After My Death, I Became the Scum Gong's White Moonlight's Back-Spirit - Chapter 1

The young man leaned against the bus window, a trace of faint melancholy lingering between his brows.

His appearance could not be called stunning, yet he had an exceptionally beautiful pair of eyes, resembling mountain forests washed by water.

On the other side of the bus aisle, six-year-old Bai Ziwen frequently glanced in his direction, unsure whether his gaze should linger on the young man’s face which bore a striking resemblance to his second elder brother’s or on the small pendant attached to the young man’s bag.

The young man was hugging a black backpack to his chest; its style was utterly ordinary, yet hanging from it was a pendant that was by no means ordinary at all.

It was a little cat.

The handmade little cat had a black back and a white belly, with snow-white paws and a snow-white tail tip. Its sapphire-like eyes were slightly narrowed as it earnestly licked its own fur.

Lifelike appearance was not even the most remarkable part; what made it even more astonishing was the cat’s demeanor. One of its paws was wiping across its furry face, its mouth slightly parted, and one could actually perceive a sense of comfort and satisfaction from its expression. At a casual glance, one might easily mistake it for some brand-new miniature breed of cat.

As the youngest young master of the Bai family, Bai Ziwen had seen all sorts of amusing toys, yet this was his very first time encountering such a lifelike and adorable cat pendant. Furthermore this little cat looked identical to Mimi at home.

Seated in his chair, swinging his two short legs, his gaze kept drifting toward the young man. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he looked left and right, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he stealthily hopped down from his seat and climbed into the vacant seat beside the young man.

Up close, not only could he find no flaws, but he could appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship of the maker even more.

The cat’s whiskers were trimmed to varying lengths, and at the very tip of the cat’s tail, there was an extra tuft of fur that swayed slightly whenever the wind blew, tickling one’s heart.

Bai Ziwen felt his heart melt at the sight, and he couldn’t help but want to ask where such a little cat had been bought.

However, the young man remained lost in thought, gazing out at the gloomy sky outside, completely unaware that a little fellow had appeared beside him.

Bai Ziwen placed his two small hands neatly on his knees, while his short legs—unable to reach the floor—swung restlessly as he racked his brains trying to figure out how to strike up a conversation with this older brother.

Outside, rain finally began to fall. Previously, the weather had been stifling with low-hanging clouds, as if breathing itself were choked by moisture. Now that the rain had finally fallen, it unexpectedly lifted one’s spirits, much like someone driven by despair to the edge of a cliff who finally breaks down and weeps bitterly; with the emotions vented out, one feels rather relieved.

Mo Han stared blankly out the window, accompanied by the chill brought by the heavy rain; his right hand began to throb with a dull ache once more.

Raindrops beat against the rocks by the roadside, washing those mud-stained stones until they were clean and translucent, gleaming with a beautiful ink-like shade. Mo Han couldn’t help thinking that if one could also pull out their heart and rinse it in the heavy rain, melting away all those emotions and memories right into the downpour, it would truly be refreshing.

“Cough, cough-cough.”

Mo Han was yanked back to reality by a childish and deliberate cough. Turning his head, he discovered that the empty seat beside him had somehow gained a little occupant.

The child had fair skin, long eyelashes like two little folding fans, and round, bright eyes that furtively glanced downward under the assumption that he was being subtle, looking precisely like a little cat trying to steal canned food.

Mo Han possessed formidable powers of observation, having only ever been trapped in cognitive bondage by love in front of his former lover, being played around with like an idiot. The moment he observed Bai Ziwen’s demeanor, he knew the child had taken a fancy to his little cat.

Mo Han lifted the little cat and asked Bai Ziwen with a smile, “Do you like it?”

Bai Ziwen subconsciously looked over, only to realize that while this young man did not possess an astonishing appearance, his hands were breathtakingly beautiful—resembling a masterpiece meticulously carved by top sculptors, warm and lustrous like mutton-fat jade, with distinct joints resembling bamboo carved from emerald.

Still, being a child after all, Bai Ziwen’s attention remained fixed on the little cat. Hearing Mo Han’s words, he hurriedly nodded, behaving as obediently as a little angel; if any member of the Bai family were to witness him in this state, there’s no telling how many jaws would drop in shock.

“Older brother, where did you buy this?” Bai Ziwen looked at him expectantly, his eyes seemingly hiding a handful of little stars.

Having one’s aesthetic appreciation validated especially by a child is always uniquely gratifying. Mo Han’s brows and eyes softened. “I made this myself.”

The moment those words left his lips, Mo Han saw Bai Ziwen’s eyes light up even brighter, the adoration contained within them practically dazzling his vision.

“Then big brother, can you make one for me too? Just a little cat like this one will do. I have money.” Bai Ziwen patted his own chest like a little adult, looking at Mo Han expectantly.

Make another one?

Mo Han couldn’t help but soften his expression.

The little cat was lovely, and many people had once desired the one in his hand.

Some offered a thousand pieces of gold in a grand gesture to buy it outright; others leveraged their tender age and threw crying, screaming tantrums; and still others wore disdainful expressions, akimbo as they demanded, “Isn’t it just a little toy? What’s wrong with giving it to my child?!”

Handmade crafts always carried an element of unpredictability, with every single piece being entirely unique. Some feared the risk, while others felt this particular one caught their eye. Thinking back carefully, only the child before him had asked whether he could make another one.

If his hands had not been broken in that summer long ago, he would surely have been delighted to set a time with this young friend and gift him one.

It was a pity that his hands could no longer hold tools; he wondered if his grandfather’s spirit in heaven would blame him for letting the craftsmanship of the Mo family die out.

“Big brother? Don’t cry, did Ziwen say something wrong?” Bai Ziwen suddenly grew flustered, looking somewhat at a loss.

Mo Han was momentarily stunned and reached out to touch his own face.

“I’m not crying.” Mo Han smiled with a hint of helplessness.

Bai Ziwen pressed his lips together, observing that the young man remained as calm and detached as when they first met, as if he cared about nothing at all, as if his world were forever clear skies and gentle breezes. His face was clean, and the corners of his eyes held no moisture.

Yet, Bai Ziwen inexplicably felt that this person’s heart was shrouded in dark clouds and heavy, oppressive atmospheric pressure, waiting for a rain that was perpetually delayed.

Mo Han lowered his head. “If you like it, treat it well.”

He gently stroked the cat’s fur, as though reluctant to part with it, yet the next second he neatly detached the pendant.

Bai Ziwen stared in a daze as he caught it, his eyes widening the next instant like a cat with its fur bristling.

“No, no, I can’t accept this!”

Pulling a serious little face, he earnestly tried to push the little cat back into Mo Han’s hands. “A gentleman does not take what others love.”

For such a small child to put on an adult expression was truly adorable. Mo Han didn’t know why the child reacted so intensely, but he was amused into chuckling.

Turning serious, he placed the little cat back into the palm of Bai Ziwen’s hand, treating it as though he were handing over something of supreme importance—so much so that Bai Ziwen was unconsciously influenced to straighten his back.

“I give it to you. I’m very glad that you like it.”

When Mo Han gave the little cat away, a piece of his heart seemed to hollow out along with it. He could still feel Xiao Hei’s soft, warm body leaning lazily against his arm, yet when he lowered his gaze, his arm was completely empty. His Xiao Hei and he were separated forever in that rainy night.

Perhaps Xiao Hei also hated him hated him as a master who failed to protect it which was why it kept hissing at him in his dreams with an expression bordering on ferocious.

He had woven a strand of Xiao Hei’s fur into this cat plushie. Now that he was gifting the plushie to someone else, perhaps Xiao Hei could finally fulfill its wish to part ways with him to the ends of the earth, never to meet again in this lifetime.

“It no longer wants to stay by my side. Is it alright to entrust it to you?” Mo Han looked at him, and his serious expression made Bai Ziwen feel as though he wasn’t handing over a mere bag pendant, but a real, living cat.

Clearly, it was just a small trinket, yet Mo Han’s earnestness imbued it with a sense of solemnity.

Bai Ziwen didn’t feel anything was amiss; it was his first time being entrusted with something so seriously, and he instantly turned solemn, nodding earnestly.

Watching Bai Ziwen’s serious expression, Mo Han suddenly smiled, like the wind stirring tree leaves and scattering sunlight across the ground.

Bai Ziwen raised his head and froze instantly.

Earlier, he had only felt that the young man shared a fifty-percent resemblance with his second brother; now, as the young man opposite him smiled, the likeness surged to ninety percent.

Bai Ziwen simply regarded this as an innate bond of fate. Finding the young man delightful to look at, he couldn’t help smiling as he tilted his head up. “Big brother, you and my second brother…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the world suddenly began to shake violently.

The sunlight was blown out, and the world dissolved into pure white and black.

Mo Han grabbed hold of Bai Ziwen just as the child was about to roll off the seat, while the screams inside the carriage converged into roaring waves, nearly drowning them out.

“A rockslide!”