Chapter 95: Time After The Joint Burial.
Beneath the family portrait, a simple wooden memorial tablet stood quietly on the altar. Thin streams of incense smoke curled upward, disappearing into the darkness.
Shen Yu stared at it, his brows knitting together.
This... should be after the joint burial.
What happened after Yun Han was buried alive?
He stepped toward the main hall.
Then—
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The earth in the courtyard suddenly trembled.
Shen Yu froze.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the freshly filled burial pit.
Cracks spread across the soaked ground.
Mud... was moving.
The next second—
BOOM!
A pair of blood-soaked hands burst through the earth.
"...I... can’t die..."
A weak, hoarse voice drifted out from underground.
"I can’t die..."
"Dad..."
"Mom..."
"Dad..."
"Mom is still waiting..."
"...waiting for me to come home..."
Shen Yu’s pupils contracted.
The soil exploded apart.
A crimson coffin slowly forced its way upward from beneath the earth, its lid creaking open as if something inside refused to stay buried.
A small figure struggled out.
It was Yun Han.
Her face was deathly pale.
Rain mixed with sweat and tears, running down her cheeks.
Her fingers were torn to ribbons, every nail cracked and bleeding from clawing through the soil.
Yet even now...
She still held a bundle of paper cranes tightly against her chest.
As if they were the only thing left in her world.
"I can’t die..."
"I have to go home..."
"Mom said..."
"If I fold one thousand paper cranes..."
"...my wish will come true..."
She stumbled forward.
"I was wrong..."
"I won’t run around anymore..."
"Please..."
"Take me home..."
The little girl cried as she ran.
The heavy rain hammered the earth.
She slipped into the mud.
Fell.
Climbed back up.
Ran again.
Again.
Again.
No matter how many times she fell...
She refused to stop.
Shen Yu’s chest tightened painfully.
He knew.
He knew this was history.
He knew he couldn’t change what had already happened.
But...
How could he simply stand there?
How could he watch a little girl who only wanted to return to her parents be dragged back into hell?
His fingers tightened around the rattle drum.
Then—
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
The clear sound echoed through the rainy night.
Shen Yu followed behind her, shaking the rattle as he ran.
"Run..."
"Keep running..."
"Your parents are waiting for you."
"They’ve always been waiting."
Perhaps she heard him.
Perhaps she only heard the rattle.
Yun Han suddenly turned around.
Through the endless curtain of rain...
She vaguely saw a blurry figure following behind her.
The sound of the rattle echoed again.
Dong.
Dong.
For some reason...
The fear in her eyes lessened.
She bit her lip.
Then gathered every ounce of strength left in her tiny body and sprinted toward the village entrance.
Lightning split the heavens.
The stone monument at the village gate finally appeared before her.
Hezong Village.
Just a little farther...
Just one more step...
If she could escape...
She could go home.
She could see her mother again.
She could see her father again.
Hope returned to her exhausted eyes.
She hugged the paper cranes tighter.
Then—
Two figures silently stepped out from behind the stone monument.
Each carried a black umbrella.
Each held a heavy iron shovel.
Their expressions were emotionless.
Cold.
Like executioners waiting for prey.
The instant Shen Yu saw them...
His heart skipped a beat.
He recognized them immediately.
These were the same gatekeepers he had encountered before.
Only now...
He finally understood their true role.
They weren’t merely guarding the village.
They were guarding time itself.
One of the men clicked his tongue.
"So..."
"The villagers were right."
"A group of outsiders really has entered recently."
"We haven’t caught the outsiders yet..."
"But we did catch a runaway bride."
He slowly rested the shovel across his shoulder.
"So."
"Are you going back to Old Master’s house by yourself?"
"Or should we carry you back?"
Yun Han instinctively stepped backward.
The bundle of paper cranes slipped from her trembling hands.
They scattered across the muddy ground.
"No..."
Her lips quivered.
"Please..."
"Please let me go..."
"I want to go home..."
"My mom..."
"My dad..."
"They can’t find me..."
"They must be crying..."
The shovel slammed heavily into the mud.
One of the men sneered.
"I don’t know whether your parents are crying."
"But if you run away..."
"Our whole village will suffer."
"So..."
"Get back."
Yun Han lowered her head.
Silently.
Tears mixed with rainwater.
She glanced once toward the darkness beyond the village.
Freedom...
It was only a few steps away.
Then she slowly bent down...
Picked up the soaked paper cranes one by one...
Holding them against her chest as though they were priceless treasures.
Her fingers bled onto the wet paper.
In a tiny, trembling voice, she whispered,
"Mom said..."
"If I fold one thousand paper cranes..."
"My wish will come true..."
"I just..."
"I just want to go home..."
"I just want to stay with Mom and Dad..."
"...Is that okay?"
"...Paper cranes..."
For one brief moment...
The entire world became silent.
Then—
She ran.
Without hesitation.
Straight toward the village entrance.
"Damn brat!"
One of the men roared.
He swung the shovel with all his strength.
CLANG!
The heavy iron blade smashed into the back of Yun Han’s head.
Time seemed to freeze.
Her body staggered.
The hope shining inside her eyes...
Shattered.
She collapsed face-first into the rain-soaked mud.
The paper cranes scattered everywhere.
Some floated away in the rushing rainwater.
Others were stained crimson by the blood flowing from the back of her head.
One of the men walked over expressionlessly.
"You’re nothing but a burial offering."
He grabbed her by the back of the neck.
Then dragged her lifeless body back toward the village.
Splash...
Splash...
Splash...
A long trail of blood stretched behind her across the muddy road.
Like a scar carved into the earth.
Like the endless grief of two parents who would spend the rest of their lives searching for the daughter who never came home.
Standing beneath the rain, Shen Yu clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms.
For the first time since entering this nightmare...
He felt genuine helplessness.
Not because he lacked strength.
But because...
Some tragedies had already happened.
And all he could do...
Was witness them.