Chapter 1: The Haunted Apartment
Volume One: Village of Still Waters
Li Yin jolted awake.
His heart burned with searing pain, as though it were on fire.
It’s happening again…
Is it my turn this time?
Supporting himself upright, he turned on the bedside lamp. The pain in his chest gradually lessened, though it still throbbed. He slipped on his slippers and stepped out of the bedroom into the living room, flicking on the lights.
And then he saw it.
On the once pristine white wall of the living room, a line of blood-red writing had appeared—letters written entirely in fresh blood. A sight like this at midnight would send most people into a panic-stricken frenzy.
But Li Yin barely flinched.
“It’s my turn again…”
He stared at the writing carefully.
“From June 7 to July 7, 2010, go to You Shui Village in the suburbs of X City and stay there for one full month.”
The line of text began to blur as he read it. The blood slowly soaked into the wall and vanished without a trace.
You Shui Village…
Li Yin etched the name into memory. He thought about going back to sleep, but he knew it was impossible now. So, he turned on all the lights in the living room and made himself a cup of tea. He didn’t smoke—tea was his only comfort. Coffee might’ve worked better to stay awake, but tea helped calm the nerves.
Looking at his reflection in the tea, Li Yin clenched his cup.
It had been almost a year since he moved into this apartment.
It didn’t sound long, but it felt like a lifetime.
When the morning sun rose, Li Yin woke up, slumped over the dining table in the living room. Dressed in only thin sleepwear and wrapped in a blanket, he wasn’t sure if he’d caught a cold. The tea in his cup had long gone cold.
He glanced at the wall clock. It was already 6 a.m.
After rubbing his eyes, he freshened up, got dressed, and made breakfast—a fried egg sandwiched between slices of bread with a touch of salad dressing. That was his meal for the day.
Li Yin was actually an excellent cook, having lived alone for years. Over time, he’d grown quite skilled in the kitchen.
With the sandwich in one hand and warm milk from the microwave in the other, he opened the calendar and reviewed his schedule for June.
Li Yin was a well-known online novelist under contract with a popular web fiction site. As long as he submitted chapters on time, he could work from home.
“No problem,” he said with a mouthful of sandwich. “As long as I bring my laptop and update daily, I’m good. The only unknown is… what might happen out there.”
He put the calendar down and clenched his fists.
I must survive… and return here alive.
After getting fully dressed, he left his apartment—Room 404 on the fourth floor, an ominous number he didn’t choose.
Downstairs, the first floor had no residents. It resembled a hotel lobby with sofas and tables set up for relaxation.
Three people were already seated on one of the sofas. As Li Yin approached, they stood up.
One was a tall man in glasses and a suit, another a youthful man in a cap, and the third a girl in a green dress with a pretty, lively face.
“You’ve all seen the blood writing on your wall, haven’t you?” Li Yin asked after a pause.
They each nodded.
They were all residents of the same haunted apartment.
“I see. At least we have a group of four this time,” Li Yin exhaled and sat down with them.
All four wore heavy expressions.
“Li Yin…” the girl in green asked nervously, “Is it really okay? This time we have to stay an entire month? In a remote countryside village?”
“Yes,” the suited man with glasses chimed in. “I looked it up. The suburbs of X City are isolated, surrounded by mountains. Even development projects haven’t touched that area. It’s completely cut off.”
“There are countless rural villages like that in China,” Li Yin said calmly. “And it’s not our first time. We’ve done this before.”
“But I still feel…” the suited man began, but the young man in the cap stopped him with a glance.
Silence returned.
No one else appeared. It seemed they were the only four chosen this time.
“It’s almost 7 a.m.,” said Li Yin, checking his watch. “You three go to work. I’ll stay here and wait in case someone else shows up. If they do, I’ll contact you.”
His calm demeanor always reassured them. They nodded and left.
Li Yin had already searched online but found no mention of You Shui Village. But since the blood writing said it was in X City’s outskirts, he was confident they’d find it. If not, the writing would reappear with more detailed instructions.
On June 7, they had to enter You Shui Village—and could not leave until July 7.
No matter what.
Time flew. It was now June 6, 2:30 p.m.
The four of them were trekking a steep mountain trail.
This was Black Crow Mountain. After extensive research, they confirmed You Shui Village lay on its western side. Isolated and backward, the village had no power or running water—entirely self-sufficient and disconnected from the world.
The man in glasses was Qin Shoutian, a field reporter used to travel. The young man in the cap was Luo Hengyan, and the green-dressed girl was Ye Kexin—both office workers unaccustomed to hiking. Their shoes were worn out; they were exhausted. But no one dared rest. They had to reach the village before nightfall.
Li Yin, guiding them with compass and map, didn’t seem tired.
“Li… Li Yin,” Luo Hengyan panted, “How… much farther? I can’t feel my legs anymore…”
“You can stop if you want,” Li Yin replied without looking back. “But if you die, that’s on you.”
“I—I won’t!” Luo knew this was how everyone changed after living in the apartment. He himself had only been there six months.
They finally crested a hill, and Li Yin’s eyes lit up. “Look! There!”
Below lay a large village. Though rundown, it wasn’t as primitive as expected. Dozens of houses—some two-storied—stood among rice fields and working villagers.
They rushed downhill.
Entering You Shui Village meant fulfilling the command of the blood writing.
No one could defy it.
At the base of the mountain, they passed a peasant girl carrying buckets of water. Li Yin stopped her.
“Excuse me, is this You Shui Village?”
The girl, about seventeen or eighteen with large, pretty eyes, nodded. “Yes. Are you…”
“We’re tourists from K City. Hiked a long way. Thought we’d rest here a bit.”
“Oh wow! City people really came!” she said brightly. “I’m Axiu. Come with me—I’ll take you to Uncle Wang’s noodle shop. The vegetarian noodles there are amazing—made with well water!”
Well water. So the village truly had no running water. And he hadn’t seen any electric poles either. The place was indeed far behind.
Axiu was friendly, and the group followed her. But as Li Yin casually glanced at the bucket she carried—
He froze.
Inside the bucket, at the bottom of the clear water, was a pale woman’s face—blank eyes, ghost-white skin.
The image was gone in a blink.
Li Yin’s heart pounded. He walked over and saw only normal water.
No… I wasn’t seeing things.
“Miss Axiu…” he forced a smile. “You seem busy. We’ll find our own way.”
Not waiting for her response, he turned quickly and signaled the others. They followed without question, leaving Axiu confused.
Their unfamiliar faces drew stares from the villagers. Why would tourists visit this remote place?
Ye Kexin whispered, “L-Li Yin… just now, did you see… it?”
Li Yin said nothing, only nodded.
They had expected terror in You Shui Village—but this early?
Li Yin glanced at the sky. Even the sun seemed to be fading behind the clouds.
This time… of the four of them, how many would make it to July 7, back to the apartment in K City?
He’d faced this horror many times in the past year.
He had come close to death—more than once.
Close to being claimed by them.
Where those things came from, or why they appeared, no one knew. But they were everywhere—anytime, anywhere, and deadly.
The only safe place left in this world was their apartment in K City.
Only there could they be truly safe.
This was the iron rule once you became a resident of that apartment.