Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 10: Little Stone
"In the middle of the night, no one is around. No one is walking in the aisles. Just keep an eye on the three fires above your head. If someone calls you, don't turn around..."

Lin Beixuan sang along with Wu Qi in a low voice, and with his gloomy temperament, he actually looked more like the real thing than Wu Qi did.

Wu Qi glanced sideways and looked at Lin Beixuan in surprise.

"He has a good talent."

The accent he used came from his native dialect, which is difficult for ordinary people to understand just by listening, let alone singing.

But today he didn't expect that someone could learn to sing so quickly, which made him become interested in Lin Beixuan.

"I'm just imitating you. It's not a question of whether I have good or bad talent. At most, I have a good memory." Lin Beixuan smiled and did not become complacent because of Wu Qi's praise.

"It's good to have a good memory. I hope you can remember what I just said."

Wu Qi looked at Lin Beixuan deeply, exhaled smoke from his mouth, and walked down the stairs with his hands behind his back.

"gone!"

Watching Wu Qi leave, Lin Beixuan and Xiao Shitou couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

It was late at night, and there were only two of them behind the door of the Ruan residence. Although there was a red lantern hanging above their heads, the light could only illuminate the area within a few meters around them, and the rest of the place was still dim and dark.

Next to the door was an open room, small enough to accommodate only a small bed.

From the outside, it is somewhat similar to the security booth at the entrance of a modern residential area. The windows are wide open, so you can easily hear the noise outside the door even if you sleep inside.

This should be a temporary resting place.

Lin Beixuan poked his head into the room and took a look. The bed was tidy, as if it had just been made.

"We'll stay here tonight."

Little Stone walked into the small room and sat down on the bed. "Goudan, do you want to guard the first half of the night or the second half?"

He lay on the open window sill and looked at Lin Beixuan. His voice was childish, but his tone revealed maturity.

"Aren't you afraid?" Lin Beixuan asked curiously.

Both the previous communication between the housekeeper and the group of servants, and Wu Qi's later warnings to them, had clearly pointed out the danger of the doorman's job.

But he did not see any expression of fear on Xiao Shitou's face, which should not appear on a child who is only about ten years old.

"Afraid?" Little Stone shook his head and found that the black felt hat on his head was tilted. He carefully straightened it and then grinned.

"I'm not afraid. My mother told me not to be afraid of them. The more afraid you are, the more likely they will come looking for you."

"When I was a child, there was a severe drought. It hadn't rained for several years, so there was famine in the village. Many people had no food to eat, and there were people starving to death everywhere. My father was beaten to death by others on the way to find food."

"Those who starved to death would turn into starving ghosts at night and look for food everywhere. They not only eat insects and grass, they also eat people."

"My mother told me that if you encounter a ghost, don't be afraid, because hunger is more terrifying than anything else. If a ghost wants to harm you, you can either run away or fight back, but don't be afraid."

"One day, a starving ghost came to our house. My mother hid me and walked out."

"Her back was very thin, like those people who died of starvation on the roadside."

"She was not afraid of those ghosts. When the ghosts bit her, she bit them back. In the end, she bit the ghosts to death, and the ghosts also bit her to death."

"I still remember what she said to me before she left."

"How can people be afraid of ghosts!"

Xiao Shitou grinned when he said this, but Lin Beixuan saw tears in his eyes.

A child who is only ten years old, when recalling his past, refers to his childhood.

It turned out that in his eyes, he was already an adult at the age of ten. Lin Beixuan did not ask him how he survived in the end. He stretched out his hand to touch the other's head with pity, but was immediately avoided.

"Don't touch my head, or I won't grow tall!" Little Stone covered his black felt hat with both hands, his eyes wide open, looking angry.

Lin Beixuan couldn't help but smile after hearing this, and silently withdrew his hand, sighing sincerely: "You are a strong child."

At first, he thought of the secular world as a virtual online game to explore. He was not from this world and the people he met were just NPCs.

But when Xiao Shitou told his experience, he found that his thoughts were all wrong. Living in this secular world, they are all flesh and blood people.

Lin Beixuan exhaled slowly: "I will guard it alone tonight."

But Little Stone just shook his head.

"No, you're not smart enough. I don't trust you to guard me."

"..."

"How about this, you guard the first half of the night, and I'll guard the second half."

Little Stone jumped up from the bed and moved a bench to place it in front of the door.

"You should rest first. I'll call you when the time comes." Xiao Shitou waved to Lin Beixuan, asking him to rest quickly.

But how could Lin Beixuan sleep at this moment? He had fallen asleep in the real world before coming to the secular world. Did he need to sleep again in the secular world? Besides, he was worried about letting Xiao Shitou guard him alone.

Even if he died, he could still be resurrected through the shrine. If Xiao Shitou died, he would probably be really dead.

Through the dim light, he could see Xiao Shitou sitting on a bench with his waist hunched. His clothes were loose and ill-fitting, and were barely tied together with a cloth belt, which made his already thin body look even thinner.

He sat there alone, like a bird without wings. Even though he had lost the sky, his eyes were still bright and stubborn.

Time passes quietly...

Since there was no timer, Lin Beixuan could not tell the exact time. He only knew that the darkness was getting thicker.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew into his collar and he heard inexplicable murmurs in his ears.

In a trance, Lin Beixuan actually saw again the ancient shrine that represented his life.

But the shrine was very illusory, and the candlelight on the white wax inside was flickering.

Is this dead again?
"No, I'm not dead. The candle is still burning at a normal rate. The appearance of the shrine only means that I am on the verge of death."

Lin Beixuan's eyes became fierce, he closed them and bit his tongue fiercely, and suddenly a sharp pain rushed to the top of his head.

When he opened his eyes again, his whole body was covered with goose bumps.

There was no change in the scene in his field of vision, but he saw a white shadow out of the corner of his eye.

The white shadow floated in the air like a silk ribbon, falling from the wooden beam and resting on his shoulders.

What on earth happened just now? He almost lost his life because of a moment of distraction.

Lin Beixuan was horrified and immediately looked towards Xiao Shitou, only to see Xiao Shitou sitting on a bench with lifeless eyes. The light of the red lantern above his head had become extremely dim, as if it would go out in the next second.

Lin Beixuan frowned, and without thinking too much, he quickly took out a clay jar from the wooden box on the bedside, put it on his body, and rushed towards Xiao Shitou like a fly.

He recalled the words Wu Qi had specifically told them before he left.

"The red lanterns must not be extinguished."

(End of this chapter)