Ghost in the palace

The first rays of dawn spilled across the imperial palace, bathing the jade rooftops in a soft golden glow.

Morning mist lingered over the lotus ponds, while dew sparkled like tiny pearls upon the flower petals.

Inside the Phoenix Courtyard, everything was peaceful.

The fragrance of jasmine drifted gently through the open lattice window.

A cool breeze carried the sweet scent of blooming peonies.

The palace had not yet awakened to the bustle of the day.

Only birdsong broke the silence.

Lian An sat beside the carved wooden window, dressed in a simple pale blue robe embroidered with white plum blossoms. Her long black hair flowed freely over her shoulders, still slightly damp from her morning bath.

A cup of warm tea rested beside her.

She wasn’t reading reports.

She wasn’t discussing court affairs.

Instead, she quietly admired the garden outside.

Butterflies fluttered between the flowers.

A pair of white cranes stood near the pond.

For the first time in many days...

Her heart felt calm.

She smiled faintly.

"...It’s peaceful."

She closed her eyes, allowing the warm sunlight to fall across her face.

Just then—

Whoosh!

A cold wind swept through the room.

The curtains fluttered violently.

The teacup rippled.

Lian An immediately opened her eyes.

Three familiar figures appeared before her.

Fen Yu floated into the room first, her face unusually pale.

Wei Rong’s expression was grim.

Li Shen’s brows were tightly furrowed.

None of them looked playful.

Lian An stood at once.

"What happened?"

Fen Yu rarely lost her cheerful smile.

But today...

She looked frightened.

"My Lady..."

Her voice trembled.

"Something terrible is happening."

Lian An’s smile disappeared.

Wei Rong folded his arms.

"We came as quickly as we could."

Li Shen stepped closer.

"We’ve travelled through several towns since before sunrise."

Lian An’s heart sank.

"What did you see?"

Fen Yu swallowed.

"People..."

"They’re dying."

Silence filled the room.

Lian An stared at them.

"Dying?"

Wei Rong nodded.

"Entire villages are in panic."

Li Shen continued quietly,

"It starts without warning."

"A healthy person walks through the market..."

"...then suddenly stops."

"They clutch their chest..."

"Their breathing becomes shallow..."

"Within moments..."

"They collapse."

Fen Yu hugged herself.

"And many never wake up again."

Lian An’s expression turned grave.

"What illness?"

Li Shen slowly shook his head.

"No one knows."

"The royal physicians are confused."

"The local healers have examined the victims."

"They find no poison."

"No visible wounds."

"No fever."

"No plague marks."

"They simply..."

"...fade."

Lian An’s fingers tightened around the windowsill.

"How many?"

Wei Rong answered quietly,

"Hundreds."

Fen Yu added,

"And the number keeps growing."

The room became silent again.

Outside—

The flowers continued dancing in the breeze.

The peaceful morning suddenly felt strangely distant.

Lian An walked slowly toward the garden.

Her thoughts raced.

"This isn’t natural..."

Li Shen nodded.

"We thought the same."

Fen Yu spoke again.

"There’s more."

Lian An looked at her.

"What else?"

Fen Yu hesitated.

"We stayed beside one old man yesterday."

"He was speaking to his grandson."

"He looked perfectly healthy."

"Then..."

She took a deep breath.

"A shadow passed behind him."

Lian An frowned.

"A shadow?"

Wei Rong nodded.

"It moved too quickly for ordinary people to notice."

"But we’re spirits."

"We saw it clearly."

Li Shen’s calm voice filled the room.

"The shadow wasn’t human."

"It had no clear face."

"It drifted across the ground like smoke."

"The moment it touched the old man..."

"He collapsed."

Lian An’s pupils contracted.

Fen Yu whispered,

"The shadow disappeared immediately afterwards."

"The healers thought he suffered sudden heart failure."

"But we know what we saw."

Wei Rong clenched his fists.

"It happened again."

"And again."

"And again."

Li Shen looked directly into Lian An’s eyes.

"The same shadow followed every victim."

Silence.

A cold breeze entered through the open window.

Lian An slowly lowered her gaze.

"...The hooded man."

All three ghosts nodded together.

Fen Yu spoke first.

"It has to be him."

Wei Rong’s jaw tightened.

"We’ve fought soldiers."

"We’ve seen ghosts."

"We’ve witnessed battlefields."

"But..."

He paused.

"That man..."

"...is different."

Li Shen rarely admitted fear.

Yet even he looked uneasy.

"When we first saw him..."

"I felt something I have never experienced before."

"He wasn’t merely powerful."

"There was something..."

"...wrong."

"As though darkness itself obeyed him."

Fen Yu shivered.

"I didn’t even dare go near him."

Lian An remembered the lake.

The strange sleepwalking.

The invisible force pulling her toward the water.

Princess Zhi’s mysterious tragedy.

The attacks outside the capital.

Everything...

Everything connected to one person.

"The hooded man..."

She whispered.

"He’s behind all of this."

Wei Rong nodded.

"He wants chaos."

Li Shen continued,

"If enough people die..."

"The kingdom will lose faith."

"They’ll believe Heaven has abandoned them."

Fen Yu looked worried.

"And frightened people become easy to control."

Lian An slowly walked back to her seat.

Her tea had already gone cold.

She no longer noticed.

Instead...

She recalled every strange incident of recent months.

Every unexplained death.

Every shadow.

Every failed investigation.

Nothing had been random.

It had all been carefully arranged.

She looked toward the bright morning sky beyond the window.

"So..."

"He has finally begun moving openly."

Wei Rong nodded.

"I believe so."

Li Shen added,

"The court probably still believes it’s a strange illness."

"They’re searching for physicians."

"But physicians cannot cure..."

"...something that isn’t a disease."

Fen Yu asked softly,

"What should we do?"

Lian An remained silent for several moments.

Then her expression hardened.

"First..."

"We gather proof."

"We cannot accuse someone without evidence."

Wei Rong nodded approvingly.

"I’ll search the western districts."

Li Shen adjusted his sleeves.

"I’ll investigate the capital."

Fen Yu smiled faintly.

"I’ll visit the villages."

Lian An looked at each of them.

"Be careful."

"The hooded man can sense unusual things."

"If he notices you..."

She didn’t finish.

The three ghosts understood.

Wei Rong grinned despite the seriousness.

"We’ve survived death once already."

Fen Yu pouted.

"That isn’t comforting."

Li Shen chuckled quietly.

Lian An couldn’t help smiling for a brief moment.

Even in danger...

The three of them remained themselves.

Then her smile faded again.

"If you discover anything..."

"Return immediately."

They nodded.

A cold wind swept through the room once more.

With three soft swishes...

They vanished.

Silence returned.

Lian An remained standing before the open window.

The palace looked exactly as it always had.

Servants watered flowers.

Maids swept the paths.

Birds sang happily.

No one knew...

That somewhere beyond these walls...

Families were mourning.

Children were becoming orphans.

Parents were burying sons and daughters.

She slowly closed her hand into a fist.

"I won’t let this continue."

Not while innocent lives were being taken.

Not while darkness spread through her kingdom.

Outside the courtyard...

High above the palace roofs...

A flock of birds suddenly burst into the sky in panic.

Far away...

Beyond the capital...

A lone figure dressed in a black hood stood upon a barren hill.

His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of his cloak.

Below him...

Another village bell began to ring.

Not for celebration.

But for death.

The hooded man slowly smiled beneath the darkness.

"The game..."

"...has only just begun."

The wind howled across the empty hillside.

And somewhere in the kingdom...

Another shadow silently slipped through the morning light.

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