Chapter 30: It Was All True After All

"So, it was true after all..."

Qiu Yiyao muttered to herself, her body trembling uncontrollably from terror. A crushing weight pressed against her chest, leaving her gasping for air. She pulled a medicine bottle from the drawer and emptied the remaining pills onto the table. Watching the round little tablets roll away, she pressed a hand to her chest, leaned back in her chair, and squeezed her eyes shut. Yet, those bloody, visceral scenes surfaced in her mind again and again, catching her off guard.

"What is going on? Where on earth am I?"

She slammed her head against the table, her brow furrowed, her face as pale as parchment. When she had touched that wet, soggy plum in the kitchen, everything had seemed to find an answer, yet at the same time, it had become even more inscrutable. But of one thing she was certain: Qiu Shengming was hiding something from her—or rather, that person was not her father at all, but a stranger who looked exactly like him. And this strange town was certainly not Yue-Li Town.

From the moment they—that group of survivors—had fainted in the tunnel, a vast, terrifying web had been spun over their heads. The two people who had committed suicide in succession, the chestnut-haired woman, and the man who had driven recklessly and killed someone—they were all caught in this web. Only in this light did the phrase "we are being watched" make any sense. And it also explained why she would suddenly faint or fall into an inexplicable sleep after her "episodes."

The mere thought of these horrifying conjectures brought cold sweat to her forehead. The first time she saw Grandma Wang hiding in the chicken coop eating a chicken, a woman died the next day. The second time she saw Grandma Wang and the white-haired old man eating a person in the coop, a man died the next day, and the crime scene was right nearby. Was this really just a coincidence? Thinking back to the moment Grandma Wang’s face had suddenly distorted during their first encounter, everything clicked into place. Who were they? Why did they engage in such terrifying, grotesque behavior? Qiu Yiyao felt as if her mind could no longer cope.

Outside the door, Qiu Shengming pressed his ear against the wood, listening intently to the activity inside. Hearing no sound, he knocked tentatively. "Yiyao? Come out for dinner." His voice was as loving and gentle as ever, yet it stirred complex emotions within her. She did not respond; instead, she pulled open the drawer and withdrew a fruit knife. She had bought it after arriving in Yue-Li Town because she loved fruit and couldn't find a suitable one, so she had gone out to the street to pick one up. She unsheathed it, the blade flashing with a cold, sharp glint. Qiu Yiyao stared at the knife, then glanced toward the door. After much hesitation, she put it back.

***

Seeing no response, Qiu Shengming felt a prickle of suspicion. Just as he was about to call out again, the door opened. Qiu Yiyao stood in the doorway, struggling to suppress her emotions, and said in the most normal tone she could muster, "I’m not hungry. You all go ahead and eat."

"How can you do that? Xiao Bai said you didn't eat much at noon either. You'll collapse if you keep this up."

"It's fine. I won't starve to death."

Just as Qiu Yiyao was about to close the door, Bai Peiyu strolled in from the front entrance and walked straight toward the father and daughter. "You won't starve to death, that's true, but I'm afraid the parts that are supposed to grow will just get even smaller. Don't go blaming Uncle Qiu for not feeding you when that happens."

"You..." Hearing Bai Peiyu’s sarcastic, mocking tone, Qiu Yiyao felt a fire ignite in her chest. "Mr. Bai, is it impossible for you to go a single day without picking on me?"

"Rest assured, my comfort doesn't currently depend on you."

"You... I’m going to rip your mouth open."

Qiu Yiyao stepped out, fuming, but caught sight of Qiu Shengming and froze, obediently retreating back into the room.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You talk a big game, but you’re quite the coward," Bai Peiyu sneered. "Next time, don't keep saying things you can't actually do; it just makes people laugh at you." He walked forward a few steps, sat at the dining table, and looked at the dishes with a sigh. "The food is quite lavish today. Is it some special occasion?"

In the center of the table was a large bowl of fish soup, its milky white broth and emerald-green scallions enough to whet anyone’s appetite. The rest of the table was packed with a wide variety of meat and vegetable dishes.

"No," Qiu Shengming said, smiling at Qiu Yiyao. "Yiyao hasn't had much of an appetite lately, and her little face has grown thin, so I’m just trying to help her regain her strength."

Hearing this, Qiu Yiyao felt a bitter pang in her heart. She wanted to tell herself that the Qiu Shengming before her was indeed her most beloved father. Looking back on every moment since she arrived in Yue-Li Town, his care and affection didn't seem feigned. But the thought of that wet, soggy plum filled her with hatred. If this were truly her father, he would never have deceived her with a plum soaked in the rain. If this were truly her father, he would always stand by her side, rather than conspiring with others to trick her into believing she was mentally ill. On those terrifying, eerie nights, when she had screamed and cried in fear, where had he been? Why hadn't he come to comfort her?

Thinking of this, Qiu Yiyao said coldly, "No need. I'm on a diet." She slammed the door shut and walked slowly to her bed to lie down. Now that she knew this town was problematic, she had to overcome her inner fear and find the road out of town so she could reunite with her real father.

***

Night deepened. Qiu Yiyao changed into dark, long-sleeved clothing and put on her backpack, which contained some dry rations, water, and the fruit knife. She tiptoed to the front door, gave it a gentle push, and it creaked open. Qiu Yiyao pricked up her ears, listening nervously for any movement upstairs. Hearing no footsteps, she let out a sigh of relief.

On the street, streetlights stood every few dozen meters, casting a dim, quiet glow on the ground. It lacked the hustle and bustle of a big city, possessing instead the unique, eerie silence of a small town. Qiu Yiyao tightened her grip on her backpack and pressed forward. She had once searched for a map of Yue-Li Town; as long as she followed the river, she would reach a patch of woods in about half an hour. Passing through those woods would lead to an abandoned tunnel, which was the way out of town.

The path was difficult, however, and she had heard Qiu Shengming mention stories about that abandoned tunnel before. It was said that trains used to pass through it, but after an accident, the route was changed. Qiu Shengming hadn't specified what kind of accident. But Qiu Yiyao believed that if someone was indeed watching her, even a flat, open road would be riddled with traps. Yet, to return to the real Yue-Li Town, she had to take the risk.

Passing through an intersection, Qiu Yiyao stopped to get her bearings. Suddenly, a strange bird call echoed from above. She couldn't help but look up, and in the moonlight, she caught a glimpse of a black object flying swiftly overhead. When she lowered her head and looked ahead again, she saw a dark, human-like figure moving slowly in the distance.

Its pace was agonizingly slow—slower than that of an eighty or ninety-year-old person. She couldn't tell if the figure was naturally short or just hunched over, but it only reached about as high as her waist. As it passed beneath a streetlamp, the dim light illuminated it from head to toe. Qiu Yiyao gasped. The figure was barely a meter tall, with thick, long hair that completely covered its face and trailed all the way to the ground.

Qiu Yiyao didn't know where it was headed, but her intuition told her that if she didn't get out of the way, something terrible would happen. She instinctively turned and ran in the other direction, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the street. After running through an intersection, breathless, she looked up and saw, under a streetlight not far ahead, that same figure slowly walking toward her.

Qiu Yiyao’s heart sank: had she circled back to where she started?