Before meeting his mother, Zhou Zixi had never taken a single step outside the tower.

The tower was located in the most secluded part of the Zhou family residence. It had only one narrow window, and at that time, he was too small—even stacking all the tables, chairs, and stools in the room to climb up, he couldn’t reach the window.

Until the age of six, Zhou Zixi’s range of activity was limited to the top floor of the tower. Each day, someone would deliver meals at fixed times, and occasionally bring some fruits and snacks.

As the seasons changed, the person caring for him would bring new clothes.

The one looking after Zhou Zixi was an old nanny who always maintained a stern face. She never looked the boy in the eyes and always kept her head lowered when speaking or working.

Even though the old nanny never showed him any displeasure and respectfully attended to his daily needs, Zhou Zixi was still afraid of her.

Life in the tower was boring. Since the old nanny never spoke unnecessary words to Zhou Zixi and no one taught him to read or write, he could only find ways to entertain himself.

From learning to toddle, to rolling on the ground, falling, crying loudly in pain, and getting up again, Zhou Zixi did it all alone.

In the tower, he could occasionally hear the sounds of birds chirping outside. Each bird had a different call, which made Zhou Zixi curious. He would stretch his hand toward the high tower window, measuring the distance between them.

Every day, he planned how he might climb up to the window to see the world outside.

One day, the old nanny fell ill and couldn’t stay with him overnight. Taking advantage of her absence, Zhou Zixi went back and forth between several rooms, moving tables, chairs, and stools into his own room.

He made several trips, leaving him panting and drenched in sweat.

But even after bringing in all the tables, chairs, and stools, he didn’t have the strength to stack them high enough. He could only reach a certain height and couldn’t go any further.

Standing on a stool, Zhou Zixi gazed longingly at the window. Candlelight illuminated the room, but he was curious about the flickering light outside.

Sometimes it would become very bright, and the shadows cast by the light would move. He would follow these shadows, talking softly to his own shadow projected on the floor or wall.

—What are you?

—Why do you move with me?

—The nanny also has something like this moving with her. That one is hers, are you mine?

Zhou Zixi attempted to get a response from the shadow, but he didn’t know what to call it.

Because the boy’s entire world was just this floor of the tower, he had never even seen what everyone else in the world possessed—the sky, the sun, the stars, and the moon.

Zhou Zixi raised his head to look at the window above, stretching his hand toward it. There was still a long distance between them. The unknown light from outside passed through the window, arousing his yearning.

That light made him unwilling to give up. He jumped toward the window, stretching out his hand to try to grab the windowsill. After jumping twice, on the third attempt, the stool beneath him collapsed under the weight. The boy fell from a height, his forehead hitting the sharp corner of a table, and the collapsed furniture crashed down on him.

The fall left Zhou Zixi with blood all over his head. He couldn’t help but cry out, lying on the ground, unable to get up.

When the old nanny came the next day, she found the boy covered in blood and barely breathing. For the first time, the weak Zhou Zixi saw a different expression on the old nanny’s face—strange and incomprehensible.

Years later, he would understand that it was an expression of fear and disgust.

The old nanny slowly walked forward, her gaze fixed on the weakened boy. Driven by a survival instinct, the boy tried to call for help, only to see the old nanny pick up a chair and strike his head with all her might.

It seemed like she was venting hatred, or perhaps acting out of fear. The beating continued until the five-year-old child was reduced to a bloody mess.

The old nanny closed the door, then opened it again after some time had passed.

The candles in the room had burned out, and since the old nanny hadn’t replaced them today, the room was dim and unclear.

The old nanny stood at the doorway holding a lamp, her face expressionless as she watched the physically intact boy stiffly putting on his bloodstained clothes.

He pitifully wiped his face and said in a tiny voice: “Please don’t hit me.”

*

On this day, Zhou Zixi had neither breakfast nor lunch. He sat at the empty dining table, his heart filled with unease.

The old nanny was gone.

Zhou Zixi was afraid, believing that he had angered the nanny by moving the chairs, which was why she wasn’t giving him food today.

His previous injuries had disappeared and no longer hurt. Now, only hunger remained.

Zhou Zixi rested his head on the table, staring blankly at the locked door, not knowing what to do.

Footsteps came from outside, hurried and accompanied by arguing voices.

A tall shadow was cast on the door and windows. Zhou Zixi sat up straight, both afraid and curious.

The door was opened from the outside. A tall man in fine clothes stood at the doorway, his brows furrowed and face cold. Master Zhou stared at the boy in the room, walking in while asking: “What do you want to do?”

“Are you planning to use your resurrection ability to escape?”

“What have you sensed?”

The man’s harsh questioning made Zhou Zixi unconsciously tense his face. His hair stood on end, not knowing how to respond.

“Enough! What are you saying to a child who understands nothing?” A beautiful woman entered a step behind Master Zhou and blocked him at the table, saying coldly, “He understands nothing, can barely speak, just like any ordinary child. Not only have you kept him locked up here for six years, but you also had an old woman who hates ghosts watch over him. How can you be sure it wasn’t your people who killed him first?”

“Ordinary child? You say such things without fear of retribution. He is a ghost, an immortal monster, as disgusting as you.”

The then-young master of the Zhou family looked at his wife with mockery: “If you hadn’t concealed your ghost identity and schemed to marry me, I wouldn’t have this stain on my life and almost lost my inheritance of the merchant guild!”

“Don’t act as if you haven’t benefited from the ghost side!” The beautiful woman pointed toward the door. “Get out! From today onwards, I will look after my child myself!”

The young master stepped forward and grabbed the beautiful woman’s neck. Meeting her defiant gaze, he said through gritted teeth: “Don’t delude yourself. My child could never be a ghost. Since he has resurrected, only one of you can remain. You’d better kill him soon.”

The beautiful woman fell to the ground as the man left with a cold snort, flicking his sleeve.

Zhou Zixi couldn’t understand their argument. He sat still, not daring to move. His entire body was tense, but as the man closed the door, he tremblingly raised his eyes and caught a glimpse of the blue sky.

*

The beautiful woman lit a candle and silently observed the boy, still wearing bloodstained clothes.

Her gaze was complex—something that Zhou Zixi, even more than a decade later, still couldn’t fully comprehend.

The beautiful woman helped him change into clean clothes, wiped his face, and washed his hands. Her movements were gentle, but her brows remained tightly knit.

Zhou Zixi didn’t dare speak or resist, obediently allowing the beautiful woman to do as she pleased.

During this time, the beautiful woman said to him: “What I’m telling you, you won’t understand now, and perhaps won’t understand in the future either. But I don’t care, I just want to tell you.”

“I am your mother, but I don’t like you. Bringing you into this world wasn’t my choice.”

“Most ghosts in the west are slaves, with no opportunity to learn anything or become cultivators. Everyone is sold in black markets, living lives worse than pigs and dogs. In such an environment, initially, I just wanted to survive, to have food to eat.”

The beautiful woman crouched down, tying his belt, her expression calm as she said: “The owner of a merchant guild bought me. From then on, I did his bidding—killing, arson, anything.”

“I loved him, but he couldn’t defeat the Zhou merchant guild. After his death, I was forced to become the wife of the Zhou family’s young master. Countless times of drugging, intoxication, and imprisonment resulted in you.”

The boy’s clear, mirror-like eyes reflected the beautiful woman’s face. She was so beautiful, everything about her was just right, stunning.

“You remind me of those unbearably shameful memories, an existence I can never reconcile with.”

After helping him put on his clothes, the beautiful woman stood up, looking down at the boy with eyes devoid of any maternal affection: “So I can never be your mother, nor can I like you. But this is the grudge between me and the Zhou family, it has nothing to do with you. You don’t need to bear any responsibility, nor are you at fault in any way.”

“You and I are just strangers.”

It was much later that Zhou Zixi finally understood these words.

*

When Ming Li left the West, she learned about Zhou Zixi’s parents from the head of the Zhou family. In the version told by the Zhou family head, his brother truly loved his wife and child, was very reluctant when he discovered they were ghosts, and only gave up after much struggle.

But that was just what outsiders believed.

The young master of Zhou did have an obsession with his wife, but it stemmed from her beauty. As his wife gradually gained control over part of the merchant guild, he began to grow wary.

They cooperated while also hating each other.

The young master of Zhou feared that news of his marriage to a ghost and having a ghost son would become public, causing him to lose his qualification as heir, and he also feared public opinion.

The beautiful woman feared that the young master would expose her identity, leading to her death at the hands of pilgrims.

Neither of them cared for their son, so they confined him to the tower. The beautiful woman provided food and clothing, while the young master sent servants to look after him.

Before her identity as a ghost was exposed, the beautiful woman had told Zhou Zixi quite a bit about ghosts, but Zhou Zixi couldn’t understand. He lacked too much in his six years.

But during the brief time spent with the beautiful woman, Zhou Zixi was happy because finally, someone was willing to talk to him.

On the day the beautiful woman died, the boy was somewhat sad. He wanted to help the person lying on the ground, but upon hearing footsteps from outside, he followed the beautiful woman’s words, climbed out through the window, and ran away.

Fortunately, the number of people who had seen him could be counted on one hand, and the servants shouting and chasing had no idea what the boy looked like.

The boy ran into the night without looking back.

In his peripheral vision were exquisite buildings and bright lights.

Zhou Zixi saw stars and the moon for the first time. The world was so vast, far beyond what that small tower could contain.

The world also contained more than just the beautiful woman and the old nanny. The bustling streets were filled with all kinds of people coming and going.

After the hustle and bustle, people returned to their respective places, to what they called home.

Zhou Zixi had just left this place and could never return.

The boy still understood nothing.

He ran excitedly through the night, experiencing a different world, from the streets to the countryside, tripping over the weeds on the field ridge, rolling several times before getting up.

Zhou Zixi sat on the deserted field ridge, looking at the terraced fields ahead and up at the stars and moon in the sky.

He blinked, turning to look at the dark shadow cast by the moonlight.

—Are you mine?

—Yes.

The beautiful woman had told the boy, It’s name is Shadow, your shadow.