In the space-time tunnel, there are holes—little rips hiding like invisible traps.

If someone falls into one, no one knows for sure what’ll happen. A memory might disappear, or everything might get flipped like someone rewrote reality with an invisible hand. For time travelers, that’s terrifying—because memories are the only map they have when jumping between all these different worlds.

Each traveler and their system has to go through thousands of doors, enter countless worlds, and fix the broken parts of time.

But if someone accidentally falls into a hole like that... will they still remember why they started their journey? Are the memories they have left enough to help them find their way back? Or will they be stuck forever, lost in strange realities, losing a piece of themselves every time they go through a new door?

★★★

To keep you from getting too confused, let me say this first — this story is mostly told from Suo Xiao’s point of view. But here’s the problem: something went wrong while she was traveling through space-time, so her memories got all jumbled up. Imagine a bowl of cereal after it’s been stirred like crazy — yup, that’s her brain right now.

If you like stories that are a bit messy and all over the place, then keep reading!

"Screech! Screech! Screech!"

The alarm clock let out a shrill cry, like a crazed bulbul bird flapping its wings and diving straight into someone’s eardrum.

Suo Xiao shot up as if yanked by an invisible force, heart pounding wildly. That weird alarm clock she bought dirt cheap from some fortune teller always woke her up with a mini heart attack.

She sat in a daze for a moment, her mind floating somewhere between dream and reality. After mechanically folding her blanket, she dragged her tired body out of the room, down the hallway toward the kitchen.

For some reason, her clothes were scattered from the bedroom all the way to the bathroom…

As she passed a door labeled Room 227 , Suo Xiao frowned slightly.

Wait—does this dorm even have odd-numbered rooms?

Curious, she placed her hand on the doorknob and pushed it open.

"I'm coming in."

Inside was a wooden room built in an old-fashioned style, filled with a soft scent of pine and aged books. There was no one in sight, but from behind the folding screen came the sound of running water.

Suo Xiao pulled out a chair, sat down at the table, and dug a few sticky, half-melted candies from her pocket. As she leaned back, she nearly choked to death.

“ Cough cough! W-what the hell are you doing?!"

Wang Ni stood frozen in front of her. She had just stepped out of a wooden bathtub, wearing only a thin cloth wrapped from chest to thigh. Her wet hair dripped down to her waist, water trailing along the strands. She looked like she had stepped straight out of a historical drama scene, with mist curling gently off her body.

Wang Ni blinked at Suo Xiao innocently.

— What are you screaming for?

Suo Xiao’s temple throbbed:

— Can you not be so casual?! What if someone else had walked in just now?!

Wang Ni glanced toward the door. Outside, shadowy figures loomed, drifting past like ghosts. A dried-up tree root crept up out of nowhere, curling around the window frame and tapping lightly against the glass.

Quickly, she locked the door, dashed to the bed, threw on some clothes, then sat across from Suo Xiao.

— I just went out to grab something. Do we really need to be so tense between friends?

Suo Xiao crossed her arms, unimpressed:

— Stop acting like a kid. No matter how close we are, you can’t be that careless. Don’t do that again.

Wang Ni pouted and grabbed a pair of chopsticks:

— Yeah, yeah, got it. But… were you just scolding me?

Suo Xiao didn’t answer. She reached out and adjusted Wang Ni’s collar:

— I just want you to be a little more mindful. I can’t always be around to remind you, can I?

Wang Ni paused, looking up with a hint of confusion:

— Why not? What do you mean?

Suo Xiao replied flatly:

— No. Eat.

She didn’t expect Wang Ni to take her words to heart like that. Maybe it was better this way—no need to repeat herself.

By the time they finished the noodles, night had already fallen. Suo Xiao stood, stretched, and said:

— I’m off. See you later.

Wang Ni looked after her, a strange feeling stirring in her chest.

But Suo Xiao didn’t notice. All she cared about now was heading to the kitchen.

Opening the cabinet, she let out a sigh and tossed the last piece of bread into the toaster.

Click… click… click…

A strange sound echoed somewhere in the kitchen. She ignored it, pretending not to hear, and reached for a banana milk carton. A moment later, she turned back—only to see smoke pouring from the toaster.

It had broken down again. After less than three months of use, the new toaster had gone up in flames. The bread inside was burned to a black crisp.

Suo Xiao twitched an eyebrow. Unplugging the toaster, she stared at the charred mess with an indifferent expression.

What a terrible morning.

She downed the banana milk, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and locked the door. Just then, a voice called from behind:

— Suo Xiao… Good morning—ugh…

She turned to see a boy and a girl walking toward her. Tan Mian strolled calmly as always, while Wang Ni came running after him, breathless, her cheeks flushed red from exertion.

Tan Mian nodded. — Morning.

Suo Xiao glanced at them, raising her chin:

— Burning energy this early, huh? Where’s Qingqing? Not coming with us?

At the mention of that name, Wang Ni immediately scowled:

— She said she caught a cold and took the day off. But seriously, guess what she did last night? Ran four damn miles to the Mengluo beach, threw a party, stuffed herself, and now she’s lying in bed acting all sick. First day of school and she skips it like it’s nothing!

Suo Xiao raised an eyebrow:

— Wow... She’s really got time to waste.

Oh, right! She remembered now—they’d all gone out last night. Ate and played until well past 1 a.m. No wonder her head felt like it’d been split open this morning.

Tan Mian glanced around awkwardly. He’d thrown up on her last night, and was obviously feeling guilty about it now.

Wang Ni, surprisingly, had been the most sober of the group. Suo Xiao had thought she’d be the first to get wasted, but nope.

— Let’s go. We’re gonna be late!

The school wasn’t far, so they walked.

Flowers bloomed along the roadside, their scent filling the air. They turned down a narrow alley, walked straight, then turned left—the school sat right beside a lake.

— Ugh! I just blew almost 300k on a thermos. My dad’s ready to kick me out of the house! Wang Ni wailed, shoving Tan Mian playfully.

— You got any cash left? Lend me some, yeah?

Tan Mian suddenly turned around, not looking at her but staring behind them. There was no one else—just the three of them.

Suo Xiao narrowed her eyes. — What is it?

— Yeah, what are you staring at? Wang Ni asked, a little nervous.

He stood still, but his eyes moved constantly, scanning like a wild cat on alert. Tan Mian was always cautious and careful, so when he acted like this, something had to be wrong.

After a long pause, Tan Mian finally said:

— Do you guys… feel it? Something’s following us…

— Don’t scare me like that! It’s just the three of us! You think we’re getting kidnapped or something?!

“……”

Silence fell, making the quiet alley feel even more eerie—so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

— What did you say? It’s broad daylight! That’s not funny! Suo Xiao’s skin prickled with goosebumps.

Wang Ni stammered:

— M-maybe… maybe we should count to three and just run? I’m seriously freaked out!

She barely finished speaking when a shadow darted past and yanked her away.

Suo Xiao didn’t even have time to react. She could only stare, stunned, as Wang Ni vanished before her eyes.

— Run after her!

Tan Mian grabbed Suo Xiao’s hand and ran in the direction where Wang Ni had been dragged away.

They dashed through corridor after corridor, turning corners without hesitation, never once noticing how the path beneath their feet was growing longer, curving and twisting in strange ways—until the dark figure ahead suddenly leapt into a broken, old mirror with Wang Ni in tow.

That’s right—a mirror.

A cracked antique mirror missing several shards, leaning silently in the corner of the hall.

Why the hell was there a mirror here?

And more importantly— how did that black thing just jump into it?!

Something was very wrong.

Suo Xiao and Tan Mian exchanged a glance, eyes wide with disbelief—then leapt in after it.

Darkness.

Complete, suffocating black.

Nothing could be seen. But a low humming noise began to rise in their ears, like the sound of wind rushing past, as if they were falling—falling fast, from some unknown height.

Suo Xiao’s fingers dug tightly into Tan Mian’s hand. He flinched, a flicker of pain passing over his face—but in the suffocating dark, she didn’t notice.

She was scared.

Terrified.

Falling from the sky like this—what was she? A rock tossed from a mountain? If she hit the ground like that, there’d be nothing left of her but a mess of broken bones.

Her life might’ve been boring, but dying in a stupid, ridiculous way like this?

Hell no!

“Swoosh—thud!”

Something tore through the air. Sharp. Fast. Piercing.

“Ah! …Ugh… it hurts!” Tan Mian cried out.

Suo Xiao’s heart jumped.

— What happened?! Are you hurt?!

But before she could think, thud!

She hit the ground hard, her back slamming into rough dirt and stones.

Groaning, she crawled upright and looked around.

Weirdly enough, the place she’d landed on was all rocks and gravel—just looking at it made her legs ache—but off in the distance were towering, jagged mountains rising high into the sky.

Even weirder… despite falling from what felt like the heavens, she wasn’t seriously hurt.

Sure, she was sore all over, but not a single bone was broken!

“A—Tan Mian?!”

There—he was lying a few meters away.

Suo Xiao rushed over.

Tan Mian was curled up on the ground, his breath shallow. Blood was flowing freely from a wound in his chest, soaking through his white shirt in thick bursts—scarlet and shocking, blooming like a flower against the fabric.

— What the hell happened?!

Panicking, she dropped to her knees, ripped off her jacket, and pressed it against the wound as hard as she could. Her hands shook as she tried to stop the bleeding, but the warm blood kept pushing through her fingers, running down her arms, pooling onto the cold earth below.

Dưới đây là bản dịch liền mạch sang tiếng Anh, giữ đúng phong cách kể chuyện sinh động, pha chút hài hước và gay cấn đặc trưng của đoạn gốc:

From the depths of the forest, a group of people emerged, slowly making their way forward. The two leading them were dressed in robes so elaborate that, under the sunlight, even the embroidered threads shimmered in dazzling gold. Suo Xiao had never seen anyone dressed in such extravagant clothing—except maybe in those dreamy, big-budget fantasy films.

She swallowed hard, nerves creeping up her spine. These people were beautiful, yes, but they carried an icy, arrogant air about them, each step declaring that the world was theirs to command.

If they mistook them for enemies and decided to attack… wouldn’t that mean game over?

As the group approached, their eyes scanned Suo Xiao from head to toe. Cold as razor blades, their gazes felt sharp enough to slice lines across her face.

A stunning girl with shimmering auburn hair stepped forward and whispered something to one of the two men in front. After a moment of silent scrutiny, the young man spoke a single word:

“Come.”

“…?”

Up close, Suo Xiao realized just how stupidly handsome he was. Every feature on his face was striking, his whole aura radiant—like he’d stepped straight out of a shoujo manga. If Wang Ni were here, she’d have gone full paparazzi mode, snapping away until her phone ran out of space.

Seeing Suo Xiao just staring blankly without moving, he furrowed his brows. His voice dropped deeper but grew louder:

“Come.”

"......"

Suo Xiao did not respond. Her eyes widened, but her legs felt rooted to the ground.

Did he expect her to obey just like that? Who were they, what was their purpose, who knew? Besides, Tan Mian was still injured!

Seemingly to break the stalemate, the muscular man standing beside the young man spoke up:

— Sir, do you truly trust these two? Their backgrounds are unclear, and it’s uncertain which side they belong to. Though they don’t seem suspicious at first glance, their appearance here—wounded like that—surely is unusual. If it’s a trick, it would be hard to predict!

An elderly woman with a hunched back and silver hair slowly hobbled forward, leaning on a cane. She peeled back the blood-soaked jacket from Tan Mian’s chest, touched the wound, then rasped in a voice rough and trembling:

— This injury… it’s the arrow. That one. No doubt about it. Right now, saving his life takes priority. Everything else—later. Perhaps… they’re just a pair of unlucky travelers who crossed the wrong path.

The young man fell silent, his gaze drifting from Tan Mian to Suo Xiao, then resting on the girl who had whispered to him earlier.

Sensing his attention, the girl flinched slightly, then smiled gently at Suo Xiao:

— That person is badly hurt. If we don’t treat him soon, he might not make it. If you truly care about him, then come with us. We’ll do our best to help him. If not, you can stay here and watch him die. But rest assured—we’re not butchers or quacks. We’re not planning to chop him up and boil him for soup.

The young man, clearly out of patience, said something to the muscular man. The man hesitated at first, but when the youth added, “Do as she said,” he finally gave a reluctant nod.

The muscular man said arrogantly:

— When a noble has spoken, it is a rare blessing. Hurry up and follow me at once!

“…?”

“What are you waiting for? Move!” he snapped, almost losing it.

Suo Xiao quickly helped Tan Mian to his feet, throwing his arm over her shoulder.

— Grab on. Can you stand?

Seeing her struggle, the auburn-haired girl came to lend a hand.

The young man gave a casual flick of his sleeve, shot them a disinterested glance, then turned and walked off. The others followed in a neat line behind him.

They plunged straight into the forest. The path twisted and turned, branching off in strange directions, and in just a blink, the group behind them vanished. The trees here were massive, towering overhead, with tangled vines thicker than ropes hanging above. Some leaves were bigger than traffic signs—odd-looking, sure, but kind of beautiful too.

No one knew where this place was, but everything that should’ve been tiny and soft—like grass or wildflowers—was giant. Some plants had spikes all over their stalks, sharp enough to draw blood with the slightest touch. The air was hot and damp, sticky against the skin. Sweat clung to Suo Xiao’s back, soaking through her shirt and gluing her hair to her face.

She grumbled, “This place sucks.”

The group said nothing. Other than the few who had spoken earlier, the rest were like mute statues, silently pressing on. Suo Xiao’s legs were starting to give out, and she had no idea how much longer they’d have to keep walking.

After what felt like forever, they reached a patch of shaded trees—finally, a place to rest?

But just then, the entire group suddenly stopped, turning to stare at her and Tan Mian, like they’d noticed something strange.

What now?

Don’t tell her they’d led them all the way out here just to bury the bodies?!

Suo Xiao looked around—and there it was. The auburn-haired girl had somehow slipped behind her without making a sound.

With a soft “Forgive me,” she struck.

Suo Xiao had no time to dodge. No time to cry out. The world spun. Her vision went black.

And in that fleeting moment before losing consciousness, she had only one thought:

“Well, that’s it. I’m dead.”

Suo Xiao stood frozen.

Before her loomed a magnificent mansion, its shadow stretching long across the vast lawn. Warm yellow light spilled through the glass windows, but wherever the light touched, the grass and plants withered and burned, sending up wisps of smoke like ghostly mist.

She blinked, stunned.

“Wait… why the hell am I standing in someone’s yard?”

The heavy iron gate behind her was tightly shut, and the wall surrounding the property towered too high to climb. The sky was pitch-black—no stars, no moon, no light to guide her.

In the far corner of the yard, a pack of vicious dogs lay chained. Their teeth bared, eyes gleaming, they snarled and lunged against their restraints. One barked hoarsely, another foamed at the mouth, drool and blood dripping onto the tiled ground.

Suo Xiao instinctively stepped back.

That single, tiny movement was enough to drive the dogs into a frenzy. They snapped and howled, their growls echoing like something dragged from a nightmare.

“Shoo, you filthy beasts!”

A voice called out.

From within the mansion, a girl emerged, holding a lantern. The soft glow lit up her face—delicate, pale, almost translucent.

She looked at Suo Xiao….Then turned her gaze toward the dogs.

“Disgusting creatures.”

With a mere flick of her hand, a powerful gust of wind whipped through the air.

The dogs were torn from the ground, flung high into the sky. They howled in agony, limbs flailing helplessly as they were sucked into the surrounding darkness. Then— crack, thud. The dry, sickening sound of flesh and bone splattering against the earth followed, like wet clay slapped onto stone.

Suo Xiao's breath caught.

This girl… she looked familiar.

But… did Suo Xiao really know anyone like her?

She stared at Suo Xiao intently, saying nothing, then suddenly ran forward to hug her, giggling:

— You came to visit me? Why didn’t you come through the front door but sneak in the back? Come inside quickly so I can cook you dinner!

At that moment, Suo Xiao finally realized. This was her twin sister— Ya Jīng Jiao. No longer Suo Jīng Jiao, she had become Ya Jīng Jiao. The face was still the same, but now utterly unfamiliar.

Jīng Jiao wore a dazzling evening gown that shimmered in the dim light. Glancing down at her own torn and filthy clothes, Suo Xiao felt embarrassed.

She turned her face away and spoke coldly:

— I’m just looking for my friend. If you see her, tell me. I’m leaving now.

Jīng Jiao tilted her head, her dark eyes gleaming with mockery:

— Where do you think you’re running off to? It’s been a long time since we last met—don’t we have plenty to catch up on?

Suo Xiao felt irritated, but Jīng Jiao paid no mind. Laughing, she grabbed Suo Xiao’s hand and pulled her inside.

Her skin was as white as porcelain, her hands icy cold. At first touch, Suo Xiao only felt a slight chill, but as the grip tightened, it felt like iron handcuffs locking her wrists.

“Hey!”

Suo Xiao startled, trying to pull away, but Jīng Jiao's strength was terrifying. The tighter she squeezed, the more painful it became, until her nails dug into Suo Xiao’s flesh, leaving bloody red marks.

As Suo Xiao was dragged inside the mansion, the back door slammed shut behind her, cutting her off from the outside world. The interior was warm but heavy, as if the air itself was thick with mystery.

Jīng Jiao smiled brightly and clapped her hands once. Instantly, a luxurious dining table appeared before Suo Xiao. A spotless white tablecloth, flickering candles, and in the center, an ornate silver platter covered with a dome.

Excited, Jīng Jiao lifted the lid to reveal a glistening honey-glazed roast, steaming and fragrant, so tender it looked like it would melt at the slightest bite.

“Look! Your favorite roast!”

Her eyes sparkled with delight:

— I wonder if your parents usually give you enough protein? Oh wait... that’s silly. They probably save all the money for their extravagant trips. As for your meals? No big deal! Hahaha!

Suo Xiao stiffened.

She hated hearing that, especially spoken with such mockery. Annoyance flared inside her, and she wanted to leave immediately. But... she was hungry. Her stomach twisted painfully, growling in relentless pain. Hunger muddled her thoughts, and her limbs felt weak.

Suo Xiao bit her lip, hesitated, then took up a fork and stabbed into the roast. The fork pierced the shiny brown skin and slid deep into the soft meat. At the moment the fork reached the core, a faint gurgling sound emerged.

Juices poured out—not in drops, but in a strong, steady stream like a flowing spring.

The dark red liquid spilled from the meat, dripping onto the table and quickly spreading across the floor. The scent of cinnamon filled the air—sharp and pungent, but instead of warmth, it choked the breath, heavy and suffocating.

The liquid kept rising, submerging the floor tiles. Within moments, the blood-like stream covered Suo Xiao’s ankles. Thick and sticky.

Suo Xiao stumbled backward in panic, but Jīng Jiāo only chuckled softly, resting her chin on her hand, her dark eyes as bottomless as the night.

“What are you still hesitating for? This time, you’ll eat me properly, won’t you? Only after eating me can you go to the city and live under my name, Ya Jīng Jiāo!”

Ya Jīng Jiāo limped onto the dining table, each heavy step sounding like brittle bones creaking and about to fall apart.

Her belly was torn open, intestines and organs spilling out like a puppet ripped apart. Her arms were twisted backwards at grotesque angles. On her head, once lustrous black hair was now sparse and stringy, hanging like seaweed caught on a drifting corpse.

Yet the smile on Ya Jīng Jiāo’s lips remained gentle, as if she were simply inviting Suo Xiao to a warm, intimate sisterly meal.

She gently pushed a cup toward Suo Xiao. Inside, a thick liquid floated with patches of pale green moss.

“Eat up, don’t be shy. I’ve even cut up my own thigh, salted it for you to snack on! There’s also my hands, chest, and calves. You could stay here for a whole month without worrying about food! Don’t like it salted? Then cook it all, freeze it in the freezer. Whenever you need it, just thaw and heat it up!”

Suo Xiao said nothing, silently glancing around.

Ya Jīng Jiāo’s body parts were tied with strips of bamboo and rattan, hanging like smoked dried meat from the kitchen rack. Some had darkened to deep brown, while others still dripped fresh blood, each thick drop slowly falling to the floor, mixing into the rising pool of meat juice.

Suo Xiao sighed—a long, heavy breath.

Her hand reached out and grasped the gleaming silver knife on the table. Without hesitation, she sliced off a piece of meat and put it into her mouth.

Jīng Jiāo blinked, watching her sister’s every movement closely.

But… she couldn’t even remember the last time she truly felt hungry.

Suo Xiao narrowed her eyes and picked up another piece from the plate, raising it to her lips.

“How is it?” Her voice was light and almost teasing:

— You still cling to this world so much?

She chewed slowly; each bite sounded like dry twigs snapping softly.

“You’ve had it easy all this time. What’s wrong with me enjoying a bit now? Or is this ‘sisterly love’ nothing but a facade?”

Ya Jīng Jiāo said nothing. She only smiled, a stiff, forced smile as if sewn shut with invisible threads.

A sharp ache stabbed deep into Suo Xiao’s mind. She frowned, feeling that something was terribly wrong in her mouth.

She tilted her head and spat hard onto the plate. Over ten teeth fell out, rolling noisily on the pristine white porcelain, ringing out like glass marbles clattering on a cold floor. One... two... like fragile beads falling onto stone.

Suo Xiao blinked.

At that moment, the scene before her shattered like a cracked mirror. The kitchen disappeared. The banquet table, the flickering candlelight, the sweet scent of honey—all collapsed, revealing a different image: cruel And soaked in blood.

In the pitch-black room, Ya Jīng Jiāo’s corpse lay sprawled on the ground, dismembered. Blood splattered everywhere. Old stains had darkened to blackish brown, splashed across the walls, the floor, and even on Suo Xiao’s own hands.

A fragment of memory suddenly surfaced, like an old film rewinding.

This… happened a long time ago. But it never truly ended.

Suo Xiao and Ya Jīng Jiāo were twin sisters. They grew up in a worn-down, dilapidated house, where whenever it rained, water leaked in and formed large puddles on the floor. Their family was poor—barely enough food to eat, clothes to wear—yet right next door stood a magnificent mansion belonging to a wealthy family.

One day, that family came to their home with a proposal that would change everything:

— We have been struggling with infertility for years… If you agree, I would like to adopt one of these two children.

At first, their mother hesitated. But when her eyes glanced over a suitcase stuffed thick with stacks of money, she smiled gently and called Suo Xiao and Ya Jīng Jiāo over.

“Come here, both of you.”

Suo Xiao was a lively child—always energetic, eating heartily, playing hard, full of life. Meanwhile, Ya Jīng Jiāo was the opposite—frail and often sick, spending most days secluded in her room reading books.

The rich woman looked at the two children, her gaze seemingly favoring Suo Xiao. A healthy, energetic child surely seemed like the better choice.

But Suo Xiao’s mother thought otherwise.

She stared at her lively daughter with a darkening look. Suo Xiao could eat well, work hard, and when grown, help earn money. But what about Ya Jīng Jiāo? A sickly child always bedridden, only consuming medicine and food? If Suo Xiao was taken away, wouldn’t she lose her little money-making machine?

So, the mother began to speak up.

She spoke of Suo Xiao—not with praise, but with complaints. She described her as mischievous, stubborn, disobedient, always climbing trees and catching birds. Whereas Ya Jīng Jiāo was gentle, obedient, well-mannered, and intelligent—surely the perfect child for a prestigious family.

The rich woman listened, her expression gradually changing. Finally, she nodded.

“Then… I will choose Jīng Jiāo.”

From that day on, Suo Jīng Jiāo became Ya Jīng Jiāo, stepping into a world of silks and luxury, of delicious food and fine clothes. Meanwhile, Suo Xiao remained in the poor house, continuing her life, but something inside her had shattered.

Whenever Ya Jīng Jiāo had the chance, she secretly brought delicacies back for Suo Xiao. But those treats rarely truly reached her hands. They were always claimed first by their mother, or eyed and divided by the neighbors.

Suo Xiao could only watch silently, saying nothing.

When Suo Xiao graduated from high school, her mother had a plan. Not for her to continue studying, nor to go work.

She wanted her to get married.

The man her mother chose was a widower, already 65 years old. He had money—plenty of it. His son was even older than Suo Xiao by a whole zodiac cycle.

“Mother has already discussed it. As long as you agree, we’ll have a new house, a new car, a comfortable life.”

All those years of studying—was it to be thrown away just like that? Refusing to agree, Suo Xiao ran away.

She had been wandering the streets for a week when she finally saw Ya Jīng Jiāo again.

Suo Xiao found her way to Jīng Jiāo’s house, her mind empty. No plan, no expectation. Maybe she just wanted a place to hide, or simply a familiar face in this strange new world.

But then, she killed Ya Jīng Jiāo.

Everything happened too fast.

Perhaps she had just come back from drinking. Her head spun, hot and chaotic. Maybe it was a sudden outburst, no preparation at all.

Suo Xiao did not regret killing her sister. What terrified her was the fear that everything would be exposed, that she would be thrown in prison. She cleaned the scene thoroughly, wiped every bloodstain, burned every piece of stained clothing. Everything was handled meticulously, leaving no trace.

But she could not find peace.

Who knew how advanced police forensics had become recently? Even a single strand of hair could bring everything crashing down.

Suo Xiao strangled Ya Jīng Jiāo in the kitchen. Her hands gripped tightly, feeling each weakening breath, every shuddering spasm until her sister’s body went still. That should have been the end, but for some reason, a suffocating rage welled up inside her chest, as if killing her sister wasn’t enough. She grabbed a nearby chisel, broke every pearly white tooth, thick blood and pulp oozing out. She found pliers, dug into the fingernails and yanked fiercely, one by one tearing them off, revealing raw, trembling flesh beneath. Finally, she took scissors and plunged a cut straight through the chest.

Only then, in the blood-soaked kitchen, did Suo Xiao calm down.

She started thinking about what to do with the body. Then a crazy idea struck her. We eat animals naturally, and humans are animals too... so why waste it?

Suo Xiao borrowed a saw and chopped Ya Jīng Jiāo’s body into pieces, used the shoulder to cook soup, salted and smoked the lower torso and arms, stored them in the pantry. The scraps were flushed down the toilet, washed away. The skull was too hard to handle, so she wrapped it and put it into a fish tank, then filled it with cement.

Done, she sat down and looked at the spotless kitchen after cleaning. No trace left. Everything was terrifyingly neat.

Two months later, when Ya Jīng Jiāo’s adoptive parents returned from a trip, Suo Xiao perfectly impersonated her sister. They never suspected a thing, not even Ya Jīng Jiāo’s boyfriend noticed anything unusual. She successfully lived under her sister’s name, spending the money that was rightfully hers, carrying a large sum to the city, enjoying the luxury she had never known.

But now, it seemed like she was dreaming. A dream soaked in the stench of blood and decay. Ya Jīng Jiāo stood before her, eyes milky white, belly torn open, guts spilling out in segments, hair sparse and tangled. Was she trying to scare her in this dream? To drive her mad with obsession, like some poor character from a cheap horror flick?

Ya Jīng Jiāo was still innocent as ever.

Suo Xiao smiled, leaned back in her chair, and said slowly:

— Revenge on me? Want to replay the whole play I staged? Fine, go ahead. I’ll enjoy the show.

No sooner had she spoken than Ya Jīng Jiāo sat up abruptly. Her eyes flared, breath ragged, veins bulging on her forehead. Her voice cracked with rage:

— You! You’re immoral and heartless! Hell needs to build a 19th floor just for you! You dared to skin me, salt my flesh, eat me! Just because of envy and jealousy, you were cruel to your own sister! Killing me wasn’t enough, you even stole my boyfriend?! You live for profit, deceiving yourself and others! I swear, you won’t be able to roam freely like this forever, you demon!

Furious, Ya Jīng Jiāo slammed the table wildly, her nails scraping the wood so hard flesh peeled off, exposing white finger bones. She screamed, tears mixed with blood streaming down her twisted face of hatred.

“Some have good fate, others suffer. Blame the unfair heavens, blame the parents who gave birth to you but couldn’t give you a better life! What sins did I commit in my past life to pay such a heavy price now?! Even if I die, you will never live in peace! Greed leads to rot!”

At the peak of fury, Ya Jīng Jiāo grabbed a vase from the table and hurled it straight at Suo Xiao. Everything happened so fast, she couldn’t dodge.

“Crash!”

The vase shattered violently, sharp shards piercing flesh. A sharp pain erupted, then darkness swallowed her. Suo Xiao collapsed, unconscious.