Fleeing for My Life

"Okay, tell me what you want me to remember," I replied.

My dad suddenly stood up and said, "A Tong, I'm going to bury you alive."

My face turned pale, my lips trembled, and I looked at my dad in disbelief.

"Bury me? Alive? Why?"

My dad grabbed my shoulders with both hands and said emotionally, "I want you to live. Even if everyone in the village dies, I want you to live. You're the only heir in our family, so I'll do everything I can to keep you alive. I've already made arrangements, so don't worry. Just do as I say, trust your dad, okay?"

Looking at my dad's determined eyes, I nodded inexplicably.

Then my dad said, "Listen, that coffin is custom-made. It has two layers. I'll put you in the bottom layer. When you wake up, feel around the top right side of your head. Find a small, protruding wooden block, and then pull it out with all your might. It's a mortise and tenon structure. As soon as you pull out that protruding block, the coffin lid above you will fall off piece by piece. Then, feel around on the soil layer with your hands. If you touch a thin, soft tube, use the tube as a center and dig the soil on both sides inward. The soil there is soft and can be dug. But whatever you do, don't pull the tube. It's for supplying you with oxygen. If you break the tube, you might suffocate inside. Be careful, once you've dug through, crawl out along the hole. Then go home and get the things I prepared for you under your bed. I've already written down how to use them, tucked inside the two books I usually use as desk leg pads. After you get out and get home, look at the slip of paper in the first volume of those two books. Once you've safely escaped, then look at the slip of paper in the second volume. I wrote all of this on my way back today."

After he finished, my dad asked if I remembered.

I nodded and said I remembered.

My dad still seemed a bit worried, so he asked me to repeat what he had just said.

I repeated everything my dad had said, word for word.

Only then did my dad nod approvingly, then he took out a small bottle from his pocket. It contained some reddish-brown substance. He handed it to me and told me to drink it.

I steeled myself and took the bottle, drinking it all in one gulp. My dad wouldn't harm me, I thought.

After drinking it, my head felt fuzzy, and my eyelids became incredibly heavy. It was like staying up for days and nights at an internet cafe; I could fall asleep anywhere. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I suddenly remembered, I'm running away, but what about my dad? What will happen to him?

"Dad, what about you?"

"Don't worry, I'll find you when the time comes," my dad replied.

Before I could even reply to my dad, I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long passed. I woke up groggily, feeling like it was hard to breathe and very stuffy. Sweat dripped from my forehead into my eyes. I wanted to open my eyes to see, but some of the sweat flowed into my eyes, causing a sharp stinging pain. The pain made me much more awake. I remembered what my dad had told me before I fell asleep, that he was going to bury me. I panicked, kicking and screaming, but after a while, I realized it was useless. Moreover, I felt like it was even harder to breathe than before. The oxygen might have run out. I need to stay calm, I must stay calm, I thought. After a while, I relaxed and slowly recalled what my dad had told me: "Small wooden block." Yes, the small wooden block. I immediately reached for the top right side of my head. After feeling around for a few moments, I found a small, protruding block. I gripped it with my hand and pulled hard, but nothing happened? I was stunned, then tried a few more times, still no movement. I thought maybe I wasn't strong enough because the block was too small, and I couldn't get a good grip with both hands. I gripped the small block with my left hand and then grabbed my left hand with my right. I pulled with all my might. I heard a "creak," and the small wooden block came out.

I tried pushing the coffin lid above my head, and sure enough, the coffin lids on my level started falling off one by one.

I took a deep breath and immediately felt my breathing improve significantly.

My heart filled with joy as I fumbled around on the dirt layer, finding a thin, soft tube. Then, with great difficulty, I managed to roll over.

Like a groundhog, I started digging away the dirt on both sides of the tube. I dug like this for about ten minutes.

The stuffy environment, the smell of mud mixed with sweat, that feeling was truly not pleasant at all.

Suddenly, my hand felt empty.

"Did it go through?" I asked myself in my mind.

I reached my hand out to test it. It had indeed gone through. Without a word, I started climbing out of the hole.

Because the hole was quite small, I placed my hands on both sides of the opening and kicked my feet back and forth to propel myself.

After climbing for a few minutes like this, I reached a place with a large open space.

My feet touched the ground, and I immediately felt much more grounded. I looked around.

The light wasn't good, and my vision was a bit blurry, but I could vaguely make out that this might be a tomb chamber.

Besides a few rotten wooden planks on the ground, there was nothing else.

I looked up again and found a hole diagonally above me.

Vines had grown around the opening, and moonlight sprinkled down through them.

I also saw something shiny directly below the hole.

I walked over and picked it up. It was a package wrapped in oiled paper.

Like the ordinary paper used back then, coated with a layer of oil. It had some waterproofing, but not for long.

I tore it open and found a flashlight inside. I pressed the switch, but nothing happened.

After tapping it, it lit up. It was an old-fashioned aluminum flashlight that used two batteries.

There were also several large, flat, baked flatbreads and a water pouch.

Without a second thought, I stuffed them into my mouth, then opened the water pouch and gulped down more than half of it.

Full and hydrated, I lay on the ground like a puddle of mud.

I didn't know what time it was. My father's words resurfaced in my mind.

"Time."

Right, time. I quickly got up and felt around my body.

I didn't realize it until I touched them, but all ten of my fingers were burning with pain.

I shone the flashlight on them and immediately exclaimed in my heart.

My fingernails were all split, with blood mixed with dirt caked on them.

Perhaps I was too tense at the time, just wanting to get out quickly, so I didn't feel the pain.

I gasped, my hands trembling as I felt around my body.

I found a digital watch and saw it was 2:30 AM.

I roughly calculated that from waking up to finding the small cube, digging, and then climbing out and eating, it had taken about half an hour. That meant I had less than half an hour left.

At that moment, I hurriedly climbed towards the hole. A gust of cold wind hit me, and I shivered.

Then I oriented myself and realized this was a small hillside next to the graveyard behind the village.

I rushed home. As I passed through the graveyard, I noticed there were holes in all the graves.

There were also holes on the ground, densely packed, making my scalp tingle. I didn't dare to stop and ran like a madman.

I ran all the way to the village entrance, my legs shaking, my breathing like a broken bellows.

I leaned against the old locust tree at the village entrance, panting heavily.

Then I started walking home. As I walked, I felt something was very wrong.

It was pitch black everywhere, and it was too quiet. There wasn't a sound.

This was the countryside. Even if everyone was asleep, there should have been some dog barks.

But there were none. Not even the usual chirping of crickets.

I looked around as I walked. What I saw almost scared my soul out of me.

"Blood, blood everywhere." On the doors, on the steps, on the walls, on the road.

My face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down my face.

I lowered my head and ran home. When I got home, I found it in disarray.

I quickly ran back to my room and bent down to look. Sure enough, there was a bag, bulging with things inside.

I quickly unzipped it and flipped through the first volume of the two books I used to prop up the table legs.

A slip of paper slid down, and I picked it up, shining my flashlight on it to read the contents.

It read: "A Tong, by the time you see this message, something terrible must have happened in the village.

Don't be afraid, I've made arrangements. Just do as I say, and remember the following instructions well. Don't forget them.

Pack your bag and head south out of the village. You'll see a patch of wasteland.

Go straight through it, and then walk a few more miles. You'll find a bamboo forest.

Walk deep into the bamboo forest, and you'll see a small wooden house with a light.

Go inside and tell them I sent you to find them. They'll tell you everything you want to know.

Make sure to keep the two books in your bag safe. Read the second volume only when you're safe outside.

There isn't much time, so here's how to use some of the things in the bag.

You must remember this firmly. Don't forget.

On your way out, no matter who calls you, no matter what you see, do not look back.

No matter what it says, don't listen, don't acknowledge it, and don't stop. Just keep walking forward.

There's a Taoist robe in the bag. If you suddenly feel extremely cold on your way out, put it on.

If you suddenly feel extremely heavy, grab a handful of soybeans from the bag and shout, 'Divine Soldier, hurry as per order!'

Then, throw the soybeans behind you, but don't look back."

I suddenly remembered that I had a pot of soybeans in the side room of my house.

They were in a bronze basin, and my dad would burn incense there almost every day when he was home.

When I was little, I asked my dad why he kept the beans like that.

My dad mysteriously said, "These are good things, treasures."

The incense ash couldn't be swept away, so it was always dusty. Over time, I stopped paying attention to it.

Finally, the paper read:

"In a hidden pocket of the bag, there's a folded paper horse. Keep it in your hand or in your pocket.

If you really can't run anymore, take out the paper horse and shout:

'Red Hare in hand, a thousand mile journey, as if walking on flat ground, hurry as per order.'

After shouting, throw it towards your feet. Then, no matter what happens, don't be surprised. Just keep walking forward."

I looked in the hidden pocket of the bag and saw a folded paper horse, just as described.

The paper was covered in a dark red color. I put it in my pocket.

Then, I closed my eyes and recalled the contents of the paper.

Feeling like I had memorized everything, I tidied up and prepared to leave.

As I stepped out of the house, I looked closely and saw that a thick layer of fog had enveloped the village without me noticing, as if it were about to swallow the entire place.

Perhaps I was too engrossed in reading earlier and didn't notice. My heart pounded, I swallowed, and a chill ran down my spine.

I strode towards the village entrance. As I reached Uncle Liu's house, I heard a voice, "A Tong, where are you going so late?"

I knew it was Uncle Liu's voice, but wasn't he looking for Qianqian? How could he be here?

I thought about turning back to take a look. As my body began to turn...

My heart skipped a beat. I remembered my dad's words to me.

I immediately stopped my movement and ran towards the village entrance without saying a word.

As I ran, I heard many voices whispering in my ears, saying all sorts of jumbled things.

Waves of strange laughter came, "A Tong, take me with you..."

Then came an angry voice, "Why should you be able to leave? Why..."

Another voice, shifting and indistinct, came from all directions:

"None of you can leave. The sins of the past must be paid for in blood."

In that scene, it felt as if the surrounding air was filled with invisible pressure. These voices, some low, some high, some sharp and piercing, were like murmurs from the abyss, carrying a bone-chilling cold that pushed my already fragile nerves to the brink of collapse.

I dared not stop any longer, my pace quickening, my mind racing to escape this hellhole.

I ran all the way to the village entrance, leaning against the large tree at the edge of the village, panting heavily.

I thought, "I'm out now, it should be fine," so I turned my head to take a look.

I saw the entire village shrouded in a thick fog, with familiar faces appearing and disappearing within.

Uncle Liu, with half his face missing, his remaining rotten half seemed to be smiling at me.

Grandpa Zhang, with his white intestines dragging on the ground.

Grandma Huang, only with her upper body, struggling to crawl towards me on the ground.

Uncle Liao, his head twisted 360 degrees, eyes staring at me...

All sorts of gazes and expressions flickered in and out of existence within the dense fog.

They were all people I knew well from the village. I let out a cry, "Ah~," and bolted, my voice cracking with tears.

I made this foolish mistake. If only I hadn't looked back, I wouldn't have known anything.

If I didn't know, I wouldn't be so scared. I wished I could slap myself twice.

And so, I ran on, sobbing, and soon put a good distance between myself and the village.

Sensing the quiet surroundings, I slowed my pace and looked around.

The moment I did, my heart sank halfway. I had run in the wrong direction...

This was heading north. A little further and I'd reach the elementary school I used to attend.

My mind was a mess, and I didn't know what to do next. There was only one small path here. To take a detour, I'd have to go past the school and into the mountains.

Those woods were full of animal traps set by nearby villagers.

Or deadly things like snares, set to catch rabbits or pheasants.

When I was little, I even heard there were leopards in there. With the little bit of flesh on my body, running alone into the deep mountains and old forests would be like offering myself up on a platter, wouldn't it?

But if I went back the way I came, I'd have to pass the village entrance again. Thinking of the scene that just unfolded in the village made my heart pound with anxiety.

"What do I do? What do I do?" I was spinning in circles, frantic.

I originally thought I'd just run straight out, no matter where, just get out first.

But after so many things had happened, I didn't dare disobey my father's last words to me.

At that moment, I gritted my teeth and thought, damn it, I'll risk it. There's still so much left.

I refuse to believe that I, Li Yutong, would fall here today. Since I'm at my wit's end anyway, I might as well go all out.