Ghost in the palace

The Imperial Palace lay beneath a silver moon.

The bustling corridors that had echoed with servants and officials during the day were now silent. Only the occasional palace guard patrolled the stone pathways, their lanterns casting long shadows across the gardens.

A cool breeze rustled the bamboo leaves.

Everything seemed peaceful.

Except...

Three translucent figures floated happily above the palace roofs.

Fen Yu spun in the air with a delighted laugh.

”That was the best Ghost Festival gathering in years!”

Wei Rong folded his arms.

”The ghost chess tournament was terrible. That old general cheated.”

”He did not,” Li Shen replied calmly. ”You simply lost.”

”I did not lose.”

”You finished last.”

”I was being polite.”

Fen Yu giggled.

”You knocked over the board because you were losing.”

”I was demonstrating military strategy.”

”By throwing the pieces?”

”The enemy never expects it.”

Li Shen sighed.

”Exactly my point.”

Fen Yu laughed so hard she nearly floated upside down.

”You two never change.”

The three drifted through the moonlit palace, enjoying the quiet night.

For once...

There were no conspiracies.

No assassins.

No dark magic.

Just peaceful conversation.

”I wonder what Her Majesty is dreaming about,” Fen Yu mused.

Wei Rong grinned.

”Hopefully not cooking again.”

”Why?”

”Because every time she dreams about food, I wake up hungry.”

”You can’t eat.”

”I know.”

”Then why complain?”

”It builds character.”

Fen Yu burst into laughter again.

The three continued toward the Empress’s courtyard.

Then—

Li Shen stopped.

His smile disappeared.

”...Wait.”

Fen Yu turned.

”What is it?”

Wei Rong immediately became alert.

Li Shen slowly looked behind them.

”...Someone is following us.”

The other two blinked.

”What?”

”There.”

He pointed toward a dark corridor.

Only moonlight illuminated the stone path.

Empty.

Fen Yu frowned.

”I don’t see anyone.”

Wei Rong narrowed his eyes.

”...Neither do I.”

Li Shen remained motionless.

”I felt... something.”

A strange chill passed through the air.

Not the ordinary cold that accompanied wandering spirits.

Something different.

Something heavy.

Something...

Alive.

Fen Yu swallowed.

”...Let’s go.”

The three floated faster.

Behind them...

A figure stepped silently from behind a stone pillar.

A tall person dressed completely in black.

A hood covered the face.

The figure lifted their head slightly.

As though...

Watching the ghosts.

...

Fen Yu suddenly looked back.

Her expression froze.

”...”

”...Did...”

Her voice trembled.

”...Did that person just look at me?”

Wei Rong laughed.

”Humans can’t see ghosts.”

Fen Yu didn’t laugh.

”He...”

”He looked directly into my eyes.”

Wei Rong’s smile faded.

”...Impossible.”

Li Shen spoke quietly.

”...Run.”

The three ghosts immediately flew across the rooftops.

Behind them—

The hooded figure began walking.

Not running.

Walking.

Calmly.

Patiently.

Yet somehow...

Never falling behind.

Fen Yu looked back again.

”He’s still there!”

Wei Rong frowned.

”Impossible...”

”We’re flying!”

Li Shen’s normally calm face had become serious.

”He isn’t following our footsteps.”

”He is following...”

”Our presence.”

Fen Yu’s face turned pale.

”No...”

”No human can do that.”

None of them spoke again.

The palace walls rushed past beneath them.

Gardens.

Pavilions.

Bridges.

Courtyards.

Still—

The hooded figure followed.

Never hurried.

Never stopped.

Fen Yu’s voice shook.

”I don’t like this...”

Wei Rong clenched his fists.

”I’ll scare him away.”

He suddenly descended in front of the hooded stranger.

Standing directly before him.

Normally...

Humans would continue walking through a ghost without noticing.

Instead—

The hooded man stopped.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

He raised his head.

His hidden face turned directly toward Wei Rong.

Wei Rong froze.

”...”

”He...”

”He can see me.”

The hooded figure tilted his head slightly.

Almost...

As if studying him.

Wei Rong felt something he had not experienced in centuries.

Fear.

Real fear.

”Move!”

Li Shen shouted.

Wei Rong disappeared instantly.

The three ghosts fled.

This time...

Without joking.

Without looking back.

They raced toward the Empress’s residence.

...

Inside the courtyard, everything was peaceful.

The lanterns had been dimmed.

The servants slept.

Only a few guards remained outside the gates.

The ghosts flew inside.

Fen Yu looked over her shoulder.

”...He’s coming.”

Sure enough...

Beyond the courtyard entrance...

The hooded figure appeared.

Standing beneath the moonlight.

Watching.

Not entering.

Simply watching.

The three ghosts rushed into the Empress’s chambers.

”Your Majesty!”

”Wake up!”

”Wake up!”

Fen Yu shook the bed curtains dramatically.

Li Shen called urgently,

”Your Majesty!”

Lian An slowly opened her eyes.

Half asleep, she blinked several times.

”...Fen Yu?”

She rubbed her eyes.

”What happened?”

Wei Rong looked genuinely shaken.

”We’re in trouble.”

That immediately woke her completely.

She sat upright.

Her expression became serious.

”What happened?”

Fen Yu pointed toward the courtyard with trembling hands.

”There...”

”There is a man.”

”A hooded man.”

Lian An frowned.

”An assassin?”

Li Shen slowly shook his head.

”No.”

”Worse.”

”He...”

”...Can see us.”

Silence filled the room.

Lian An stared at them.

”...What?”

Fen Yu nodded repeatedly.

”He looked straight at me!”

Wei Rong spoke in a low voice.

”I stood in front of him.”

”He stopped.”

”He watched me.”

”No ordinary human can do that.”

Li Shen added quietly,

”And he followed us.”

”From the northern palace...”

”All the way here.”

Lian An climbed out of bed immediately.

”You mean...”

”He followed ghosts?”

”Yes.”

”And he knew where you were going?”

”Yes.”

She frowned deeply.

”Did he enter the courtyard?”

Fen Yu quickly shook her head.

”No.”

”He stopped outside.”

”As though...”

”He already knew where you lived.”

A cold feeling settled in Lian An’s chest.

She walked toward the window.

Carefully lifting one corner of the curtain.

The courtyard appeared peaceful.

Moonlight covered the stone paths.

The flowering trees swayed gently.

Nothing unusual.

No hooded figure.

No movement.

She lowered the curtain.

”Did he leave?”

Li Shen looked uncertain.

”I don’t know.”

Wei Rong rarely admitted fear.

But tonight...

His voice was unusually quiet.

”There was something wrong with him.”

Fen Yu hugged her own arms.

”I’ve never seen a living person look at ghosts like that.”

Lian An turned toward them.

”Did you recognize him?”

All three shook their heads.

”No.”

”Was he using dark magic?”

Li Shen hesitated.

”...I couldn’t tell.”

”It felt...”

”Ancient.”

”Different.”

The room became silent again.

Outside—

The wind grew stronger.

The candle flames flickered.

Fen Yu whispered,

”...What if he comes back?”

Wei Rong answered before Lian An could.

”Then we protect Her Majesty.”

Li Shen nodded.

”No matter who he is.”

Lian An looked at her three companions.

They had always teased one another.

Argued.

Played tricks.

Tonight...

They looked genuinely frightened.

She spoke softly.

”You’re safe here.”

Fen Yu managed a small smile.

”...Are we?”

Lian An nodded.

”As long as we’re together, we’ll face whatever this is.”

The ghosts exchanged uncertain glances.

They wanted to believe her.

But each of them remembered the same thing—

The hooded figure...

Standing perfectly still beneath the moon.

Looking directly into their eyes.

As though he had been searching...

For them.

Far beyond the walls of the Empress’s courtyard, hidden in the darkness of an ancient cypress tree, a lone hooded figure stood motionless.

His face remained concealed.

His gaze rested upon the softly glowing windows of the Empress’s residence.

After a long silence, he turned away.

Without making a sound...

He disappeared into the night.

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