Chapter 5

The night was like a piece of cloth soaked in ink, tightly covering the entire town. There wasn’t even a sound of insects by the river. Only the howling wind swept across the surface of the water, creating tiny splashes that hit the rocks on the shore, producing a faint and eerie sound. The moon grew dimmer and eventually disappeared behind the clouds. All that remained was the faint light from my flashlight, barely enough to illuminate the path ahead of me.

I stood under the old locust tree by the river, waiting for almost half an hour. Una Wash still hadn’t shown up. The cold wind blew through my collar, making me shiver. I thought to myself, “Never mind. Maybe she has some last-minute thing to take care of. It’s so late anyway. I’d better go home before my parents worry.”

Just as I turned around to go back, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slender figure slowly approaching me across the small bridge by the river. The figure was wearing a light-colored dress, and its posture closely resembled Una Wash’s. I immediately stopped in my tracks and called out loudly, “Ah Xiu! Is that you? Ah Xiu!”

I shouted three or four times, but the figure never responded. It continued to walk forward slowly, with strange steps—not like those of a normal person. I felt uneasy, but still mustered courage and held the flashlight tightly in my hand, walking towards the bridge step by step. But when I directed the light of the flashlight towards the figure, there was no one there. All I saw was leaves fluttering in the wind under the light.

“Strange… maybe I’m seeing things?” I scratched my head, feeling increasingly uneasy. The night in this small town is already eerie enough, and with my parents repeatedly warning me not to go out during the Zhongyuan Festival, I felt a chill running down my spine. I really wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

At that moment, a soft and cold voice suddenly rang in my ears, as if it were breathing right next to me: “I’m here…”

That voice was cold and piercing. I shuddered all over. Instinctively, I reached into my pocket and gripped the amulet around my neck—that was given to me by my parents, supposedly to ward off evil spirits and disasters. But before I could react, a powerful force pulled at me from behind. Everything went black before my eyes, and with a “buzz” in my ears, I lost consciousness completely.

When I woke up again, it was already daylight. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the blanket at the head of the bed. I tried to sit up, but my body was as limp as if I had no bones. My shoulders hurt terribly, as if they had been burned by something. Every movement caused excruciating pain.

“Madison, you’re awake?” Hearing the movement, Mom immediately came in, holding a cup of warm water. Her eyes were red, and her face showed obvious worry. “How do you feel? Are you feeling any better?”

I took the water cup and drank it all in one gulp. The warm water flowed down my throat, slightly relieving the dryness in my voice. “It’s okay, though I feel weak all over and my shoulders hurt a lot.” Only when I spoke did I realize how hoarse my voice was, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

“What’s wrong with me?” I frowned, trying to remember what had happened last night. But all I could recall were the fierce winds by the river, those eerie figures, and that cold voice. Everything that happened after that seemed to have been erased from my memory. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember anything else.

Mom’s eyes flickered, and her tone sounded somewhat unnatural: “Don’t you remember what happened some time ago?”

“Recently?” I was stunned. “Weren’t I out looking for Ah Xiu last night, and then passed out? How could it be ‘recently’?”

Mom sighed, reached out to touch my head, her eyes filled with concern. “Silly child, you’ve been unconscious for ten days. After you left that night, you never came back. Your dad and I searched for you all night. We found you in a small temple by the river. By then, you were already unconscious.”

“Ten days?” I was completely stunned. Instinctively, I looked around the room. “What about my dad? I’ve been awake for so long. Why haven’t I seen him?”

Upon hearing the word “dad,” Mom’s body stiffened slightly. She avoided making eye contact with me, and her voice became hesitant: “Your dad… he’s gone out on business. He’ll be back in a few days.”

My heart sank. Something wasn’t right. Mom was usually very direct and clear in her speech. She never hesitated like this. And the way she avoided my eyes clearly meant she was hiding something. “Mom, is something wrong with Dad? Please tell me the truth.”

“No, stop thinking nonsense,” Mom avoided my gaze and placed a bowl of porridge on the small table by the bed. “You’ve just woken up and your body is still weak. Drink the porridge first and get some rest. You don’t need to worry about anything else.” With that, she quickly turned around and left the room, her steps hurried, as if she was trying to escape from something.

I stared at my mother’s back, feeling increasingly puzzled. What was wrong with Dad? Why was Mom hiding things from me? I gritted my teeth and tried to get up from the bed. I felt weak all over. My legs gave out as I tried to stand up, and I almost fell. Thankfully, I managed to grab onto the cabinet beside me and stay upright.

I leaned on the wall and slowly walked out of the room. My parents’ room was right next to mine. The door was slightly ajar, but there was no one inside. I checked all the rooms on the second floor, but still couldn’t find them. Could they be on the first floor?

I held onto the stair railing as I slowly went downstairs. The living room was empty, with tables and chairs neatly arranged, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Just as I was about to turn around and go back to my room, I heard subdued voices coming from the storage room where my parents kept their talismans. It was my father’s voice, but it was extremely weak, completely lacking his usual firmness.

“Aqin, Madison has already woken up. Please don’t tell her about my situation. She seems carefree on the surface, but she’s actually very perceptive. If she finds out, she’ll definitely be upset.”

Mom’s voice was choked with emotion and unmistakable anxiety: “I know, but how can you keep hiding this from me like this? It breaks my heart to see you like this.”

“Let’s just pretend for one more day,” Dad sighed heavily, his voice filled with helplessness. “Madison will turn eighteen in a month. You know how special her condition is. What happened last time was a warning. We can protect her for now, but not forever.”

“I know, but why does our daughter have to suffer so much?” Mom couldn’t hold back anymore and started crying softly. “I thought that with everything being peaceful these past few years, nothing bad would happen again. But I never expected…”

I couldn’t hear what was said after that. It felt like something was blocking my heart—suffocating and painful. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I pushed open the door to the storage room.

“Dad! Mom! What exactly are you hiding from me?”

The moment I pushed the door open, I was completely frozen, with a blank mind. Tears streamed down uncontrollably. My father was lying on the bed, his face covered in horrible burns. His body was wrapped in bandages, and dark red blood seeped through the gaps in the bandages. It was a horrifying sight. My mother sat by the bed, wiping her tears with a handkerchief while gently touching my father’s hand.

When they saw me push the door open, surprise filled their faces. Soon, however, it was replaced by guilt. Dad patted Mom’s hand to calm her down, then looked at me seriously and said, “Madison, since you’ve seen it, there’s no point in hiding it from you. Come here and sit next to Dad.”

I held back my tears, slowly walked over to the bed and sat down. My voice was choked with emotion: “Dad, what’s wrong with you? Who did this to you?”

Dad shook his head and didn’t answer my question. His gaze remained fixed on my chest, and he spoke in a very serious tone: “Madison, look at the jade pendant on your chest. You must never take it off, no matter what happens. Do you understand?”

I was stunned for a moment. Instinctively, I looked down and saw that there was a jade pendant hanging around my chest, tied with a red string. The jade was pure white in color, with a strange fox pattern carved on it. It felt icy to the touch. “What… what is this? I’ve never seen this jade pendant before.”

“This is the engagement gift from your fiancé,” Dad said in a calm tone, yet with an unshakable certainty.

“Fiancé?” I was completely stunned. I almost jumped up in surprise. “Dad, what are you talking about? I’m only seventeen years old, not yet an adult. How could I have a fiancé? Are you too injured and confused?”

But Dad didn’t explain anything. He just stared deeply into my eyes and repeated, “You don’t need to worry about who he is. Just remember that no matter what happens, you must never take off this jade pendant. It will protect you.”

I turned to my mother, hoping she would explain things to me. But she turned her head away, deliberately avoiding my gaze, with her shoulders trembling slightly. I knew that there were things they refused to say. No matter how much I asked, I wouldn’t get any answers. But that suddenly appeared fiancé, my father’s serious injuries, and the ten days I was unconscious—all these things were like a fog that surrounded me, making it hard for me to breathe.