Sleepy Valley - Chapter 10
Every day while the woman slept, he would place a leech in her ear. The leech would wriggle and quickly disappear from sight. The woman, however, remained fast asleep, seemingly unaware. After suffering from headaches for more than half a month, the woman finally died. He entered the room and saw that she had scratched herself almost to the point of being covered in wounds, her body almost completely mangled.
Later, he opened the woman's brain and saw that the leeches were still stubbornly alive, wriggling happily, their bodies much larger than before.
The joy of creation was almost as captivating to him as the joy of destruction itself.
But whenever a woman died before his eyes, he couldn't help but feel sorrow. This sorrow eventually seeped into his very being. He thought that the continuation of life was an extremely difficult thing, while loss was so easy. Why did so many people choose death?
Death is something that happens to the deceased, and therefore has nothing to do with others. It has nothing to do with him either, and therefore his sorrow carries a deep sense of anxiety.
Just like now, hiding in the darkness of the upper berth of the sleeper car, watching Tang Wan and Tan Dong embracing each other, an uncontrollable sadness spread through his eyes. He thought, she was a rather unusual girl; melancholy was her very essence. How should a melancholy girl choose to die?
Tang Wan stumbled and ran through the alley, the low walls on either side swaying and looming towards her. She kept running, the uneven path causing her to stumble and fall several times. She got up and saw that her knees were bleeding, but she didn't feel any pain.
The alley was too dark, yet a light from somewhere illuminated the path beneath her feet.
She kept running forward, trying to escape the alley. The alley branched off in many directions, and each fork filled her with dread. She didn't know how long the alleys were, or if she could even make it out, and despair filled her heart.
In this alley, there were things that terrified her most, things she had spent her whole life avoiding. This time, she didn't know if she could escape them again.
Those things panted behind her, those sounds seemed to permeate the entire night, and even though she covered her ears tightly as she ran, they still rang clearly and truly in her heart.
She had no choice but to keep running, not daring to stop for even a moment.
Finally, she saw a glimmer of light ahead—a streetlamp hanging from a black wooden telephone pole. The streetlamp emitted a dim light, and countless tiny moths fluttered around the light, giving it a hazy, dreamlike quality.
She ran toward the light, which was her only hope in the darkness.
The black wooden telephone pole stood tall in the middle of the road, and a high wall blocked her way behind it, leaving her in a desperate situation. She collapsed to the ground in despair, while the shadow behind her drew ever closer.
It was truly a shadow, standing behind Tang Wan, its entire body shrouded in darkness. It seemed invisible; any light that shone upon it scattered, leaving behind its own solitary, dark space.
It floated lightly toward Tang Wan, its breath rumbling like thunder.
Tang Wan let out a heart-wrenching scream, using the last of her strength to scream until her throat was raw, a metallic taste filling her mouth, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. The shadow standing before her was now covered in blood, its breathing becoming heavier. It leaned down, the bloodstains almost touching Tang Wan, and then the shadow suddenly spread out, slowly enveloping her. Tang Wan tried to struggle, but her body was limp and powerless. The shadow seemed light and effortless, yet it was like a swamp, drawing you in and making escape impossible.
Tang Wan's scream still lingered, but she had already blended into the shadows.
It was Tan Dong who pulled Tang Wan out in fear.
Tan Dong shook Tang Wan, repeatedly whispering her name in her ear. Tang Wan woke up, her eyes filled with a deep-seated fear. She felt something cool on her lips, and when she reached up to touch them, she found some warm, viscous liquid.
She actually vomited blood in her sleep.
Tan Dong called her name tenderly and held her tightly in his arms. She cried silently, and once she started crying, she couldn't stop, her whole body trembling in Tan Dong's arms.
On the train, Tan Dong kept his eyes open every night, waiting for Tang Wan.
He seemed tireless, yet he looked incredibly haggard the next day. His wide-open eyes in the darkness sometimes revealed a fear even deeper than Tang Wan's.
What is he afraid of?
Chapter 14: Rain in a Small Yi Town
The train arrived in the provincial capital of a province in southwestern China, a province known for its leisurely lifestyle and beautiful women. Qin Ge and her group exited the station and headed straight for the ticket hall. On the train, they had already agreed not to stop in the provincial capital, but to take the next available train to the ethnic minority autonomous prefecture.
The train was at 4 p.m., so we had more than five hours to go. We wandered around the station area for a while and then entered the waiting room at 3:30 p.m.
Tan Dong and Tang Wan sat together as usual, saying little, their eyes darting around. Yang Xing, who had just eaten some grapes, still looked listless, leaning on Xiao Fei's shoulder and closing his eyes to rest. Sha Bo talked with Qin Ge for a while, but seeing that Qin Ge seemed distracted, he stopped and bought a newspaper to read.
The newspaper was full of boring news, and Shabo couldn't concentrate on it after looking at it for a long time. Suddenly, he felt a little dazed.
As usual, the waiting hall had an unpleasant smell. Expressionless passengers were scattered everywhere, while some hurried along carrying large bags. A ragged old woman slowly walked towards them, her body hunched over. She stretched out her thin, dark hands to everyone she met, tossing a few coins into her palms. The old woman's gray hair was piled haphazardly on her head, and her face was deeply lined with grime. She had a slight limp, and when she walked, she always took one step first, then slowly dragged the other foot along.
In every city's waiting room, there are beggars like this. Shabo stared at her, and suddenly the old woman in front of him slowly became blurry. Shabo was startled and instinctively gripped the seat tightly, his eyes fixed on the old woman who had become a double image.
Before the old woman could reach Shabo, a station attendant in a blue uniform shoved her from behind, seemingly saying something. Shabo could no longer hear anything; instead, a series of faint but continuous shrieks suddenly filled his ears. Everything around him began to sway. Several coins fell from the old woman's hand, one of them spinning and rolling to Shabo's feet. Shabo glanced at the coin, and the entire world began to shake.
The dizziness occurred again in the waiting room of the unfamiliar city.
Countless feet walked on the street.
Many buildings rose from the ground in an instant, only to collapse in the next.
The pace of their footsteps quickened, and countless feet overlapped each other.
All the scenery looked like an old black and white film, marked with mottled marks from the passage of time.
The clouds in the sky gathered and dispersed rapidly, changing shapes like a kaleidoscope. Footsteps, buildings, and clouds appeared and disappeared, gradually merging back into one.
The view became increasingly chaotic. Suddenly, a bright light appeared, and after it faded, all was silent again.
The July sky was incredibly tranquil, with countless stars twinkling silently. My gaze moved slowly across the night sky; the stars seemed both still and constantly changing. Vision itself became unreliable here.
An endless starry sky, allowing your gaze to wander freely.
A shooting star suddenly streaked across the sky and disappeared from sight, followed by a sky full of stars that burst into dazzling brilliance like fireworks. After the brilliance faded, they too fell silently like fireworks.
Countless stars fell, stirring up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, a steep cliff was revealed, with a section as smooth as if cut by a knife, upon which stood a pattern as large as a Ferris wheel. The pattern resembled a cross, but was much thicker.
Everything vanished in an instant, leaving only the pattern standing tall.
Shabo opened his eyes and saw a pair of thin, dark hands replace the pattern. The disheveled old woman was now standing in front of him, staring at him intently with a detached, almost meditative gaze, her eyes seemingly hiding a hint of amusement.
Shabo stared intently at the old woman, as if trying to discover something from her.
He didn't move, and neither did the old woman. Several people nearby stared at them curiously.
"Old Sha, are you crazy?" Xiao Fei jumped over and tossed a one-yuan coin into the old woman's palm. The old woman remained expressionless, glared at Xiao Fei, and then arrogantly left.
Shabo's gaze remained fixed on a spot at his feet, the pattern he had seen during his dizziness now clearly reflected in his mind. He thought that the intricate and complex images seemed to serve only to complement this pattern, so the pattern must have some meaning, or some kind of omen.
—What does that pattern actually mean?
—Is it somehow connected to Sleepy Hollow, where Shabo is going?
Suddenly, Sha Bo had a flash of inspiration. He stood up, ignoring Xiao Fei dangling in front of him, and ran straight out of the waiting room. Xiao Fei shouted after him, "Old Sha is crazy! Old Sha is crazy!"
Seeing this, Qin Ge anxiously checked his watch; there were less than twenty minutes left. He distributed the tickets to everyone, telling them to board the train on their own when the time came. He kept only two tickets and followed Sha Bo after him.
Shabo went to an internet cafe across from the station square.
Sitting in front of his computer, Shabo opened his free email account on . Among a pile of spam emails, there was a message from Forget-Me-Not.
When I opened the email, there wasn't a single word inside, but it showed that there was an image attached.
The image consisted of only a few simple black lines, yet it was exactly the same pattern that Shabo had seen while he was in a daze.
Shabo stared blankly at the picture, his mind clouded with immense doubt. He was certain he had glimpsed some kind of premonition, but he couldn't explain it. Perhaps only by reaching Sleeping Valley and seeing the Forget-Me-Not would all his questions be answered. But why hadn't the Forget-Me-Not left any words? And why hadn't she appeared on QQ for over a week?
The last time Shabo checked his emails was two days ago, the day he boarded the train.
Shabo frowned, wondering if this was also a coincidence.
Qin Ge appeared at the entrance of the internet cafe at this moment. When he saw Sha Bo, he rushed over and said, "Hurry up and go back. It's time. The train won't wait for you."
Shabo suddenly realized what was happening and casually closed the email window.
He and Qin Ge rushed back to the waiting room, but there was no one at the ticket gate for the ethnic minority autonomous prefecture they were heading to. The staff were about to lock the ticket gate when they arrived just in time and hurriedly ran over.
The train has stopped at the platform, and the whistle has been sounded.
The ten-hour journey seemed to fly by, especially considering the previous thirty-six hours. Late at night, Qin Ge and his group of six found themselves on the streets of the ethnic minority autonomous prefecture. Sha Bo and the others had assumed that, being an autonomous prefecture, the streets would be filled with people dressed in ethnic costumes, and the buildings would be bamboo or wooden houses. However, the city was no different from any other: wide streets, flashing neon lights, not-too-tall buildings, late-night street stalls, and shirtless men and alluringly dressed women in those stalls. This greatly disappointed Sha Bo and Xiao Fei.
They found a hotel to stay in and decided to take a bus to Sleepy Hollow early the next morning. This time, even Xiaofei had no objections. The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Shabo was the first to wake up, hearing the rushing sound of water. He went to the window and drew back the curtains, only to see a torrential downpour under a gloomy sky, the city shrouded in a curtain of rain.
Everyone sat by the large glass window of the hotel restaurant facing the street, waiting for Qin Ge to return. As the organizer of this self-guided tour group, Qin Ge had taken on the responsibility of handling the group's daily affairs without hesitation. Outside the window was a wide road, with a few pedestrians hurrying along in the rain, and speeding cars splashing water everywhere. Seeing that being stranded in this small town by the rain was a reality, everyone felt somewhat dejected.
Tan Dong and Tang Wan remained largely silent, as usual. Sha Bo, Yang Xing, and Xiao Fei exchanged a few words to keep the atmosphere from becoming too quiet. On the sidewalk in front of the hotel, two women dressed in Yi ethnic clothing walked by, holding floral umbrellas, attracting everyone's attention. The Yi women wore black short-sleeved tops with red trim on the chest, cuffs, and hem, adorned with spiral patterns embroidered in yellow lines. They wore red pleated skirts with horizontal yellow and black circular embellishments. Xiao Fei pressed her face against the glass window, watching the Yi women's backs with a sigh. The Yi clothing was brightly colored, using only red, yellow, and black, creating a vibrant and striking appearance.
Just then, Tang Wan, who was sitting to the side, suddenly let out a soft gasp. Her gaze was fixed on the glass window, as if she had seen something that terrified her. Everyone quickly followed her gaze and, through the clean glass and the rain-soaked sky, they could vaguely see a person standing on the sidewalk across the street, holding an umbrella. The distance made it impossible to make out the person's features, but upon closer inspection, it was immediately apparent that the person was unusually thin, and the black clothing made them appear even more frail.
Before anyone could speak, Tan Dong, who was standing next to Tang Wan, had already stood up and rushed out.
As Tan Dong ran out, his fists were clenched, and a surge of intense power coursed through his body. Although he had never seen the figure standing in the rain, he sensed from Tang Wan's frightened expression that the person was strange, perhaps...
As Tan Dong ran out, his fists were already clenched, and a surge of intense power coursed through his body. Although he had never seen the figure standing in the rain, he could tell from Tang Wan's terrified expression that the person was strange, and perhaps he was the one who had been haunting them all these days.
As he rushed out of the hotel, he looked up and could still see the dark figure across the street.
He rushed straight into the rain.
As he crossed the street, his view was blocked by a truck. By the time he reached the traffic lane, the figure on the other side had vanished. He stopped in the rain, looking left and right. The opposite sidewalk was now deserted, and his vision was exceptionally clear in the rain. The man in black had disappeared in an instant; his movements were as swift as a ghost.
Tan Dong felt as if his punch had missed its mark, the surging power within him finding no outlet. The power surged and raged within him, scorching his body. He suddenly roared to the sky, his face contorted in the roar. Coupled with his current habit of never sleeping at night, and his bloodshot eyes, he appeared even more ferocious.
He turned away dejectedly and slowly crossed the street again, step by step. He walked very slowly, each step seemingly heavy. When cars came speeding by, he didn't even move aside, but merely glanced sideways, staring defiantly at the driver's seat. The drivers, surprisingly, all slowed down to let him pass.
As he entered the hotel lobby, he took a long breath, trying his best to calm himself down.
In front of the restaurant's glass window, everyone was surrounding Tang Wan, asking her who that person was. Tang Wan was filled with fear and couldn't utter a single word. Seeing Tan Dong approaching, Tang Wan quickly stood up to greet him and whispered, "Let's go back to the room." Tan Dong nodded, not even looking at the others, and led Tang Wan away.
Xiao Fei made a face at their retreating backs and snorted through her nostrils to show her displeasure. Yang Xing hung his head and said in a deliberately profound tone, "The real show is yet to come."
Xiao Fei snorted at him again: "Stop talking about others, think about yourself."
Yang Xing was struck by her words, and thinking of his own situation, a pitiful expression returned to his face. Xiao Fei saw this and couldn't bear it, so she went over and sat down next to him, patting his shoulder to comfort him.
Not long after, Qin Ge returned in the rain. Although he was wearing a raincoat, both of his trouser legs were completely soaked.
Qin Ge brought back news that there would be a bus going to Sleepy Valley in an hour.
"Furthermore, I've also inquired, and there are very few buses going to Sleepy Hollow, only two a week," Qin Ge added.
Sha Bo, Yang Xing, and Xiao Fei exchanged glances. They understood what Qin Ge meant; he was asking for their opinions.
You have only one hour to choose whether to leave or stay.
--Walk!
Once Tan Dong and Tang Wan voiced their opinions, they carried an air of absolute authority, leaving no room for argument. Everyone looked at each other, unable to offer any counterarguments.
Everyone went back to their rooms to pack their things.
Tang Wan sat motionless on the bed. After busying himself for a while, Tan Dong placed the travel bag by the door and sat down beside her. Tang Wan looked up at him and suddenly said, "Will you abandon me?"
"I won't." A hint of pain appeared in Tan Dong's eyes. "I never will."
A smile bloomed on Tang Wan's face, but it was extremely sad.
"If you abandon me, you will kill me."
"I'd rather kill myself," Tan Dong said heavily.
Tang Wan leaned contentedly against his chest and murmured, "You know, there are so many people in this world, but I only feel safe when I'm with you. That's why so many demons in this world don't dare to hurt me. So, you are my everything. If one day you get tired and want to abandon me, please kill me first before you leave."
Tan Dong hugged her tightly: "Why do you keep saying things like that? I will never leave you again. We are going to a paradise where no one knows us, and we will live a peaceful and happy life. I also hope that you will be my bride in your wedding dress. I never thought I could have such a beautiful bride as you. How could I leave you?"
Tang Wan smiled happily, but two tear tracks ran down her cheeks: "I'm going to tell you every day, so you won't forget me, and you'll always keep me in your heart."