At the end of dawn, Ji Li gazed at the ice he had shattered beneath his feet. The still river was pitch-black, unable to reflect his eyes or his stark white hair.
He slowly closed his eyes, tossed the extinguished cigarette from his fingertips onto the distant ice, and turned around.
They looked like one person, but were in fact two, walking side by side along the bleak, pale moat without speaking again.
Their figures gradually merged with the cold, indifferent world, and the entire scene became a frigid, motionless painting.
A young man wearing a mask and a padded jacket broke that still image. He did not look very old, and his youthful inexperience showed between his brows as he looked around on both sides of the moat.
He seemed to be searching for something. He looked travel-worn, as though he had rushed here in a hurry, but the fatigue and irritation hidden in his eyes suggested that he had already wasted far too much time.
When stillness collided with motion, Ji Li's appearance seemed to give the young man fresh hope.
The young man stood on the other side of the bridge, watching Ji Li's silent retreating back. His eyes lit up. He swung the backpack from his back to his chest and hurried after him, shouting:
"Hey, hey, please wait! I'd like to ask something..."
But no matter how he shouted or pleaded, Ji Li showed no intention of turning back. The distance across half the bridge ultimately kept him from catching up to Ji Li.
By the time the young man helplessly leaned against the bridge railing and lowered his head to catch his breath, Ji Li had completely vanished beyond the bridge.
Of course, Ji Li had not vanished. He had merely returned to the