Tang Yuan put his phone back in his pocket and continued searching until deep in the woods, where he finally found a fist-sized stone block lying quietly in the grass. “Phew, found one! It actually flew this far. So there’s just one last piece left!” Tang Yuan sighed lightly, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead. “How about we call it a day? If Uncle calls later, I won’t be able to hide it anymore.”
The little white snake lazily turned over on his wrist, looking indifferent.
“Then it’s happily decided!” Tang Yuan put away this stone block. As he stood up, he grimaced and hammered his lower back, conveniently pulling out a bag of beef jerky from his pocket to chew on.
A dirty husky came pattering over from somewhere, its bright eyes staring at the beef jerky in Tang Yuan’s hands. But just as it was about to pounce and snatch the jerky, it was startled by the little white snake that suddenly emerged from Tang Yuan’s body and immediately retreated two steps. However, it was reluctant to leave and paced around drooling.
Tang Yuan stared at this silly husky. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. Could this be the dog from that missing dog notice posted on the green stone stele? But it was so dirty he couldn’t tell for sure—he’d need to call its owner to identify it.
Tang Yuan’s memory was like a camera. He quickly recalled the phone number, and after dialing, the other party thanked him profusely and said they’d arrive immediately. Tang Yuan used half a bag of beef jerky to keep the husky from leaving, and its owner rushed over within ten minutes. Upon seeing the dog, they didn’t mind its dirtiness and immediately hugged its neck and started crying.
Tang Yuan didn’t want any reward money. After placing the half bag of beef jerky in the grass, he quietly left.
“If it weren’t for this green stone stele, this dog probably would never have seen its owner again.” Tang Yuan touched the green stone block in his pocket, complex emotions crossing his face. “Little White, do you think this green stone stele will still be remembered by someone even though it’s gone?”
The little white snake hissed out its tongue.
The Changxin Palace Lamp in the Mute House still burned with flickering flame. The boss sitting behind the counter reading glanced at the sky outside the window.
Lu Zigang had already reported the intelligence gathered these past days. There had been quite a few unjust deaths recently. Although this city always had a certain number of deaths from accidents, illness, suicide, and natural causes, strangely, recently at 11:45 PM every night, someone would die. This had continued for over ten days with more than ten lives lost, and almost every person died at the place where the green stone stele had stood.
Initially, no one noticed, but for five or six consecutive days, every morning sanitation workers would find a corpse at that T-junction. The causes of death were all bizarre and varied, as if they’d been dumped there from crime scenes, hospital beds, or accident sites. But checking surveillance records revealed shockingly that these deceased had all walked there themselves—some had even crawled there.
This caught police attention. For many days afterward, they stationed people at that T-junction. Anyone suspicious approaching would be questioned, and those who couldn’t explain their origins were arrested. As a result, reportedly one person died in detention each day, cause of death equally unclear.
A rookie police officer who’d just become a patrol officer this year couldn’t handle the pressure and had this news dug up by a reporter. Although newspapers couldn’t publish it, it was already causing an uproar online. Fortunately, the reporter had some professional ethics and didn’t reveal which intersection it was to avoid interfering with police work, otherwise that place would have been surrounded by gawkers. But precisely because there was no specific address or photos, most people treated this news as a horror story fabricated by jokesters and didn’t take it seriously.
The police station was overwhelmed by victims’ families and temporarily didn’t want to invite more trouble. That T-junction was simply blocked with basic barriers, prohibiting passage under the pretense of construction.
The boss’s gaze fell on the corner of the shop, where the water level of the orchid water clock showed the midnight hour mark, meaning it was already 11 PM.
Lu Zigang had been sent to rest. The boss closed his book, stood up and put on a coat, then pushed open the Mute House’s door.
The commercial street was as bustling and lively as always. The boss walked slowly through the crowd. When he turned the corner and passed through the barriers, it was like entering a silent world isolated from everything.
This T-junction was as eerie and terrifying as usual. Under the dim streetlight stood a young woman in a checkered coat.
The boss stopped five steps away from her, staring at the pale complexion on the woman’s face, and sighed: “You should rest.”
The young woman remained motionless upon hearing this. Only her eyeballs turned toward the boss as she said eerily: “Who am I? Why can’t I remember?”
“Then what can you remember?” the boss asked patiently.
“I can remember that long, long ago, someone erected me here. My duty was to stand here and guard this land.” The young woman’s gaze was vacant, as if lost in distant memories.
“I stood here for thousands of years, day after day.”
“The meaning of steles and monuments is to carve words on them, letting future generations remember a person or event.”
“But through wind, sun, rain, and the baptism of war… the words on the monument face have long been blurred, and I’ve forgotten who I am, forgotten why I stand here.”
As the young woman spoke, a stray dog wandered over. Perhaps the young woman’s aura was identical to the usual green stone stele, so the dog habitually approached, sniffed her shoes, then turned around, lifted its hind leg, and brazenly began urinating to mark territory.
The woman remained completely motionless, letting the stray dog wet her trouser cuffs without even changing expression.
After marking its territory, the stray dog continued wandering away. The young woman watched its retreating figure and continued flatly: “I’m used to it all—being urinated on by dogs, having bird droppings on my head, having small ads pasted on me, having phone numbers written on me… I could tolerate all of this.”
“But why shatter my body?”
The young woman’s voice suddenly became cold and eerie, making one’s blood run cold upon hearing it.
“So you chose other bodies as substitutes?” The boss frowned.
“Those I possess are all already dead or dying humans,” the young woman—no, it should be the green stone stele—defended itself. This was why it needed to change bodies every night at 11:45.
The boss looked up at the bright moon in the sky, hands in his windbreaker pockets, and continued asking: “Since you have the ability to obtain human bodies, why do you still insist on standing here?” Actually, many people in this world died inexplicably. If this green stone stele weren’t foolish enough to stand here every day, no one would notice its existence.
The green stone stele extended its hand, palm gripping a green stone block: “I’m looking for my body. Although that body is no longer useful, it still bears my identity.”
“I want to know who I am.” The young woman’s voice echoed clearly in the empty street. Compared to the young driver it initially possessed, the body the green stone stele now chose was much healthier and more vital.
The boss stared at the blood-stained green stone block, then looked up and down at the green stone stele’s new body, shaking his head and sighing: “I don’t know how you obtained those previous bodies, but this girl is clearly not yet dead.”
The green stone stele’s expression stiffened, then it argued: “She was going to commit suicide anyway. Since she doesn’t want this body, isn’t it good to let me use it?”
“Sophistry,” the boss’s tone became grave.
Dark clouds in the sky covered the bright moon, and suddenly a night wind rose from the ground, swirling scattered dead leaves—an atmosphere of killing intent.
“Tsk, actually I don’t want to be like this either.” In the mysterious darkness, the young woman’s face suddenly formed a strange smile. “Actually, humans are contradictory beings. Some have strong wills, others weak. When encountering difficulties or accidents, they want to end their own lives.”
“The first time the thought of suicide appears in one’s mind, everyone scoffs at it, thinking it’s nonsense.”
“But after the first appearance, it becomes easier and easier to think of this idea, especially when adversity keeps coming.” “And when this thought appears more and more frequently, one gives oneself psychological suggestions, until finally suicide becomes the only means to escape adversity.”
The boss stood in the autumn wind listening to the green stone stele speak sentence by sentence, somehow thinking of Fu Su’s words and actions before leaving this time.
“You’d call them cowards, yet they’re not even afraid of death but are afraid of other things.”
“Selfishly ending their own lives without considering others at all.”
The green stone stele spoke with disappointment, then fixed its gaze on the contemplating boss, its smile becoming increasingly sinister: “Actually, I think your body is quite nice. Want to let me have it?”
Having said this, it lifted its foot toward the boss. Its walking posture was particularly strange, its body wouldn’t bend, making one’s skin crawl at the sight.
The boss remained unmoved, watching the green stone stele approach step by step with cold eyes.
“Wait! What are you trying to do?” A young boy’s voice suddenly rang out.
The green stone stele’s steps immediately stopped. Looking at the little boy running over, its expression became animated: “Oh? It’s you.”
Tang Yuan warily looked at this young woman whose whole being screamed “I’m very strange.” He often went online and knew about the strange occurrences at this T-junction. He understood more than ordinary people, knowing it was the shattered green stone stele causing trouble. Police had been stationed here for days before, and with the doctor watching closely at night, he hadn’t had a chance to sneak out. Tonight he’d finally managed to run out, only to see this woman approaching another person. Combined with what she’d just said, it looked malicious.
“I recognize you,” the green stone stele’s voice actually became much gentler. “You occasionally brought cloths and brushes to clean the advertisements pasted on me. Very comfortable—thank you so much!”
Tang Yuan embarrassedly scratched his cheek, blushing briefly before remembering his original purpose: “Hey! I’ve collected your body for you! I’ve reassembled it all—just missing the last piece. I plan to look for it more. Please don’t use other people’s bodies anymore, okay?”
The green stone stele was stunned upon hearing this. It never expected to find its original body again. It lowered its head to the green stone block lying gently in its open palm.
Tang Yuan followed its gaze and immediately cheered: “Oh! That’s the piece! Great! Do you know how painful it is for someone with OCD to face a puzzle missing one piece?!” While speaking, he unceremoniously reached out and took the green stone block.
The green stone stele momentarily forgot to stop him, watching helplessly as Tang Yuan so easily took away part of its body.
The moment the stone block left its hand, a powerful suction suddenly struck from ahead. The green stone stele silently cried out in alarm but had no power to resist as it fell into darkness.
Tang Yuan was startled. Just as he took the green stone block, the woman’s expression suddenly became fierce, looking like a malevolent ghost in the dim night. Fortunately, the next second she returned to peace, and when she reopened her eyes, her pupils became clear.
“Strange, why am I here?” The young woman looked puzzledly at the handsome man and cute boy before her, obviously not recognizing them. She took out her phone to check the time, exclaimed, and hurriedly left.
“Huh! Just letting her go like that?” Although Tang Yuan hadn’t heard the entire conversation, he’d gotten the gist. That young woman had been about to commit suicide—was it okay to just let it go? He turned to look at his senior brother and saw a small bamboo cage-like object spinning rapidly in his palm. Obviously, the green stone stele’s spirit had been forcibly extracted by some means and confined in this cage. This bamboo cage was finely crafted, with faint dark brown spots on the bamboo strips—it should be made of spotted bamboo.
The boss looked down at the spotted bamboo cage in his hand and said calmly: “Everyone has their own destiny. Too much interference violates the natural order.”
“Sigh, the green stone stele is actually quite pitiful,” Tang Yuan said with feeling. This wasn’t his first time seeing such a miserable antique, so whenever he saw one, he couldn’t help doing what he could. “Its original purpose was to make others remember it, but as time passed and the inscriptions blurred, in the end even it forgot itself.”
The boss glanced at him and said calmly: “Actually, some deeply memorable people and events don’t need steles erected to be remembered.”
He didn’t recognize Tang Yuan and didn’t want to know him. In the long years, he’d met several people with special abilities. He was just about to say goodbye when his eyes suddenly focused. A very familiar little white snake slowly crawled out from this little boy’s collar and timidly flicked its tongue at him.
Tang Yuan smiled very cutely, even showing his rarely-seen dimples. Then, in a soft, adorable young voice, he said clearly: “Good evening, Senior Brother! Nice to meet you—I’m called Tang Yuan, not the soup dumpling kind, but Yuan meaning distance!”
The boss was still surprised by the fact that he suddenly had a junior brother when he saw the little boy’s expression instantly change from cute smile to horrified expression. Before he could think about what this meant, a more familiar voice rang out angrily behind him: “Tang Yuan, you little rascal! Not sleeping in the middle of the night and running out to do what? Fortunately, I put a tracking bracelet on you—come home with me right now!”
The boss’s mind shook with alarm. His grip on the spotted bamboo cage loosened, and green light escaped through the gaps, immediately disappearing into the dark night.