Thump... thump...
The heavy heartbeat pressed against the strings of his heart again and again, drowning out the wind amid the dense, eerie backdrop.
Ji Li walked with a slight stagger, forcing back the thick fog step by step as he passed through the fog-shrouded Chastity Archway.
He wore plain, spotless clothes, like an outsider. His white robes and black hair formed a stark contrast, especially against the confusion and amnesia written across his face.
His feet never stopped, yet he walked with hesitation. His eyes were misty, as though they had absorbed the last remnants of fog from this long street.
"Heh..."
Suddenly, just as Ji Li passed beneath the ivory-white archway, a laugh sounded from behind him.
He turned around awkwardly, the hem of his plain robes sweeping up dust from the ground, and saw a small, thin figure crouching at the base of the archway.
The figure was frail beyond measure, its head buried against one side of the archway, lowered nearly into the dirt. It did not dare meet anyone's eyes or show its face. Both hands covered its face as it crouched beneath the archway, trembling.
Its long hair hung loose in tangled strands, with a large portion clumped together. Its tattered padded coat was riddled with holes, with no cotton left inside. Fragments of cloth swayed gently in the wind.
It was like a beggar hiding from the wind in some secluded corner on a freezing night, except no beggar would shelter beneath an archway.
Ji Li stood rooted to the spot in confusion, staring blankly at this person who had suddenly appeared. Perhaps he was considering why he had not seen her when passing by earlier, or perhaps he was simply slow-witted.
His state was dull, and the light that had once filled