Chapter 1 The Nightmare Begins

"Safe... I'm safe." Using his body to hold the door shut, Pan Du gasped for breath, feeling as if he'd been reborn.

Those things chasing him were too bizarre, but right now, Pan Du felt mostly regret. He'd been tricked.

Luo He, who had appeared earlier, was a ghost.

Her purpose was to lure him onto this train.

Pan Du surmised that ghosts couldn't kill in the fog, and the figure running backwards chasing him was just an apparition, without the power to kill.

It was all just to drive him onto this train in a state of extreme fear.

The real killing intent was on this train.

Without realizing it, a strange odor entered his nostrils. He frowned; the smell was familiar, and…

He turned around in confusion, and the scene before him shocked him. He wasn't in any train car, but on a low, undulating hillside.

Under his feet was soft earth.

Around him was a small grove of trees, the gaps between the trees filled with an unknown species of purple wildflower.

As the evening breeze swept over them, the purple petals rose and fell, bringing a faint floral fragrance.

A full moon hung in the sky, its brilliant light covering the hillside. Nearby, the chirping of insects could be faintly heard, which, far from being grating, created a unique stillness in the night.

Cold sweat trickled down Pan Du's temples. He staggered backwards, and suddenly, he tripped over something.

When he saw what he'd tripped over, his pupils shrank, and the veins on his forehead nearly burst, displaying a reaction even more exaggerated than if he'd seen a ghost.

It was just a rabbit.

A toy rabbit.

White and fluffy, one ear drooping, the other bent and standing upright. It looked as if it had been left in the wild for a long time, filthy all over.

The rabbit, having been stepped on, lay askew in a strange pose.

In the bright moonlight, a pair of glass bead eyes stared fixedly at Pan Du's face.

"What are you looking at?" His eyes instantly bloodshot, Pan Du stepped forward and stomped on the rabbit. "You're still looking at me? Don't look at me!!"

"You're dead! You're already dead!!" Pan Du was like a madman, stomping again and again, wishing he could grind it into the dirt.

Memories from 20 years ago instantly flooded his mind.

He had been here before.

He was familiar with every plant and tree here. The toy rabbit couldn't withstand such abuse; soon, it was in pieces.

First the rabbit's ears, then its limbs, all breaking off, revealing yellowed and discolored cotton stuffing.

Not until the rabbit's head fell off and its body was in pieces, with only a few scraps of cloth still connected, did the panting Pan Du stop.

He immediately dug a hole, using his hands since he had no tools.

The hole was deep enough to bury the dismembered toy rabbit with room to spare.

"I told you to haunt me, go to hell!" Pan Du's expression was twisted, his eyes filled with crimson blood vessels. "I could kill you 20 years ago, and I can do it now!"

After burying the rabbit, Pan Du staggered away, away from this hillside, this grove, and… this purple sea of flowers.

He had a bad feeling about this place, it stifled him.

Standing on the hillside, he looked in one direction. There, pinpoints of light shone. Others might not know, but Pan Du knew that there was a small village there.

Only a few dozen households.

His home was there.

Distant memories gradually surfaced in his mind. Pan Du bit his lip unconsciously, until blood flowed.

He was an orphan. At a very young age, he was adopted by a family in the village.

His adoptive parents treated him very well, even better than some biological parents treated their children. He spent his first five years in love and pampering.

Until… when he was five, he got a younger sister.

His younger sister was the biological child of his adoptive parents. At first, when he got the news, he didn't realize anything, and was happy that he had a sister.

The change happened one night, an autumn night. That day, the night wind was blowing, and it was very cold, very cold.

He heard his adoptive parents whispering in the next room. He learned that the reason they adopted him was because they couldn't have children themselves.

But this suddenly appearing sister made them ecstatic.

At the same time, other thoughts arose.

Now that they could have children, Pan Du's existence was no longer so important, and perhaps even a little annoying.

If he disappeared, maybe they could have another child, a son, their own son, to carry on the family line.

Biological children were always better than adopted ones.

In the days that followed, Pan Du's experiences were predictable. His adoptive parents would always hint at things, implying that the family's circumstances weren't good, and he could find another family to stay with.

They also said they had contacted relatives of his biological parents, who were considering letting him stay with them for a while.

But Pan Du never spoke or answered, just silently doing his own work, working hard.

Do more, say less, try not to cause trouble for his adoptive parents, and, of course, more importantly, don't let them think he was a burden and abandon him like trash.

He had already been abandoned once and didn't want it to happen a second time.

But what was meant to come would eventually come. One day, when he returned home, he saw an unfamiliar face, a woman with rouge and powder on her face, who didn't look like a good person.

His adoptive parents changed their usual attitude, kindly calling him over and telling him that in a while, the woman would take him away, away from the village, to the city.

The city was good, with good food and many things to play with.

Pan Du agreed with a blank expression and turned to leave. From beginning to end, the pale-faced woman stared at him with the gaze of someone appraising merchandise.

Although Pan Du was still young at the time, he could sense that this woman was not a good person.

Sure enough, he was wary and pretended to go out to cut grass, but secretly sneaked back and hid under the wall, eavesdropping on the conversation between his adoptive parents and the woman.

Next, he heard something that broke his heart. The woman said that he was too thin and weak, and the buyer wanted to raise him to carry on the family line. Someone with his poor health would definitely be cheaper.

"Too cheap won't do." The adoptive father smacked his pipe, then took it off and tapped it against the sole of his shoe, squinting and saying, "We've raised him for so many years, we haven't even earned back the cost of his food, that won't do!"

After some haggling, the deal was barely concluded.

As she was leaving, the woman said that inspections were strict recently. She gave the adoptive parents some money as a deposit, saying that she would come back to pick him up in a while.

Pan Du slumped on the hillside, his mind replaying the scenes that had happened. His adoptive parents had once been very, very good to him, but all of that changed after his younger sister came.

His younger sister… had stolen everything that belonged to him!

If she disappeared, then everything, the love of his adoptive parents, would come back!

She deserved to die!