I was a graveyard even the moon despised.
"Inspector Xianchan, Twin Carp Palace requests your presence."
Xianchan Chenchen jumped down from the chair in the front hall. His little face was flushed, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, as though someone had teased him. He raised his head to look at the steward and asked in a clear, childish voice, "Can I bring my team inside? That despicable, vile, nasty criminal we're hunting might be nearby!"
The steward smiled and shook his head. "No. Twin Carp Palace specifically said that only you, Inspector Xianchan, may enter."
"Oh..." Xianchan Chenchen lowered his head in disappointment, then clenched his fists again. "Don't worry. If I really run into that bad guy, I'll definitely protect everyone!"
"Please follow me." The steward led the way. Xianchan Chenchen took off his boots, revealing his little feet in white socks. He followed the steward inside in great strides, looking around curiously as he went. The passing maids and guards all struggled not to laugh.
Before long, the steward brought him to the corridor outside the courtyard. Two maids were guarding the corridor entrance. The steward stopped outside, not daring to approach, and gestured for Xianchan Chenchen to go forward.
Xianchan Chenchen trotted to the brightly lit entrance and said in a deliberately mature yet foolish voice, "Inspector Xianchan Chenchen of the Statistics Department requests an audience with Sister Shuangli!"
"Come in!"
The two maids laughingly opened the corridor entrance. One of them even reached out and rubbed his head. Xianchan Chenchen angrily put his inspector's cap back on and stomped down the corridor, cheeks puffed out, which only made the two maids even more delighted.
Blue bricks paved the ground, with river pebbles filling both sides. Sunlight fell across the shimmering