With a creak, the sound of the courtyard gate opening carried far into the distance.
The mouse shuddered and stood up on its hind legs, its front paws braced, fixing its gaze on the figure slowly emerging from the courtyard.
Only one person came out. Tall and slender, the figure passed the lantern by the gate, and its shadow shifted around it, lengthening and shortening as it circled the light.
A moment later, the long, oppressive shadow disappeared into the surrounding darkness, blending with the dangerous night.
Tonight was no different from last night.
Ghostly figures lurked all over town. The living felt their hearts oppressed by invisible rules, yet they continued to beat, stubbornly and mechanically.
There were fewer ghosts around this courtyard on the outskirts of Fengtou Town, probably because few people lived nearby.
Even so, a pair of human eyes could still see, through the mouse's body, the lifeless white shadows that occasionally flickered through the streets and alleys.
It saw Yu Xing, who had emerged from the courtyard, return to his flawless human guise and stroll toward an alley with clear intent.
Was he going to retrieve something, or meet someone?
After hesitating for a moment, the mouse followed.
It felt a natural fear of fox spirits—indeed, a double fear. One part came from the mouse's innate disadvantage against foxes; the other came from the boy's psychological scars.
So it kept far behind. It no longer dared to follow openly as it had last time, when it had thought the other man was just an ordinary escort and had tried to scare him.
After this mouse left, another quickly ran over from nearby to take over watching the courtyard.
The mouse moved stealthily. It followed Yu Xing for several streets, turning this way and that, and