The Mysterious Elder looked at Mu Yingying.
His gaze pierced through the Void, through the Blood Rain, and through that massive Chessboard covering the sky.
He just looked at Auntie Ying like that.
White Night’s gaze moved between Mu Yingying and the Mysterious Elder. She noticed that if she looked closely, there was a faint resemblance between their features.
Moreover, the elder’s build was much taller.
‘Could it be…’
A guess flickered in White Night’s heart.
The Mysterious Elder just kept looking at Mu Yingying.
In his deep, bottomless eyes on his withered and weathered face, it seemed like something was shattering.
A murky tear rolled down from his sunken eye socket, tracing the lines of his cheek and flowing into his graying beard.
His hand holding the Black Piece shook uncontrollably.
He gripped the pitch-black chess piece with his fingertips, hesitating to place it.
He was struggling, seemingly controlled by something.
White Night noticed that the elder’s movement to place the piece stalled, and his gaze never left Mu Yingying.
He trembled all over, refusing to drop the Black Piece onto the Chessboard.
Instead, he lifted his shaking hand and gently tossed it toward Mu Yingying.
The Black Piece left his withered fingertips, silently passing through the Void and the Blood Rain.
It turned into a streak of light, penetrating the car window like a cloud of light mist and coming to a steady halt in front of Mu Yingying.
The Black Piece stopped three inches from her eyes, motionless.
The pitch-black chess piece emitted a faint, eerie glow, looking exceptionally calm inside the carriage reddened by the Blood Rain.
Mu Yingying stared at the Black Piece, and an inexplicable surge of bitterness welled up in her heart.
Immediately after, a sharp pain shot through her chest, making her sway.
“Auntie Ying!”
White Night’s voice rang out in her mind.
Su Shuang’er also reached out to support her shoulders immediately, her voice tense.
“What happened?”
“I’m… I’m fine.”
Mu Yingying leaned against the handlebar to keep from falling.
It felt as if her heart were being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, the pain making her vision go dark.
But amidst that sharp pain, something surged up from the deepest parts of her memory.
The feeling was blurry, like looking through a thick layer of frosted glass.
She couldn’t see the images clearly, nor could she hear the sounds.
But that hunched, aged figure and those bottomless eyes gave her an indescribable sense of familiarity and sorrow.
It felt as if, when she was very, very young, in the depths of her hazy memories, a pair of eyes like those had once looked at her.
Mu Yingying didn’t dare think too deeply.
She wasn’t willing to.
She looked up at the car window, where her face was reflected in the glass.
The scar on her face remained hideous, and a nameless sense of hatred rose in her heart once more.
The pain gradually receded. She took a few breaths, looked up, and stared at the floating Black Piece.
Then, she reached out.
The moment her fingertips touched it, the chess piece settled obediently between her index and middle fingers.
The piece felt warm to the touch.
Mu Yingying gripped the Black Piece and looked up at the sky.
At that moment, the White Grid on the sky suddenly brightened.
In the blinding white light, countless White Silk Threads shot out from the grid like living spider silk, coiling toward the Mysterious Elder deep in the Void.
The threads wrapped around the elder’s wrists, then his entire body.
Layer after layer, they tightened, strangling his withered body.
The Mysterious Elder struggled, but it was in vain.
He gave Mu Yingying one last look.
In those eyes were apology and regret.
The tall, hunched old man was moved to tears.
The white threads suddenly tightened, dragging the elder deeper into the Void.
His silhouette blurred rapidly in the white light before disappearing completely.
Following that, the White Grid on the sky began to shatter.
The Chessboard disintegrated, and the white and black pieces crumbled into points of light, scattering in the air like fireflies.
The Blood Rain stopped.
The scarlet rainwater turned into a faint mist and evaporated completely.
That weird Rift was also shrinking, as if being pinched shut by an invisible hand.
The moment the Rift closed, it made a low, muffled thud, as if the gates of hell were being shut.
Then, everything went quiet.
The Black Mist dispersed, the Blood Rain ceased, and the Chessboard and Rift all vanished.
Only a layer of gray clouds remained in the sky, with a few pale rays of light peeking through.
The crisis was completely resolved.
—
Everyone seemed to wake up from a long nightmare. They stood dazed for a long time before finally starting to move.
Having survived the disaster, most people slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
Some recalled the bloody scenes, and the aftereffects hit them, causing them to lean against walls and retch.
The more timid ones clung to each other, trembling, their eyes red—it was unclear if it was from fear or relief.
With the Rift gone and the Black Mist receded, the streets and ruined buildings amidst the wreckage saw the light of day again.
Survivors began scavenging for supplies among the ruins, turning up some canned food and bottled water.
Some found houses that could still provide shelter from the wind and rain and fell asleep immediately; people were truly exhausted.
Su Shuang’er didn’t stay idle either. She pushed White Night around the vicinity, finding half a case of mineral water and a pack of compressed biscuits, then found a relatively clean house.
They moved in together.
“We’ll rest here tonight,” Su Shuang’er said, her tone flat as if she were stating something perfectly ordinary, as she tidied the bedding.
White Night gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.
Her attention had been on Mu Yingying the whole time.
Mu Yingying helped move things a few times, her movements brisk, appearing no different from usual.
But White Night knew something was wrong.
Since the moment she got that Black Piece until now, Mu Yingying hadn’t said a single dirty joke.
That was the most abnormal thing.
During the day, everyone used the scavenged mineral water for a simple wash.
Su Shuang’er helped wipe the traces of Blood Rain off White Night’s body.
Mu Yingying splashed some water on her face nearby and then sat next to White Night, head down, silent.
Her right hand kept clutching the Black Piece, her index finger and thumb constantly rubbing and flipping it over.
The pitch-black chess piece rolled between her fingertips, its warm luster flickering.
Su Shuang’er glanced at her several times but didn’t ask.
She knew Mu Yingying; the woman usually had no filter, but she never proactively spoke about things on her mind.
The more silent she was, the more it meant she cared.
Even if asked, she wouldn’t say anything.
It was better to wait for her to process it herself.
But White Night couldn’t wait.
**[Auntie Ying, are you okay?]**
White Night’s voice rang softly in Mu Yingying’s mind.
Mu Yingying looked up, startled for a moment, then smiled.
It was her usual playful, mischievous smile, but White Night felt the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’m fine, Little White Night. Why are you worrying?”
She shook the Black Piece in her hand, her tone feigning ease.
“Look at your auntie, I’m big and tall, and I’ve got a big butt. My stress resistance is top-notch. What could possibly be wrong?”
White Night didn’t take the bait.
She simply knew Mu Yingying wasn’t telling the truth.
When the Dirty Joke Queen wasn’t telling dirty jokes, it was when she was hurting the most.
“I’m just wondering what this chess piece is actually for.”
Mu Yingying held the Black Piece up to her eyes, tilting her head to inspect it.
“Do you think it has some special power, like that black bowknot of yours?”
“It’s hard to say,” White Night said, following her lead. “The bowknot glows as a warning when there’s danger. Your chess piece… I can’t tell for now.”
“Then I’ll just keep it. Maybe it’ll come in handy at a critical moment someday.”
Mu Yingying clutched the Black Piece back into her palm, her fingers closing tight as if she were holding something very important.
She lowered her eyes, her lips still curled in that half-hearted smile.
White Night looked at her and didn’t press further.
Some things couldn’t be learned just by asking.
Night fell.
The wind among the ruins was cold, making the drafty windows rattle.
Su Shuang’er lay on her side to White Night’s left, her hand resting on the seat, breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.
She had been terrified and high-strung all day, falling asleep shortly after lying down.
Mu Yingying was to White Night’s right.
She wasn’t sleeping.
White Night knew.
Mu Yingying’s breathing was uneven, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and she would occasionally let out a long sigh.
Her hand gripped the Black Piece, her knuckles slightly white.
White Night hesitated for a while before letting her Soul Body emerge from the basket, floating next to Mu Yingying.
White Night’s Soul Body looked like a translucent young girl, emitting an extremely faint shimmer in the night.
“Auntie Ying.”
White Night’s voice was very soft, afraid of waking Su Shuang’er.
Mu Yingying opened her eyes and saw White Night floating beside her.
She wasn’t surprised, only blinking.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I can’t sleep,” White Night said.
Actually, a Soul Body didn’t really need sleep, but she didn’t want to tell the truth.
Mu Yingying chuckled softly.
“What a coincidence. I can’t sleep either.”
The two were quiet for a while.
Mu Yingying got up and sat by the windowsill.
The wind blew through the cracks in the window, bringing with it the characteristic dust of the ruins and the faint, lingering smell of blood from the distance.
“That old man…”
Mu Yingying spoke, her voice much lower than usual, devoid of her dirty-joke energy, sounding as if she were talking to herself.
“I don’t know him.”
She paused.
“But when he looked at me, my heart felt very painful.”
She raised the hand holding the Black Piece. Moonlight filtered through the clouds and fell on the piece, the pitch-black surface reflecting a hint of blood-red light.
“I’m an orphan. I’ve lived alone since I was little, and life was hard. I don’t have parents, grandparents, or any relatives.”
Her tone was very flat, like she was narrating someone else’s story.
“But that old man… doesn’t he look a bit like me?”
“White Night, do you think he might be my long-lost son?”
Mu Yingying even cracked a big joke, but White Night couldn’t laugh because she could feel Auntie Ying was sad.
Mu Yingying pinched the Black Piece tightly between her fingers and closed her eyes for a moment.
“In my whole life, no one has ever looked at me with that kind of gaze.”
“But if he is my family, why did he abandon me? Does this old man have some sort of secret? Why didn’t he say anything? Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Does that old man know how much I’ve suffered since I was a kid?”
White Night listened quietly.
She didn’t know what to say; any comfort felt hollow at this moment.
She simply placed her Soul Body hand lightly over Mu Yingying’s fist clutching the Black Piece.
The soul’s hand had no temperature, but Mu Yingying seemed to feel it.
She looked down at the tiny translucent hand resting on her fist, her eyes turning red.
When one is sad, comfort can sometimes make the sadness even deeper.
“Alright, alright, don’t look at your auntie with those eyes.”
Mu Yingying sniffled and forced a smile.
“It’s not a big deal. Just some random old man gave me some random chess piece. It’s not like I haven’t experienced weirdness before.”
“Yeah.”
White Night nodded gently, not calling her out.
“Sleep, Auntie Ying. We have to travel tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Mu Yingying tucked the Black Piece into her pocket and lay back down, facing White Night’s frame.
She closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became even.
White Night saw she was asleep and was preparing to rest as well.
Mu Yingying’s hand moved.
She kept her eyes closed, and in a seemingly subconscious motion, her hand groped outward and rested on the back seat of White Night.
She stroked it.
Then stroked it again.
Her fingers gently caressed the back seat.
White Night: “…”
She wanted to tell Auntie Ying to stop caressing; that was her…
But before she could speak, Mu Yingying murmured something in her sleep.
The voice was very small, so small that it would have been impossible to hear without the Perception of a Soul Body.
“Little White Night… don’t leave me…”
The voice was cautious, as if afraid of scaring her away.
White Night was stunned.
Mu Yingying’s hand was still kneading the back seat, her movements getting lighter and slower, as if confirming that something was still by her side.
“Little White Night, don’t… don’t leave me alone…”
White Night’s soul hung in mid-air, motionless.
She looked at Mu Yingying’s face—that face with the hideous scar now showed a hint of vulnerability.
The sleeping Dirty Joke Queen had lost her usual mask of playfulness. Her brow was slightly furrowed, her lips pursed, and her eyelashes seemed a bit damp.
Such an expression appearing on that scarred face looked broken and heartbreaking.
White Night thought of herself.
She was an orphan too.
When she woke up, her memory was blank; she didn’t know who she was or if anyone cared about her.
She understood that sense of loss and panic better than anyone.
Back at the orphanage entrance, seeing other children being picked up by their parents—that feeling of envy so strong her heart ached.
She had felt it too.
Every orphan had felt it.
Mu Yingying usually talked a lot of trash and feared nothing.
She dared to tease anyone and could laugh her way through any situation.
But she was human too, and she must be afraid.
Afraid of being left behind, afraid of being alone.
White Night no longer wanted to tell her to move her hand.
She just stayed there quietly.
Mu Yingying’s hand remained on the back seat, her fingertips slightly curled, as if she had finally caught something and could sleep a little more peacefully.
White Night whispered softly.
The sound was so small only she could hear it.
“I won’t leave Auntie Ying behind.”
The night wind blew in from the broken window, chilly.
But as White Night’s main body was being held by her two aunties, she didn’t feel that cold.
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