“The weather is dry, beware of fire!”
The night watchman struck his bronze gong, his booming voice echoing down the street. As his shouts rang out, households shut their doors one after another, retiring for the night.
Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan walked slowly behind the night watchman, trailing no more than a hundred meters back. Perhaps emboldened by the presence of two Constables patrolling right behind him, the watchman’s voice grew even louder, his courage swelling.
After traversing eight consecutive streets, the two finally covered every corner of their assigned patrol route. By now, Bai Fan was completely drained of energy, no longer chattering as relentlessly as before.
Gu Qingyun, on the other hand, felt fine. Even while walking, she never neglected to circulate her mental art, each stride powerful and spirited.
With a lantern in one hand and her other resting on the hilt of her blade, she even had the leisure to gaze around, though what there was to admire in this pitch-black night was anyone’s guess.
“Officers, please wait!”
A woman’s voice called out from behind Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan, trembling with evident terror.
Gu Qingyun raised her lantern slightly. The woman was plainly dressed, her hair pinned up with a simple wooden hairpin. Upon seeing them turn around, she fell to her knees with a 【thud】.
“Officers, I beg you, save my child! He still hasn’t returned, and the head of our household is out searching for him right now. I have nowhere else to turn, so I can only beg you two for help!”
Gu Qingyun knitted her brows and helped the woman to her feet.
“Auntie, please tell us carefully where your child usually likes to go. Try not to panic—perhaps he’s already on his way home.”
Hearing this, the woman broke into tears.
“Officer, my child is usually very well-behaved and always tells me where he goes. For him to not be back this late, I’m truly terrified something terrible has happened to him. Please, officers, I beg you to help me!”
“Auntie, go on home first. I’ll go search for him right now. Wait for my news.”
“Yes, yes, thank you so much, Officer!” After profusely thanking Gu Qingyun and giving her home address, the woman departed, turning back every few steps.
Once the woman was gone, Gu Qingyun gazed into the distance. Bai Fan waved a hand in front of her eyes.
“Sister Yun, snap out of it. Are you really going to search for him? Wandering around like a headless fly, where would we even begin?”
Gu Qingyun’s fingers tightened around the handle of her lantern, her expression resolute.
“We have to at least look. It’s dangerous for such a small child to be out so late. Besides, we’ve just finished our patrol route, so we have some time.”
“Alright, I’ll come with you. After all, we’re good brothers,” Bai Fan said, thumping his chest with a bright grin.
...
Inside an abandoned courtyard at the end of Bamboo Leaf Alley, a little girl with twin hair buns, dressed in a ruqun, darted back and forth through the yard, peering here and glancing there.
If an expert were present, they would notice that the girl’s feet never touched the ground, and her face was deathly pale. Yet in the eyes of ordinary folk, she merely looked like an innocent, lively little girl from a well-to-do family.
“Little Stone, I see you! Come on out!”
The child named Little Stone was hiding inside a wooden chest, his eyes wide and scarcely daring to breathe. He wanted to go home.
Every time, Big Sister refused to let him leave. Only after much pleading had she finally agreed that if she couldn’t find him, she would admit defeat and let him go.
So much time had passed without her finding him; this time, he was certain to win.
After about half a shichen, Little Stone pricked up his ears. Hearing no sound, he gingerly crawled out of the chest. Halfway out, he raised his head, only to see Big Sister smiling right at him. His lower lip quivered as tears welled in his eyes.
“Oh, don’t cry. Big Sister didn’t find you, so you won this time! Hurry on home, it’s already late,” the little girl said, her smile radiant like a blooming flower.
“Come play with me again next time. Big Sister will be waiting here for you.”
Little Stone broke into a smile through his tears and nodded vigorously.
“Okay!”
After escorting the little fellow to the front gate, the girl waved at him. A gust of wind blew past, and the doors slammed shut, sending a shiver through Little Stone.
Suddenly, a hand tapped gently on his young shoulder.
“Little guy, are you Little Stone from Apricot Blossom Alley?”
“Ah!” Little Stone jumped in fright. Coming to his senses, he saw two Constable big brothers standing before him.
He stared with wide eyes, nodding dumbly, on the verge of tears. The expressions on the two big brothers were so stern—would they beat him?
Bai Fan looked at Little Stone and snapped impatiently:
“No crying! Do you know what hour it is? How did you end up in a place like this? Come with us right now. We’re taking you home.”
Gu Qingyun looked at the dilapidated residence, then lowered her gaze to Little Stone. She sighed and patted his head.
“Let’s go. Your mother has been looking everywhere for you and is sick with worry.”
Little Stone nodded timidly and pointed toward the courtyard.
“Big Brother, I didn’t go anywhere. I was playing hide-and-seek with an older sister in that yard the whole time.”
Bai Fan looked in the direction he pointed, his face turning pale and then green, a cold sweat breaking out across his back. Heavens above, that was a deserted, ruined house! Who in their right mind would come here to play?
Gu Qingyun took a long, deep look at the tightly shut courtyard doors, then patted the crown of Little Stone’s head.
“Don’t stay out playing this late in the future.”
On the way back with the child, Bai Fan tugged at Gu Qingyun’s sleeve.
“Sister Yun, I think something’s off about this. Did that kid just wave toward that gate? I didn’t see anyone there at all! Do you think... we ran into something unclean?”
Seeing Gu Qingyun’s unfazed expression, Bai Fan grew anxious. “Hey, what’s with that look? I’m not joking!”
“The Master did not speak of the strange or supernatural. You’re overthinking it. We patrol every night—we cannot afford to be faint-hearted. Stop letting your imagination run wild,” Gu Qingyun said, pulling her sleeve firmly from his grip.
“Hey, how am I overthinking? You have no idea how notorious that courtyard is! An entire family died suddenly there, and to this day, no culprit has ever been found.”
“Afterward, anyone who moved into that courtyard fell gravely ill. Over time, the place was completely abandoned,” Bai Fan explained, rubbing his arms as if feeling an eerie chill.
Gu Qingyun smacked him firmly.
“Mind your words. Don’t let Little Stone hear.”
The two Constables escorted Little Stone back to his home in Apricot Blossom Alley. When Little Stone’s mother saw the three of them, the despair and hollowness in her eyes instantly gave way to sheer joy, which promptly morphed into fury.
She seized Little Stone and smacked him hard across the back several times, weeping bitterly as she struck him.
“You wretched child! Why are you so disobedient? Staying out this late! If these two officers hadn’t brought you back, how were your father and I supposed to go on living?!”
After venting her emotions, she made Little Stone kowtow before Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan.
“Officers, thank you so much for bringing my boy back. Thank you!”
Gu Qingyun pulled Little Stone up from the ground.
“As long as the child is safe. We still have our night patrol to finish, so we cannot stay long. We shall take our leave.”
“Officers, please wait!”
The woman wiped away her tears and hurried into the inner room. A moment later, she returned and pressed a purse into the hands of Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan, along with an oiled paper packet for each of them.
“It’s just a small token of gratitude. Please, officers, you must accept it.”
Gu Qingyun looked at the purse and the packet in her hand and let out a faint smile.
“Thank you, Auntie. We’ll be going now.” Pausing outside the courtyard gate, she added, “Auntie, Little Stone was found at the very end of Bamboo Leaf Alley. Keep a closer eye on him in the future, and don’t let him wander near that place again.”
With that, she and Bai Fan left, leaving the woman trembling in lingering dread.
Throughout the rest of the night, Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan conducted their rounds once every shichen. When hunger struck, they ate the meat flatbreads given to them by the woman, and the rest of the night passed without incident.
Gu Qingyun glanced up at the sky; their shift had finally come to an end. After a whole night of patrolling, both were exhausted. They headed straight back to the yamen to register their attendance, then returned to their respective quarters to rest.
Rate on N.U.
