Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Dusk. On the classroom desk, a disheveled young man found perverse pleasure in repeatedly calling out his name. Unidentifiable stains still marred the surface…

Lin Xingshu sat at the dining table, a shiver running down his spine.

That Xie Guan was a total monster—a wolf in sheep’s clothing! How dare he do such a thing on his desk!

Lin Xingshu’s face flushed crimson again, his mind involuntarily replaying those vivid, erotic dreams. He shook his head violently, desperate to banish those strange images.

Even if Xie Guan was a pervert, the fact that he was the star of his wet dreams meant Lin Xingshu wasn’t much better…

“Xingshu! Lin Xingshu!”

His mother’s voice suddenly pierced his ears. Lin Xingshu jolted, snapping back to reality. At the doorway stood his mother, her face livid, clutching her bag and phone as if she’d rushed straight from work. Lin Xingshu hastily put down his chopsticks.

“M-mom… you’re home…”

“Lin Xingshu, is this your monthly test score?”

His face paled, lips trembling. “Mom… you already know?”

“Your homeroom teacher called me ages ago. What exactly have you been doing this past month?!”

His mother slammed her bag down in a fit of rage. Lin Xingshu flinched violently. His father, sensing the escalating tension, tried to intervene but was brusquely pushed aside.

“Mom… I’m sorry. I—I really tried my best, but…”

Lin Xingshu silently lowered his head, his hands clenching into fists at his sides, a flicker of resentment in his eyes.

“How is it that Xie Guan, who just transferred here, managed to surpass you and take first place? You can’t blame the capital’s better resources; once enrolled, isn’t everyone on the same learning schedule? Why can others take first place while you’re stuck as runner-up?!”

“Honey, don’t say any more. The kid’s under a lot of pressure in his senior year…”

His father tried to placate his aggressive mother, but she turned her fury on him instead. “Do you have any idea how many people a single point can eliminate? I’m drowning in work, and now Xingshu’s grades have dropped. As his father, don’t you bear any responsibility?!”

His father opened his mouth but faltered, awkwardly withdrawing his hand. Father and son stood by the dining table, enduring her scathing tirade.

Once she had vented enough, his mother finally simmered down, dropping onto the couch. Her fingers tapped restlessly as she fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, “There’s a parent-teacher meeting tomorrow. I’ll get the full picture from the homeroom teacher. I won’t say more for now. Get to your room.”

Lin Xingshu sniffed and gave a silent nod. His father made to follow, but his mother stopped him. “We need to talk.”

His father stiffened, casting a wary glance at her. Meanwhile, Lin Xingshu rose to his feet and slumped off to his room.

Outside, his parents continued discussing him in hushed, arguing tones. Collapsing onto his bed, he covered his face with his hands.

Tomorrow was Saturday. He could already imagine the tongue-lashing he’d get after the parent-teacher meeting.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him. Staring at the ceiling light, his vision blurred, a wave of dizziness washing over him. Sleep pulled him under, his eyelids growing heavier until, unknowingly, he drifted off.

Unsurprisingly, he dreamed again—though this time, it wasn’t a wet dream.

“You’re leaving tomorrow? So soon…?”

In a glowing blur, he saw a familiar youth clutching his sleeve, his face—identical to Xie Guan’s—filled with reluctance, eyes red-rimmed.

“Yeah, school starts in a few days. By the way, aren’t you going to school?”

His middle-school self looked puzzled. “Come to think of it, I’ve never met your parents. Why are you always roaming the woods alone? School’s about to start, you know.”

The boy's hand clutching his sleeve froze, his gaze drifting. "I... I..."

"Alright, I can't talk anymore. I need to go pack. My mom's coming to pick me up tomorrow."

With that, he turned to leave. Just before he stepped away, the boy suddenly grabbed his wrist, hesitation written all over his face as he tentatively asked, "Can you... can you wait a few more days before leaving?"

"Why?"

"Because... because I want to go with you. Is that okay?"

"Huh? Okay, but why wait? Can’t we go tomorrow?"

The boy's eyes darted away. "I... I’ve got unfinished business."

"Mmm... okay. I'll go tell my parents then."

"Great!"

The boy's eyes suddenly brightened, and he waved excitedly at his younger self. "Just wait for me! Once I sort things out, meet me at our usual spot!"

As the boy walked away, his feet moved on their own, following.

The scene shifted abruptly—the bright sunny sky turned into a gloomy downpour, dark clouds shrouding the entire forest, the air so thick it choked him.

Boom—!

A thunderclap exploded—Lin Xingshu jerked upright, heart pounding. The next moment, an icy gust howled in from behind, carrying with it heavy raindrops.

A pale flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the pitch-black world in an instant, finally bringing the scene before him into focus.

When he saw what lay ahead, Lin Xingshu's eyes widened in shock. He staggered back, tripped, and landed hard on the ground. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled away in terror.

Atop the steep cliff, the storm lashed the forest, trees thrashing. Staring at the precipice before him, his lungs burned with every gasp.

"Stop—! You’ll get yourself killed!"

Suddenly, faint voices reached his ears. Lin Xingshu snapped back to reality and turned toward the sound.

Not far away, a young boy and girl were tugging at each other. The boy had his back to him, his face hidden, while the girl’s eyes were swollen, tears streaking through the rain on her cheeks as she shook her head desperately.

"You can't go! The storm is too strong! We’re *yao*, but we can’t cheat death! One wrong step... and you’re *gone*."

The boy, still facing away, pried her fingers off one by one, his voice calm but firm.

"He’s gone at dawn tomorrow. If I eat that herb, I’ll be *human* like him. I want to go with him."

Lin Xingshu staggered to his feet, trying desperately to approach them, but his legs might as well have been stone, refusing to move.

"No! No! You can’t! I’m begging you!"

The girl shrieked, voice raw, but no matter how she pleaded, the boy didn’t even blink. He turned and walked toward the cliff’s edge. The storm was too fierce—Lin Xingshu could barely make out his figure.

Shouldering through the gale, the boy took that final step—into nothing. He paid no attention to Lin Xingshu, who was still sprawled on the ground. The boy stopped right at the cliff’s edge, and Lin Xingshu strained to keep his eyes open. The boy stared into the void below, his eyes black with resolve.

"Even if you eat that herb, it won’t change anything! He’ll never take you with him! Don’t you get it? You mean nothing to him! You’re just his *pet*—something to toss aside! Do you understand?!"

The girl’s desperate cries struck the boy like an arrow to the chest. Lin Xingshu caught his flinch—just a heartbeat’s hesitation. Without hesitation, the boy stepped toward the cliff’s edge.

He knelt, fingers scrabbling for holds as he lowered himself. Lin Xingshu’s stomach dropped—*No no no*—as the boy vanished over the edge.

The cliff is so steep, and it's raining so heavily—is he insane?!

"Hey—!"

Lin Xingshu wanted to rush forward to stop the boy, but his feet felt glued to the ground, leaving him no choice but to watch helplessly as the boy painfully inched down the cliff in the storm.

"You’ll die!"

Lin Xingshu shouted with all his might at the boy, but the boy couldn't hear him at all. Amid the flashes of lightning and thunder, he faintly heard the sound of something falling, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The girl reacted faster than he did. Staggering, she rushed to the edge of the cliff, trembling as she leaned over. When she saw the scene below, her face turned deathly pale, and her bloodcurdling wails echoed through the forest.

Lin Xingshu's lips parted slightly, quivering violently.

Just as he thought the boy had died, the surroundings changed again. Before he could process it, he found himself following the girl's figure, instantly teleported from the cliff to the bottom of the ravine.

"Sob... Why are you so foolish? Even if you became human, he wouldn’t change his mind. He never gave a damn about you..."

The girl's helpless weeping intertwined with the boy's faint, gasping breaths. Lin Xingshu followed her gaze, and the air left his lungs—his chest tightened with a sharp, suffocating pain.

Amid the dense weeds, the boy lay on the ground, trembling slightly, his limbs twisted in impossible contortions. His white T-shirt was soaked in blood, and every inch of exposed flesh was mangled.

Yet, in his hand, he clutched a fresh rare herb tightly.

"I’ll...live. Just need to rest for a night... I'll be okay. Pull me up—now. I need to eat this herb... I have to find him tomorrow. I can’t let him see me like this..."

"Oh, right... Could you help me take off my clothes and soak them in water? These are the clothes he gave me... I can’t ruin them..."

"Don’t bother."

The boy froze mid-struggle. "W-What do you mean?"

"He’s already gone."

"How...? He said he was leaving tomorrow. The mountain roads are terrible in this rain tonight. It’s impossible..."

The boy’s fingers gripping the herb turned white from the force, blood seeping from his wounds and staining the ground crimson.

The girl finally snapped. She burst into loud, anguished sobs, her cries reverberating through the forest:

"He’s really gone! His parents found out you’re a yokai! They were afraid you’d come after him, so they drove away in the middle of the night! You’ll never find him! Do you understand?! Even if you eat that herb, it’s useless now!"

Lin Xingshu stiffened, his eyes widening slightly. The boy was... a yokai?!

"You were willing to become human for him, but what about him? He never cared about you! He feared you, he hated you! He was so afraid you’d cling to him that he snuck away like a thief..."

The boy lay motionless on the ground, silent as if already dead. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice empty as a corpse’s: "Help me up. Pop my bones back in place."

"What?!"

The girl stared at him in disbelief. The boy remained silent, repeating, "Pop my bones back in. I need to find him. I need to ask him myself."

"Have you lost it?! I won’t help you!"

Ignoring her, the boy struggled to sit up, his pained gasps escaping between clenched teeth. To Lin Xingshu’s horror, he forcibly realigned his own twisted bones—the wet crunching of bone against bone piercing the rainy night.

Under Lin Xingshu’s stunned gaze, the boy hauled himself upright and shoved the herb into his mouth.

"I’m going to find him... I don’t believe it... I need to hear it from him..."

In the hammering rain, the boy, dripping red from head to toe, limped toward the edge of the forest.

In the dream that had haunted Lin Xingshu for three years, the boy had knelt before him in those very clothes, begging for forgiveness with soul-crushing desperation.

Suddenly, a visceral ache surged in Lin Xingshu’s chest—a chest-caving agony that made it hard to breathe.

The boy had climbed that suicidal drop for him, all for the sake of that herb.

Yet, Lin Xingshu had no memory of any of this. He couldn’t recall a single thing about the boy.

Who was he? Who was he...?

Lin Xingshu desperately wanted answers, but the more he strained to remember, the sharper the pain in his temples grew—like a drill boring into his skull. Fragmented memories flickered through his mind, but none were clear.

Despite his splintered skeleton, the boy moved with superhuman speed, almost as if flying. Lin Xingshu’s vision followed him until, in a blur, the boy suddenly lunged into the path of an oncoming car, arms outstretched.

Lin Xingshu’s eyes widened in horror. Instinctively, he tried to rush forward to stop the collision—but the car passed straight through him, slamming into the already battered boy and catapulting him through the air.

"Xie Guan—!!"

He howled the name like an incantation, sprinting toward him, but his hands passed through Xie Guan’s body again and again. "Xie Guan... Xie Guan..."

He called out repeatedly—until, abruptly, he froze.

Why had he called this boy Xie Guan?

Before he could process it, the car’s occupants piled out. It was only then that Lin Xingshu realized—this was his family’s old car, the one they’d inexplicably sold during his first year of high school.

"We hit someone... We hit someone!"

The familiar voice sent a jolt through him. Lin Xingshu looked closer—the driver was his mother. And pale-faced and stumbling after her were his father and... himself.

"Don’t go near him yet! Something’s wrong!"

His father grabbed his mother’s arm, stopping her from approaching. The next moment, the boy on the ground slowly rose, his twisted limbs knitting back together with nauseating snaps. Blood dripped from his wounds as he lifted his bottomless black eyes—locking onto Lin Xingshu behind his father.

Then, under the terrified gazes of everyone present, his body began to grow—stretching taller, broader, until his human form twisted into that of a colossal arachnid.

The spider was enormous, its massive frame blocking the road like a living shadow. Pitch-black, covered in needle-like bristles, its eight thick limbs loomed over them. Yet its gaze remained fixed on Lin Xingshu—pleading, desperate.

Lin Xingshu stood frozen, shock rendering him speechless.

So that’s why, in his dreams, the boy had often trussed him up in silk... He had been a spider all along.

"AAAAHHH—!"

His mother’s scream split the night. "Run! It’s that yokai! Xingshu, go! Now!"

"Don’t go—!"

The spider scuttled closer, its voice dripping with heartbreak. "Don’t leave! Xingshu! I would rather die than harm you!"

Its cries were filled with despair, but his parents didn’t hesitate—grabbing him and dragging him into the forest. Lin Xingshu himself was frozen stiff, his eyes wide with terror.

The mountain path was a death trap of mud. They were only human—there was no outrunning the spider.

Panicked, they fled until they reached the edge of another cliff, with nowhere left to retreat. Despair filled their eyes as the spider cornered them.

Cautiously, the spider folded its monstrous bulk behind a tree, its voice breaking like rotten wood. "I’m sorry... I never wanted to hurt you. Xingshu, please... Just let me explain..."

"You... you're just a monster! Get away!"

His middle-school self hid behind his parents, his eyes filled with disgust as he stared at the spider. The spider's massive body trembled, its mandibles letting out a pained, animal-like whimper. As a bolt of lightning struck, it shrank back into the woods, only to emerge again moments later in the form of a human boy.

The boy's eyes burned red as he tried to step forward, only to be stopped by his furious shout: "Don't come any closer! What do you want from me?!"

"I... I've taken the herbs now. I can maintain this human form for a long time, just like you. Take me with you—I'll learn to live among humans!"

The boy pleaded as he moved toward him. But in the next instant, lightning flashed again, and the boy was shoved violently to the ground, splashing into the mud.

"Get away! You’re just a monster!"

The boy's face contorted at the cruel words. Rain mixed with tears on his face.

Crawling forward, the boy looked up at him with utter despair. "I'm not a monster anymore. If you don’t like it, I’ll never transform again. Xingshu... I’m begging you, don’t leave me here. I can’t live without you..."

"You're everything to me. I can’t live without you—I’ll die... I really will die! Agh—!"

Before the boy could finish, he shoved him away again, sending him sprawling back into the mud, now streaked with blood, making him look utterly pitiful.

"Stop lying, monster! You just want to eat me! After I trusted you so much, after everything I did for you—you lied to me, and now you want my life!"

The boy’s eyes widened in shock. He shook his head helplessly, his eyes swollen and red.

"No! That’s not true! Let me explain—"

Weeping, the boy dragged himself forward, clutching at his pant leg, desperate to speak. But he kicked him away once more, hateful words pouring out uncontrollably from his lips:

"There’s nothing to explain. My family already told me everything. You’re nothing but a people-eating monster. Listen—from now on, we’re done. Don’t ever come near me again!"

CRACK—

Another thunderclap roared. The boy froze, his face ghostly pale, his outstretched hand hanging in midair as if turned to stone.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, his parents quickly pulled him away. But just as they were leaving, the boy suddenly snapped, lunging, grabbing his arm and sinking his teeth into his wrist.

"Aah! Get off!"

SLAP—

His palm struck the boy’s face hard, sending him reeling. His parents, angry but helpless, dragged him away. Before they could get far, the boy’s voice rang out behind them, raw and desperate:

"Lin Xingshu, I’ll find you—!"

His voice dripped with madness. Slowly, he stood up, his pitch-black eyes fixed on their retreating figures, glowing with malice.

"You can't escape me... You made a vow to me. We’re bound now. No matter where you run, I’ll find you... I swear it... As long as I live, I will hunt you down—!"

The boy burst into hysterical laughter, doubling over with manic laughter like a lunatic.

"Lin Xingshu, this is your fault for being so kind to a disgusting monster like me. You’re right—I’m a monster. I tricked you, made you swear never to leave me. Hahaha... You should've known better than to make promises to monsters!"

"I’ll find you. I’ll find you. I swear I’ll find you! You won’t get away from me! Never—!"

His shrieks were deranged, his laughter twisted. His eyes burned with a mix of obsessive love and searing hatred, cutting like a knife.

Once they were gone, the boy collapsed to the ground, coughing violently. Blood spewed from his mouth, staining the puddles crimson.

Covering his face in despair, his body gave out, and he crumpled into the mud. An inhuman, guttural howl tore from his chest, wrenching and unbearable to hear.

Lin Xingshu stared blankly at the scene, his face a turmoil of emotions.

Now he was certain—this had really happened to him.

But why...? These fragments were completely different from the memories in his mind.

In his memory, he had spent that summer before high school in his hometown, but with Xu Lang and Xu Lang’s older brother. Xu Lang was in middle school then, his brother in college, and the three of them had a great time together.

A week before school started, his parents had driven to pick him up and brought him back to the city for high school.

In his memory, none of these bizarre events had ever happened!

"Tsk—"

A sudden sharp pain shot through his wrist. Lin Xingshu looked down to see an old scar splitting open, blood welling fresh to reveal the full imprint of teeth.

His eyes widened slightly, his thoughts spinning.

He didn’t remember anything else, but this scar—he knew it well.

Since high school, this wound on his wrist would occasionally burn with pain. He’d visited countless doctors, all of whom said it had healed long ago, with no abnormalities.

His grandmother had told him it was from a venomous insect bite, the lingering toxins causing the occasional pain.

But just now, he’d clearly seen the boy bite his wrist... This scar was from him.

So... his parents and grandmother had been lying to him all along?!

But what about his memories? Why were they completely different from the events in this dream? After returning from his hometown... what really happened...?