Chapter 36: This Person Wants Her Dead

Wen Qian couldn’t help but feel hurt by his words. She simply couldn’t understand why her foster father’s attitude had changed so abruptly.

After wallowing in her sorrow for a moment, Wen Qian decided to visit her foster mother first. She was so lost in her worries on the way there that she completely failed to notice the "tail" that had been following her ever since she left the prison...

The man wore a black leather jacket and ankle boots, his face completely obscured by a helmet. He had a powerful build, and half of a tattoo was visible at his collarbone...

The man’s gaze was locked on Wen Qian, a black combat knife spinning deftly between his fingertips. After a long moment, he slipped the knife back into his pocket, and the instant she boarded the bus, he turned and mounted his motorcycle...

It was already three in the afternoon when Wen Qian saw her foster mother. She held the telephone receiver, her expression melancholic.

"Mm, I don’t know what happened either," Wen Qian replied in a low voice. She faced the woman across from her, who was still dazzling even without a trace of makeup. After a pause, she added, "He wasn’t joking."

’Maybe last time it was just a minor squabble, but this time, he’s definitely serious.’ She knew her foster father’s personality—he always meant what he said.

For him to be so resolute, it couldn’t possibly be a joke.

For a moment, the woman on the other side of the glass didn’t know what to say. She sighed and offered some words of comfort. "Your dad just has a foul temper. He’ll probably come around in a few days. Don’t take it to heart."

Wen Qian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She was supposed to be the one visiting someone in prison, yet she was the one being comforted. She forced a smile. "Don’t worry. I’ll still come and visit."

She had always thought her foster parents were in a simple marriage of convenience, that there was no love between them. That, she assumed, was why they had chosen to adopt her.

That was until the night the police showed up at their door. Her foster father had held her foster mother’s hand, sighing in the living room. He had urged her to blame everything on him, no matter what they asked.

Wen Qian couldn’t quite recall how she’d felt at that moment, only that the house suddenly seemed to have some warmth to it.

The sweltering heat of the day had faded, and the late summer afternoon now carried a cool breeze.

It was still light out when Wen Qian left. The prison was in a rather remote location, so she had to walk some distance to get transportation.

She walked slowly, in no mood to admire the scenery. Then, she came upon a narrow river, its surface shimmering with reflections. Green willows dotted its banks, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting.

She quietly admired the view, until the roar of an engine grew louder and closer, shattering the tranquility she had just found.

Wen Qian snapped back to her senses, the surprise and fear in her eyes instantly magnifying. She instinctively took a few steps back as the motorcycle zipped past, its chassis grazing the hem of her dress.

Before she could even react, the motorcycle, which had already passed, whipped around and came speeding toward her again.

’He’s coming for me!’

The black bike was like a bolt of lightning. A chill shot through her entire body as she fell backward uncontrollably. The moment her head struck the stone steps, a piercing ringing filled her ears.

She squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Besides the ringing, her vision started to blur.

In a daze, she felt a hand grab her chin. The person loomed over her, cursing in a vicious tone, "You should have died long ago."

A terrifying wave of dizziness washed over her, threatening to swallow her consciousness whole. Through the haze, she saw him pull an object from his pocket—the knife—and flick it deftly. The moment before she fainted, he suddenly lunged, stabbing toward her...

"Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!"

"Call the police! Someone, call the police!"

"Hello, 911? Yes, we’re on Qianchi Street, off Jingtai Road..."

...

Wen Qian’s consciousness sank into darkness, followed by one vivid nightmare after another.

She found herself in a silent, pitch-black void, watching a girl who looked exactly like her hiding and sobbing in the corner of a bedroom. Wen Qian instinctively took two steps forward, only to realize she was looking at her ten-year-old self.

In the cold darkness, the girl’s sobs were like a sharp blade, slowly slicing through the silence. For some reason, a chill crept up Wen Qian’s spine. It was as if she could feel the girl’s despair.

"Mommy, Daddy, why..." The girl buried her face in her knees, her words muffled and indistinct.

The Little Black Snake coiled around her arm poked its head out curiously, then flicked its forked tongue to lick away a teardrop that had just fallen on her finger.

A chill suddenly settled in the dreaming Wen Qian’s heart, and she felt an uncontrollable urge to cry. Meanwhile, the tree in her mind, which had been withered for so long, seemed to be infused with new life, slowly sprouting tiny buds.

It was as if she’d forgotten something. Something very important.

"A Mian, trust me, I’ll protect you!" the childish voice declared. The little girl lifted her head, her tear-reddened eyes filled with an undeniable conviction.

The Little Black Snake licked her finger again. After a moment, it propped its body up and affectionately nuzzled her cheek.

’Is this... her companion?’

A stabbing pain shot through her head, and a wave of nausea roiled in her stomach. She gritted her teeth, trying to piece the shattered fragments of her memory back together...

’Who is A Mian?’

’Why does this scene feel so familiar?’

Wen Qian’s head was splitting. She only snapped out of it when the scene suddenly shifted.

She followed the girl, who pushed open an old, dilapidated door, revealing a long corridor shrouded in darkness.

The corridor was eerily silent. The girl fumbled in the dark for a switch on the wall. A dust-covered lightbulb flickered a few times before casting a pool of warm, yellow light in the hall.

Only then did Wen Qian notice another door at the far end of the corridor. Its lock was old and mottled with rust; trying to force it would surely produce a piercing SQUEAK.

The small girl tiptoed toward the door. Her face was tense, but her eyes were exceptionally determined.

The Little Black Snake struggled along behind her. A ring of keys had somehow been looped over the very tip of its tail.

"A Mian, we have to be quiet. We can’t let Mommy and Daddy find out..." The girl placed a finger to her lips, then bent down to take the keys. As she straightened up, she didn’t forget to reach out and pat the Little Black Snake’s head.

She gently jiggled the lock, trying the keys one by one. Fine beads of sweat had formed on her forehead by the time the tightly shut iron door finally gave a sharp click.

A CLICK shattered the silence of the hallway as a faint line of light seeped through the crack in the door.

Wen Qian instinctively moved to follow. Even though she knew it was a dream, she could still smell the overpowering stench of blood.

She had been to this place before.

A thought suddenly struck her, sending a chill through her entire body.

She instinctively surged forward, trying to stop her younger self. "Don’t... don’t go in..."