AEDBE CHAPTER 1
T/N:
yooo besties, Siofra here! 💅✨ welcome to the official drop of Chapter 1! we are officially cooking up this unhinged masterpiece, so grab your snacks, get cozy, and let's dive headfirst into this dark historical mess. let’s get it! 🩸🖤
CHAPTER 1: A Eunuch’s Dream of Being Emperor by Li Ximin
All the love and hatred in this mortal world, Will eventually be buried by the passage of time;
Every ugly soul, alongside human justice, Will eventually scatter away with the wind...
The nightmare began on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu.
The people of Tang Town lived in stark poverty, only daring to scrape together enough money to buy a scrap of meat from the street and whip up something special when holidays and festivals rolled around. The Mid-Autumn Festival was a major celebration, and Tang Town was overflowing with life. The streets were packed with people coming and going, everyone wearing broad smiles. The holiday spirit in Tang Town was peaceful and joyous; on a day like this, nobody wanted to cross paths or start trouble with anyone else. A crowd-pleasing, deeply satisfying piece of news swept through the festive atmosphere like a gust of wind: tonight, a grand opera troupe—personally hired by the master of the newly completed Li estate in Xinglong Lane, Eunuch Li—would set up their stage on the empty dirt clearing right outside the massive gates, and they had arrived in Tang Town bright and early that morning. The townsfolk couldn't even remember the last time they had laid eyes on a proper theatrical performance. This news acted like an injection of pure opium straight into the nervous system of the common folk, sending even the stray dogs running wild through the alleys in a frenzy of excitement.
Yet, a boy with delicate, clean-featured looks remained completely indifferent to the big opera performance. He sat on a low wooden stool right outside his front door, apathetically watching the endless stream of pedestrians shuffling down the narrow street. The loud clamor and soft murmurs of the passersby seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with him. A dark, scrawny kid stepped out from the neighboring house and spotted him instantly.
The dark-faced kid called out to him, "Dongzi, we're all going out to watch the opera tonight. You coming?"
Dongzi didn't even dignify him with a response.
The boy gave him a bizarre, scrutinizing look and asked, "Dongzi, are you having one of your spells again?"
Suddenly, Dongzi snapped, his voice sharp and loud, "Abao, stop bugging me!"
Abao shook his head. "I swear, you've definitely lost it."
Dongzi fell silent, continuing to ignore Abao entirely.
With a helpless sigh, Abao turned and walked away.
Rich, savory aromas of various home-cooked dishes drifted out from the houses of Tang Town, shamelessly teasing the saliva right out of people's taste buds. It was precisely these smells that were driving Dongzi up the wall, torturing him half to death. Over and over again, Dongzi swallowed hard as thick, mouth-watering slabs of braised pork flashed violently before his eyes. Dongzi was twelve years old this year. Ever since spring bled into autumn, he had felt like he could never quite get full. His stomach always felt hollow, letting out a steady stream of low, hollow gurgles. He privately suspected that he had grown tapeworms in his belly, but he didn't dare confess it to his parents. If he did, they would haul him over to Mr. Zheng's place to pick up some deworming medicine. Abao had once grown worms in his gut; he’d taken Mr. Zheng's concoction and ended up shitting out a massive clump of parasites. Those sickly pink worms were utterly repulsive. He didn't want to crap out any worms himself, and he sure as hell didn't want to swallow Mr. Zheng's foul medicine—Abao had sworn up and down that the stuff tasted horribly bitter, leaving a grotesque, lingering taste in your mouth for days afterward. Dongzi despised bitter things. He figured that even if his belly was crawling with a million worms, he’d rather die than touch Mr. Zheng's medicine.
Dongzi knew there was good food waiting for him at home tonight, so he hadn't eaten a single bite all day, even though he was starving to the point of near-fainting. He simply sat on the low stool by the threshold, waiting for suppertime to arrive. Several times, his elder sister, Li Hongtang, stepped out of the house to call him inside to help with some chores, but he remained utterly immovable. Li Hongtang could do nothing with her stubborn younger brother; she couldn't hit him, and scolding was useless. With a sigh, she retreated back inside to help their mother, You Sisi, frantically prep the Mid-Autumn feast. Meanwhile, Dongzi's father, Li Cilin, had cleared out bright and early that morning, and nobody in the house had the faintest clue where he had wandered off to.
Dongzi had never wasted time worrying that his father might run into trouble, and today was no exception. He knew that when suppertime rolled around, the old man would roll back home no matter what. Deep down, he held a quiet craving—he wanted his father to hurry back, because the moment the old man stepped through that door, dinner could finally start. Otherwise, their big, brawny, rough-edged father would throw a terrifying fit if he was kept waiting.
As dusk settled over the town, Dongzi's father still hadn't returned. Instead, the skies opened up and a steady rain began to pour.
Rain on a holiday like this was nothing short of irritating. If the downpour didn't let up, it would inevitably ruin the townsfolk's plans to watch the opera, and put a damper on moon-gazing, too. The morning had been bright and blazing with sunshine, but by afternoon the skies had choked over with heavy clouds. Not a soul had anticipated that the rain would actually break loose right at twilight. Unlike the rest of the townsfolk who made a huge fuss over sudden weather changes, Dongzi wasn't bothered by the rain itself. What baffled him was why his father still hadn't come home. As stray droplets of rain drifted onto his face, he felt a faint chill accompanied by an itchy sensation, as though a colony of tiny ants was crawling across his skin.
Dongzi took a deep, shuddering breath. He caught a distinct whiff of the food cooking on his family's dining table, and his entire body gave a violent tremor. The glorious moment of stuffing his face was finally almost here. Yet a knot of anxiety tightened in his chest—why wasn't his father back yet? If the old man didn't show up, none of them dared to touch a single dish first. Abruptly, Dongzi stood up and walked toward the narrow street. Li Hongtang hurried out after him, calling out, "Dongzi! It's almost time to eat, where on earth are you going?"
Without even looking back over his shoulder, Dongzi tossed out a flat reply: "I'm going to look for Dad."
Li Hongtang chased him down, catching hold of his arm. "Get back inside right now! Dad knows his own way home, he doesn't need you looking for him. The rain's getting heavier by the minute, look at your hair, it's soaked through! Get inside!"
Reluctantly, Dongzi let himself be hauled back into the house by his sister. Li Hongtang grabbed a cloth rag to dry her brother's dripping head, then wiped down her own hair, muttering under her breath, "Honestly, where on earth has Dad wandered off to? Why isn't he home yet?"
Dongzi's gaze stayed glued like glue to the dining table, the plate of glistening, oily braised pork making his mouth water uncontrollably. He felt a desperate urge to lunge forward, sink his fingers into the fatty red meat, and shove it straight down his throat.
Carrying a freshly stir-fried plate of green vegetables out from the kitchen, You Sisi grumbled with deep annoyance, "That man is truly bizarre. Normally he comes scurrying home early, barking like a dog for his food, but on a major holiday he's nowhere to be found. What kind of ghost has gotten into him?"
Li Hongtang said, "Mum, it's a major holiday, why are you talking about ghosts? That's so inauspicious."
You Sisi retorted with a sour expression, "The whole family is sitting here waiting for him alone, how can someone be so heartless? Look at Dongzi, he's practically starving to death!"
Firecrackers popped and sputtered across Tang Town in an endless chain through the rain, and Dongzi's heart trembled: Why isn't Dad home yet? Tang Town had a local custom: before digging into the New Year's eve feast or the holiday night banquet, everyone had to set off firecrackers. Everyone else's firecrackers had already finished exploding, leaving only Dongzi's house standing in cold, desolate silence. The three of them sat around the dining table, staring at each other with wide eyes, anxiously waiting for Li Cilin.
The rain kept falling, showing no sign of stopping.
Tang Town's festive holiday atmosphere was beaten to shreds by the driving rain. Even so, plenty of people still donned their bamboo rain hats, threw on palm-fiber rain capes, or hoisted paper umbrellas and headed over to the front of the grand Li estate to watch the opera. The stage had been erected right beside the open dirt clearing just outside the main gates of the Li mansion. A canvas canopy was rigged up over the stage, keeping the actors safe from the rain. The performance slated for that night was The Legend of the White Snake.
The opera officially kicked off with a flurry of gongs and drums. The moment the White Lady struck her opening pose on stage, a tidal wave of cheers erupted from the crowd. Those shouts pierced through the dense curtain of rain, echoing through a sky as pitch-black as the bottom of a cooking pot.
Li Cilin still hadn't returned home.
Dongzi was starving to the point of fainting, seeing stars dance before his eyes. Li Hongtang could hear the distant cheers followed by the melodious, trilling singing of the opera actors. Her heart had already flown off to the performance site, but she didn't dare leave. She hadn't even eaten her dinner yet, and this was supposed to be the festive Mid-Autumn reunion meal. Her father's prolonged absence cast a heavy shadow over her heart, giving her an eerie premonition that something was about to happen. Seeing that her younger brother was on the verge of collapsing, Li Hongtang hurriedly pleaded with her mother, "Mum, let Dongzi eat a little something first to line his stomach. If this keeps up, Dongzi's going to starve to death."
You Sisi actually felt a pang of heartache for her son too, but traditions couldn't just be broken like this. She gritted her teeth and said, "Let's wait a little longer."
Li Hongtang was speechless.
Right at that moment, a gaunt, skin-and-bones man burst through the front door, wearing a rain hat and carrying a cloth sack in his hand. It was Li Saogu, a paternal clan brother of Li Cilin. He walked straight into the main hall, dropped the cloth sack onto the dining table, and told You Sisi with a completely deadpan expression, "Sister-in-law, Big Brother Cilin asked me to bring these mooncakes over for you lot." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out. Just as he reached the doorway, as if remembering something else, he whipped his head back and threw out a parting remark: "Y'all better hurry up and eat. Big Brother Cilin isn't coming back to eat with you!"
You Sisi bolted from her chair, chased out the door, and watched as he vanished into the rainy night. She wanted to demand where her husband was and what on earth he was up to, but before the words could leave her lips, Li Saogu had completely disappeared, running faster than the wind. A wave of profound desolation welled up inside You Sisi. With the back of her hand—rough as pine bark—she wiped her damp eyes, choked back a sob, and called out to her children inside the house: "Get the firecrackers out and light them! Once they're done, we're eating!"
Li Hongtang nudged her younger brother with her elbow: "Dongzi, time to set off the firecrackers!"
Listlessly, Dongzi muttered, "You go do it."
Sighing, Li Hongtang picked up the string of firecrackers and walked outside.
She lit the fuse right by their front doorstep.
The firecrackers snapped and crackled into life, their sound thin, monotonous, and mournful. It struggled hopelessly against the drumming roar of the rain and the trilling melodies of the opera, swallowing them into the night darkness just as quickly—much like those blade-of-grass lives in those gray years, swallowed up entirely by the dark.
Li Hongtang bolted down her meal and hurried out of the house, her heart hopelessly hooked by the sounds of the opera. You Sisi ate at a slow, deliberate pace; she always chewed her food meticulously, and as she masticated each bite, she seemed to be chewing over the words Li Saogu had left behind, too. Why wouldn't her husband come home to eat the Mid-Autumn reunion dinner? What kind of shady business was he up to? And whatever he was doing, what kind of fallout would it bring down on him and this family?
Dongzi's hunger had peaked and crashed past the point of pain. After choking down two pieces of braised pork, he completely lost his appetite—something even he hadn't expected. His sister had asked if he wanted to go watch the opera, but he just shook his head. His mood had suddenly soured into absolute trash. Forget watching an opera; even if someone handed him another piece of that normally mouth-watering braised pork, he wouldn't have cared the slightest bit. Ignoring his mother entirely, he stumbled up the narrow wooden steps to the small loft all by himself, collapsed onto his bed, and squeezed his tired eyes shut. The indoor air was heavy and damp from the rain, and countless microscopic, dust-like beads of moisture drifted down onto his face, feeling faintly cool and slick.
Outside the window, the rain had finally stopped. Water continued to drip in a steady rhythm from the eaves. The opera singing drifted through the air, sounding impossibly distant and unreachable. He couldn't wrap his head around why Eunuch Li had decided to pay an opera troupe to come perform for the folks of Tang Town. Dongzi's mind was a complete blank—peaceful and tranquil, a stark contrast to the wild, hyperactive boy he usually was. All day long, he hadn't gone out to play with Abao; he had dragged his way through his long-awaited Mid-Autumn Festival in a lonely, melancholy daze.
He didn't know how long he had been lying there before a chaotic clatter of footsteps and noisy chatter drifted up from the narrow street. The opera had let out. People were making their way back home, lingeringly discussing the brilliance of the script and the stunning looks of the performers. Some were singing praises of Eunuch Li, calling him a charitable soul—without him, how desolate and boring this Mid-Autumn night would have been.
The townsfolk of Tang Town all knew that Eunuch Li was an imperial eunuch straight from the palace in Beijing, though nobody quite understood why, nearing seventy years of age, he had decided to return to his hometown loaded down with chests of gold, silver, and treasures. He had bought up over a dozen properties in Xinglong Lane at exorbitant prices, flattened them all, and erected a massive estate in their place. When Eunuch Li had first rolled back into Tang Town, the locals hadn't looked upon him favorably at all; they would shoot him bizarre side-eyes and point fingers behind his back. Whenever the local men gathered together to gossip about Eunuch Li, their faces would twist with undisguised contempt as they spat out vicious, mocking rumors. The women did the exact same thing when they huddled together, breaking into loud, uninhibited fits of laughter... For quite a long time, Eunuch Li genuinely served as the punchline of Tang Town's after-dinner conversations. But they never dared utter a word of it to his face—after all, Eunuch Li had spent time in the imperial capital, seen the grand sweep of the world, and carried an undeniable aura of intimidation. Ever since this grand opera performance, however, public perception of Eunuch Li had shifted. In truth, people's views of him had been slowly morphing ever since he started construction on his grand estate. Among the dozen old properties he bought up in Xinglong Lane, there was one stubborn holdout that gave him endless trouble. The owner of that house stubbornly refused to sell, claiming it was ancestral property passed down through generations that could never, ever be parted with. Eunuch Li sent several influential local bigwigs to lobby the stubborn owner, but it was completely useless. Eventually, Eunuch Li put out word: as long as the homeowner was willing to sell, he would agree to any condition they named. Still, the man remained entirely unmoved. All the surrounding houses were torn down, leaving that single old residence standing alone amidst a vast wasteland of ruins—a sore thumb that looked deeply jarring. Plenty of folks around town muttered among themselves: Why couldn't the guy just squeeze a bit more silver out of Eunuch Li, take the cash, and build a brand-new house somewhere else? How could someone be so blockheaded and fail to see the big picture? Then, on a night when the wind was howling fiercely, that old house suddenly caught fire. The blaze roared out of control in the gale, impossible to put out. Two members of the family burned to death inside, and the survivors were left paralyzed with absolute terror, packing up and fleeing Tang Town for distant parts shortly afterward. Everyone in town knew that Eunuch Li had slipped a substantial sum of money to the surviving family members before they left—rumor had it they looked quite satisfied when they cleared out. People sighed, remarking that if the owner had just sold the house to Eunuch Li sooner, this catastrophe could have been avoided; perhaps it was simply Heaven's will.
The narrow street grew quiet once more.
After coming home and washing her feet, Li Hongtang climbed up to the small loft. Even though she moved with absolute care, the old stairs and floorboards still groaned and squeaked under her weight. The house was far too old, resembling an aging, wind-scoured senior on the brink of collapse. Dongzi heard his sister climbing up but stayed silent, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. There were two beds up in the loft: one belonged to Li Hongtang, the other to Dongzi. Dongzi's bed sat right next to the window, while Li Hongtang's stood closer to the stairwell.
Once she reached the top, Li Hongtang called out softly, "Dongzi? Dongzi—"
Dongzi didn't answer his sister.
Muttering to herself, Li Hongtang whispered, "Sound asleep, huh? What a shame Dongzi didn't go see the opera. It was such a good show."
Quietly, she stripped off her outer layer of clothing, climbed into bed, and slipped beneath the covers.
She drifted off hoping she would experience a sweet, lovely dream—perhaps even bumping into a handsome, scholar-like gentleman reminiscent of Xu Xian in her sleep.
Dongzi sank into a heavy, dead sleep. Every other night before nodding off, he would always chat with his sister for a little while, but tonight, not a single word passed between them.
The nightmare did indeed begin on the night of this Mid-Autumn Festival.
The people of Tang Town could never have anticipated that by the dead of night, the dark clouds would retreat, leaving a full moon hanging high in the sky. Tang Town was terrifyingly quiet, the sound of rainwater dripping and leaking from the eaves growing so clear and forceful that it struck like heavy stones against the hearts of those who could not sleep. A ghastly, pale moonlight smeared across Tang Town, lending the dilapidated settlement an extra layer of chilling mystery and bizarreness. If someone were to set out a basin of water beneath the moonlight at this hour and press their face close to the wooden surface, what they would see reflected back would not be their own face, but the face of a complete stranger. Such was the legend of Tang Town—would anyone truly dare to do such a thing once the moon had risen?
Dongzi felt sticky all over. He snapped his eyes open to find his body wrapped in a deep, crimson red glow. To his shock, he was stark naked, stripped completely bare. He had no earthly idea when his clothes had been stripped off him. A thick, suffocating reek of fresh blood filled Dongzi's nose. He forced himself to stand up and looked down at his own body, which was smeared head-to-toe in dark red blood plasma. Whose blood was this? Before he had a single second to process his thoughts, he heard an irresistible call—a voice that was razor-sharp and bone-chillingly cold. Vaguely, Dongzi sensed that it was a human voice calling out to him, yet he couldn't for the life of him remember whose voice it was. Dragging himself through a stretch of absolute darkness, he arrived at the banks of Tang Creek just outside the town. Tang Creek was shrouded in a bloody crimson light, its waters churning with violent, towering waves. The calling continued, seeming to echo straight out from the churning depths of the creek. Dongzi trembled violently, gripped by stark terror. The roaring, turbulent floodwaters terrified him, and that sharp, icy voice terrified him just as much. What terrified Dongzi even more was that the creek water, which had been a muddy yellow just moments before, abruptly turned blood-red. The entire width of Tang Creek roared with a torrent of surging blood, and out from the crimson water stretched countless blood-mangled hands, letting out sharp, freezing shrieks! Dongzi tried to run, but his body refused to turn. He was shoved forward by a pair of invisible, giant hands, stumbling headfirst toward the creek. One hand rising from the water seized his ankle, and another hand grabbed his other foot. He screamed soundlessly as powerful hands dragged him down into the ice-cold, bone-freezing blood-water. He sank and rose, struggling desperately within the river of blood...
With a gasp and drenched in cold sweat, Dongzi bolted upright from his bed. He had just survived a living nightmare.
Outside the window, absolute deathly silence reigned.
Wisps of moonlight leaked through the cracks in the window shutters like hazy mist.
His elder sister, Li Hongtang, was deep in slumber, letting out faint, soft snores. A peculiar, orchid-like fragrance seemed to drift out right along with her breathing. Terrified, Dongzi scrambled out of bed; he wanted to crawl straight beneath his sister's covers, hoping her warmth might chase away the lingering terror in his heart.
Right at that moment, he heard the faint sound of footsteps.
The tiny, stealthy footsteps were coming from the gravel lane outside the window.
Who on earth was walking down the alley at this hour? Paralyzed with fear yet driven by a fierce, burning curiosity, Dongzi crept over to the window, gently pushed it open, and looked out. He was greeted by a ghastly, pale moonlight that felt so blindingly harsh it stung his eyes with a sharp, throbbing pain.
His gaze fell upon the narrow street, and this was the horrifying scene that met his eyes: a few ghostly, masked figures were stealthily carrying a long, bundled-up object toward the western edge of the town. The object was tightly wrapped in straw mats from end to end. Dongzi couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was, but a single, terrifying word flashed instantly through his mind: A corpse! Was there a human being wrapped inside those mats? If so, who was it? Among the masked figures, Dongzi suddenly noticed a man whose build looked strikingly like his own father, Li Cilin. As the group passed directly beneath his window, a sickening wave of fresh blood wafted up, and Dongzi caught sight of a wisp of black fog suddenly leaking out from the long, wrapped bundle. That black mist lunged straight at him through the moonlight, carrying a crushing, overwhelming pressure that smashed him flat onto the floor.
It felt as though invisible hands were violently choking the life out of his throat. He couldn't draw a single breath, his hands clawing frantically at empty air while his legs thrashed wildly. A gurgling, strangled rattle tore from his windpipe. By the time he stopped thrashing, the figures on the alleyway had vanished without a trace, leaving the world outside the window dead silent once more.
Startled awake by the commotion, Li Hongtang heard her younger brother's desperate struggle and leaped out of bed. "Dongzi! What's wrong? What's wrong with you? Don't scare me like this, Dongzi!" Moonlight poured through the wide-open window, casting a deathly pale hue across Dongzi's face. Hearing his sister's voice instantly relaxed his rigid muscles. Li Hongtang pulled him up into a sitting position, and Dongzi threw himself straight into her arms, wrapping his hands tightly around her soft shoulders. Tears streamed down his face as he trembled, "Big Sister, I'm scared—"
Li Hongtang hugged her brother tight, her voice flooded with tender affection. "Little Brother, don't be scared. Big Sister is right here, you don't have to be afraid of anything!"
Dongzi broke down, sobbing aloud.
By the first pale streaks of dawn, Li Cilin finally came home. The moment he stepped through the front door, he slammed it shut with all his might, pressing his back flat against the wooden panels as he sucked in ragged, heavy gasps of air. Sweat drenched his head and face, and his clothes were soaked through. In his bloodshot eyes flickered a wild, terrifying mix of panic and furious rage. You Sisi, who had rushed forward to unlatch the door for him, didn't even have time to launch into her complaints before she anxiously asked, "Cilin, what on earth happened?"
With frantic movements, Li Cilin stripped the clothes and trousers right off his body, flinging them one by one onto You Sisi until he was left standing in nothing more than a pair of loose underdrawers. Stunned for a moment by the garments piling up at her feet, You Sisi bent down, scooped up his clothes, and clutched them to her chest. A rich, heavy reek of fresh blood emanated from the fabric. A deep, sinking premonition of disaster gripped You Sisi; her hands began to tremble violently as she stammered, "Cilin, what on earth has happened? Tell me, please, I'm worried sick! If anything happens to you, who is going to hold this family together?"
Li Cilin's chest, matted with thick chest hair, heaved violently.
Abruptly, he let out a low, feral roar like a vicious leopard directed at You Sisi: "Useless bitch, why aren't you washing my clothes yet? Stop flapping your damn gums! I'm not dead yet—even if the sky falls down, I'm here to hold it up! What the hell are you wasting your time worrying about?"
A profound sense of grievance welled up in You Sisi. "Am I not even allowed to ask a single question? I'm your wife! Is it wrong for me to worry about you? Why are you biting the hand that cares?"
With fury blazing in his eyes, Li Cilin lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow, grabbed You Sisi by the hair with unhinged force, and swung his other hand back to rain vicious, merciless slaps across her face. This was something You Sisi could never have anticipated in a million years—how could he brutally beat his own wife without rhyme or reason? Grief, rage, and heartbreak flooded her chest. The blows sent stars dancing before her eyes, spinning her head in a dizzy blur. Even so, her arms refused to loosen their tight grip on the bloody clothes Li Cilin had discarded. You Sisi let out a miserable, agonizing wail: "Li Cilin, you might as well just beat me to death! Once I'm dead, you'll finally have meat to eat, you heartless bastard!" Gritting his teeth, Li Cilin snarled, "Rotten bitch, still daring to talk back? I'll beat you to death today!" Another flurry of savage slaps landed across You Sisi's face. Within moments, her face swelled up like a steamed rice cake, and a trail of fresh blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, dripping straight down onto Li Cilin's clothes.
Up in the loft, Li Hongtang was jolted awake by the commotion echoing from downstairs. She hurriedly shook her younger brother, who was fast asleep beside her: "Dongzi, wake up!" Having been tortured by nightmares all night long, Dongzi had finally found a shred of safety and fallen into a deep, stable sleep under his sister's comforting embrace. Annoyed at being dragged back to consciousness, he grumbled impatiently, "Big Sister, what are you doing? Are you ever going to let people sleep?"
Anxiously, Li Hongtang whispered, "It sounds like Dad is beating Mum again. I heard it just a second ago, why is it quiet now?"
The moment Dongzi heard that his father was hitting his mother, he snapped completely awake. Pricking up his ears to listen closely, he lowered his voice and said, "Big Sister, Mum is crying."
Puzzled, Li Hongtang said, "How come I didn't hear it?"
Dongzi whispered back, "My ears are sharper!"
Li Hongtang urged, "Little Brother, let's go downstairs and check it out."
"Okay!" Dongzi agreed.
They scrambled out of bed and headed down the stairs. Li Hongtang descended the wooden steps with extreme care, whispering a reminder to her brother not to miss a step and tumble down. Dongzi didn't say a word, following right behind his sister while keeping a tight grip on the hem of her shirt. Once they reached the ground floor, they heard a heavy, ox-like snoring suddenly erupting from their parents' bedroom. Both of them knew instantly that it was the snoring of their father, Li Cilin. Li Hongtang often thought to herself that when she got married in the future, she would make damn sure never to marry a man who snored. Her heart ached for her mother; how on earth had her mother endured her father's thunderous snoring all these years, to say nothing of his violent temper and heavy fists? Hearing her father's snoring sent a sharp spasm through Dongzi's chest. Naturally and uncontrollably, his mind flashed back to the scene he had witnessed through the cracked window: Was his father one of those ghostly, masked figures? He couldn't say for certain, but that single chilling scene left his heart pounding with dread. What on earth were those people carrying? Why did they do it? Where had they dragged that long, mat-wrapped bundle? Dongzi had no clue. It was a massive, impenetrable mystery, thick as an autumn fog. He didn't dare share this with his sister—it was a secret locked deep within his heart. When exactly his father had come home was a mystery to him, and why he had so brutally beaten their mother remained an equally baffling puzzle.
The realization that their father had indeed brutally beaten their mother hit the siblings hard as they stepped toward the patio. You Sisi sat on a low wooden stool by the courtyard edge, her hands furiously scrubbing Li Cilin's soiled garments inside the washbasin while tears streamed uncontrollably across her bruised and swollen face. Spotting her children standing beside her, she abruptly choked back her sobs. With her hair disheveled and her voice choked with grief, she muttered, "Why are you two up so early? It isn't even light yet. Hurry back to bed!"
You Sisi's miserable appearance pierced deeply into the tender hearts of the brother and sister. Tears welled up in their own eyes as they crouched down on either side of their mother, resting their heads against her arms. Li Hongtang reached out to gently stroke her mother's face, asking with a heart-wrenching ache, "Mum, does it hurt?" Dongzi couldn't force a single word past his lips; instead, his hand gripped tightly onto his mother's clothes, terrified that she might suddenly vanish and never return. He vividly remembered how, after past beatings from their father, his mother had broken down and declared she didn't want to live anymore and wished to die. Those words had burned themselves permanently into his memory.
With a bitter, forced smile, You Sisi murmured, "Children, Mum isn't hurting. Really, it doesn't hurt at all!"
Her words cut through the siblings' hearts like a sharp blade.
They could not find a single adequate phrase to comfort their mother.
Their hearts, mirroring hers, bled in the deep darkness right before the dawn.
The nightmare had truly begun on the night of this Mid-Autumn Festival.
Was this Dongzi's personal nightmare alone? Was it the nightmare of Dongzi's entire family? Or was it the collective nightmare of all Tang Town? Did this Mid-Autumn night and the impending dawn foreshadow some unimaginable, catastrophic fate waiting to befall the remote, tranquil settlement of Tang Town?
--
Comments
Post a Comment