Unyielding Bone of Dust

The Ye residence was noisy and chaotic, like a boiling oil pan, all in disarray.

However, at the other end, Lin Suqing, heading towards Sitian County, was cloaked in the dark of night, hurriedly making his way with only the bright moonlight on his back, accompanied solely by the shadow on the ground in front of him.

The evening breeze whistled, chilling the nape of his neck. In the distance, a lone wolf stood atop a cliff, howling long and desolately, making the long night eerie and spine-chilling.

He walked alone, yet as he rounded a bend, he suddenly sensed something unusual behind him, as if someone was following him from the shadows. He listened carefully, but there were no footsteps.

Thus, he mustered his courage to slow down his pace, waiting for the follower to approach, and then glanced back with the corner of his eye. However, the plan was ineffective; he saw no one behind him, not even a shadow cast by the moonlight. Seizing the moment, he quickly turned his head to look back but still found the place deserted.

The roadsides were lined with lush forests and tall grass, making it difficult to quickly defend himself should someone be hiding. Yet, if someone were hiding, any slight rustling of the grass would have alerted him.

But now, there was nothing, just a feeling that someone was following him. This vague feeling was truly terrifying.

Could it be due to his own guilty conscience? He questioned himself, admitting that although he might be a bit timid, he was not so lacking in courage as to feel guilty simply walking at night.

Moreover, this feeling of being stalked, of the hair on the back of his neck standing on end, was a genuine sensation, not just a wild guess born of his own chaotic thoughts.

With that thought, he clenched the talisman tightly in his hand, silently reciting it over and over in his heart, careful not to forget even a single stroke.

During this time, his ears stayed alert to the sounds around him, and his eyes kept watch everywhere. It could be said that he was all eyes and ears, anxiously sweating profusely, and he quickened his pace involuntarily.

This place was desolate and rarely visited by humans. As far as the eye could see, there were neither villages ahead nor inns behind, only numerous desolate graves in the fields not far away.

If he happened upon demons or ghosts, he would surely not be able to outrun them, but fortunately, he possessed a talisman personally bestowed by the Crown Prince, which acted like a comforting pill, so he wasn't overly afraid of demons or ghosts.

What he feared was encountering a malicious thief, for with his strength barely sufficient to carry a pair of melons, any confrontation would likely be risky.

He looked around uneasily, watching every direction. Soon he set his sights on a large tree at the edge of the graveyard. He thought if he could climb that tree to get a higher view, he would be able to see clearly who was following him.

Thus, he glanced behind him once more, still seeing no sign of his follower, he immediately turned and sprinted towards the large tree.

As he was about to climb it, rolling up his sleeves, someone abruptly pulled his arm, dragging him behind a half tombstone by the bushes on the side, causing him to fall flat on his back.

In his moment of panic, he was about to resist when he took a closer look and realized that the person who had pulled him was a strikingly beautiful girl.

The girl, around the age of sixteen or seventeen, charmingly placed her finger upon her rosy lips, gesturing to him, "Shh..."

Lin Suqing, still holding the talisman, was eager to test it out, uncertain whether the girl was human or ghost. While he was still guessing, the girl pointed towards the roadside and whispered, "Look, that person has no shadow..."

Her voice was not very soft, somewhat deep, but when it reached his ears, it was inexplicably enticing, making his ears tingle irresistibly.

Lin Suqing looked in the direction she indicated, seeing no one at first, but then indeed, a figure appeared on the road he had just traveled.

The figure was a burly man, dressed in tattered clothes, revealing blotchy flesh that looked as though he had been wounded by a sharp weapon during a fight, and it seemed every wound was fatal.

Beneath the moonlight, Lin Suqing could even vaguely see the man's scruffy beard, and a scar slanting across his left eye, and indeed, there was no shadow under the man's feet.

If it's a human, there must be a shadow.

As Lin Suqing was bewildered, he heard the girl's soft voice beside him, "The one without a shadow... is a ghost..."

"A ghost?" Lin Suqing was terrified and immediately looked down at the girl's feet, where there was only a dark mound of a grave and no visible shadow. Did she also lack a shadow?

He was startled, but then he suddenly realized that he too had no shadow under his feet, shocking himself once more.

There must be a reason for everything, he was surely alive and not mistaken about that. He looked around and then understood. Because they were hiding behind the tombstone and beside the towering tree, the moonlight could not reach their location.

It was just poor lighting in that spot that had eased his worried mind somewhat. However, upon reflection, the sudden appearance of a bright and beautiful girl in the wilderness was extremely abnormal.

His heart grew apprehensive, somewhat suspicious of the girl's origins, and he subconsciously wanted to distance himself from her. Yet the girl suddenly tugged on his sleeve, indicating that he continue watching the man on the road.

He looked accordingly, just in time to see the scarred man walk only a few steps forward, seemingly realizing that he had lost his quarry, and then turn back the way he came, giving up the search without much effort.

As the man departed, Lin Suqing breathed a sigh of relief, his mind full of doubts about the girl beside him.