A Strange Reversal

At the breakfast table, Jiang Ying ate the breakfast Jiang Yue had bought.

At first, she kept a stern face, making it clear she was unhappy that Jiang Yue had stayed out all night.

But after Jiang Yue finished explaining, astonishment took over her young, delicate face.

There was simply too much information in what Jiang Yue had told her. So much that she almost thought she was listening to a supernatural tale.

Twenty-one years of life experience weren't nearly enough to process such an enormous amount of information.

Aside from the secret of Spirit Intelligence, Jiang Yue told her everything he could.

Including everything that had happened back home the day before yesterday, on Qingming Festival.

He started with their mother appearing in his dream.

Their birth mother appearing in his dream, the picture frame falling, Flowery Skirt Woman's Shadow, Spirit Money catching fire, Tangtou searching for his head, the clash between the dragon and tiger, the Vermilion Bird broken spine, Old Turtle transforming, the prophecy offered with water, the phantom bus, the souls returning at midnight, and then the phone call from their aunt about the dogs' corpses floating in the water—he told her every last detail.

He didn't hold back anything about San Gou's pants, what had happened to Sister He next door, the taxi driver's experience, or anything he'd learned about the Year Eater.

Even though Jiang Ying had been prepared for Jiang Yue's story to be strange, and had expected it to be bizarre, she still listened from beginning to end with disbelief written all over her face.

How was this a statement of facts? It was one supernatural late-night story after another!

Fortunately, San Gou had been there for the first part. With him backing Jiang Yue up, the story at least sounded convincing.

San Gou hadn't been there for the latter part, but there was plenty of evidence, and the police and various departments were already involved. Even if Jiang Ying didn't believe it, she couldn't really argue against it.

Jiang Ying wasn't the only one shocked. Even San Gou, simple as he was, had been dumbfounded after hearing it all.

"Second Brother, something that exciting happened last night, and you didn't even call me?"

"Jiang Yue, are you saying the world really is about to change?" Jiang Ying sat stunned for a long while before finally managing to ask.

"It's not about to change. It's already changed." They would have to face this sooner or later. Better to say it now and prepare themselves.

"Jiang Ying, you need to call Aunt and tell her family to come into the city as soon as possible."

If the apartment had felt cramped before, they now had Villa No. 9, so that wasn't a problem anymore.

As for how he'd explain Villa No. 9, Jiang Yue decided to figure that out later.

"Jiang Yue, the woman in your dream was Mom?"

"I think so." Jiang Yue nodded.

"It's been ten years. If Mom wanted to appear in your dream, why would she wait until now?"

Jiang Ying still found it hard to understand.

By rights, Jiang Ying was older, and the bond between her and their mother should have been stronger. So why hadn't their mother appeared in her dreams?

"Besides, she didn't look like she had when she was young. Judging by her age, she looked more like she would now." Jiang Yue added.

"You mean... Mom might still be alive?" A glimmer of joy flashed in Jiang Ying's eyes.

"If we go by the traces at the scene of the car crash, and by the logic of the normal world, she should be dead. But..."

"Like we just said, this world is clearly breaking away from everything we know. So I think we should hold on to a little hope!"

It was the first time in ten years that Jiang Yue had said the word "hope" aloud.

He'd kept it buried in his heart for ten years. No matter how faint, how dim, or how close to going out that tiny spark of hope was, he'd never let it die.

Jiang Ying was long past her teenage years. She'd been out in the world for two years, struggling to make a living and taking life's blows...

As for hope and dreams, the beautiful ideas she'd once held dear had long since been buried beneath a thick layer of dust.

But when it came to their mother, how could she ever have come to terms with losing her?

Neither sibling said another word. They quietly savored the sweetness of that tiny, insignificant hope, however distant it might be, however much it seemed like a mirage for now...

Caught up in their emotions, San Gou only half understood and felt awkward. He grabbed a steamed bun and went into the living room to watch TV.

He'd barely switched on the TV when San Gou suddenly shouted, "Second Brother, quick, come look!"

His voice and tone were as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"Breaking news: Dramatic reversal in the Mount Dajin mountain-road mudslide that buried a bus!"

"Good news—a stroke of luck with odds of one in ten thousand!"

"After a night of rescue efforts, all those trapped have been brought out alive!"

The broadcast cut to footage of the landslide site.

The landslide was huge. A slide of that scale should have been enough to swallow ten vehicles.

It had taken a full day and night just to clear the debris around the edge.

But right at the center of the slide, an enormous boulder, three zhang tall and more than ten meters long, lay between the foot of the mountain and the road.

The bus had happened to be just to the boulder's right, barely shielded by it.

The mudslide had still struck and buried the bus, but the boulder had absorbed most of the impact. The vehicle was buried one or two meters deep, but not completely covered, leaving some space inside.

As a result, unbelievably, nobody on board had died!

Fifteen or sixteen seriously injured passengers were carried out and rushed to the hospital. Everyone else had minor injuries, or was simply weak from hunger.

The discovery lifted the spirits of everyone involved in the rescue.

The rescue operation had gone on for a day and a night. They'd finally cleared the roads around the edge and reached the core area, fully prepared to face a tragic scene.

Who could have imagined such a dramatic reversal?

Of course, it was a reversal that brought joy and renewed everyone's spirits!

When he checked his phone, Jiang Yue realized it had happened in the middle of the night.

All the major media outlets had already reported the news. The comments were full of celebration, with people writing that Heaven protected Great Zhang Country and its people.

But Jiang Yue and San Gou couldn't feel happy at all. They exchanged horrified looks.

This situation...

Why did it seem so bizarre and absurd?

San Gou murmured, "Then what was it I saw that night? I knew those people. They were all dead, covered in blood, not a single one of them whole..."

Jiang Yue's mind had gone completely blank too.

What had happened over the past few days had already made him accept, at least mentally, that the world was changing.

The bus incident had been powerful proof.

But with this reversal, even something he'd already prepared himself to believe seemed less certain.

Everything had become a baffling tangle.

What was going on with the phantoms San Gou had seen clinging to the bus? Who—or what—had come back to town that night? And what about all the dogs in town drowning together?

Could there really be two parallel worlds? In one, those people had died, while in the real world, they'd survived by sheer luck?

What should they believe, and what shouldn't they?

Even Jiang Yue was starting to lose it, never mind San Gou.

Of course, it was unquestionably good news that everyone on the bus had survived.

Neither Jiang Yue nor San Gou had wanted those people to die. In San Gou's case especially, many people in town were acquaintances of his.

If they were alive, he was happy for them.

But...

"Second Brother, I really wasn't lying to you! I saw it with my own eyes. I didn't make up a single thing. They really were dead, they really were!" San Gou clutched his head and crouched on the ground, overwhelmed with pain.

The constant reversals had upended San Gou's simple understanding of the world. He was lost, deeply doubting everything he'd seen.

Could it really have been nothing but an illusion?

"San Gou, I believe you." Jiang Yue put a hand on San Gou's shoulder.

"Second Brother..." San Gou looked up, dejected.

"Believe in yourself. Believe that you're still that fierce little wild beast." Jiang Yue patted San Gou's shoulder. "Want to go for a walk with me?"

The person San Gou respected most was his Second Brother.

And Jiang Yue was the one who knew best how to bring out San Gou's fighting spirit.

The two got off at a bus stop near Officer Han's workplace.

As soon as they got off, they saw a crowd gathered beside the stop, pointing and talking.

"Reward offered for a beloved dog!

"I lost my dog yesterday in the area around Yunshan Times Square on Yunshan Street. She's a show-quality Akita, and she's like family to me. If you have any information or can help bring my dog home, I'll pay a cash reward of 50,000. I promise!"

The reward notice included a photo and the dog owner's phone number.

"Wow, better to be a rich person's dog than a working-class schmuck. If I went missing, would anyone offer five thousand to find me? Waaaah..."

"Don't be naive. It's all a scam. Those huge rewards people post online are usually fake. You're eyeing their reward, and they're eyeing your savings."

"Buddy, I hate to say it, but you're poor enough that it's limited your imagination. My boss has a dog—I forget what breed. It's imported, and it cost 600,000. If it went missing, my boss could easily offer 500,000."

The crowd was eagerly gossiping, and quite a few people were tempted to look for the dog.

Some of the more proactive ones took out their phones and called the number on the notice.

"Hello? Is this reward real? If it is, I'm not laying bricks today. I'll go look for your dog around Yunshan Square."

"It's real, of course it's real. If someone finds my dog, I'll pay the 50,000 in cash on the spot. I've already got the money ready!" The woman on the other end sounded young and sweet, with a hint of tears in her voice. It was the sort of voice that made you feel sorry for her.

San Gou caught the conversation and couldn't help getting excited. He tugged on Jiang Yue's sleeve. "Second Brother..."