What are you afraid of?
It's a question worth pondering.
Ye Rong fears rats and cockroaches. Xun'er dreads a world without ice cream. Jiadi fears loneliness. And Chen Mo?
What terrifies him the most is… bones.
Yes—bones. Whether human or animal, even a mere plastic replica was enough to send him fleeing in terror. Childhood trauma had carved this fear deep into his soul.
"So, are you afraid of me?"
Leaning lazily against the wall, a humanoid skeleton regarded the trembling Chen Mo, its hollow jaw opening to speak in a voice as dry as dust.
Bathed in the ghostly glow of green phosphorescence, the skeleton casually propped itself up and crooked a bony finger.
"Relax. I have nothing to do with that one from Journey to the West. I'm merely a museum exhibit—somehow brought to life."
"You could've said that earlier!"
Relief flooded Chen Mo's face, courage abruptly restored. But his nerves returned the moment he watched the skeleton remove a rib for cleaning.
"Uh, hey... if you keep pulling yourself apart like that, what if you accidentally dislodge a—"
Crash!
Before he could finish, the skeleton crumbled entirely.
"I told you to be careful…" Chen Mo muttered, exasperated. "Need a hand putting yourself back together?"
A few minutes later, reconstruction began. Chen Mo diligently assembled the framework, offering reassurances as he worked.
"Don't worry—I used to love jigsaw puzzles as a kid. Reassembly is my forte… wait, isn't this a vertebra?"
Half an hour passed. The skeleton was reassembled—barely. The skull was on backwards, and two mysterious bones remained.
Admiring his handiwork, Chen Mo grinned smugly.
"I'm a genius! This reminds me of the time I fixed a clock and somehow ended up with two spare parts—yet the clock still worked!"
The skeleton had no interest in his self-praise. With a creak of bones, it twisted its skull into proper alignment and pointed to a distant bronze pillar.
"New guard, if I were you, I wouldn't touch that. Whatever you seek, that pillar will not yield to you."
To prove its point, it picked up a small stone and flung it at the column.
Seconds later, the stone halted mid-air as if caught by an invisible force—and silently dissolved into dust.
Chen Mo glanced at his own hand and shivered.
Thank goodness he hadn't tried touching it himself...
"Understand now?"
The skeleton rose without concern and began walking out. As it reached the doorway, it paused and looked back.
"Oh, and since you're the guard now—protect that pillar well. You should know by now: it is the source of life for everything in this museum."
With that, it turned and vanished into the darkness of the corridor.
Watching its silhouette disappear, Chen Mo was overcome with a strange feeling.
"Wait… were you here just to warn me? Did Guan San bring me here because of you?"
"I didn't want to help you," came the fading voice. "But I owed someone a favor. She asked me to watch over you… I think you know who that is."
Of course he did.
Chen Mo scratched his head, her hollow face appearing unbidden in his mind.
So Mu Yun was familiar with the museum's exhibits? Perhaps, as she once hinted, she had served as a guard here too.
Whatever the truth, she had clearly meant him no harm… or maybe she didn't even fully understand what 'kindness' meant.
Blowing out a lazy puff of smoke, Chen Mo turned his gaze back to the glowing bronze pillar.
Until a solution could be found, the shard of jade would have to stay where it was.
Even if removal were possible, he still hesitated—
As the skeleton had warned, that fragment was the very lifeblood of the museum. Would it be selfish to sacrifice everything here for personal gain?
"Forget it. I'll guard the museum for now."
Exhaling softly, he took the key from his belt and moved to lock the hall.
But then—he froze.
What kind of joke was this?
There had been twelve keys. Now only eleven remained—and the missing one was, of course, the key to the main door.
"This can't be… I counted them earlier!"
Staring at the keyring, Chen Mo's brow furrowed. Then a sudden thought struck him—and he bolted upright.
At that moment, Benben hesitated beside him.
"Boss, that wooden statue of Lord Guan… it's gone. Could it be… him?"
"To the entrance!"
Chen Mo didn't waste a second. He jumped into his little cart, scooped up Benben, and took off at full speed.
Guoguo and his gang of minions were wobbling their way back when the cart whizzed past them.
"Boss! Where are you going?"
"You stay here! We're chasing that fake!" Chen Mo shouted over his shoulder—then added,
"Guoguo! Guard the museum. And take care of Sister Rong… Listen, if anything goes missing, I'll confiscate one of your underwear. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
The threat worked like a charm. Guoguo stiffened into solemn attention.
All around him, the ancient bronzes and porcelain vases glanced at each other in confusion.
Wasn't their leader just planning to conquer the world? Why was he suddenly obeying a human?
The Four-Rams Square Zun and the Yangzhi Pure Vase exchanged looks before finally voicing the question.
"Boss… why are we taking orders from a human? Isn't he just… a man?"
"Idiots!"
Guoguo rolled his eyes, full of disdain.
"I'll let you in on a secret—our boss isn't your average human. I mean, what kind of man is this sarcastic? This shameless? This—ouch! Who hit me?!"
Lightning crashed down from above, a divine punishment for his nonsense.
As awe lit the eyes of the surrounding artifacts, Chen Mo's cart tore through the hallway and soared over the wall, arriving at the museum's front gate.
When he saw the door ajar, he cursed under his breath.
"Damn it! That guy's faster than a Chitu horse!"
He frowned, wondering where he might find Guan Yu.
Benben, ever sharp, offered a timely suggestion.
"Boss, maybe we could try—"
"Good idea!"
Chen Mo didn't wait for him to finish. He whipped out a backup phone and quickly dialed a number.
He waited nearly five minutes—just as he was about to barge into Mu Yun's home, her hollow voice answered.
"Hello? What is it?"
"You're really slow," he grumbled, before quickly explaining the situation.
She listened without surprise.
"I see. Guan San's behavior has been odd lately… Fine. If you want to find him, I suggest checking the Temple of Guan Yu."
And with that, she hung up.
Chen Mo stared at the phone, then leapt into action.
"To the Temple of Guan Yu on Shigong Mountain! Benben, bring up a map of the southern district—you're my navigator!"
The cart sped away, tires shrieking, the wind howling.
Following Guoguo's instructions, they darted onto a country road and hurtled toward the misty silhouette of Shigong Mountain.
Bouncing up the stone steps, Chen Mo clung to the handlebars.
"I just don't get it. Did he flee because the museum's food is as bad as the college cafeteria?"
Not that it mattered now.
He glanced at his watch—past midnight. If they didn't find Guan San within six hours, the statue would crumble into dust… and he'd be on the hook for massive damages.
Finding him was one thing. Convincing him to return? Another matter entirely. If all else failed, he might have to use force.
"I just hope he's not as powerful as the real one…"
Muttering nervously, Chen Mo eyed the looming outline of the temple.
Then—beams of white light flared as the cart's headlights came on, illuminating a lone figure in green robes standing before the shrine.
Chen Mo's eyes widened.
"Damn it, Guan San! Stop right there!"