Chapter 1 Haunted by Gods and Monsters
When Leng An woke up it was already 10:30 in the morning. He dragged his tired body to the bathroom, groggily did his morning routine and looked outside. It was all white; no wonder it had been so quiet last night, it was snowing.
Wait a minute . . . He wouldn’t forget the day even if he was sleepy. It was summer. Why would it snow?
He looked at himself in the mirror. For a second, his pupils were red. When he double-checked, they were back to black.
He was used to this happening.
He just needed to remind himself.
He ambled into the living room. It was an average-sized room with a glass table and a long sofa right across from a wooden table cluttered with various snacks. The floor has a bamboo mat where he could sit and play games while snacking. His landlord, who owned the restaurant downstairs, not only rented him this room, but also provided him with meals. He didn’t need to pay anything other than rent as long as he tutored his landlord’s son.
He was on his seventh day of winter break from school. He had already completely reversed his usual schedule.
“Brother Leng An, your noodles are here!” His landlord’s son walked over and plopped a big bowl of noodles next to his computer. His landlord knew he woke up after ten a.m. every day.
It was nice to have hot food whenever he felt hungry, especially since he liked to eat, although he usually went downstairs himself. Today, his landlord’s son was really helpful by bringing the food, which was odd. He smirked at the kid. “Hey, you need a favor or something?”
“Nah, Brother Leng An, I’m not like that. A hot girl gave me one hundred Yuan to bring you the food.” The kid smiled, but Leng An’s heart dropped. He lived like a slacker on break. Usually, he was a good student at school; however, he had a secret that no one could know. He tried to ignore it, but it was not working.
Every cell in Leng An’s body was rebelling; he looked calm but things were happening fast. He wanted to run, but it was too late.
Leng An’s body was out of his control as he stood up, and ignoring the kid’s confused look, he said, “I need to go out.” He walked downstairs, fully conscious, to a black and red Bugetta.
The passenger side door was unlocked, so Leng An opened the door and got in. The driver wore a suit and black glasses. Leng An couldn’t move his body, but wanted to show his shock. Why was the man dressed like a hit man? Well, they were obviously kidnapping him, so they weren’t being discreet about it.
“Let’s go,” came a cold voice from the backseat. Leng An knew the voice, and if he could have moved, he would have started crying.
The car drove into the snowstorm.
So the snow was here to stay.
It was taking too long. Leng An knew the noodles were weird, but he had already eaten them. He hadn't realized they had these methods, and could do things to the food. He was not in control of his body anymore. This wasn’t a fantasy novel—it was happening to him, and even worse, he knew exactly what they wanted to do.
He had to get away. No matter what he had to do, he had to run, or he was going to die.
It was the only thought in Leng An’s mind.
The fact was, Leng An couldn’t even move his limbs the way he wanted. No matter how beautiful the girl is, you have to watch out for ulterior motives. You have a lot to learn, kid. Don’t be tempted by money and women, he wanted to tell the landlord’s son, not that the kid would listen to him.
The money was tempting.
Leng An did more than complain in his mind. He remembered the car’s route. He didn’t realize they could find out where he lived, which was not in town, but a village outside. It was not an urban area nor expensive, and the environment was not bad. He knew they wouldn’t let him go after he had seen what he had.
The car entered downtown Yunshan City, toward the rich area. Leng An tried to move his eyes, which felt dry, but he couldn’t, so he gave up trying to control his body. It was futile anyway.
Leng An thought of how much he suffered growing up and all of his struggles: six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, three years of high school, and surviving the college entrance exams. He was just waiting for his results now. When things were finally looking up, he somehow met those people and had that happen, and now he was going to die because of what he had seen. He was frustrated and desperate. He knew he wasn’t lucky, but he wasn’t this unlucky, either.
He didn’t want to die. He wanted to keep living.
Leng An didn’t know the car was headed toward the rich neighborhood. He thought they were going to kill him and bury him somewhere in the wilderness. He had also said he needed to go out earlier, so that was a sign that he wasn’t coming back.
There was a girl who sat behind him in class. She was about his age. Cloud Xuanyuan. Her name alone was special; the first of the five major emperors of China was named Xuanyuan. She was a descendant of the gods, not to mention that she was stunning and considered the beauty of the school. Many people wanted to be her friend, and Leng An, being class president, was rumored to be involved with her. He never realized she was that different from her exterior image.
Girls like that were terrifying.
Leng An knew why she had picked on him. It had all started with the graduation party a few days ago. The school hadn't organized an official graduation party this year, but instead the students had their own dinners at restaurants. Leng An was never interested in things like this, but the teacher insisted that he go and kept nagging him, so he finally agreed to go.
It wasn’t that late that night. The party was a mess. Leng An was fed many shots by his friends. He didn’t like to drink and rarely drank, but he didn’t get drunk. Alcohol didn’t really work on him, so he told the teacher he would find taxis for everyone. He had to; everyone was so out of it that letting them walk home wasn’t an option.
Cloud wasn’t at the party, which did not really concern Leng An. People just kept saying that it was a shame the most beautiful girl was absent that night. Leng An thought it was not a surprise girls like Cloud didn’t show; the guys who wanted to pursue her had no chance.
After three years of studying together, Leng An felt attached to the group. He was still emotional when he left the restaurant. He felt lucky he got out when people were hugging and crying or he felt like he was going to cry, too. Who knew when they’d see each other again, and he was even feeling sorry Cloud was absent. He was actually a marshmallow in spite of his cool demeanor.
“Don’t speak of goodbye, even after three thousand dinners.” As Leng An had comforted himself with an old poem, he noticed someone walking by in the shadows, or more accurately, a monster with scales all over its body. He knew the face, though, and it was Cloud.
He knew he wasn’t drunk, but he also told himself it was an illusion. Growing up, he always had all sorts of illusions. Some people never looked human to him, and he saw things others didn’t. He even saw a doctor to treat the problem.
Drugs didn’t help him, so he stopped taking them. He understood never to talk about what he saw, but just to stay silent—until that day.
That monster had to be Cloud. He had followed it without hesitation.
She moved so fast that he almost lost her as he chased along. He was impressed. Who knew this quiet girl would be this strong? Why didn’t she contribute her talent at the sports meet at school? It was a waste of her skills.
Leng An complained as he ran as fast he could. Luckily Cloud finally stopped.
If he could do it over again, he would have never chased after Cloud for two blocks and see what he had, something that had brought him so much trouble.