In the quiet of the night, Liu Xiaojiang emerged from the chicken coop, his face calm and composed as he departed the home of the village's chicken farmer. Yet, the faint traces of blood at the corners of his mouth and the stray feathers clinging to his disheveled hair and tattered clothes painted a peculiar, unsettling picture.
"I suppose... I'm nothing more than a moving corpse."
Walking down the deserted village path under the moonlight, Liu Xiaojiang couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow as he came to terms with his situation. He had finally clawed his way back to life, only to find himself in a state too grotesque to be called living. Could a reanimated corpse truly claim to be alive?
The endless darkness and torment of the past had stripped him of everything beyond the instinct to survive. Now, disoriented and unfamiliar with the world around him, even basic knowledge seemed to elude him. And yet, remnants of understanding stirred within him, triggered by certain sights and objects.
He found himself drawn to the village bus station. Though the place was foreign, the signs and the large vehicles told him this was a hub for long-distance travel. The late hour meant the station was nearly empty, save for a few dozing staff members. Moving soundlessly, Liu Xiaojiang slipped past the barriers and entered the area where the vehicles were parked.
His gaze fell on the massive buses, their forms unfamiliar yet oddly captivating. After a moment of contemplation, he leapt onto the roof of one and lay flat against its cold surface.
The girl is not here.
A peculiar sense of connection tethered him to the girl, though he couldn't explain why. He knew with certainty she wasn't nearby, yet he had no idea where she could be. If she wasn't here, there was no reason to linger.
The memory of the disheveled woman and the strange, slightly deranged man with the braid flashed in his mind. Both were enigmas, clearly not ordinary humans. His own circumstances were even more unusual, compelling him to leave this place and its uncertainties behind.
"Where is she...?" he murmured, staring up at the star-speckled sky. The sight brought a rare moment of tranquility, soothing the unease that had been gnawing at him.
"Never mind," he sighed. "At least I've come back to life, however twisted that might be. Her situation... it can wait."
The girl, undoubtedly more knowledgeable about the world, had already proven herself extraordinary. Rushing into the unknown without preparation could only complicate matters. If the unkempt woman and the eccentric man were anomalies among humans, then Liu Xiaojiang, a being entirely outside the bounds of humanity, was an anomaly among anomalies.
The thought weighed heavily on him. Ordinary people would fear and reject him, and even the so-called exceptional might see him as a threat. Instinctively, he wanted to avoid drawing attention to his abnormality.
Fatigue crept over him—a weariness born of countless years spent conscious in darkness. Now that his body was sustained by the blood of living creatures, he felt, for the first time, truly alive. With his eyes fixed on the glittering stars, he let them close, surrendering to a long-overdue rest.
Days later.
"Hey! When the hell did this beggar get up here? Damn it, what bad luck! Get up, you bastard!"
The harsh tugging jolted Liu Xiaojiang awake. He opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with a burly middle-aged man, his broad shoulders and imposing frame dwarfing Liu's lean figure.
"Who are you?" Liu asked, his voice steady as he glanced at the ladder connecting the rooftop to the ground.
"Who am I?" The man's fury mounted, his voice booming. "I'm the driver of this bus, you idiot! Get off my roof right now! You're messing up my work!"
"Alright. My apologies." Liu Xiaojiang offered no resistance. Climbing down the ladder, he left the vehicle and stepped outside the station gates.
"Damn beggar," the driver muttered, spitting on the ground in disgust. His disdainful gaze lingered on Liu's ragged clothes. "Young and able-bodied, yet living like this? Disgraceful."
At the gate, Liu Xiaojiang paused, his lips curving into a stiff, unnatural smile. "Excuse me, brother," he called out. "Do you know where this place is?"
"Huh?" The driver stopped, baffled. "You've got to be kidding me. This is Lianmen Port!"
"Lianmen Port?" Liu scratched his head awkwardly. "Where's that?"
"Up in the northeast."
"Oh, I see. Thank you."