Jin Se

Chapter 30

In the dead of night, a dark shadow flickered past Shi Wuduan's window. The courtyard was silent save for the sound of falling snow. The shadow had materialized as unobtrusively as the snow sliding down from the roof. It shouldn't have been noticed, yet Bai Li opened his eyes.

There was not the slightest hint of drowsiness in his eyes; he'd never fallen asleep in the first place.

Bai Li looked down at Shi Wuduan, the latter of whom had unconsciously squirmed into the blankets. His head was no longer on the pillow, as he was already curled up entirely beneath the blankets. Somehow, he wasn't uncomfortable.　　

Bai Li folded the blankets back slightly so that his chin at least was exposed. A moment later, Shi Wuduan shrank down in discomfort again. Bai Li smiled as he quietly got up out of bed. He brushed the "light" by the bed with a finger, making it grow, then tucked the blankets in and left, but not through the door. Unwilling to let in the cold air outside, he ghosted through the walls like a phantom.

It was almost like he'd been made of cold wind and dark night all along. Leaving that warm room was like entering a different world. He raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and fiercely curled his fingers into a fist. The black shadow easily fell into his grasp, forced into its true form.

It was not a person. "His" body seemed to be entirely illusory. It was like a piece of cloth in Bai Li's hands. It had a face, a neck, even a torso and four limbs; its face could be considered beautiful - if only it wasn't constantly shifting in the breeze.

The cloth person opened his mouth but dared not to speak. Though it was dark, it was not hard to tell that Bai Li's expression was extremely fearsome. He glared at it and said nearly silently, "I've warned you before not to follow me in this city. If you tail me one more step, I'll kill you."

A sound finally escaped the cloth person, but it wasn't human speech, it was like the sound of someone gurgling underwater.

What was even stranger was that Bai Li was able to "understand" it. His face remained stony as ever, "I have plans of my own. Since when did the likes of you ever have the authority to question me?"

The cloth person stopped moving, its gurgling sounds slowed as well. An unmistakably concerned expression appeared on its face. Bai Li examined him for a moment before finally releasing it. The cloth person slowly drifted to the ground before him. Bai Li clasped his hands behind him and said, "I know. You can get lost now."

The cloth person was entirely pitch black. Somehow, it got up and stood on its soft noodly legs. From afar, it looked like a pitiful streamer, propped up by an unseen pole as the wind battered it yet did not carry it away.

The cloth person floated closer to Bai Li. Its feet floated over the ground, leaving no trace on the snow. It boldly clutched the collar of Bai Li's robes and gurgled softly. Bai Li flung him aside and snarled, "Don't overstep your place! All you need to do is stop meddling! I'll be leaving Guji in several days, and also... don't get any ideas about him."

The cloth person took a step back, glancing in the direction of Shi Wuduan's room.

Bai Li impatiently snapped, "Scram!"

His words were accompanied by a gust of razor-like wind swirling up around him. The cloth person was sent flying. It landed gracelessly on the roof, rolled a few times, and floated into the air. It finally learned to stop provoking Bai Li. It flickered and was gone.