TSFLIP Chapter 1010

A Wan made her way back to the Imperial Kitchen. After setting down the food box, she filled a basin with water and prepared to wash it. Most of the palace servants were busy delivering meals to the nobles. She spat in annoyance.

“Hmph. They’re the only ones who get a chance to serve the masters. Always pushing the new people around…”

When she turned around, she noticed that the food box she had just placed on the floor was now back on the table.

She froze for a few seconds.

Walking over, she picked it up. The moment she turned her head again, she saw the wooden ladle lift into the air by itself.

“Ah!” A Wan screamed.

“What are you yelling about?” Nanny Guo snapped, glaring at her.

“N-Nanny… the ladle—it flew up…”

Nanny Guo glanced over. “What flying? Isn’t it sitting perfectly fine in the water jar?”

A Wan rubbed her eyes. Had she imagined it? Nervously, she said, “I’m sorry, Nanny Guo. I must have seen wrong—ah!”

She suddenly fell to the ground. Looking back, she realized no one had pushed her.

“Ghost! There’s a ghost!”

Nanny Guo walked over and ordered two people to drag her away. “You’ve lost your mind. Don’t come back to the Imperial Kitchen for the next few days. Go relearn the rules before you show your face again!”

In the palace, nothing was more taboo than talk of ghosts and spirits. Once A Wan was sent away, she likely wouldn’t be coming back.

Feng Guang clapped her hands, smiling mischievously. Then she pressed a hand to her forehead as dizziness washed over her.

Over the past few days of being a ghost, she had figured out a few things. Normally, she couldn’t touch physical objects. But if she concentrated hard enough, she could briefly make contact. The side effects, however, were intense dizziness—and the unsettling sensation that her body was becoming even more insubstantial.

The sun set and the moon rose. Night fell quickly.

The boy had managed to dig up only a small pile of roots. He dug every day, yet no matter how much he tried, there was never much left. Sitting on the ground, he lowered his head and was about to bite directly into a root when he noticed two steamed buns placed beside him.

Perhaps to keep them clean, they had been set carefully on fresh leaves.

Feng Guang crouched in front of him, resting her chin on her hands. Even though she knew he couldn’t hear her, she grinned and said, “It wasn’t easy for me to get those. No need to thank me.”

He paused for a long moment before reaching for a bun. But when he saw the dirt on his hands against the white surface of the bun, he hesitated. Pulling his hand back, he wiped it on his clothes until it was somewhat cleaner, then finally picked up the bun and took a bite.

Feng Guang’s smile faded.

For some reason, her chest ached.

She sat quietly beside him, looking up at the moonlight. The loneliness felt even heavier. Being invisible really wasn’t pleasant.

After days of aimless drifting, she had finally found something to do. She began staying by the little boy’s side like a guardian spirit. He woke up early every morning and seemed to follow a strict schedule for sleeping and eating. That morning, she had brought him a bowl of porridge. She decided she would do her best to improve his meals. Compared to wandering without purpose, she preferred settling here.

But there was only so much she could do.

During his midday nap, as he lay on the bed, he suddenly opened a pair of clear eyes.

“Are you a ghost?”

He had seen objects floating more than once.

Feng Guang, who was sitting on the windowsill, froze.

“I’m not a ghost,” she muttered.

It was the first time in days she had heard him speak. Then again, when food kept appearing out of nowhere, even a child would grow suspicious.

“Then what are you?” he asked.

Feng Guang paused, then drifted closer in excitement. “You can hear me?”

“Yes.” He sat up, facing in the direction of her voice. Though he could hear her clearly, he still couldn’t see her.