“Did you hear? The Zhang family’s daughter-in-law was run over and killed while fighting for a stall!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It wasn’t the Zhang family’s daughter-in-law fighting for a stall. That stall was originally theirs, and they had already paid the fees in advance.”

“But it’s true that she was run over and killed. The scene still makes me tremble when I think about it…”

“Alas, what kind of misfortune has befallen their family? Old Zhang’s leg was already bad, and his old mother is blind. The whole family was relying on his daughter-in-law’s tofu stall to eat. Now it’s all over!”

“Why haven’t we seen Xiao Song go to school these past two days? My little girl even said that Zhang Xiaosong’s grades are so good, it’s a pity if he doesn’t study.”

The Zhang family had grievances and had nowhere to turn.

This topic instantly caused a great uproar in Wulipu.

After arguing, the neighbors suddenly realized that the Zhang family hadn’t been seen for a few days.

Where exactly did they go?

When Sui Han woke up, he smelled a pungent odor: the stench of rotting corpses, the foulness of dirt clods. Only a faint halo of light filtered down in this small, poorly ventilated space.

His body seemed to have shrunk a lot. He reached out a hand; in the dim light, it was a hand only a child should have.

The small hand should have been delicate and smooth, but his hands were covered in blisters, with irregular red patches attached to them, ugly beyond compare, and the surrounding skin rougher.

These hands had been exposed to wind and sun for years and had done countless chores.

“Xiao Song, are you thirsty? Grandma has water here. Come over here and have a drink to quench your thirst.”

The weak older woman gasped for breath as she waved her hand laboriously to call her grandson. Sui Han frowned but didn’t go over.

Because he smelled the bloody scent in the air, deep and heavy, almost suffocating.

Wulipu was located in the city center of Shanhai City. Before it was developed, its name was Wulipu. Dense forests surrounded Wulipu, and on the east side was an old railway line.

From time to time, green trains roared past, clattering and disturbing people’s sleep.

The Zhang family was a native of Wulipu.

They had lived on this land for generations. Although their lives were not rich, they were considered peaceful. Zhang’s wife was very hardworking. Old Zhang married her from the surrounding countryside when he was almost forty.

Zhang’s wife knew how to make tofu, and the whole family relied on her stall in Wulipu for a living.

Sui Han didn’t know why he was in Zhang Xiaosong’s body. He was curiously looking around when Zhang Xiaosong spoke.

The childish voice pierced through the small space, carrying a stubborn strength, but that strength was somewhat weak. “Grandma, I’m not thirsty. When Liang Dahu comes later, I’ll go negotiate with him!”

Saying he wasn’t thirsty was a lie.

Because Sui Han could fully sense that Zhang Xiaosong’s lips were chapped, with several cracks, he wished he could bite his wrist and drink some blood.

Grandma was a blind older woman. She groped to hide the small knife behind her and said tremblingly, “Forget it, we can’t get out…”

Sui Han closed his eyes slightly.

He found that although he couldn’t control Zhang Xiaosong, he could read the memories in his mind.

Is this called—

　　Empathy?

There was a family in Wulipu that no one dared to offend, the Liang family. The Liang family’s son, Liang Dahu, was a bully who harassed men and women and spent his days swaggering around with his gang.

He had a group of thugs under him who roamed the village all day long.

As the saying goes, he would “kick a widow’s door and dig up the grave of a family with no descendants.” He did everything immoral, seemingly taking pleasure in bullying others.

Zhang’s wife wasn’t good-looking, not some tofu beauty, so Liang Dahu naturally had no interest in her.

Liang Dahu’s cousin wasn’t good at studying and had long wanted to do something. One time, when he went to the Wulipu market to buy vegetables, he took a fancy to Zhang’s wife’s tofu stall and told his cousin about it.

The two discussed it, and Liang Dahu went to Zhang’s wife and told her to pack up and get out!

But Zhang’s wife was tough. She said she wouldn’t give it up even if she died. She rented the stall, and the Zhang family depended on it for a living. Giving up the stall would be like smashing their rice bowl.

She went home and told Old Zhang about it, but Old Zhang was weak and incompetent and didn’t want his wife to confront them head-on.

Because his leg was bad, years ago, he went to the mountains to chop firewood and fell down the hillside in the rain, breaking his leg. Now he was half a cripple and could only weave bamboo baskets at home to sell.

Three days after she told him about this, Zhang’s wife was thrown back to her doorstep by a group of people.

Wulipu was full of rows of small bungalows, each with a cellar in front of the door and a yard where they could raise some chickens and ducks.

The people were thrown over in the middle of the night, and no one heard anything.

When Zhang Xiaosong got up the next morning to go to school, he pushed open the door and saw his mother lying in a pool of blood, her body already stiff. Later, he learned that day in the Wulipu market, Liang Dahu, because his mother refused to give up the stall, directly rode his motorcycle and ran her over.

Zhang’s wife was killed on the spot.

It was in the afternoon, and there weren’t many people shopping in Wulipu, only those selling vegetables. But how could the vegetable sellers dare to offend Liang Dahu? So none of them dared to speak up.

A bucket of clear water was poured on the tofu stall, and the cold water washed away the pool of blood on the millstone.

Zhang’s wife’s body was carried away, and no one dared to ask where it was taken.

Zhang Xiaosong and his family discussed going to the police. He refused to bury his mother hastily and insisted on seeking justice.

Old Zhang, leaning on his crutches, and his blind old mother, supporting him, with Zhang Xiaosong leading the way, the family groped their way to the Wulipu police station before dark.

However, they didn’t even get through the door before Liang Dahu and his men intercepted them and beat them up.

It would be ridiculous to say that the police station heard nothing. They heard it, but they didn’t dare to interfere.

The main reason Liang Dahu dared to be so arrogant was that he had someone above him.

The last police chief who wanted to bring Liang Dahu to justice had already been transferred to another city.

Old Zhang was already leaning on crutches, and he couldn’t take a beating at all. He struggled to protect his mother but couldn’t protect the young Zhang Xiaosong. The whole family was severely beaten. Finally, they crawled for several hours before crawling back to their doorstep.

Their first attempt to call the police failed. They rested for two days, and as soon as they could move, they immediately went to the police station again.

In those days, there were no mobile phones.

Rich people used pagers; if low-income families wanted to make a phone call, they could only go to the nearby convenience store. It cost two mao for each call, and they charged even if it didn’t go through. If the call went through, they charged more depending on the length of the call.

They didn’t have money, and the convenience store dared not lend them the phone. Who wasn’t afraid of being retaliated against by Liang Dahu?

But this time, their luck wasn’t so good.

Liang Dahu seemed afraid that the Zhang family would make a big deal out of it. He found a group of his men and threw the whole family into the cellar in front of his house. The basement was covered, leaving only a small crack for them to breathe.

Because someone had given Liang Dahu an idea.

If someone found out, he could claim that they had accidentally fallen in, but if he blocked the cellar, he would become a murderer.

Liang Dahu had already run over and killed Zhang’s wife, and he didn’t want to send the whole family to see the King of Hell. He left a crack so they wouldn’t suffocate, but he wouldn’t give them water or food. If they starved or died of thirst, it wouldn’t be his fault.

Sui Han felt a chill after reading Zhang Xiaosong’s memories.

He wasn’t too moved because he was naturally indifferent, but he empathized with Zhang Xiaosong’s resentment and also felt some emotions.

After staying in the small space for a long time, he finally adapted to the dim light.

Sui Han could finally see the situation in the cellar.

Not far away was Zhang’s wife’s body, which had already rotted beyond recognition. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hot now, and the stench of the corpse wasn’t so noticeable. Otherwise, they would have suffocated to death.

But the scene was indeed terrifying.

At least he could feel that Zhang Xiaosong’s hatred was deep-seated, and his pain was also deep-seated.

And next to Zhang’s wife’s body, a man was leaning crookedly. He looked under fifty years old, with a stubbly beard and tattered clothes. One of his feet was twisted strangely, and the abnormal angle indicated something was wrong with his leg and foot.

This was Zhang Xiaosong’s father.

In the corner on the right, there was an older woman curled up, her wrist bleeding profusely. It seemed that she had secretly hidden a knife and had just called Zhang Xiaosong to drink water.

There was no water, but there was blood.

Sui Han observed them, and a faint emotion flowed in his calm eyes.

He could already understand that the “mask” attached to Xu Songyan’s face was inextricably linked to what had happened to this family.

So, who was Liang Dahu?

The daytime conversation was only a short segment. Zhang Xiaosong remained silent; occasionally, the cracks in his throat scraped painfully, and the pain and itching forced him to cough a few times.

From the scorching sunlight to the gentle moonlight, from golden to pale, Zhang Xiaosong stared at the night sky through the small crack, dazed.

Before long, there was a sound at the door.

Liang Dahu, reeking of alcohol, staggered closer, his face flushed. He saw Zhang Xiaosong’s eyes through the crack.

He had kicked the small crack.

“Little bastard, dare to glare at me like that? Do you believe I’ll drag you out right now and give you to my watchdog as dog food?” Liang Dahu swayed and squatted down, supporting himself with one hand on the ground. “Damn it, if that person hadn’t told me that killing you would be easy… would I still be wasting my time here?”

The “person” he was talking about was the Taoist priest in the North Mountain Temple in Wulipu.

The old Taoist advised him not to kill too much, otherwise he would easily suffer a backlash, especially with a whole family like this. The resentment and anger were deep and would be challenging to deal with later.

That old Taoist wasn’t proper either. What good could someone who hung out with Liang Dahu be?

“Let us out.”

Zhang Xiaosong croaked out a sound.

Liang Dahu’s kick had shaken up a lot of dirt. The soil fell layer by layer, and some went directly into the child’s eyes.

Even Sui Han felt uncomfortable, but Zhang Xiaosong didn’t even blink.

The child’s eyes immediately turned red, blood-red. Forced tears streamed down his face, one by one.

And when Liang Dahu saw him like this, he didn’t show any pity. Instead, he laughed triumphantly. “Want to get out? Sure, but you have to learn a lesson before you get out.”

Liang Dahu hated Zhang Xiaosong’s gaze.

It was gloomy, cold, and eerily different from ordinary people.

He stood up, the alcohol still not dissipated, and quickly unzipped his pants. “Aren’t you thirsty? Come on, open your mouth. How about I quench your thirst, eh?”

Liang Dahu didn’t aim well, and a lot of urine landed on the edge of the small crack. The yellow liquid flowed down the sloping crack in streams.

Dropping on Zhang Xiaosong’s head and face.

The disgusting smell immediately filled the small space. Even the dying Old Zhang was anxious to crawl towards his son. “Xiao Song… dodge… dodge… cough cough cough!”

The old father deeply felt his uselessness at this moment. His fingers were digging into the ground, and dark red blood mixed with black dirt, drawing long bloodstains on the ground.

Again and again, extremely deep.

Old Zhang struggled for a long time but couldn’t crawl to where his son was standing.

Watching his son being humiliated by Liang Dahu, he whimpered and cursed in a low voice, “Beast, you’re a beast…”

The grandmother on the right didn’t know what was happening, but she smelled the foul odor. The older woman groped and crawled over to pull at Xiao Song’s feet, but she didn’t have any strength at all.

Despair and anger came together, and a sadness of being unable to resist arose spontaneously. “Don’t bully my grandson… I beg you, don’t bully him!!”

Two pale voices rang out one after another. Sui Han unconsciously clenched his hands. His fingers were cold, and his heart felt cool.

Liang Dahu re-fastened his belt and squatted down again.

And Zhang Xiaosong, from beginning to end, didn’t move at all. He just quietly looked at Liang Dahu and said numbly, slowly, “Let us… out.”

Liang Dahu chuckled. “Want to get out of here?”

Zhang Xiaosong suddenly moved when he heard this, because he saw the sinister look in Liang Dahu’s eyes, a look of looking at a dead man, high above, treating human life like grass.

The little boy’s heart turned completely cold.

Because he knew that they might never get out…

“Unless you die.”

Want to get out of here, unless you die.

Zhang Xiaosong silently closed his eyes, his last strength drained away, and he fell directly into the cold cellar.

After an unknown amount of time, Old Zhang was the first to be unable to hold on. Old Zhang’s leg injury from many years ago suddenly relapsed, and the torn wound became infected, quickly developing a high fever.

Zhang Xiaosong could only sit quietly beside his father, holding his hand and silently accompanying him.

Minute by minute, day after day.

He couldn’t do anything until Old Zhang took his last breath.

And the blind grandmother didn’t know that her son had already left. She used all her strength to cut open a wound on her wrist again and forced the blood into her grandson’s mouth.

“Hold on as long as you can.”

The older woman stroked Zhang Xiaosong’s messy hair, her old voice low and slow. “Grandma is afraid she can’t stay with you any longer. Let Dad continue to stay with you, okay?”

Zhang Xiaosong held Old Zhang’s cold and stiff hand, feeling the last trace of life slowly disappear, and gently said “mm”.

The older woman sighed. “It’s good that Dad can stay with you for a few more days. Xiao Song still has someone to accompany him… Then Grandma… can rest assured…”

The older woman’s hand on her grandson’s head fell heavily to the ground.

Her heart stopped quietly at that moment, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

Want to get out of here, unless you die.

Liang Dahu’s words echoed in Zhang Xiaosong’s ears, like a string of curses. Zhang Xiaosong was calm, and Sui Han quietly stayed in his body.

One night, Sui Han suddenly opened his eyes.

Because he sensed what Zhang Xiaosong would do, Zhang Xiaosong raised his hand, and Sui Han raised his hand like a puppet.

It was no longer possible to distinguish clearly who was controlling whom.

Sui Han felt forced to put his hand into Old Zhang’s pocket. An old-fashioned lighter in the pocket, a roller type, didn’t seem to work very well. The body of the lighter was plastic, a mediocre red.

Just like Old Zhang’s family, they were so mediocre in Wulipu.

Zhang Xiaosong stood up. It seemed that because he had been sitting for too long, his knees were pierced with pain every time he bent them.

Sui Han felt that since he woke up, he had been constantly suffering from body to heart, like enduring some harsh torture.

Zhang Xiaosong laboriously grabbed Grandma’s leg and dragged her to his parents’ side.

Even though Zhang’s wife’s face had rotted entirely and maggots were crawling everywhere, he still seemed unable to see them. He raised his hand and touched her face, uttering a relatively complete sentence.

Zhang Xiaosong muttered, “Mom, we’ll be able to get out soon. Are you happy?”

After everyone was pulled together, Zhang Xiaosong took off his coat and some firewood from the corner of the cellar.

Every household in Wulipu burned firewood, and the cellar still stored some firewood. The little boy placed the firewood around them one by one, neatly encircling his family, and then he silently sat down between his parents.

“We’ll be able to get out soon, soon.”

Zhang Xiaosong woodenly lit the firewood and his coat. The flammable materials were placed together, and a fire quickly started.

Smoke kept pouring out of the small ventilation crack, the smoke gradually turning from white to black, and the thick black mist rushed straight into the sky, as if carrying deep resentment and depression.

Sui Han’s whole body immediately felt on fire, and the smoke constantly choked his mouth, nose, and facial features.

He suddenly took a step and broke free from Zhang Xiaosong’s body. The boy looked back at the burning family, his brows furrowed, his pupils widened, with suddenness.

For some reason, clusters of black blood suddenly emerged from the burning corpses, flowing out of their eyes, mouths, and ears.

Slowly, they converged into a thick wall of blood.

Within the blood wall, crazy roars were mixed.

And on the surface of the thick blood wall, various expressions of pain, wailing, or crazy laughter were constantly changing.

The blood wall rose and fell, twisting into a gelatinous substance, and the color became darker and darker.

Sui Han stood in place, staring at the “mask” formed by the family’s resentment, and finally understood the origin of this thing.

It was hatred.

It was also towering anger.

Those gelatinous substances seemed to separate and merge, and sharp blades and cracks grew around them. Like a multi-legged monster, they climbed out along the cellar’s walls. They were powerful, and every time they dug into the wall, they could peel off a pile of soil.

“Whirr—”

The cellar was torn apart, and the gelatinous substance pushed the top cover open, growing wildly like bamboo shoots after rain.

“Ah, ah!!”