Category: I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You

Chapter 10: Selfishness and Selflessness

“At first, I had different villagers touch the ‘Rebirth Crystal’—that’s what I called it.”

“But whether it was an eighty-year-old blind man or a child still in split pants, they didn’t feel anything unusual when they touched the Rebirth Crystal.”

“I believe that the rebirth granted by the crystal can only exist in one vessel at a time. If, and I mean if, the person reading this diary is truly An Baili’s husband from the future, then it proves that our spacetime is singular and continuous. Rebirth doesn’t create a new parallel world, but only allows us to rewind along the same timeline. I confirmed this with An Gulai’s university mentor, a professor at Chuanhai University.”

“After that, I had people of different ages hold the Rebirth Crystal for extended periods. The shortest was seven days, the longest was thirty-three days. Nothing unusual happened.”

“After several attempts, my experiments became bolder.”

“I had a homeless, mentally challenged child in the village wear the crystal and then isolated her until she starved to death by the roadside. Please forgive me. I only did this to activate the crystal’s power. But unfortunately, the experiment failed.”

“I realized that if something truly supernatural exists in this world, it cannot be understood with conventional human logic. ‘Possession,’ ‘rebirth,’ ‘price,’ these are all human concepts. If we abandon these preconceived notions, what remains constant and unchanging?”

Reading this, Lu Li’s hands trembled slightly. As time went on, Mei Jinliu’s actions became increasingly more deranged.

If there were two things in the world that remained eternally unchanged, it would be creation and destruction. Every ancient mythology had legends about “creation” and “destruction.” The unity of opposites formed the foundation of ancient philosophy. Everything was “born” and would eventually “perish.” This was the natural order of things.

“I started trying to destroy the Rebirth Crystal.” Mei Jinliu’s next sentence made Lu Li’s eyelids twitch.

“Of course, I didn’t do it myself. I paid twenty-five yuan and had someone in the village smash the crystal with a hammer.”

“After the crystal was shattered, it would restore itself the next day. However, those who smashed it started experiencing various abnormalities.”

“First, it was miscarriages. A pregnant woman suddenly miscarried, the fully formed fetus dying in her womb. Then there were sudden illnesses and deaths without any warning. And even stranger, some people vanished from this world without a trace, yet they were still alive, leaving footprints, writing words, but impossible to touch, impossible to observe. Some people even started reliving the same day, over and over again, like mindless worker ants… I suspect these were all prices transferred to them, the price of infertility, the price of death, the price of social erasure.”

“So I understood. After the crystal was destroyed, the price I was supposed to pay would be transferred to those who destroyed it. It was like a punishment mechanism.”

“I was only supposed to bear one price, but too many people smashed the crystal, so the price was shared among the villagers of Shanzhu Village. They experienced disturbing changes. Of course, all of this happened quietly, without their knowledge.”

She’s a lunatic! Lu Li clenched his fists. This woman, Mei Jinliu, had no bottom line!

“At the end of June, I became pregnant.”

“This proved that my theory was correct. The price I had to pay was diluted, even transferred. I have to admit, I’m a selfish woman, but everything I did was for my daughter, so she could open her eyes and see this beautiful world.”

“My son-in-law, you were wrong. In the future, I won’t die because of the price, because I have conquered fate and rewritten the future!”

Her handwriting was bold and unrestrained, revealing Mei Jinliu’s pride and satisfaction. Did she not know that her so-called victory over fate was built upon the sacrifices of many others? Of course she knew, she just didn’t care!

The subsequent entries became increasingly perfunctory, as if Mei Jinliu no longer bothered with the diary. In her eyes, she had already won, so there was no need to leave any more information for Lu Li. She started rambling about the clothes, socks, and dresses she had prepared for her unborn daughter, her plans to teach her how to braid her hair, the money she had saved, so she could raise her daughter even if she separated from An Gulai…

Until the last few pages of the diary.

“I was wrong.”

“As my due date approached, my mind became increasingly hazy. I conquered fate, but I didn’t conquer my own body. Years of neglecting my health for research had taken a toll, and even An Gulai noticed something was wrong. He looked like he wanted to ask me something, but he didn’t dare to. I used to look down on An Gulai, but now I understand him completely, because I also feel this same anxiety and uncertainty when facing my soon-to-be-born daughter.”

“This is probably my retribution.”

“I still had a chance, I could use the Rebirth Crystal again. But in the end, I hesitated. I thought, what if my daughter needs it someday? What if, because I used the crystal one more time, she has to live with regret? I know this sounds ridiculous, but this is a mother’s worry.”

Such a selfish and stubborn woman, yet in her final moments, her thoughts were all about her unborn daughter. Was this selfishness or selflessness? Lu Li couldn’t say for sure.

The last page of the diary.

“I feel like it’s time. Perhaps this week, perhaps next week, I will give birth to her. I will name her An Baili, and I will leave everything to her. But if I die in childbirth, please remember: the price can be transferred. Just have those you don’t care about bear the price for her.”

“Good luck to me, and good luck to you.”

“The end.”

The diary ended there, concluding this conversation across time and space. After finishing the diary, Lu Li’s heart was in turmoil. He finally understood that the strange things he encountered in Shanzhu Village weren’t hallucinations, but the aftereffects of Mei Jinliu’s selfish and inhumane experiments. Village Head Gong had told him that there were still people living in the village, and that those things chasing him were just naughty children. He wasn’t wrong. He had known all along. Then what about the old village head? What price did he pay?

Mei Jinliu’s diary was very brief. She omitted many details about the experiment, which meant that even she knew those actions should never see the light of day.

Looking back at Mei Jinliu’s life, it was difficult to give her a definitive assessment. She saved the villagers of Shanzhu Village, she was the dream lover of many young men in the countryside, she was An Gulai’s ideal partner. Yet, she was also the culprit behind Shanzhu Village becoming a ghost town, the root of An Baili’s unhappy childhood.

Lu Li tore the diary page by page, letting the shreds of paper scatter in the wind. Some people, once they were gone, it was best to leave no trace behind…

Chapter 9: Mei Jinliu’s Diary

“Woof! Woof!”

“Woof! Woof!”

Lu Li was awakened by Zhaocai’s barking. The sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a golden glow on the floor. Tiny dust particles danced in the light. The worst thing about this old house wasn’t the little toads jumping onto his bed in the middle of the night, but the pungent smell of dust from unknown origins.

Lu Li sat up abruptly, realizing he was back in Village Head Gong’s old house. He gasped, the memories of what had just happened fading rapidly like a dream. He quickly took out his phone and jotted down the key information: “Old Mei residence, under the chair.” “Don’t fail An Baili.” “Not a dream!”

By the time he typed the last exclamation mark, the memory of that bizarre and convoluted dream had become blurred.

When Lu Li opened the door, he saw Village Head Gong playing with Zhaocai. He was teasing the dog with a piece of meat on his cane, dangling it in front of Zhaocai but not letting it eat it, making the dog jump and bark excitedly. He noticed that Lu Li had already packed his backpack and asked, “Are you leaving?”

“Yes, thank you for your hospitality.” Lu Li took out a hundred-yuan bill, but Village Head Gong waved his hand dismissively. “My Zhaocai doesn’t care for this kind of thing. Keep it for yourself.” Zhaocai also jumped playfully, as if in agreement, showing its intelligence.

He watched as Lu Li left, the piece of meat on his cane now snatched by Zhaocai. The old man put one hand behind his back and slowly walked back into the house. “Zhaocai, tomorrow is finally coming.” He walked to the yellowing calendar, staring at the bright red number 11, his eyes unfocused. He seemed to be lost in memory, or perhaps it was just tears caused by old age.

Village Head Gong hesitated for a long time, then finally tore off the page.

“I can finally have a good night’s sleep tonight.”

Pushing aside the overgrown weeds, he could vaguely see the remnants of a path. A frequently used path was called a road. If it wasn’t used often, it would naturally disappear. Lu Li didn’t know how many years it had been since this path had been trod upon by human feet, nor how long it took for the weeds to grow half a man’s height. The closer he got to the old Mei residence, the more desolate the surroundings became. All he saw were dilapidated houses, dried-up wells covered in moss, and damp piles of firewood… So far, he still hadn’t seen another living soul.

He checked his phone. The signal was intermittent. His chat with Chu Jingyi was still stuck at her “Good morning~” message. He wondered if An Baili was awake yet. For some reason, he missed her terribly right now. He decided to take her to an aquarium with white dolphins when he got back.

He continued walking, climbed over a small hill, and saw a cluster of earthen mounds surrounding a building in the center – that was the old Mei residence. The mounds were as high as an adult’s waist, making the tombstones with names carved on them look tiny in comparison. One tombstone stood out: “Tomb of my wife, Mei Jinliu.” Lu Li guessed it was An Gulai who erected the tombstone. He was a devoted man after all, allowing Mei Jinliu to return to her roots even after being deceived by her.

Lu Li picked a handful of wildflowers and placed them in front of Mei Jinliu’s tomb. “If you still have a conscience, please bless my Baili with health and safety.”

A cold wind blew, as if Mei Jinliu was responding, or perhaps it was just nature’s indifferent sigh.

Tearing through the spiderwebs blocking his path, Lu Li entered the old house that had been deserted for ten years. He walked into the main hall and saw a plaque on the side: “Rebuilt by Mei Xiuzheng in Chengxiaqiao Town, 1892. In commemoration.” He walked further inside and reached the master bedroom. A moldy wooden bed lay in the center of the room.

Just then, Lu Li heard faint footsteps coming from deep within the house. But when he listened closely, the sound disappeared. It wasn’t a normal footstep. The sound was slow and hesitant, like a crippled person dragging their leg, inching forward.

Was there someone living in this house?

Lu Li didn’t make a sound. He quietly and cautiously returned to the main hall, searching for the hiding place Mei Jinliu had mentioned, based on his fading memories. Soon, he noticed a floor tile that was three shades lighter than the others. He used a rusty iron rod to pry it open and, as expected, saw a square box hidden underneath.

The noise he made was a bit loud. Whatever was deep inside the house seemed to be startled. The dragging footsteps returned, intermittent and faint.

Lu Li remembered being chased by unknown creatures when he first entered Shanzhu Village. He grabbed the box and quickly left, not wanting to investigate any further.

After leaving the old Mei residence, Lu Li found an open space under the bright sunlight and started reading Mei Jinliu’s diary. He opened the diary, its cover crawling with aphids, and the first sentence made him frown:

“You were wrong.”

Wrong? Where was he wrong?

“I thought the price I had to pay was simply death, as you said.” Mei Jinliu’s diary had no dates. She only wrote a little on each page, as if it wasn’t written all at once. “If it were just death, it wouldn’t be so hard to accept. As long as I could leave behind offspring, death wouldn’t be so terrifying.”

Indeed. Humans’ desire for offspring stemmed from their yearning for immortality. As long as their genes were passed on, it meant they could live forever, a part of them would always exist in this world.

“But I discovered that I couldn’t get pregnant.” These words made Lu Li’s eyes widen. Mei Jinliu said she couldn’t get pregnant? Then how was An Baili born?

“At first, I thought you were lying to me, that in the future, I didn’t have any descendants, no daughter named An Baili. That it was all just a lie.”

“But I gradually realized the crux of the problem. An Gulai and I… and another person, we all went to the hospital for checkups. The doctor said we were all healthy and should be able to have a healthy baby.”

“There’s only one explanation for this contradiction between fact and logic: the price I had to pay wasn’t death, but the inability to have children.”

“I can accept death, but I can’t accept that my child would be buried in the darkness of the unborn because of me.”

It seemed like all the members of the Mei family were like this, stubborn and unyielding to their core. Before being swept away by the flood, Mei Xiuzheng reached out for his daughter even as his body was being torn apart by the current. An Baili, when she lost Lu Li, was willing to commit suicide, willing to die for love. And Mei Jinliu, sharing the same bloodline? Would she be someone who just accepted her fate passively?

“So I started trying to rewrite the price.”

After this sentence, there were many blank pages, as if Mei Jinliu hadn’t written anything for a long time.

Halfway through the diary, Mei Jinliu’s handwriting reappeared:

“I’m sorry, I tried many methods. Perhaps I caused some irreversible consequences.”

What did she mean? What were these irreversible consequences?

“I discovered that the price is conserved. It doesn’t appear or disappear out of thin air. It just transfers from one end to the other, transforming from one form to another.”

“I conducted an experiment in Shanzhu Village for my own selfish desires. Please forgive me.”

Chapter 8: A Mei Family Daughter Grows Up (Part 5)

School dismissal was the best part of the day for elementary school students. Lu Li stood on the street, watching the children with their backpacks and little yellow hats. They were excitedly mimicking the actions of cartoon characters and arguing about which Pokémon was the strongest fire-type.

Was this dream not over yet? The street looked familiar. Lu Li vaguely remembered it was somewhere in Chuanhai. So, what time period was this? Was it the day Mei Jinliu died?

His gaze swept across the street, finally landing on a small figure walking close to the wall. Normal children would walk in the middle of the road, arm in arm, but this little figure huddled close to the edge, keeping her distance from others, like a lonely little animal. Looking closer, he could see that she was holding something in her arms, something seemingly very important, judging by her careful posture.

An Baili…

The young An Baili had none of the usual cheerfulness of a child. No one had taught her how to tie her long hair, so she just bundled it up messily with a rubber band, looking like a little vagrant. This is bad. Lu Li thought. He felt a pang of sympathy and cautiously approached An Baili. “Baili…”

Little An Baili flinched at Lu Li’s sudden approach, her small eyes filled with fear. She was so scared that she couldn’t speak. Within seconds, tears welled up in her eyes. Lu Li always thought he was good with children, but little An Baili wasn’t an ordinary child. She was a timid little girl who never dared to speak to strangers.

How did she become like this? Perhaps she was no different from other children at first, but she could never join their conversations. Topics like, “What does your dad do?”, “What’s your mom’s job?”, “Do you have any pets?”… She had fewer and fewer things to talk about, until only a lonely silence remained.

“Baili, I don’t mean any harm.” This sentence never seemed to have its intended effect. Little An Baili burst into tears, a faint blush appearing on her small cheeks. She looked adorable. The next second, she turned and ran in the opposite direction. She was afraid of strangers, so she chose to flee.

Just as Lu Li was about to stop her, the clumsy An Baili tripped and fell to the ground with a thud, followed by a whimper.

So she’s been clumsy since she was a child.

Lu Li walked over and helped little An Baili up. Her clothes were covered in dirt and dust, her jade-like face smudged. The little girl seemed to have hurt her leg. She sat on the ground and cried, her small shoulders shaking. Even her crying was different from other children. She never cried loudly to attract attention, she just silently shed tears in a corner, perhaps because she was used to licking her wounds alone.

“I don’t mean any harm, I’m your friend.”

“I… I don’t even know you…” Little An Baili’s voice was as soft as a mosquito. “Please let me go… I’m not healthy, my arm hurts, my stomach hurts, I can’t be sold for much…”

So she thought he was a human trafficker. Lu Li gently rubbed her head and wiped the dirt off her face with his sleeve, his movements careful and gentle, as if he were handling a precious jade. He suddenly noticed what An Baili was holding in her arms. It was a flyer for the newly opened aquarium in Chuanhai City, with a beautiful white dolphin printed on the cover. Little An Baili had drawn a smiley face on the dolphin with a red pen.

It was just a flyer…

As if sensing Lu Li’s gaze, Little An Baili clutched the flyer tightly, like a young dragon guarding its treasure.

“Do you like dolphins?”

“…Yes.” Little An Baili nodded slightly. But her father never took her out to play and never introduced her to anyone. She really wanted to see the white dolphins. They swam freely in the blue water, looking so graceful.

“I’ll take you there, okay?” Lu Li rolled up Little An Baili’s pant leg and saw a bruise on her delicate knee, a mark from her fall.

A hopeful light flickered in Little An Baili’s eyes, but the next second, she cowered timidly. “But… I don’t even know you. Teacher said I shouldn’t go with strangers.”

“I’m not a stranger. I know your name is An Baili. So we’re not strangers, are we?” After saying this, Lu Li’s head started to ache again.

“…Is… is that so?” Little An Baili clearly wanted to go to the aquarium.

Silly girl, you can’t be so easily tricked. To Little An Baili’s surprise, Lu Li gently lifted her onto his back. “Let’s go, to the aquarium.”

“But, but I can’t come home too late, otherwise, otherwise I won’t get any dinner…” Little An Baili made excuses.

Lu Li paused. He felt that he hadn’t hit An Gulai hard enough back then. He had heard that every girl was once an angel, they shouldn’t have to suffer in this world.

“It’s okay, I’ll take you home before dinner.”

“Is… is that so?”

Little An Baili was very light. Carrying her was like carrying a doll. She snuggled against his back, occasionally peeking out to look around. Today was the opening ceremony of the Chuanhai Aquarium, and admission was free. As they entered the aquarium, Lu Li clearly heard Little An Baili gasp in awe.

“What kind of fish is that?”

“That’s a seahorse.”

“What about this one?”

“Those are manta rays, a rare species. You can only see them in Chuanhai.”

Little An Baili giggled happily. “You know so much. I want to see the dolphins, can we go?”

“Of course. I’ll grant you any wish today.” Lu Li said with a smile.

Little An Baili stared blankly at the back of his head. This was the first time someone had said such words to her, the first time she felt cared for and valued. She felt a salty taste in her mouth, as if tears were streaming down her face. She was still too young to understand where this joy and happiness came from. She just wanted to laugh, a smile so wide that her mouth couldn’t close.

Lu Li carried her to the dolphin area, but they didn’t see the pure white dolphin. The staff member said the one on the flyer was just a stock photo.

Little An Baili was a little disappointed. She pouted.

“That’s how life is.” Lu Li comforted her. “There will always be disappointments. So we have to learn to settle for second best. If you can’t see a white dolphin, you can still see other dolphins. They’re beautiful too, aren’t they?”

“But only a white dolphin is a white dolphin.” Little An Baili said childishly. “Other dolphins aren’t white dolphins, they’re different.”

Lu Li froze. Childhood was like a cocoon, containing infinite innocence and romance. Their perspective was always unique and strange, yet it often pointed directly to the essence of things. An Baili was right. Only a white dolphin was a white dolphin, they were inherently different.

“Only Lu Li is Lu Li. Other people are not Lu Li!” He remembered something An Baili had said in his past life.

Is that so… This was the source of her obsession, this was An Baili. He chuckled, not knowing why.

He carried An Baili towards her home.

“Baili, do you have any other wishes you want to fulfill?” As they walked, Lu Li endured the pain in his head and forced a warm smile.

“…I… I want to set off fireworks.” Little An Baili said guiltily. “I’m sorry, you’re so good to me… and I’m asking for so much…”

Fireworks. Yes, An Baili always loved fireworks. She had never changed. She was that kind of girl, stubborn and persistent, even to the point of lighting a lighter, just to fulfill her desires.

“Next time. I’ll take you to set off fireworks next time, okay?” He stopped at the entrance of An Gulai’s community and put An Baili down.

Little An Baili grabbed his pants and asked innocently, “When can I play with you again? Can I come tomorrow?”

“Not tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

“Not the day after tomorrow either.”

Her voice was tinged with tears. “Then when can I play with you?”

“Someday in the future. I promise.” Lu Li pinched the little girl’s chubby cheeks. “I promise that someday I’ll play with you until the end of time.”

An Baili saw a vendor selling balloons pass by. A child’s attention was easily captured. Her gaze was fixed on a dolphin-shaped balloon. Lu Li patted her head. “Wait here, I’ll buy you a balloon.” He walked towards the vendor.

An Baili remembered her teacher saying that she shouldn’t take things for free. She also felt that she shouldn’t just take things from this big brother. But she didn’t have any money. She had spent her only fifty cents on soda. All she had was a small red flower that her teacher had given her as a reward. The little girl turned around to rummage through her backpack. She wanted to give the little red flower to the big brother, it was one of her most precious possessions.

But when Little An Baili turned back, Lu Li was gone. Only a stray dolphin balloon was slowly floating towards the lonely sky.

Chapter 7: A Mei Family Daughter Grows Up (Part 4)

When Lu Li woke up again, he wasn’t buried in mud or swept to the ends of the earth by the flood. He was lying peacefully on a beach, bathed in the warm sunlight. It was incredibly comfortable. Yes, a beach, next to the ocean. Tourists strolled around in groups, and he was the only one alone.

The dull ache in his head subsided slightly, and his ability to think returned to normal.

There was no doubt that the girl he had just seen was Mei Jinliu, An Baili’s biological mother. And the flood must have been the reason for Mei Jinliu’s rebirth. As for why he was suddenly on a beach after being in the village just a moment ago, Lu Li only had a vague guess.

Now it was certain that Mei Jinliu was the first person to use the pendant. So, Mei Jinliu’s first rebirth was caused by her death in the flood. Therefore, after being reborn, she warned the other villagers, preventing a small tragedy within the larger disaster. Thinking about this, perhaps An Baili’s mother wasn’t so irredeemable after all?

“You… have we met before?” A woman stopped in front of Lu Li. She looked to be in her twenties, wearing a conservative swimsuit and a sky-blue beach hat. She bore some resemblance to An Baili, but her features weren’t as delicate. There was a certain worldliness and shrewdness in her smile.

Lu Li didn’t speak, just looked at her silently.

“We must have met somewhere, right?” Mei Jinliu frowned. “But it’s strange, I can’t remember… It seems like it was a long time ago…”

The pain in his head intensified. It seemed that whenever he was near Mei Jinliu, his head would hurt so much that he couldn’t think.

“Jinliu, what are you doing?” An Gulai, in his twenties, was tall and had a rustic, yet endearing look. He was only wearing swimming trunks, his beer belly hadn’t developed yet, and there were no dark circles under his eyes. But Lu Li could see the insecurity hidden within him. He subconsciously showed hostility towards Lu Li, seemingly unhappy that Mei Jinliu was talking to another man. This man was the giver in this relationship. Only the giver would be anxious about the sunk cost of love. An Gulai pointed at Lu Li rudely. “Do you know him?”

“I can’t say for sure. I feel like I’ve met him before, but it’s strange, he shouldn’t… If it’s really him, he shouldn’t be so young…” Mei Jinliu seemed particularly concerned about this question. She looked at Lu Li expectantly, hoping for an answer.

“Hey, Jinliu is talking to you!” An Gulai pushed Lu Li.

Lu Li’s head was throbbing, and he didn’t want to speak. But he had already beaten up An Gulai once and didn’t mind doing it again. If this was a dream, it was too real. Mei Jinliu’s hair, the acne scars on An Gulai’s skin, and the undeniable pain in his head.

An Gulai pushed Lu Li again. Lu Li grabbed a nearby glass Coca-Cola bottle and smashed it against An Gulai’s head. An Gulai fell to the ground, his face covered in blood. Mei Jinliu just looked at him coldly, then turned to Lu Li, who was clutching his head. “…Who are you?… Am I really… already…?”

He couldn’t hear her clearly. The pain in his head was more intense than ever. He squatted down on the beach, enduring the pain, and asked the question he was most concerned about. “How can the price be removed?!”

The price! An Baili’s price!

He saw Mei Jinliu’s face pale with shock. She seemed to want to grab his shoulder, but Lu Li lost consciousness before she could. His world plunged into darkness again.

When Lu Li opened his eyes again, he was back in the old Mei residence. He was sitting at a round table, a cup of tea in front of him. The tea was still warm, as if someone had brewed it for him.

“You’d better not touch anything. If I’m not mistaken, the more you interfere with your surroundings, the more intense your headache will be.” Sitting across the table was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. It was Mei Jinliu.

This was the third time Lu Li had met her. The first time, she was just a little girl. The second time, she had just started dating An Gulai. Now, she had lost the naiveté of her youth, her worldliness and shrewdness well-hidden. “Before you leave, I want to exchange information as much as possible, taking turns asking and answering questions. Is that okay?”

“Is this a dream… or something else?” Lu Li asked.

“Is it a dream to you?” Mei Jinliu took out a notebook and started writing something in it. “Let me tell you, this is not a dream, this is reality. It’s my turn to ask a question. When did you come into contact with this thing? What year and month?” She slammed a heart-shaped pendant with three crystals left onto the table.

They talked across the table. Lu Li’s headache wasn’t too bad. “…I can’t remember clearly, probably after 2020.”

Mei Jinliu’s expression froze. She stared at Lu Li blankly. “You’re from the future? Then, then did I survive? Did I manage to overcome the price of rebirth?”

“…No. To me, you’ve been dead for seventeen years.”

Mei Jinliu slumped back in her chair, speechless.

“Why can I talk to you? I was just sleeping in Shanzhu Village, why would… why would I meet you?”

Everything felt unreal to Lu Li. He felt like this was just a bizarre dream. He thought of Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly. He didn’t know if he was Zhuangzi or the butterfly at this moment.

“I don’t know.” Mei Jinliu shook her head with a wry smile. “I’ve seen you three times. The first time was before my rebirth, I went to Auntie Zhao’s house to borrow… borrow something…”

“Burn ointment.”

“Right, I was only eleven that year.” Mei Jinliu nodded. “The second time I saw you, you beat up my husband on the beach. Then you disappeared. This is the third time.”

“For me, I was just dreaming, jumping between different time periods.”

“Then who are you? Why did you come into contact with this pendant?”

“I’m your daughter’s husband. We were reborn together.” After pondering for a moment, Lu Li decided to be honest. “Her “price” is gradually manifesting, and I came to Shanzhu Village looking for a way to remove it.”

“My… daughter…” Mei Jinliu was stunned. “What’s, what’s her name?” Her voice held a hint of nervousness and anticipation.

“An Baili.”

“Her surname is An?” She was taken aback.

“An Gulai raised her. But her childhood wasn’t happy.” Lu Li’s voice held a hint of emotion.

“…An Gulai…” Her eyes glazed over. “I’m sorry for him…”

“You should be sorry for An Baili.”

“I… My mistake. Can you apologize to my husband and daughter for me?” Mei Jinliu pleaded.

“I can’t. You’re already dead. Stop having unnecessary influence on her. She’s happy now, I don’t want her to feel inferior because of the previous generation’s mistakes.” After saying this, Lu Li felt the throbbing pain in his head intensify. “My… my head hurts again. Answer one more question… What do you know about rebirth?”

Mei Jinliu seemed dazed, still thinking about her daughter. It took her a while to remember Lu Li’s question. “I’ve been researching rebirth and its price, but it’s hard to explain in a short time… How about this, I’ll leave a diary at the old Mei residence in Shanzhu Village before I die, telling you everything I know… But, but can you tell me…”

“Tell you what?”

“My daughter, Baili, how tall is she? Is she healthy? How are her grades in school?” She had lost her composure, her voice filled with anxiety. Lu Li thought she would continue asking about the pendant, but in this woman’s heart, her daughter was still the most important.

“…She’s doing very well. She’s the best girl in the world.” Lu Li lied.

“Is, is that so?” A relieved smile appeared on Mei Jinliu’s face. “That’s good, that’s good. But please remember, I’m willing to give you the diary not because you’re special, but because you’re Baili’s husband…”

“…I know…” His vision blurred again. The last thing he heard from Mei Jinliu was:

“I’ll bury the diary where you’re sitting… Remember this when you wake up…”

Chapter 6: A Mei Family Daughter Grows Up (Part 3)

“Auntie Zhao, are you home?” The girl’s voice was childish. Lu Li paused. “Uncle Gong said you have burn ointment.”

Did Village Head Gong send her? Lu Li hid the knife behind his back and opened the wooden door. As expected, a young girl, who looked like a middle school student, was standing at the entrance.

“Baili?” No, it wasn’t Baili. “There’s no Auntie Zhao here.” Lu Li rubbed his eyes. Perhaps because he had just woken up, his mind wasn’t clear, and he mistook this girl for An Baili.

“Doesn’t Auntie Zhao live here? Big brother… who are you?” The girl took a step back hesitantly. The world outside was pitch black, and she had come with a flashlight in hand. Before Lu Li could answer, he saw the girl staring at his neck. Confused, he looked down and saw the heart-shaped pendant hanging there. Who put it there? It wasn’t him…

“Do you recognize this?” Lu Li held up the pendant, his eyes filled with suspicion.

“Yes…” She nodded, then asked anxiously, “Anyway, big brother, do you have any burn ointment? My dad spilled boiling water on himself and he’s in so much pain that he can’t speak. Uncle Gong said you have some.”

This place is practically empty, where would I find burn ointment? As he was thinking, Lu Li suddenly saw a half-used tube of Jingwanhong ointment on the windowsill. Strange, how did that get there? Did he just not notice it before?

“Is this it?”

“I think so. I’ve never seen burn ointment before.” The girl scratched her head awkwardly. “Big brother, can you come to my house with me? I can’t take care of my dad by myself, and my mom went back to her parents’ house. Please.” The girl was very polite, her tone humble and sincere. Lu Li, thinking about how this little girl came asking for ointment in the middle of the night, couldn’t refuse and agreed.

The little girl shivered in the cold wind. She held the flashlight, illuminating the muddy path and weeds ahead. “Big brother, be careful, there are snakes in the grass at night.”

Lu Li looked back at Village Head Gong’s house and suddenly noticed that Zhaocai was gone. Wasn’t it supposed to be guarding the house?

Lu Li’s head throbbed. He thought it was the aftereffect of the nightmare and shook his head, not wanting to dwell on the unexplainable. He followed the little girl unsteadily.

The shadows of trees and withered grass on both sides of the path looked like ghosts. In the darkness, only the rustling sound of them pushing through the weeds could be heard. The small beam of light from the girl’s flashlight was like a tiny bean in the vast darkness, as if it could be swallowed up by the black tide at any moment. Lu Li asked, “Have you seen this… toy I’m wearing?”

The little girl walked carefully, her eyes fixed on the path, occasionally reminding Lu Li to watch out for stones. “Big brother, I have one just like it.”

Just like it? Lu Li paused. Perhaps it was just from the same batch.

“Where do you live?” Lu Li felt like they had been walking for too long. The icy darkness seeped into his bones, making his teeth chatter. Along the way, he passed several houses, some with lights on, a rare sight. Even streetlights started to appear. Hadn’t they reached her house yet?

“It’s just ahead, look, over there.” The little girl pointed, and Lu Li followed her direction, his expression freezing. Wasn’t that the old Mei residence?

“Isn’t that the old Mei residence? You live there?” Lu Li’s voice lowered, his footsteps unconsciously coming to a stop.

The little girl tilted her head in confusion. “Yes. Big brother, you know this place? I thought you were from out of town. I live in the old Mei residence.” Her tone was natural, without any hint of strangeness, as if living there was the most natural thing in the world.

“Big brother, hurry up, my dad must be in a lot of pain.” The little girl shook the flashlight in her hand. Lu Li looked back and saw the path they had taken swallowed by the weeds, faintly illuminated by the streetlights. His head throbbed even more, and his vision blurred for a moment. He vaguely heard the sound of a dog barking, but it seemed very far away, as if from another world.

His rational mind told him to call for help immediately. He reached for his phone, but his pocket was empty. His phone was gone.

The little girl urged him on, and Lu Li, pressing his hand against his temple, chose to follow her.

Village Head Gong had said that the old Mei residence had become a graveyard.

But the old Mei residence in front of him wasn’t like that at all. It was clean and tidy, the trees and weeds on both sides neatly trimmed. A red lantern hung by the door. A lantern? Who would hang a lantern in this day and age? Lu Li leaned closer to the door and saw bright lights inside. It was a typical rural house.

He heard a hissing sound, like someone sucking in air, coming from inside. He was about to ask, but his tongue felt numb and wouldn’t move. Clutching the ointment tightly, he entered the house and heard the little girl call out, “Dad, I borrowed the burn ointment.”

“Girl, hurry up, the water’s getting cold.” A middle-aged man’s voice.

Lu Li saw a man carrying a basin of water come out of the room. His pant legs were rolled up, and one of his feet was blistered and red. Every step he took made him wince and hiss in pain. Just as Lu Li was about to hand him the ointment, he heard a rumbling sound from outside. At first, it was faint and distant, but within seconds, it became deafening.

The terrifying noise made the three of them freeze. The middle-aged man asked, “Girl, what’s happening outside?”

“I don’t know…” the little girl said. “I didn’t hear anything like this when we came.”

She cautiously walked towards the door with the flashlight in hand. The next second, the plastic flashlight fell to the ground with a clatter, and the little girl screamed in terror, “Run!”

Before Lu Li could react, he saw a torrent of water, like a monstrous beast, engulfing the old house. Everything in his vision was swept away by the sudden flood. He had often heard about the frequent floods in Chuanhai decades ago, but he had never experienced one himself. The water of the Jinjiang River, carrying distant mountains, swallowing the Yangtze River, vast and boundless.

Water. Water. Water.

All he could see was the raging, churning water. Even the sturdy metal gate was swept away. The middle-aged man’s first instinct was to grab his daughter, but as soon as he reached out, he was swept away by the monstrous wave like a rag doll. Before he could even feel fear, Lu Li felt a powerful force strike him. In this life-or-death moment, he saw the little girl’s pendant being lifted by the current. It was a heart-shaped pendant with all four crystals intact.

He suddenly understood everything.

“Mei Jinliu!” he shouted.

The girl turned her head. Before he could see her expression clearly, Lu Li was swept away by the giant wave.

Year – 1982 – The Jinjiang River bursts its banks, causing a catastrophic flood in Chuanhai.

Chapter 5: A Mei Family Daughter Grows Up (Part 2)

The old man ate dinner earlier than most people. At 4:30 p.m., Village Head Gong invited Lu Li to join him. During the meal, he talked about the Mei family’s daughter. “She was a lovely girl, very sensible and intelligent. She only lived in Shanzhu Village for three years, but the young men in the village remembered her for the rest of their lives.”

The dishes on the table were simple, but heavily seasoned with oil and salt. Lu Li picked up a piece of dried bamboo shoots and saw Zhaocai trot in, licking his shoes with its tongue like an eager servant.

Village Head Gong chuckled. “Zhaocai is a strange dog. It’s a vegetarian.”

A vegetarian dog? Lu Li raised an eyebrow, looking at Zhaocai with curiosity.

“Continue about the Mei family’s daughter.” The old man kicked Zhaocai lightly. “Go on, go outside and keep watch, don’t let anyone else in.” The yellow dog whined pitifully, but still obediently went back outside. They said old dogs were clever, and it seemed to be true. Lu Li originally only liked cats, but now he was a bit more interested in dogs.

“What was the Mei family’s daughter’s name again?” He tapped his head with his chopsticks.

“Mei Jinliu,” Lu Li reminded him.

“Oh right, Mei Jinliu, Mei Jinliu… Tsk, she was the smartest woman I’ve ever met.” Village Head Gong reminisced. “Back then, she knew everything, from astronomy to geography. Whenever someone in the village wanted to move or build a house, they had to consult her for an auspicious date. A young girl, like a living Bodhisattva, answering everyone’s prayers.”

“That’s quite an exaggeration.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” The old man repeated three times. “That year, there was a big flood. The town hadn’t even issued a notice yet. The little girl went door to door in the middle of the night, waking everyone up, saying that a flood was coming and telling the villagers to gather their valuables and run to higher ground. Sure enough, a flood came in the early hours of the morning. The county even sent people for emergency rescue, but our Shanzhu Village suffered the least damage.”

Lu Li wasn’t surprised. If Mei Jinliu was truly the first to use the pendant for rebirth, it wouldn’t be strange for her to foresee natural disasters.

“Old Mei said she had excellent grades in school, that she was admitted to a high school in the provincial capital on special recommendation, and that she would even go to university. Going to university, how rare was that… The young men in the village didn’t dare to talk to her. They would nervously fix their hair with their muddy hands when they saw her. Every time Mei Jinliu took the bus to the city for school, they would follow behind, wishing her a safe journey. My useless nephew even said he would be willing to shorten his life by ten years if he could marry her. Hehe…” Remembering the past, the old man’s face became more animated.

“Then… was the Mei family’s daughter particularly close to anyone?” Lu Li became nervous. This was about An Baili’s biological father, he couldn’t help but be nervous.

“Yes.” An expected answer. “Later, when Old Mei returned to the city to work, his daughter never came back. That young man, in a fit of passion, rented out his family’s fields and followed Old Mei to the city. Later… later, I heard that the Mei family’s daughter got married, but the groom wasn’t that young man. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Oh, right.” Village Head Gong suddenly remembered. “Mei Jinliu came back once, saying she wanted to sell the old family house. She stayed in the village for a while, then left without a word, never mentioning the house sale again. Is the food alright? I’m getting old, and if I don’t use enough oil and salt, the food tastes bland.”

“It’s delicious. You’re a good cook.” Lu Li smiled and picked up some food with his chopsticks. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, “Village Head Gong, why haven’t I seen anyone else in Shanzhu Village? Is this village always this deserted?”

“They just don’t like going out. It’s cold, you’d better not wander around either, just stay here.” The old man put down his chopsticks and lit another cigarette. “You can sleep in the room my wife used to live in before she passed away. It’s not safe out in the wilderness. If you hear any noises at night, don’t open the door.”

Lu Li looked at Zhaocai. “What about Zhaocai?”

“It will keep watch.” The old man exhaled a puff of smoke. “That’s its job.”

The room was sparsely furnished, almost bare. An old wooden bed sat in the middle of the room, draped with a mosquito net that smelled of medicinal herbs. The only light source was a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, emitting a dim, flickering orange light.

A small toad jumped past Lu Li’s feet, startling him. Looking closer, he saw many more tiny toads, the size of his fingertip, hopping around in the corners of the room. This must be what they called “natural living.”

Through the dirty windowpane, he could see the outside world covered in a dark blue veil. The colder it got, the earlier the sun set.

Lu Li sat on the bed, carefully recalling everything that had happened today. Ever since he entered Shanzhu Village, he had felt something brewing in the shadows. This village was filled with strange things. First, there were those “people” in the abandoned brick houses, small in stature, wielding sickles, like wild animals. It wasn’t a hallucination, because Lu Li had just checked his backpack and found half a muddy handprint on it.

What were they?

Then there was the old man who called himself Village Head Gong. He had been too calm, as if he had anticipated Lu Li’s arrival. Even when recounting past stories, his emotions didn’t fluctuate much. And after he appeared, those strange “people” suddenly vanished without a trace. The most suspicious thing was that whenever Lu Li asked about the village, he would always give a brief and dismissive answer, as if hiding something.

The strangest thing was this village itself. Lu Li had been to other villages before. Rural women in China loved to gossip after dinner, strolling around in groups and chatting about their family affairs. But in Shanzhu Village, Lu Li hadn’t seen a single person, not even in the fields or by the pond. He only saw fishing nets and farming tools scattered around.

A chilling thought arose in his mind: Was there anyone else left in this village?

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—” The vibration of his phone interrupted Lu Li’s increasingly horrifying thoughts.

It was a video call. Seeing the golden retriever profile picture, the fear in Lu Li’s heart subsided, and his heavy mood lightened slightly. He answered the call and saw two small heads huddled together, jostling for space.

“Hey, Baili, move over a bit.”

“Jingyi, let me talk to Lu Li first.”

Lu Li noticed that the background of the video call was Chu Jingyi’s bedroom. Both girls were wearing pajamas, huddled together in bed while calling him. Lu Li was worried about An Baili’s safety in the low-rent district, so he had asked her to stay at Silly Goose’s place during the day. After all, she wasn’t Sister Yameng, who had single-handedly defeated the bullies in the low-rent district with her brute strength, almost breaking his back in the process.

An Baili’s face appeared on the screen, her lips pouting. “Why did you go to the countryside without telling me? Why didn’t you take me with you?”

“If I told you, you would have definitely followed me.” Lu Li said with a hint of annoyance. He came to Shanzhu Village for serious business, not for a vacation. If he brought An Baili along, would he even get any sleep at night?

Chu Jingyi was afraid that she wouldn’t get to talk to Lu Li enough. “Um, um… Lu Li, Lu Li, when are you coming back?”

“When do you want me to come back?”

Silly Goose’s cheeks turned pink. She was a bit shy with An Baili present. “I don’t know…” An Baili snorted. “Where are you staying? It looks so run-down.”

The room was indeed shabby. Besides a bed and an unplugged refrigerator, there was nothing else.

“I’m staying at the village head’s house.” Lu Li said with a smile. “Although my accommodation is a bit run-down, it’s the best house in this village. The village head is very hospitable.”

“Did you meet any cute girls there?” An Baili’s nostrils flared as she spoke into the camera. “The village girls must have thought, ‘Wow, a handsome guy from the big city, let’s get close to him.’ Then a certain someone would be happily surrounded by girls, left and right.”

“Lu Li wouldn’t do that.” Chu Jingyi whispered in his defense. Lu Li was touched. Silly Goose was so thoughtful. Whenever someone badmouthed him, she would always be the first to defend him. She looked at Lu Li with teary eyes. “Lu Li, you wouldn’t do that, right?”

“Right, right, right.” Lu Li nodded repeatedly. He couldn’t stand it when girls looked at him with teary eyes.

When he was with them, it felt like all his worries had disappeared.

The three of them chatted for hours until An Baili started to feel sleepy, her eyelids drooping. “Lu Li, I’m a little sleepy.”

“Then you two should get some rest.” Lu Li’s heart tightened. An Baili used to be a night owl, staying up late with him. But now… Chu Jingyi was considerate. She held An Baili’s hand. “Let’s go to sleep then. You can sleep with me, I’ve been having nightmares lately and I’m a bit scared.”

In the video, the two lovely girls lay down and pulled the blanket over themselves. Just as Lu Li was about to hang up, he heard An Baili mumble, “Don’t hang up… Stay with us while we sleep… Jingyi, ask Lu Li not to hang up, okay… He always listens to you…”

Silly Goose covered her face with the blanket, too shy to look at the phone. “It’s up to him.” Her heart was pounding. The little girl was still easily embarrassed.

“I won’t hang up, I’ll stay with you while you sleep.” Lu Li remembered when he was dating An Baili in his past life. She never hung up the phone at night, even if they didn’t talk, she would just listen to his breathing.

“Good night~”

“Good night, Lu Li.” The two girls said good night sweetly and placed their phones on their pillows.

Lu Li couldn’t see their faces, only hear their soft and steady breathing. Through the screen, he could almost smell their faint fragrance and feel the warmth of their bodies. A greedy fantasy arose in his mind. He wished he could be between the two girls right now, one arm around the nervous and sleepless Silly Goose, the other around the sound asleep An Baili.

Thinking of this, Lu Li felt a little sleepy himself. He didn’t take off his jacket, just his shoes, and lay down on the old wooden bed, slowly drifting off to sleep, accompanied by the smell of medicinal herbs and mildew. Before falling asleep, he vaguely heard someone knocking on the door. He used his last shred of consciousness to look towards the window and saw someone standing there, watching him… It wasn’t Village Head Gong, but a woman with wide, staring eyes…

Was it an illusion?

…Lu Li finally drifted off to sleep.

Midnight, 1:07:16.

The night in Shanzhu Village was silent. No frogs croaking, no cicadas chirping, no birds singing, only a deathly stillness.

Lu Li woke up from a nightmare. The moment he opened his eyes, the memory of the dream began to fade like peeling paint. By the time he sat up, he had completely forgotten its content. But his heart was still pounding with lingering fear. He looked towards the window, catching his breath. There was no woman’s head outside, no one knocking on the door, only the pitch-black sky and a bottomless darkness. Bottomless.

The video call had ended at some point. Lu Li couldn’t remember if he had hung up.

He was thirsty, so he got up to get his water bottle from his backpack. But as soon as he got out of bed, he heard a knock on the door. This time, it wasn’t a faint, almost inaudible knock, but a clear, definite rapping.

Was it Village Head Gong? What was he doing knocking on his door in the middle of the night?

Lu Li didn’t answer immediately. His mind raced, recalling the old man’s warning not to open the door at night and his strange experiences in Shanzhu Village.

Lu Li had always been a skeptic. Perhaps there were supernatural forces in the world, but definitely not ghosts or monsters. If there really were ghosts, the souls of hundreds of thousands of Chinese compatriots who died in the world wars would have already torn the Germans apart. He would rather believe it was some kind of creature, a living being that breathed, had a heartbeat, needed to eat, and had its own ecological niche. And if it was a living creature, it would bleed, and if it bled, it could die.

He took a few deep breaths, pulled out a small knife from his backpack, and slowly approached the wooden door.

“Auntie Zhao, are you home?” A little girl’s voice came from outside. Lu Li froze.

Chapter 4: A Mei Family Daughter Grows Up (Part 1)

A widower’s home always had a musty smell of damp firewood and dust. If you shifted your weight even slightly, you could see tiny white dust particles explode like miniature clouds. A yellowing calendar made of thin, pearlescent paper hung on the worn wall, displaying the number 11 in bright, blood-red ink.

Isn’t it the 24th? Did the old man forget to tear off the calendar pages?

Lu Li sat down on a small, three-legged chair and watched as the old man poured him a cup of hot water. “My surname is Gong. I’m the village head of Shanzhu Village. You can tell me what you need.”

“Hello, Grandpa Gong. My name is Lu Li. I’m here to visit a friend’s grandparents. I heard they moved back to Shanzhu Village many years ago, and she hasn’t seen them for a long time…” Lu Li spoke vaguely, not revealing all the information. “I only know that her grandfather’s name is Mei Xiuzheng and her grandmother’s name is Wu Siqian.”

The teacup in Lu Li’s hand was covered in rust, the rim stained with dark spots. He hesitated to drink from it. The teacup was printed with slogans promoting family planning, clearly an old item.

“A grandchild of the Mei family…” Village Head Gong murmured, taking out a pouch of tobacco and some rolling paper from the cabinet. “Do you smoke?”

“No, thank you.”

Village Head Gong slowly rolled a cigarette, sat down on the chair opposite Lu Li, and fumbled for a match, finally finding one in his slipper. “I’m getting old, my memory isn’t what it used to be.” This was the first time Lu Li had seen someone light a cigarette with a match.

“Old Mei’s daughter actually has children outside…” The wrinkles on the old man’s face were dark, as if stained with dirt. He puffed on his hand-rolled cigarette for a long time, saying nothing, as if he had forgotten that Lu Li was still there. Lu Li wasn’t in a hurry. Elderly people were like this, prone to forgetfulness. One moment they were talking, the next they couldn’t remember what they were doing.

“I thought the Mei family line had ended.” Finally, Village Head Gong coughed a couple of times. “Why are you looking for the Mei family? I’ve been working in this village for decades, I know more about some things than even Old Mei did.”

Is that so?

Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then decided to take out the now useless heart-shaped pendant. “This is a relic from my friend’s mother. I’m here to…”

“Woof! Woof!”

The yellow dog lying in the courtyard suddenly barked ferociously, as if sensing a hostile presence. Lu Li looked towards the door worriedly, only able to see through the crack that the dog’s ears were perked up, its teeth bared, barking furiously at something in the distance. Village Head Gong exhaled a cloud of smoke. “…Don’t worry, Zhaocai always barks at everything…”

He’s lying.

Lu Li said to himself silently.

That dog, although he had only met it once, was undoubtedly an obedient and sensible dog. It wouldn’t bark at someone for no reason.

Village Head Gong silently examined the heart-shaped pendant in Lu Li’s hand, remaining silent for a long time.

“Do you know its origin?”

The old man’s eyes narrowed. “No, it looks like an ordinary toy.”

He’s still lying.

Most people would subconsciously avoid eye contact when they lied, and this old man was no exception. Lu Li calmly put the pendant away. “Then can I go take a look at the old Mei residence?”

“You’d better not.” Village Head Gong took a puff of his cigarette. “That hill has become a graveyard. When people in the village die, they’re buried near the old Mei residence. With so many dead people, the Yin energy gathers there. It’s not safe. No one in the village dares to go near the old Mei residence. If you have any questions about the Mei family, you can just ask me…”

Clang. The sound of tiles falling came from outside the house. How could tiles fall off on their own?

The yellow dog barked even more ferociously, as if it had rabies.

“It’s just a bird.” The old man explained.

Only the butt of his cigarette remained. The old man tossed it on the floor and crushed it with his worn cloth shoes. As if trying to change the subject, he started telling the story of the Mei family. “Mei Xiuzheng used to be a handsome young man in the village. After finishing elementary school in town, he went to the city to work. Not long after, we heard that he had married a wife and made a fortune. After that, he never returned to Shanzhu Village, only staying for three years when his mother passed away. I saw him from afar, holding a woman’s hand, and the woman was holding a little girl’s hand. That must have been his family of three.”

“That was many years ago.” Smoke was still coming out of the old man’s nostrils. “I wasn’t the village head back then. Just a cow dung carrier.”

“What happened next?”

“…Later… later one day, he returned to Shanzhu Village. But by then, he was bald, no longer the handsome young man he once was. He said his daughter got married, then died. The old couple had no one to rely on, so they sold their house in the city and wanted to move back to Shanzhu Village… I agreed.”

“…How did they pass away?”

“Mei Xiuzheng had a stroke and was paralyzed in bed, his eyes wide open. I rode my bicycle to town and brought the doctor, who was still asleep. The doctor said there was nothing he could do, that he had to be sent to a big hospital in the city.” Village Head Gong tapped his head with his calloused fingers. “Let me think… what did she say… Oh… Wu Siqian said it was too expensive, that they couldn’t afford it, so they just let him lie in bed, eating and drinking as usual.”

“And then?”

“Then… one day, Wu Siqian, perhaps unable to bear the sight of her paralyzed husband with his eyes wide open, or perhaps missing the affluent life she once had, jumped into the river and drowned herself. Mei Xiuzheng just lay in bed, starving for four days, and eventually died.” Village Head Gong’s tone was flat, his description not vivid, but the details sent chills down Lu Li’s spine.

Her husband of many years suddenly collapsed, becoming a vegetable with his eyes wide open. Her daughter died in childbirth. She was completely alone. Thinking that such days would never end, one day, while doing laundry, she jumped into the river without a struggle, calmly… calmly sinking… And what was Mei Xiuzheng thinking? How did he spend those four days of hunger and cold? As a paralyzed patient, how desperate must he have felt lying in bed?

He couldn’t imagine if such a thing happened to him.

“So the resentment at the old Mei residence is very strong.” The old man found his cane and slowly stood up. “They say Old Mei died with his eyes open, unwilling to close them. He must have become a vengeful ghost, wandering around. Young man, if you want to go to the old Mei residence, it’s best to go at noon.”

Lu Li checked his phone. It was already four in the afternoon.

The yellow dog outside had stopped barking at some point and was lying obediently in front of the door, its ears drooping.

“The Yin energy is strongest when the sun sets.” The old village head turned around, his eyes dark. “Stay at my house for the night, and decide whether to go to the old Mei residence or leave tomorrow.”

Clang.

The sound of falling tiles came again, from somewhere unknown. A strange image suddenly appeared in Lu Li’s mind: someone crawling on the roof, slowly… Was it really just a bird?

Chapter 3: A Rural Shenzhou Tale (Part 2)

The fog in the countryside wasn’t the rough, grainy kind of smog, but a gentle, permeating mist, moving slowly across the fields, sometimes thick, sometimes thin. After walking a few hundred meters, the fog gradually dispersed, and everything seemed freshly washed. Looking back, the path he had taken was still shrouded in mist. Lu Li didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just the nature of the countryside.

Dilapidated red brick bungalows began to appear on both sides of the muddy path. Weeds grew unchecked within the houses, trees grew haphazardly, and overturned wooden chairs were covered in cobwebs. The marks of time were evident. Lu Li guessed that the owners of these houses hadn’t returned for at least thirty years. After walking for another ten minutes, passing seven or eight dilapidated houses, Lu Li still hadn’t encountered a single person. The entire village was dead silent, devoid of human activity. Not even the sound of birdsong could be heard.

Lu Li heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned around and saw a skinny, monkey-like figure dart out of an old house and disappear into the bamboo forest behind it. He couldn’t see it clearly. What was that? A monkey? It seemed to be holding a sickle. Did monkeys harvest crops too? Lu Li felt a sense of absurdity. His intuition told him not to go and investigate. This was a classic horror movie trope: a strong, athletic man hears a strange noise in a deserted, creepy place and, instead of leaving, foolishly goes to investigate.

Was it a monkey? It didn’t matter. Why was it holding a sickle? It didn’t matter either.

The important thing was to quicken his pace and find a living person. No matter how dilapidated this village was, it couldn’t be that he hadn’t seen a single person after walking for half an hour, right?

“Chirp.” At first, it sounded like a monkey’s call, but listening carefully, it was more like a human imitating a monkey. Lu Li turned around sharply and saw dark figures moving in the dilapidated houses he had passed earlier. As soon as he turned around, the figures disappeared back into the houses. A chill ran down Lu Li’s spine. What was going on? Did people actually live in those broken houses?

“Hello, is anyone there?” Lu Li called out. He would rather believe it was the village children playing a prank, but the man at the store had clearly said that there were only elderly people left in this village. Were the elderly so bored that they were pretending to be monkeys to scare him?

No one answered. Lu Li’s voice echoed in the empty countryside.

He had often heard that the most troublesome things in the countryside were dogs. They were ferocious and roamed in packs, attacking passing motorcycles or bicycles. But he had never heard of monkeys in the Chuanhai countryside.

Someone was laughing, hidden behind the dilapidated houses, a sharp, piercing laugh. It only lasted for a short while, as if afraid of being discovered by Lu Li. The laughter sounded like the cackle of a sixty-year-old man, sinister and vile.

Lu Li picked up a wooden stick from the ground for self-defense.

He continued walking. Whenever he turned his back, the chirping laughter of monkeys would come from behind him, intermittent, accompanied by the sound of some primate crawling on the ground. And there was more than one. Strange noises came from the tiles and cobwebs of those broken houses, along with the scraping sound of rusty sickles against red bricks.

This was definitely not normal.

Lu Li quickened his pace, from a brisk walk to a jog, then to a sprint. The sounds behind him became more and more frequent, more and more urgent, like hounds hot on his trail. Many thoughts flashed through his mind. Maybe this village had been occupied by monkeys or mandrills, or maybe the elderly in the village had been torn apart by starving stray dogs.

The strange sounds behind him grew closer, the chirping monkey calls no longer concealed, ringing right in his ears, right behind him.

It must be monkeys, right? It has to be monkeys, right? Lu Li’s heart pounded in his chest. That was definitely not a monkey. It was a human voice, someone imitating a monkey. But… why?

He felt a sharp tug on his backpack, and he stumbled. But Lu Li reacted quickly. He broke free from the grip, whatever it was, and sprinted forward with the speed of a hundred-meter dash. Those things were chasing him relentlessly. He could even hear the sound of their drool dripping.

“Woof!” A deafening bark erupted in front of him, and Lu Li felt his mind go numb. For a moment, the air solidified. He saw the clouds in the azure sky changing rapidly, white clouds turning into gray dogs in an instant. A large, yellow dog, about knee-high, stood before him. Its fur was rough, its nose black. It was a typical rural dog, and it was the one that had just barked.

“Young man, who are you looking for?” Beside the yellow dog stood an old man leaning on a cane. His gray hair was like dry grass, his face a roadmap of wrinkles, and he held a straw hat in his charcoal-like hand.

Lu Li’s breathing quickened. He looked back. “There are monsters…” But the country road behind him was quiet and peaceful. The early spring breeze rustled through the withered trees, as if everything had been his imagination.

Lu Li was stunned. “There were things making monkey sounds chasing me, trying to snatch my bag.”

“It’s just the village children being naughty.” The old man said.

Village children? What kind of children would make those sounds? Lu Li was about to retort when the yellow dog came up to him enthusiastically, licking his pants. He swallowed his questions.

The old man asked again, “Young man, who are you looking for?”

“…I’m looking for Mei Xiuzheng and his wife.”

The old man sighed and turned around. “Follow me.” Before Lu Li could move, the yellow dog eagerly led the way, its tongue lolling out. Lu Li looked back at the muddy path he had come from, still in disbelief. He could only see his own hurried footprints. The strange sounds from before seemed to have never existed.

Impossible… He clearly felt someone grabbing his backpack and heard the clang of a sickle dragging on the ground.

Those weren’t children.

Lu Li hesitantly followed the old man, who was walking slowly, glancing back every now and then. But the strange phenomenon didn’t reappear. The sun was shining, the wind was gentle, everything seemed normal.

“Sir, are there any children in the village? I heard… there are no young people left in Shanzhu Village.” Lu Li asked.

“There are.” The old man spoke slowly, each word carefully enunciated. He didn’t offer any explanation.

“The Mei family is long gone.” His eyes were cloudy, as if he was reminiscing about the past. The old man raised his cane and pointed to a small, overgrown hill. “That’s the old Mei residence. No one has taken care of it for many years.”

Before Lu Li could process the information, the old man continued in a trembling voice, “Young man, come to my house and sit for a while. There are some things… I need to tell you.”

The yellow dog barked twice and wagged its tail around Lu Li, clearly fond of him. Lu Li looked around and indeed couldn’t see any other living person. After hesitating for a moment, he agreed. He threw away the wooden stick he had been using for self-defense, suddenly realizing that this trip to Shanzhu Village might not be so simple after all.

Chapter 2: A Rural Shenzhou Tale (Part 1)

The countryside in southern China was sticky, humid, and full of the worldly wisdom and shortsightedness unique to the Chinese people. After leaving the city and enduring a two-hour ride on a diesel bus filled with the smell of leather, smoke, engine heat, and constant bumps, Lu Li finally arrived at Chengxia Bridge. The north wind in the countryside was even more biting than in the city. Here, there were no ordinary cars, only motorcycles carrying people leaving for the Spring Festival, zipping past like fish in a river.

Lu Li bought a bottle of mineral water from a roadside grocery store, moistening his parched throat. The owner told him that Shanzhu Village was still forty li away. If he was in a hurry to visit his relatives, he would only charge thirty yuan to take him there. Lu Li declined. The owner continued to exaggerate the distance, and seeing that Lu Li remained unmoved, lowered the price to twenty-five yuan.

“There’s no paved road ahead, only muddy paths full of rocks. Shanzhu Village is a remote and impoverished place. Twenty-five yuan is already a very reasonable price.” The owner was quite talkative. “Young man, are you even twenty yet? Do you have a job?”

“No, I’m still a student.” Lu Li took another sip of water, silently observing the passersby.

“Where do you study? My son studies at No. 9 Middle School in Beixian County. Hehe, he’s in the top class. Maybe you’re classmates.”

“Really?” Lu Li smiled. “Your son is quite impressive then.”

“He is. In this entire Chengxiaqiao Town, only three students got into the top class. Three!” The man widened his eyes and held up three thick fingers. “But this kid is disobedient. He doesn’t listen to anything I say, always doing things his own way. Haha.”

“He’s quite independent.” Lu Li commented.

The man beamed. “If others heard that, they would think I’m a bad father. Hey, young man, what are you doing going to Shanzhu Village? There’s no road access there anymore. Only some childless elderly people are left. I haven’t seen anyone from Shanzhu Village in years.”

“I’m visiting my grandparents.” Upon hearing this, the owner’s expression changed. He pondered for a moment and said, “Young man, have your parents bring your grandparents out of there. Staying in that kind of place, even getting enough to eat is a problem.”

“Is Shanzhu Village that poor?”

“Oh, it’s practically dirt poor.” The man shook his head. “In our Chengxiaqiao Town, Shanzhu Village is the poorest. The roads in other villages have been repaired, but there’s been no movement in Shanzhu Village. It’s like a ghost town.”

Lu Li hummed in acknowledgement, put the half-empty water bottle into the side pocket of his backpack, and made a move to get up.

“Are you walking there, young man?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, it’s forty li! You’ll break your legs! And it’s so cold, how can you walk? Fine, fifteen yuan. Give me fifteen yuan, just enough to cover the gas, and I’ll give you a ride.” The man said, reaching for his felt hat. This time, Lu Li didn’t refuse. The grocery store owner called out to his wife and then pushed out an old motorcycle.

The motorcycle started. The man didn’t even wear a helmet. He looked around, then weaved through the traffic, carrying Lu Li onto the bridge, making him nervous. “Where are you from, young man?”

“Chuanhai.”

“From the provincial capital?” He was clearly surprised. “You study in the provincial capital?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the difference between schools in the big city and our county? Are there more opportunities?” His tone softened. “My son wanted to take the entrance exam for No. 4 Middle School in the provincial capital, no, No. 5 Middle School, but he didn’t get in. He said it was very difficult.”

Chuanhai No. 5 Middle School was a vocational school, the lowest-ranked high school in Chuanhai. Lu Li smiled and replied, “It is quite difficult.”

“Right?”

“Right.”

“Which school do you go to in Chuanhai?”

“Just an ordinary high school. Not very famous.” Lu Li answered.

“Do students like you get assigned jobs after graduation? Your monthly salary must be tens of thousands of yuan, right?”

Actually, most students from Chuanhai No. 1 High School would choose to go to university. They wouldn’t need to work and didn’t have the concept of a monthly salary. The imperial system might have been abolished, but the thousand-year-old clan system of China had quietly persisted. There was a saying among the graduates of Chuanhai No. 1 High School that each graduate would receive a ranking upon graduation, from excellent to poor, commonly known as the “Nine Ranks of Talent.” The ranking process wasn’t transparent, and the identities of the judges remained a mystery. These nine ranks would be used by university professors as a reference for admissions. Most of the privileged children at Chuanhai No. 1 High School worked hard to achieve a high ranking.

Students from other ordinary high schools, however, wouldn’t even know about the existence of the Nine Ranks system until they died, let alone reach the lowest rank.

“I’ll have to find a job myself after graduation.”

The man clicked his tongue and shook his head. “That won’t do. The pressure of living in the city is so high… Young man, what do your parents do? Are they in business?”

Lu Li’s throat tightened. “My parents…” A gust of wind blew the man’s felt hat off. He cursed and braked, walking over to pick up the dirty hat, patting it a few times before putting it back on his thinning hair. “Damn wind, so strong and cold, getting colder every year. I heard it’s because people in the north cut down all the trees and destroyed the environment, that’s why winters are getting colder and colder, right?”

He smiled and hummed in agreement. The topic of his parents was dropped. Seeing that Lu Li was shy, the man became even more talkative. He boasted while driving, saying that although he didn’t have much education, he had decades more life experience than students. He talked about how popular his son was with girls at school. However, all topics eventually led back to the common people’s resentment and analysis of high-level politics.

Lu Li heard him cursing the central cabinet for their terrible policies, especially the recent revisions to the inheritance law and marriage law. Lu Li thought of Chu Jingyi’s father. His future father-in-law had left for the capital on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. It was said that he had been selected for the central cabinet. Should he address him as “Uncle” or “Minister Chu” in the future? And An Baili, she should be awake by now. Perhaps she had already seen his message and was on her way to Silly Goose’s house.

It was so cold.

Lu Li felt his fingers were numb, and his nose had long lost all sensation. Riding a motorcycle in this weather was torture. It should be included in the penal code as a modern form of punishment. The road beneath the tires had turned into a bumpy dirt path, littered with gravel. The already unstable motorcycle bounced even more on this terrain, shaking like an eighty-year-old with asthma. The sound of the exhaust pipe was like a broken bellows.

The scenery on both sides changed from endless fields to untrimmed woods. A small, straight river followed their path, disappearing into the horizon. The air became fresher, with a hint of earthy smell, perhaps the smell of earthworms, or the fishy smell of the thawing river. Only then did Lu Li feel a sense of escaping human civilization and entering a hidden paradise.

Suddenly, the motorcycle stopped. Lu Li heard the man curse, “Damn wind, you’re out of luck, young man.”

Several small trees had been blown down by the north wind, blocking the dirt path ahead. It was impossible for the motorcycle to pass. Lu Li said it was fine and took out fifteen yuan from his wallet. The man said, “But Shanzhu Village isn’t far from here. Walk straight ahead for about a li, and you should see it.”

Lu Li followed the man’s pointing finger and saw a few faint silhouettes of houses in the distance, barely visible through the thick fog.

Volume 5 – Years Like Razor Blades

Prologue:

Truly, time is the most merciless of razors.

“Young man, who are you looking for?”

Wielded alternately by the sun and the moon, it scrapes across the uneven earth, layer after layer,

“Big brother, I have one just like it~”

Harvesting the sick…

“I’m sorry, I’ve tried everything.”

The elderly…

“Is this the only solution to the price?”

Even those taken by early death.

“Xiao Lu, are you mistaken?”

Leaving behind only barren longing,

“Fuck you, God!”

And a lonely, lingering sorrow.

“Your memory is getting worse and worse.”

“Baili, I’m back!”

***

Chapter 1: Poison

Poison, potent and pervasive, a harmful weed, growing rampantly.

The wedding venue was resplendent and magnificent. A gold fountain stood in the center, the basin filled not with water, but with colorful jewels and agate. Waiters in shirts and vests, carrying trays of champagne flutes, weaved through the guests. The long tables were laden with delicacies: French escargots, Greek moussaka, Italian truffles, enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Yet, in such a setting, the well-dressed guests were silent and apprehensive, like sinners awaiting judgment.

The bride, adorned with jewels and jade, made her grand entrance. Even those who hated her couldn’t deny her beauty. She was slender, with a voluptuous figure and a tiny waist. She wore a jeweled crown and a wedding dress embellished with silver chains and green agate, like a reincarnation of Daji, the bewitching concubine who captivated King Zhou of Shang. Her fox-like eyes made the guests dare not look directly at her, afraid of losing their minds like those poor souls before them.

Zhu Xi looked coldly at the guests. “Why? It’s my wedding day, why do you all look like you’re attending a funeral?”

Everyone lowered their heads, no one daring to speak. The reporters at the back tactfully turned off their cameras, pretending to change batteries.

“Scholar Zhang, if I remember correctly, you’re the head of the Zhang family in Tongcheng, right?” Zhu Xi’s words were laced with sarcasm and mockery. “I heard that the Zhang family recently made a big deal, earning a fortune. You should be happy, why are you acting so gloomy like the rest of them? Do you have some objection to me?”

Scholar Zhang, a member of the central cabinet, immediately knelt on the ground. “Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me!”

“Get up, Scholar. Don’t lose your dignity.” Zhu Xi sneered. “People who don’t know better might think the imperial power has been restored in Shenzhou.”

Scholar Zhang was drenched in cold sweat. He was thinking about how to give that money to Zhu Xi when he heard her ask, “Has the groom arrived yet?” Groom? He should be called the Prince Consort. No, “corpse” would be more fitting. Scholar Zhang thought to himself.

This was Zhu Xi’s third marriage. The groom was the adopted son of the Du family. When the Du family, all fifty of them, heard the news, they were so terrified that they tried to flee the country overnight, only to be stopped at the border by Zhu Xi’s men. The poor young man burned incense and prayed to Buddha every day, writing letters to Zhu Xi, begging for mercy for his family. He didn’t know that those letters were used by Zhu Xi to start fires, without even a glance.

When the princess was first engaged, everyone said it was a match made in heaven, the youngest and most beautiful princess of the royal family marrying into a prestigious family. Although Zhu Xi had never met the man, she obediently agreed – that year, she hadn’t revealed her true nature yet. The wedding was as grand as today’s, with non-stop news coverage and celebrations all over the country and even abroad. Until the groom suddenly collapsed and died as he was walking down the aisle.

His death was gruesome. His face turned purple, blood oozing from his seven orifices. Before dying, he stared at the expressionless Zhu Xi, leaving a trail of blood on the red carpet. It was clear that he wanted to say something to the princess, but he didn’t have the chance.

What followed was a bloody purge. The family’s assets were seized by Old Madam Yan, and Zhu Xi inherited a massive fortune. She just stood there at the wedding, doing nothing, watching the young man she had never met die a horrible death. The police investigation concluded that it was due to food poisoning, that the toxins accumulated in his body had suddenly erupted. But Scholar Zhang knew they were talking nonsense. No food poisoning would cause bleeding from the seven orifices.

The second wedding was equally coincidental. The groom disappeared on the wedding day, his body never found. Scholar Zhang heard that Zhu Xi was raising a pack of wolves during that time. Purebred wolves, the kind that ate people.

And today was Zhu Xi’s third wedding.

As everyone waited anxiously, a female officer in plain clothes entered the venue. She hurried to the Fourteenth Princess and whispered something in her ear. Zhu Xi frowned. “Why are you whispering? Speak up and let everyone hear!”

The young policewoman straightened her body and saluted nervously. “Yes, Your Highness!”

“The groom, Du Wenhou, was involved in a car accident on his way here and unfortunately passed away!” She shouted nervously. There were many details she omitted. Du Wenhou was driving normally, very slowly, when a large truck suddenly crashed head-on into his car, turning the young master into a pulp. But did these details matter?

Du Wenhou’s second uncle fainted on the spot.

Zhu Xi heard sighs and saw the worried expressions on the guests’ faces. She poured the red wine in her hand onto the carpet, as if playing along. “Perhaps I’m cursed to bring misfortune to my husbands. Three weddings, three failures. It seems I’m destined to be alone forever.”

The dark red wine seeped into the carpet, like pus and blood from a decaying corpse seeping into the damp soil.

Zhu Xi raised an eyebrow, her seductive eyes glancing around. “I’ve heard of celebrating even during funerals. Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion, let this joyous atmosphere dispel the bad luck for the Du family! Someone, play some music!”

As if prepared in advance, the orchestra started playing cheerful music, and the dancers, with fake smiles plastered on their faces, began to dance. Amidst the lively atmosphere, no one bothered to help the fainted Du Wenhou’s second uncle. They just looked away coldly, even afraid to glance at him.

“Scholar Zhang.” Zhu Xi looked at the trembling scholar. “Aren’t you going to dance?”

Scholar Zhang swallowed, not knowing whether to nod or shake his head. The next second, he heard words that almost made him despair. “I heard that the Zhang family in Tongcheng has an unmarried son?” Scholar Zhang was dumbfounded. He wanted to kneel down and beg Zhu Xi for mercy, but his body was weak and limp.

Since when… had the upper class of Shenzhou been played like puppets by this young woman?

Indeed… perhaps they shouldn’t have passed that law…

Zhu Xi laughed. “Scholar Zhang, I was just kidding. Why are you so scared? The man who’s worthy of me hasn’t appeared yet. In that case, I don’t need to bother with marriage anymore. I hope you will all refrain from mentioning my marriage in the future.”

With that, the beautiful bride took off her crown, tossed it on the floor, and turned to leave.

Scholar Zhang collapsed weakly to his knees. His colleagues rushed to help him up, sighing in relief that he had escaped a disaster, then cursing Zhu Xi for her cruelty, saying that she would eventually face retribution. Scholar Zhang stared blankly at the floor, his mind filled with sorrow. These hypocrites, so obsequious in front of Zhu Xi, but putting on a show behind her back. Did any of them think about helping the fifty members of the Du family? They were so hypocritical and pathetic, and he was no different. Perhaps, as Zhu Xi had said, the man who was worthy of her didn’t exist in this world.

Poison, potent and pervasive, a harmful weed, growing rampantly. The title of Poison Princess was well-deserved.