The Mountain Monster

At age ten, my sister and I went to the mountains to herd sheep.

In the time it took to take a leak, my sister disappeared, leaving only a few old goats mindlessly chewing grass. Their rectangular pupils reflected my panicked face.

The villagers all said it was the blind bear from the mountain that had taken my sister.

But my father's face went deathly pale. He hurriedly opened the cellar and made me hide inside:

"It's not a blind bear—it's back!"

Chapter 1

We hadn't been on the mountain long when thick fog rolled through the forest.

My sister and I were herding the sheep, but we weren't worried. We'd memorized the location of every rock and tree since childhood.

After walking a while, I felt the urge to urinate.

I told my sister, "Chunni, watch the sheep while I go relieve myself."

"Okay." My sister tugged at her clothes and nodded obediently. "I'm not scared."

The girl was timid and soft-hearted, so I comforted her:

"Don't worry, I'll be right back. If you get scared, just recite your lessons—shout a few times and you won't be afraid anymore."

Only then did Chunni's pursed lips relax.

I went behind a pile of rocks to relieve myself. Through the hazy fog, I saw a figure in the distance waving at me.

The person was thin and tall—at least twice my height.

Its hands touched the ground, but its head was large and flat, like an old winter melon.

"Who's there?" My whole body shivered.

The figure didn't respond, just stood in the thick fog waving at me. Its blurry face had a mouth that stretched from ear to ear.

I instinctively rubbed my eyes and looked again—the figure was gone.

The next second, my sister's recitation stopped abruptly!

An icy chill shot up to the top of my head. I didn't even have time to tie my pants before scrambling back—

My sister was gone!

Only a few old goats remained at the scene, chewing grass mindlessly.

In the goats' vertical rectangular pupils, my delicate face was twisted with panic and unease.

That day, I searched everywhere on the mountain.

I couldn't find any trace of my sister—not even a single hair. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

Chapter 2

The villagers all said she'd encountered a blind bear.

Bears are intelligent, seven parts human-like. They can stand on two legs and pretend to be human, waving at you. When you get close, they attack.

But was what I saw really a bear?

When the neighbors learned what happened, they wanted to organize a search party. They said they needed to find her alive or find her body.

But my father's reaction was strange—he flatly refused: "Forget it. We won't find her."

"Don't trouble everyone. This is Chunni's fate. She wasn't meant to live long."

With that, my father glared at me fiercely:

"Get back inside! Stop embarrassing us here!"

"Dad, but..." I tried to say something.

My father's slap sent me reeling, stars dancing before my eyes:

"But nothing! Can't you understand simple words?"

I covered my face, feeling the burning sting, not daring to say another word.

Seeing my father speak so harshly, the villagers didn't want to interfere further. They left one by one, each returning to their own homes.

After everyone left, my father completely deflated.

Only then did I notice his back was soaked with sweat.

"Dad, do you know something?"

"That wasn't a blind bear." My father turned around, his face terrifyingly pale, covered in cold sweat like he'd just been pulled from water. "It's back!"

Who was back?

Did my father know the monster I'd seen in the fog?

Before I could think deeper, my father grabbed me and ran toward home. Usually mild-mannered, he kicked the door open.

"Zhao Minqiang, you've grown bold!" My mother came out angrily. "Coming home making such a racket—are you trying to tear the house down?"

My father gasped heavily. "It's... it's back!"

"Who?" My mother froze, glanced at me instinctively, then her face changed dramatically. "You mean ten years ago, that..."

"Yes, that's the one." My father quickly cut her off.

Fear visibly crept across my mother's face. Without another word, she pulled me into the house.

Then she and my father pushed the wooden bed aside.

Beneath the bed was a cellar. My mother made me go down and hide.

Her voice trembling, she said:

"Chunsheng, hide down there and don't come out. Don't respond to anyone except your father and me, and don't make any noise."

Completely confused, I swallowed and asked:

"Mom, what exactly is that thing?"

Chapter 3

Hearing this, my mother visibly froze.

She turned to look at my father, who was taking a hunting rifle from a chest. He shook his head: "We can't say. It might know."

"It can hear us talking?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively pulled my head deeper into the cellar.

Was it nearby?

"Don't worry. Once we kill it, you can come out." My father sighed and comforted me: "Sorry, I shouldn't have hit you earlier."

"Chunsheng, don't ask anything, don't say anything. We're doing this for your own good."

My mother hugged me tightly, tears flowing:

"It's coming for you. It's coming for revenge."

Coming for me... for revenge?

When had I ever offended that thing?

A series of questions flooded my mind.

Sudden pain in my back brought me back to reality, and I couldn't help but cry out: "Mom, you're pinching me!"

"Ah—!"

My mother jerked away as if electrocuted, glanced at my back, then looked away.

"Let's go kill that thing, then we'll come back." My father pulled my mother up. "Don't be paranoid—you're scaring Chunsheng."

My mother's expression was complex. I looked at her questioningly, but she avoided my gaze.

"Go hide. We're leaving now." My father patted my back, his smile somewhat forced. "It'll be fine."

I nodded and climbed to the bottom of the cellar, obediently hiding.

For some reason, my back was itchy. When I reached to scratch it, I immediately broke the skin and bled quite a bit.

I had a large scar on my back that had existed as long as I could remember.

I didn't know when I'd gotten injured. I'd asked my parents before, but they always changed the subject.

Now, the broken skin was exactly where the scar was located.

Just then, I heard someone breaking down the door. Uncle Liuzi shouted:

"Brother Minqiang, something's wrong! Something happened to Aunt Ma!"

My father asked urgently: "Liuzi, slow down. What happened?"

"I was just passing Aunt Ma's house and smelled blood. I got curious and looked inside." Uncle Liuzi stammered: "Then I... I..."

"I saw Aunt Ma lying on the ground, covered in blood, her head hollowed out... dead!"

Then came the sound of a gun being loaded. My father said:

"Let's go check it out right away!"

After a rush of footsteps, everything went quiet.

They must have all left. I just needed to stay quiet here and wait for them to return.

Everything would be fine. My father was the best hunter in the area.

I huddled in the corner of the cellar, not making a sound.

However, the next moment, I heard footsteps.

Chapter 4

Back so soon?

I was about to speak when I suddenly thought of something and quickly covered my mouth.

My parents had said they had to call for me before I could come out.

Tap, tap, tap...

I instinctively curled up, hiding in the shadows.

"We're back." The tapping footsteps grew closer, and I heard a woman's voice: "Come out."

"We went to Aunt Ma's house. It was just an old blind bear. Your father shot and killed it."

This voice was definitely my mother's!

I stood up and went to the cellar ladder, preparing to climb up.

But after climbing just a few steps, I realized something was wrong.

Aunt Ma's house was only two or three houses away from ours. If my father had shot and killed the blind bear, why hadn't I heard gunshots?

At such a short distance, I definitely should have heard them.

Unless... my mother was lying to me!

Or rather, the person above wasn't my mother at all!

I froze in place, unable to decide whether to climb up or not.

Now, I had no way to verify.

After all, once I spoke, my location would definitely be exposed.

Suddenly, there was a rapid tapping sound, and my mother's voice grew distant: "Run away quickly, it's coming again! Quick!!"

"Your father and I will hold it off. You run! Get out of the village!"

Bang—!

A sharp gunshot suddenly rang out. My heart leaped with joy.

This was the unique sound of my father's hunting rifle. He'd modified it, giving it a short, sharp report.

It seemed the person outside really was my parents!

I continued climbing the ladder, but kept my movements light.

"Child, run!"

The shout came again. My hand, about to push open the cellar cover, suddenly stopped. An bone-chilling cold shot straight to the top of my head!

The voice was the same as my mother's, but my mother never called me "child."

She only called me Chunsheng or "kiddo."

The only person I remembered who regularly called me "child" was—

The dead Aunt Ma!

Chapter 5

My palms broke out in cold sweat, and my limbs went numb.

Through the gap in the cellar cover, I saw a pair of feet on tiptoes in front of the bed, blood constantly flowing down the calves to the floor.

The other party had never left!

I recognized the shoes on those feet—they were the embroidered shoes Aunt Ma had made herself.

Wasn't Aunt Ma dead?

What was this thing outside now?

I didn't dare breathe, thankful that the cellar was under the bed where I couldn't be discovered.

But before I could relax, those calves slowly leaned forward...

She was bending down, preparing to look under the bed!

Once she looked under the bed, she would definitely discover the cellar.

I looked around frantically, despair spreading in my heart. What should I do? What could I do?

Bang! Bang! Bang bang!

Suddenly, several more gunshots rang out.

I quickly turned around and looked through the gap in the cellar cover.

This sight nearly scared me out of my wits!

Not far from the gap, a pair of rolling pale eyeballs stared directly at me!

That blood-covered face was indeed Aunt Ma!

Then Aunt Ma was dragged aside, and Uncle Liuzi appeared from behind her, moving the bed away.

Only then did I realize that Aunt Ma had already stopped moving.

Uncle Liuzi opened the cellar and said urgently: "Chunsheng, come out quickly. We can't stay here."

His face was pale—clearly he'd been badly frightened too.

I quickly asked: "Where are my father and the others? Why didn't they come back with you?"

"They're at Aunt Ma's woodshed. Your father saw something with long, thin limbs and chased after it." Uncle Liuzi's face showed overwhelming fear.

After a pause, he continued:

"When your mother saw it, I don't know what happened, but she insisted I come back and get you first."

I believed most of what he said and quickly climbed out of the cellar, following Uncle Liuzi as we ran.

Uncle Liuzi said my mother had told him to take me to town, where there were more people and it would be safer.

After running for who knows how long, the scar on my back became increasingly itchy. When we reached a creek, I couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to take off my clothes and wash.

Seeing this, Uncle Liuzi's face changed, and he said hurriedly:

"Chunsheng, you usually act like a tomboy, but you're not actually a boy."

"Although I'm not that kind of beast, you still shouldn't undress in front of men."

Tomboy? Woman?

"Uncle Liuzi, I'm a pure man of the Zhao family!" I replied instinctively without thinking: "I'm Chunni's older brother!"

Uncle Liuzi stared at me for a long moment. "Do you really have no memory of what happened back then?"

I was completely confused: "What happened?"

Uncle Liuzi's expression was complex. He seemed about to speak but held back, finally shaking his head:

"Feel down there. Do you have the equipment?"

Chapter 6

I didn't believe it.

But when I felt down there, it was completely empty!

"No, impossible!" My face went white instantly, and I frantically looked at my reflection in the creek. "This... this is me?!"

In the clear water appeared a delicate face.

Although I had a buzz cut, my soft features and more developed chest than other boys verified the truth.

I was actually a girl...

My head buzzed, feeling like the sky was falling:

"I've been a boy since childhood. How could I be a girl?"

"It seems that incident affected you too deeply." Uncle Liuzi said: "It made you keep pretending to be a boy."

I was bewildered: "Pretending? Why would I pretend?"

"Since your parents didn't tell you, it's not my place as an outsider to say much." Uncle Liuzi seemed to think of something terrible and shook his head: "Rest up, then let's keep moving."

"If you really want to know, ask them directly when the time comes."

I felt like I'd lost my soul, staying silent for a long time before saying:

"Is it related to that monster? Does it have something to do with me? What's the story with the scar on my back?"

"Stop talking, let's get going." Uncle Liuzi changed the subject: "Your parents said they'd meet us in town."

I wanted to say more, but rustling sounds came from the forest.

In the thick fog, thin shadows appeared and disappeared. In that instant, I suddenly made eye contact with it!

Those eyes seemed familiar.

Full of mockery, I was sure I'd seen those eyes somewhere before, but I couldn't remember where.

"Why are you standing there? Run!"

Seeing this, Uncle Liuzi quickly grabbed me and we ran.

We ran from dawn until the sun was about to set, finally reaching the town entrance.

My father and mother were craning their necks, looking around. When they saw us, they waved frantically: "Here, over here!"

Seeing their familiar faces and hearing their familiar voices, I couldn't hold back any longer. I ran into my mother's arms and burst into tears:

"Mom, I was so scared! I was afraid I'd never see you again!"

My father comforted me from the side: "It's okay, we're all fine, aren't we?"

"Yes, we're all fine." I sniffled: "Thanks to Uncle Liuzi, otherwise I almost wouldn't have been able to see you."

"Uncle Liuzi?" My father was stunned: "Which Uncle Liuzi?"

I was confused and explained: "Uncle Liuzi from Second Grandpa's family—Zhao Liu. Don't you remember?"

My mother's whole body trembled, shaking like a sieve, her lips turning white:

"Zhao Liu died ten years ago, didn't he?"

Chapter 7

Uncle Liuzi... was already dead?

I stiffly turned around to look behind me. The distance was empty—Uncle Liuzi's figure was nowhere to be seen.

As if he had never appeared at all.

"Chunsheng, did you really see Liuzi?" My mother held me tight and stepped back two paces.

I swallowed, my heart pounding:

"Mom, Uncle Liuzi said it was you who told him to find me and bring me to town."

"Didn't he come to our house before, saying something happened to Aunt Ma, and call you over there?"

My father frowned: "That wasn't Liuzi, that was your Second Grandpa."

"Your Second Grandpa came to tell us he saw Aunt Ma covered in blood, lying on the ground."

"He's old and was scared to go in alone, so he asked me to come along for company."

I quickly asked: "Then who did you ask to bring me here?"

My father looked at my mother, and she nodded:

"Your father went chasing that thing. I was worried the house wasn't safe, so I asked Second Grandpa to find you."

Now I was completely confused.

Second Grandpa and Uncle Liuzi were father and son, but I couldn't have mistaken them.

I was one hundred percent certain it was Uncle Liuzi who brought me here.

But if Uncle Liuzi was already dead, then what was that thing with me the whole way?

My heart filled with dread—could it have been a ghost?

And I never saw Second Grandpa at all. Where did Second Grandpa go?

My father's face was dark: "Chunsheng, you really didn't see your Second Grandpa?"

"No." I shook my head.

My mother's face went even whiter, gripping my father's arm: "Do you think Second Grandpa was..."

A bad feeling washed over me.

"Things look bad." My father sighed and pounded his thigh hard: "That thing killed Second Grandpa's whole family. Don't let me encounter it again!"

That thing must be the monster I saw.

Wait, killed Second Grandpa's whole family?

A flash of insight struck me: "Dad, ten years ago, was Uncle Liuzi also killed by that monster?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" My mother pinched my father's waist.

My father caught on and tried to cover: "No such thing. Your Uncle Liuzi went herding sheep back then. There was heavy rain, and he was killed by falling rocks on the mountain."

Even a fool could tell he was lying.

I gritted my teeth and pulled out the short knife from my father's waist, placing it at my own throat:

"Stop lying to me! If you don't tell me, I'll... I'll kill myself!"

My parents panicked and tried to calm me down.

I remained unmoved, pressing the blade: "Will you tell me or not!"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you!" My mother pushed my father: "Chunsheng has cut her neck—it's bleeding!"

My father rubbed his face hard and sighed:

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you."

Chapter 8

"Ten years ago, your mother had just gotten pregnant with you."

"We had bad luck—it was a drought year. The crops in the fields all died, and we had nothing to eat at home."

My father instinctively touched the hunting rifle at his waist: "So your Uncle Liuzi and I went hunting in the mountains, hoping to get some food."

"But with the dry weather, many animals in the mountains had died. We couldn't even see a rabbit."

"We had no choice but to go deep into the old forest to explore."

At this point, my father's face twitched twice, and he said through gritted teeth:

"But who knew this trip would cause such trouble!"

I followed up: "Did you encounter that monster?"

"You could say that." My father's face showed regret: "But what we encountered was a small one."

"That little thing jumped out of the forest. I thought it was a wild rabbit, so I shot it."

"But when I chased after it, I only found the bullet."

"And... a puddle of yellow pus."

I couldn't help but feel nervous: "Then what?"

"The next day, your Uncle Liuzi died." My father exhaled heavily: "He died the same way as Aunt Ma—covered in blood, brain matter scooped out."

The big monster had come for revenge!

My heart and liver were trembling with fear: "Then why did Mom say earlier that it was coming for me?"

"It's all sinful!"

My mother's eyes reddened with tears as she held me tightly.

"The scar on your back was left from that time." My father's expression was complex: "You and Chunni are twins. You were just born a few minutes earlier than her."

"Your mother was giving birth when that monster broke in and pierced through your mother's belly."

"It happened to hit your back, which helped block it for your sister."

I was both scared and curious: "How did we survive?"

"It temporarily changed its mind, wanting to use a more vicious method to get revenge on us." My mother was still shaken, hatred in her voice: "It left."

"It only left one sentence. I didn't understand it then, but I do now."

I instinctively asked: "What did it say?"

"It's all karma..." My mother stroked my face, her palm covered in sticky sweat, her expression pained: "It said... it said..."

My attention was completely captured, and I listened intently.

Just then, someone suddenly pressed on my shoulder. It was a uniformed police officer who asked me gently:

"Little friend, I see you've been standing here alone for a while, talking to yourself. What are you saying?"

Chapter 9

That's ridiculous—my father and mother are right here.

I reached back, but my mother who had been behind me was gone: "My parents..."

The empty feeling spread throughout my body.

As if invisible electric current was running through me, making my whole body tremble uncontrollably:

"How did they... disappear?!"

The police officer saw something was wrong and took me to the police station, speaking gently: "Little friend, tell uncle what your name is?"

I turned around, staring blankly at where they had just been standing.

They were clearly just there—how could they have disappeared?

"Little friend?"

The police officer's voice brought me back to reality: "I... my name is Zhao Chunsheng."

"Where do you live?" The officer nodded approvingly and continued asking: "Who are your parents?"

"I live in Zhao Family Village, Third Group. My father is Zhao Minqiang, my mother is Wu Cuilan."

I rubbed my hands anxiously, suddenly remembering something: "Oh right, I have a sister. Her name is Zhao Chunni, and she was taken by a monster in the mountains!"

"A monster? What kind of wild animal?" the officer asked.

My eyes dimmed: "I don't know."

The officer looked at me twice, then stopped asking questions and started typing on his computer.

Soon, he waved me over and pointed at the computer screen:

"These two are your parents, right?"

There were photos of two people on screen, along with lots of text. I couldn't read most of it, only recognizing things like names.

After looking for a while, I said excitedly:

"Yes! These are photos of my parents when they were young!"

Hearing this, the officer's expression changed slightly, and he said strangely: "They were removed from the registry ten years ago."

"What does 'removed from the registry' mean?" I didn't understand.

The officer explained: "Usually people are only removed from the registry when they die."

"Dead?!" I was thunderstruck and screamed: "That's impossible! I just saw them! You're lying! You're a liar!"

The officer shook his head: "As for your so-called sister Zhao Chunni, there's no record of such a person at all."

"It's fake, all fake!"

My head buzzed as I ran out the door like a madman.

I kept hearing voices in my ears:

"What's wrong with this child?"

"Sigh, so young and already crazy. How pitiful."

"It's really tragic!"

"..."

"Baa—!"

A completely out-of-place sheep's bleat made everyone stop in their tracks.

On the main road, an old goat stood quietly, its vertical rectangular pupils seemingly magical, reflecting countless images.

Wasn't this one of our family's old goats?

How did it get here?

Looking at the images in the old goat's eyes, my pupils slowly dilated. The scene was from the day my sister disappeared.

She fell to the ground, her doll-like cute face full of terror!

Her mouth was moving, as if saying:

"Brother, brother..."

Right, I was a tomboy, not a boy, but I always made my sister call me brother.

But seeing me, why was my sister so frightened?

I stepped forward, wanting to get closer to see more clearly.

The old goat bleated and turned to run away. I chased after it, but it ran faster and faster, the distance growing larger and larger...

"Stop, wait for me! Wait for me—!"

I suddenly opened my eyes. Uncle Liuzi's concerned face gradually came into focus.

Uncle Liuzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed with relief:

"Chunsheng, you're finally awake!"

Chapter 10

"Uncle Liuzi, why are you here?"

My head was spinning and aching terribly.

Uncle Liuzi complained: "I just went to take a leak, and you disappeared. If I hadn't found you at this police station entrance..."

"What if human traffickers had sold you? How would I explain that to the Zhao family?"

Nearby was the same police officer from before. Hearing Uncle Liuzi's words, he nodded slightly: "Children should be careful when alone."

At this moment, my head felt like mush.

"Uncle Liuzi, where are my parents? Did they come?"

Uncle Liuzi's face stiffened, and after a moment he said: "Everything I told you before was a lie. A blind bear broke into the village and went crazy."

"People in the village died or fled. I wanted to take you away, but you refused, saying you had to wait for your parents."

"But your parents died in a mountain accident ten years ago."

"You were also traumatized and mentally unstable, always saying they were still alive."

"I had no choice but to say your parents were waiting for us in town, just to get you here first."

My brain was numb. What was all this?

Earlier my parents said Uncle Liuzi was dead, now Uncle Liuzi was saying my parents were dead... which was true?

I really couldn't tell anymore.

Then two police officers came over seriously: "Let's go. Take us to your village to deal with that beast."

"Alright, officers."

Uncle Liuzi quickly took my hand and got into the police car.

The car drove very fast. At the village entrance, we saw Second Grandpa's bloody corpse, his body torn to pieces.

Uncle Liuzi's eyes reddened as he wrapped up Second Grandpa.

Soon we passed Aunt Ma's house. Her body lay in the center of the courtyard, blood everywhere.

My parents were not far away.

They died horribly, their heads smashed, mixed with white brain matter.

Two police officers searched nearby. Soon there were rapid gunshots from behind my house, and a large blind bear lay on the ground.

Lifeless.

It seemed like everything was over.

But was it really over?

Chapter 11

Something was wrong.

Looking at the scene around me, I felt dazed.

It felt like the sky was falling and the ground was rising, with nearby houses and vegetation all twisting.

My brain seemed to open floodgates, constantly producing things.

Those were memories I had never known before, with no impression of at all.

A warm liquid enveloping me, surrounded by darkness with no sound. Fortunately, I wasn't alone—my sister was with me.

We seemed to be in a round "ball." Mom would occasionally stroke us gently through the surface of the "ball."

She would sing lullabies and tell little stories.

My sister and I were very happy.

Later, Mom gradually stopped singing and telling stories. What she said most often was about being hungry and needing food.

Mom seemed to be eating less and less.

My sister and I were so hungry, constantly absorbing Mom's nutrients. Mom grew weaker and weaker.

Soon, Mom had no more nutrients.

My sister and I were both desperate. My sister asked every day:

"Brother, are we going to die?"

I told her gloomily, "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let you die."

We didn't know how long we could hold on, but we kept persisting.

Until one day, the "ball" that wrapped us broke, and a cold spike pierced through my sister's chest.

No matter how I called to her, she didn't respond.

This spike was long and thin, exactly like the arm of the monster I saw in the fog that day!

It was the one that killed my sister!

At the very end, I desperately tried to save my sister, even turning myself into nutrients for her body to absorb.

But after my sister's body completely absorbed me, she still didn't come back to life.

It's just that I went into her body and became the master of that body.

...

These were my memories from inside Mom's womb.

...

I touched the scar on my back—it was the mark of my coexistence with my sister.

We were deformed conjoined twins. Because of that incident, the current "me" had my sister's body but my own soul and consciousness.

Not far away, Uncle Liuzi was sharing cigarettes with the two police officers, chatting happily.

I ran over and asked Uncle Liuzi: "Have you seen Chunni?"

"Do I even need to ask? Of course I have!"

Uncle Liuzi blew a smoke ring and answered without thinking.

As soon as he spoke, both police officers turned their heads simultaneously, staring at him with eyes full of warning.

Uncle Liuzi's face changed dramatically, instantly turning pale.

I grinned and laughed:

"I understand now."

Chapter 12

Fake, all fake!

I remembered now!

Whether it was my parents from before or Uncle Liuzi now, none of them were real.

They had all died ten years ago in the mountain monster attack. It was Aunt Ma who pulled me from my mother's womb.

By some miracle, I survived.

Aunt Ma was a bitter woman. When she was young, she married a butcher who was electrocuted to death at home not long after.

Aunt Ma became a widow.

Later, Aunt Ma married Zhao Laosan from the village. Zhao Laosan was useless, lazy and gluttonous all day long.

One night he got drunk and fell into the river and drowned.

Aunt Ma became a widow again.

From then on, people in the village said Aunt Ma brought bad luck to husbands. Her two husbands had been cursed to death by her, and she had no good marriage fate.

Men all stayed far away from Aunt Ma, and naturally no one wanted to marry her again.

Aunt Ma herself had no such thoughts anymore.

Although she'd had two husbands, they both died too quickly. Aunt Ma had no children, and being alone was ultimately lonely.

Seeing me crying for milk, she adopted me.

This was my real life!

Crack—!

The scenery around me shattered like broken ice, spreading web-like cracks everywhere before crumbling to pieces.

When I could see clearly again, Uncle Liuzi and the police officers had disappeared.

Outside, it was already dark.

The air reeked of blood. I ran frantically to the courtyard and burst into tears.

Aunt Ma was covered in blood, her body ice cold. Her originally kind face had become shriveled and wrinkled.

Her head had been hollowed out, leaving only a piece of skin with hair.

It was that monster, all because of that monster!

It not only killed my whole family, but now it had killed Aunt Ma too. I had nothing left—everything was destroyed by the monster!

I wanted revenge! Revenge!!

Looking around, I went back into the house and found a hunting rifle in the chest under the bed.

Although I was young and the village hunters never took me hunting in the mountains, every time the hunters came back, I followed them around asking questions and learned quite a bit.

I imitated the hunters, cleaning the gun barrel and loading it with gunpowder and steel pellets.

I was going to fight that monster to the death!

Just as I reached the courtyard gate, the village chief came running over, gasping: "Chun... Chunsheng, I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Village Chief Grandpa, what do you want with me?" I was confused.

The village chief looked me up and down, making "hissing" sounds from inside his body, and pustules began appearing all over him.

"Of course... to eat you!"

Pop, pop pop...

The pustules burst one after another, revealing dense black holes from which slimy snakes kept crawling out!

I screamed and shoved the gun barrel into the village chief's mouth.

I fired.

The huge recoil sent the village chief flying several meters.

As the village chief moved away, my previously blocked view was restored.

Before me was a hellish scene...

Chapter 13

Flames reached the sky, screams arose everywhere.

Villagers ran around in panic while blind bears, jackals, leopard cats, and colorful snakes rampaged through the village.

I stopped a man and asked:

"Uncle Erniu, what's the situation?"

"It's here! Get out of the way!" Uncle Erniu roared, his face full of terror: "The monster from the forest has come down the mountain, and it's called all these beasts!"

I waved the gun in my hand and couldn't help saying:

"Uncle Erniu, don't you hunt all the time? Get your gun and let's fight it!"

"Can you handle so many? Run for your life!"

Uncle Erniu was impatient, too lazy to argue with me, and quickly ran off.

The chaotic screams and beast roars rose and fell.

Should I run? Did I want to run?

No, I couldn't run anymore.

The monster killed my sister, and I couldn't save her. The monster killed my parents, and I could do nothing. Would I still do nothing when the monster killed Aunt Ma?

Why should the monster be able to take everything from me?!

I gripped the hunting rifle tightly, suppressed the fear in my heart, and charged toward the distance.

Using my familiarity with the village, I dodged the wild beasts while searching for the monster.

"Chunsheng, what are you doing here? Come with me quickly." Suddenly my mother's voice came from a nearby alley.

I carefully approached and fired directly!

"Just a female leopard cat. Don't think I'll fall for it just because you imitate my mother's voice!"

The rest of the journey went smoothly. These animals were quite fantastical—most of them could actually talk. One blind bear even claimed to be my father.

Without thinking, I blew its head off with one shot.

After searching around, I finally found the monster's figure at the village earth temple—thin, long limbs stuck in the ground.

Its flat, elongated head like an old winter melon was extremely disgusting.

Its slit-like mouth seemed about to say something, but I wouldn't give it the chance. I opened fire first!

Bang! Bang!

Its body scattered in pieces, and it fell to the ground weakly.

I just found it laughable. The monster everyone feared was so vulnerable. Was it because of ignorance that they were afraid?

"You finally came." The monster spat blood as it spoke.

I sneered: "You killed my whole family. Of course I came for revenge!"

"I killed your family because your father hurt my child and nearly killed it!" the monster hissed: "That's fair!"

"If you had killed me then, there wouldn't be now. Do you regret it?" I asked.

The monster's eyes showed amusement, its mouth stretching almost to its ears:

"Why would I regret it? Not only did I perfectly punish the one who hurt my child, but soon, my child will be reborn."

I had an ominous premonition: "What do you mean?"

The monster stood up, circling me and whispering in my ear:

"Do you think what seems real is necessarily real?"

I felt like I was falling into an ice cave, my head buzzing.

I lost control of my body.

Chapter 14

Dawn gradually broke.

Distant police sirens came from far away.

Police cars stopped at the village entrance, and fully armed officers quickly moved to seal off the entire village.

Help me, save me...

I lay in the bushes not far from the village entrance, but couldn't make a sound.

Control of my body no longer belonged to me. Except for being able to move my eyeballs and hear sounds, I couldn't do anything.

The scar on my back seemed to come alive.

It turned out that ten years ago, the monster had planned everything. When it pierced my mother's belly, it was to let its injured child survive.

It was then that the little monster burrowed into my mother's womb and entered mine and my sister's bodies.

All these years, it had been parasitizing in my body, healing... waiting for the day it would fully recover and be reborn.

I could feel it was about to succeed.

Now, I could only hope the police would discover me.

But clearly there were so many police officers, yet not one saw me. The closest was less than two meters away. I could clearly hear them talking:

"Too tragic. This is the first time I've encountered such a major case."

"Especially the Zhao Minqiang family. Except for his daughter Zhao Chunsheng who's missing, everyone else is dead."

"She's probably in grave danger too."

I'm here, I'm right here!

I screamed frantically in my heart, desperately trying to speak, and finally managed a trembling sound from my throat: "Help..."

The voices of those two officers drifted over:

"Hey, speaking of which, this massacre must be connected to the Zhao Minqiang family."

"That's right. Both husband and wife were killed by hunting rifles."

"Most of the other villagers were killed by wild beasts."

My parents were killed by hunting rifles...

Hearing this, images involuntarily flashed through my mind of the leopard cat and blind bear I had shot... they hadn't fought back at all.

A knife-like fear spread through my heart!

I deflated like a punctured balloon, completely giving up resistance as I watched those two officers gradually walk away.

I had been deceived from the very beginning.

In a daze, I remembered the words the fake mother in the illusion was about to tell me—the words the monster had left for her:

"I will ensure your whole family never finds peace, for all eternity!"

Soon after, my consciousness was completely swallowed.

In my confusion, something dragged me into the depths of the mountains...

Chapter 15 (Epilogue)

Deep in the mountains, at the bottom of a cliff cave.

An old goat dragged a little girl, slowly walking out of the old forest, following a stream to the cave entrance.

The old goat stopped, and a slit appeared on its pale back, opening from inside out.

Sharp limbs emerged from within.

This was a monster with long, thin limbs, a flat, round head, and a terrifyingly wide mouth. It gently lifted the little girl, using its sharp appendages to slice her open.

The girl's skin peeled back, revealing no organs or flesh inside.

Similar long, thin limbs slowly emerged from within—this was a monster larva.

Just like that, one large and one small monster headed toward the depths of the cave, disappearing into the darkness.

As if they had never appeared at all.

Only the goatskin and human skin floating in the rushing, cold stream bore witness to what had occurred...

[THE END]