Chapter 1

"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.”

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