Thunder rumbled overhead, streaks of white lightning split the sky, and heavy raindrops drummed relentlessly onto the ground. The streets of Exile Town were already deserted, the sky oppressively dark. At this moment, three humanoid figures returned to the town.
"White Peacemaker, let's part ways here. What does it mean to be human? The three of us should seek the answer on our own. Ghosts are born from humans—if we can understand humans, we can understand ghosts."
The Deathbane Wraith was the first to suggest this. It was clear that his relationship with the Gray Humanoid Entity was strained; the two bickered constantly, rarely exchanging more than a few words before arguing again.
Rain passed effortlessly through the three figures as they walked in different directions. Each of their eyes held a distinct look, yet all reflected the same light: a deep confusion about what it meant to be human.
"It's so complicated."
The rain gradually lessened. Outside the entrance of a restaurant, the Gray Humanoid Entity watched the noisy crowd inside. There were more people here than elsewhere—he'd seen it before—and he thought that by observing here, he might learn what it meant to be human.
"Humans rise at dawn and rest at dusk, that's what the books say. When hungry, they eat; when tired, they sleep; when thirsty, they drink. It all seems so troublesome."
Muttering to himself at the doorway, the Gray Humanoid Entity saw a ragged, shivering beggar approach. The downpour had left him freezing, and his stomach growled loudly.
"Damn beggar! How dare you loiter at our door? Get lost or I'll beat you to death!"
A busboy came out, pinching his nose in disgust, and cursed, kicking the beggar away. The beggar fell into a puddle outside, scrambled up in terror, and ran off.
"Wasn't that man also a human? So that's how it is... This is the difference between people: those who dress well are superior, and those who don't are inferior."
Satisfied, the Gray Humanoid Entity chuckled, feeling as if he had finally understood humanity. It all seemed so novel to him.
Meanwhile, the Deathbane Wraith arrived at the home of a wealthy family. He'd read in books that human society was led by those at the top, so he chose the largest house in Exile Town.
Elegant female voices sang from within. Though the sky was dark, the courtyard was ablaze with light. On a stage, an opera troupe performed, while below, local gentry sat—each one plump and prosperous, their conversations never straying far from power and money.
"Without money, you can't survive. Without relying on others, you can't get anything done. So that's how it is—this is what it means to be human."
The Deathbane Wraith watched as these people barked orders at their servants, who responded with bows and nods, always subservient.
"Well, Mr. Lowe, does that woman suit your taste?"
A man with a sly face, hunched over, addressed the patriarch seated at the center—the master of the house.
"Yes, she’ll do. Have her accompany me tonight."
The opera ended early. The Deathbane Wraith watched as the singing woman was led away by several people into the master’s private quarters.
“If you can trade something like this for money, then why cry? You have money now, you can survive, so what’s there to cry about? People really are strange.”
Late at night, when all was quiet, the woman who had entered the house came out, sobbing in the courtyard. The Deathbane Wraith stood nearby, watching in confusion.
The White Peacemaker arrived at a poorer part of town, having read in books that to truly understand the good and bad of human society, one need only look at those at the bottom.
In the dilapidated shantytown on the outskirts, the wind howled through broken houses, sounding like ghosts wailing. Most faces here bore a single word—hunger.
Days of heavy rain had cut off food sources for those who begged or worked the fields. Many families now had nothing left to cook.
“People in town eat their fill, so why are the ones here starving?”
The White Peacemaker asked, puzzled, as he entered a home. Inside, a small child, no more than four or five, cried desperately from hunger.
Both parents in this family did odd jobs for the Lowe Estate, but the rain had ruined the nearby fields, leaving them with no work. They’d hoped to get some food in advance from the Lowe Estate, but not a single grain was given. For three days, they survived on thin porridge made from scraps of rice.
“If the heavens are this cruel, why not just steal?”
The White Peacemaker muttered, watching the family’s worried faces.
“Humans really are troublesome. If you have nothing to eat, just take it from those who do. Why suffer hunger?”
Late at night, the three humanoid entities returned to the center of the county town and met. They all agreed—humans are complicated. Each shared what they had witnessed that day.
“I think people are cowardly.”
That was the Gray Humanoid Entity’s verdict, but the White Peacemaker only smiled.
“Not cowardly—just foolish. So many things could be solved by taking action, but they don’t. Heh.”
Finally, both the White and Gray Humanoid Entities looked at the Deathbane Wraith.
“Humans are suffering. Wouldn’t it be better not to exist in this world at all?”
The three entities argued, but reached no conclusion. They decided to keep observing.
The White Peacemaker followed a beggar, who was huddled in an alley, wrapped in a sack barely spared from the rain, shivering with cold.
The weather grew worse. By early morning, sleet began to fall. The beggar lay motionless, his body turning blue. Though still breathing, he was close to death.
"Hey, are you alright?"
At that moment, a sturdy man who looked like a laborer picked up the beggar and carried him on his back. He had originally come for the sacks to take to his employer’s house for packing grain, but seeing the beggar, he brought him home and asked his mother to prepare some food for him.
"Th-thank you... thank you..."
The Gray Humanoid Entity saw this and laughed heartily.
"So this is what a good person is? Helping others regardless of how they’re dressed."
Over several days, the beggar slowly recovered. The man gave him clean clothes and helped him find work as a laborer. The two began to call each other brothers.
Meanwhile, on the Deathbane Wraith's side, the woman no longer cried at night. The master of the wealthy household had taken a liking to her and planned to make her his concubine. Preparations were underway throughout the estate.
"She cried all night before, so why is she a different person now?"
The Deathbane Wraith looked on, perplexed, but a few days later, the servants who had been preparing for the wedding began to take everything down.
The woman clung to the master and wept again. It turned out the wife had threatened that if he dared to marry the actress, she’d call her brother, a high-ranking officer in the provincial capital, to intervene.
The master was frightened. Even after trying to persuade her for a long time, the woman kept crying and making a scene.
With a slap, the master struck the woman, snarling that if she kept it up, he’d sell her to a brothel. He said she was just a plaything, nothing more.
"That’s how it should be. If you hate him, just kill him. Isn’t that what the books say—when hate reaches its peak, people kill?"
The Deathbane Wraith sat beside the woman, watching as she cried herself dry. In her eyes, there was only hatred—a hatred so deep she wanted to kill.
But the next day, the master came again and coaxed her. The woman smiled once more, saying that although he couldn’t marry her yet—his wife was fierce—he would marry her eventually.
"Humans really are fickle, heh."
A chill glinted in the Deathbane Wraith’s eyes as he clenched his hands, watching the pair.
"Let’s see. If things stay the same, I’ll take care of them myself. After all, living is suffering."
On the White Peacemaker’s side, the family had survived nine days mostly on neighbors’ charity, but it was running out. The man watched his wife and child grow gaunt with hunger. If things continued, they would die.
Just then, a few men came in—they were poor folk from the area. The man was usually kind and generous, so everyone respected him.
The newcomers were agitated, urging him to lead them in raiding the Lowe Estate.
But the man couldn’t decide. The landlord was cruel, but had once helped his family when he was young. He couldn’t bring himself to act.
Watching everyone starve, the man decided to visit the Lowe Estate once more.
"Just rob them. You’re all starving—what does old kindness matter now?"
The White Peacemaker impatiently went ahead to wait at the Lowe Estate.
Outside the county town, the Lowe Estate was brightly lit, filled with the smell of meat. After a long wait, the man arrived with a dozen hungry people and knocked on the door.
No matter how he pleaded, the landlord refused to give food, saying that with the disaster, he’d starve if he gave any away.
"He was just eating meat, but now he says he’ll starve. How ridiculous—humans really do lie, just like the books say."
The White Peacemaker watched the starving people.
The landlord’s people began driving them away.
"Do it. If you don’t act now, you’ll only see your wife and child’s corpses when you get home."