taking the waterway. She searched along the road again but found no one, forcing her to shake her head with a self-deprecating smile. “I guess I really did mishear.” With that, she turned around to leave.
A quarter of an hour later, a man stepped out from a haystack, cradling a sleeping boy in his arms. The man was burly and tall, with a prominent scar across his face; people called him Scarface Li.
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!” He spat a few times, spitting out the dust in his mouth, and cursed bitterly, “Damn it, talk about rotten luck! I almost got caught by a constable. To think that I, Scarface Li, have never botched a job!” With that, he patted the boy in his arms. “Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck. Your grandma sold you to me.”
Scarface Li looked around. Hearing no footsteps, he was just about to leave with the boy when his arm was suddenly grabbed. The grip felt as heavy and inescapable as an iron brand, leaving him completely unable to resist.
“Where do you think you're going?”
Gu Qingyun stared coldly at the scarred man. Taking advantage of his momentary stupor, she released his arm, snatched the boy, and set him gently on the ground beside them, her hand resting eagerly on the hilt of her saber.
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