After buying the Flowstone, Jin Yue glanced into his purse.Only a few thin coins remained, rattling softly like they were mocking him.
…Not enough for an inn. Not even for the cheapest mat.Alright. Then somewhere will do.
He slipped through the dimming streets, avoiding the bustling crowds as the city slowly transitioned into night. The further he walked, the more the noise thinned out, shouts fading, lanterns growing sparse, shadows stretching long.
Eventually, he found an old temple at the edge of the district.
Its wooden walls were worn thin by time, the roof half collapsed, and vines crawled across the timber like old scars. But the place was empty…and quiet.
Good. Quiet is enough.I can breathe here.
Inside, pale moonlight filtered through the broken roof in long silver streaks, illuminating dust that floated like wandering stars. The statues worn down by weather and time, watched silently over the hall.
Jin Yue gathered abandoned straw into a small pile near the wall. It wasn't much, but it softened the cold floor beneath him.
It's warmer than the streets.It feels…almost safe.
He lay down, exhaling slowly as exhaustion reached for him. The moonlight brushed against his cheek, gentle and cold.
Just as his eyes began to close
step
Jin Yue froze.
The sound wasn't coming from inside the hall after all…
it drifted from outside, just beyond the ruined wall.
Another step.Slow.Measured.Crunching lightly over gravel and old weeds.
Someone… outside?At this hour? In a place like this?
Then a different noise reached him…
thin, trembling, raw.
Crying?
His breath caught halfway in his chest.
That wasn't wind.It wasn't an animal.
Someone was sobbing in the dark.
Jin Yue pushed himself up quietly, spine straightening like a shadow returning to form. Moonlight brushed across his cheek, sharpening the pale glimmer in his eyes.
He moved with fluid instinct
the instinct of someone who knew exactly when to hide, when to listen, and when to vanish if needed.
The sobbing came again.Soft.Fractured.Barely holding itself together.
His hand tightened around his fishing rod.
Who cries outside an abandoned temple in the middle of the night?What kind of danger follows a voice like that…?
He rose soundlessly, feet gliding over the cold stone floor.Instead of heading toward the doorway, he slipped along the side wall, keeping to the shadows.
His steps were light, controlled.He moved like a ripple of water avoiding the moon's reflection.
The old window near the far corner stood half-broken, its wooden frame splintered.A beam of moonlight spilled through it, illuminating floating dust like drifting fireflies.
He approached it slowly.
The crying grew clearer with every step
raw, trembling, full of despair.
"…God… I have nothing left."
Jin Yue froze just short of the window's edge.