Chapter 9: The Bloody Feast (Part 4)
Volume One: Village of Still Waters
Suyue’s eyes snapped open.
She was still in bed. She hadn’t gone anywhere.
A nightmare? Had it all just been a nightmare?
But when she touched her neck, her fingers came away wet.
Then her gaze fell on the bedroom door.
She’d closed it. She was sure she had.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
Water droplets pattered onto the floor.
A pair of bare feet shuffled slowly across the wooden planks.
Moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating a figure—a woman, deathly pale, dripping wet—passing by her doorway.
Suyue’s mouth gaped soundlessly.
She lay frozen for what felt like hours before mustering the courage to rise. Her pupils dilated wildly, terror choking her voice.
Step by leaden step, she crept toward the door.
The hallway was empty.
But the trail of water on the floor proved it hadn’t been a dream.
A glacial chill seeped into her bones.
As she moved forward, water began seeping from the ceiling, the walls—rising steadily around her ankles.
She reached her brother Hongwu’s room. The door oozed moisture.
Pushing it open, she found him asleep, undisturbed as his room flooded.
"G-Gege… run…" she rasped.
Then the blanket over his chest bulged unnaturally.
Something shifted beneath it.
Two pale hands shot from the folds, lunging for Hongwu’s throat.
Suyue’s scream died as—
—she awoke gasping in bed.
No water. Just the moon veiled by clouds.
Another nightmare?
A nightmare within a nightmare?
A shadow loomed in the doorway.
Before she could scream, a familiar voice spoke:
"Suyue? What’s wrong?"
Mother.
Suyue sobbed into Zhang Yinglan’s embrace. "I’m scared… Bing’er came back… she wants to kill Gege…"
"Don’t be silly," Mother chuckled. "The dead don’t return."
"But Father… and Haotian Uncle—"
"Not ghosts. Village gossip." Her mother stroked her hair. "You’re overthinking."
"Stay with me tonight… please?"
"At your age?" Yinglan sighed. "Fine. I’ll fetch blankets."
Alone, Suyue exhaled—
—then stiffened.
Mother hadn’t come home tonight. She’d been playing mahjong at Aunt Wang’s.
The figure reappeared in the doorway.
Suyue’s shriek tore through the night as—
—she bolted upright in bed.
Again.
Hyperventilating, she clutched the sheets.
Real or dream?
She dressed hastily, dragging her bedding toward Hongwu’s room.
The door creaked open.
Her brother slept soundly.
Curling beside him, she finally drifted off—
—only to be shaken awake.
"Gege?"
Hongwu’s face hovered above her—eyes bulging, blood-streaked, skin corpse-white.
Behind him, the dripping woman grinned, cradling his severed head.
Suyue squeezed her eyes shut—
—and awoke screaming.
The cycle repeated.
Each "awakening" plunged her deeper.
She staggered to the kitchen, seized a butcher knife, and waited.
Dawn never came.
Instead—footsteps.
She spun to see the shadow figure raise its blade—
—and lunged.
This time, the nightmare wouldn’t end.