Wang Zhi tried her best to muffle her footsteps as she slowly crept to the entrance of the pigpen. Under the dim light scattering from the only bulb in the central hall, she could vaguely make out a domestic pig nearly one meter in length inside. She surveyed the structure of the backyard buildings and noticed the pigpen had a roof. Directly opposite the pigpen, about ten steps to the left, was the outhouse. To the right was a pile of miscellaneous items and pig feed stacked at least half a person's height. Layers of intertwined feed straw surrounded a bucket still containing some leftover scraps. It seemed the pig was fed a mix of grain and straw.
Carefully controlling the flashlight beam to avoid any light leaking through the gaps in the wooden fence, Wang Zhi moved slowly, meticulously examining every item in the pigpen. She didn't miss a single thing, all while keeping an eye on the illuminated staircase leading to the second floor. Finding nothing of interest outside the pen, she decided to venture inside for a closer look.
The sow was deep in sleep but still grunting softly. Its head was plump and large, yet its body was entirely snow-white and healthy-looking—easily weighing over 300 pounds. As Wang Zhi observed the sow, she also scanned for potential hiding spots in case the village chief came down. Being caught inside the pigpen would be a death sentence.
The pen was enclosed by wooden fences on three sides and a plank wall on the fourth. The dirt floor was covered with a layer of dried, yellowed straw, likely for warmth. Surprisingly, the village chief seemed to take good care of his property, ensuring the sow didn't catch a chill. The pen was also unusually clean for a domestic pig enclosure, with no traces of the usual filth.
Though puzzled, Wang Zhi didn't dwell on it. She continued searching the feeding trough until her fingers finally brushed against fresh carvings. Unlike the shallow marks she had made on herself earlier, these were deeply etched and caked with a mixture of feed, pig waste, and blood. Had she not been meticulously feeling around, she would never have noticed them beneath the grime.
Slowly wiping away the mess, she uncovered several crooked characters:
"Armor… Body Blood… Break Curse."
She couldn't make sense of it at first—the words were too distorted, and the trough's surface was corroded with pits and grooves. It seemed to be an eight-character phrase, missing a verb and a noun.
Perhaps I need to find armor and use something containing blood to break the curse?
Lost in thought, she was suddenly yanked backward by her clothes. The force was so abrupt she had no time to resist before being pulled to the ground. Her mind went blank, convinced the village chief had found her—until she realized the supposedly sleeping sow had clamped onto her clothes, dragging her down before rolling sideways to pin her.
Just as Wang Zhi struggled to free herself, she heard the voices of the village chief and another man approaching.
"Did she faint again today? The past couple days, she's been faking it so convincingly. I didn't notice at all. Her performance was completely natural, like it was her first time, and her responses were different each time. I'm really impressed—do you think she might be some big celebrity?" the young man spoke with a thick Sichuan accent (Note 1). Wang Zhi's best friend was from Chongqing, Sichuan, so she could understand the man's words perfectly. Suppressing her shock and confusion, Wang Zhi listened carefully.
The village chief's voice was low and hoarse, completely devoid of the gentleness he had shown when speaking to Wang Zhi earlier. His face was expressionless, cold and still. "Hmph, no location, no phone, no companions—she's a turtle in a jar now. If she weren't both a virgin and someone with spiritual radiance, I wouldn't have taken such a risk. That guide of hers was truly hard to kill—how many did we lose?" "Three," the young man replied.
"Hmph, did you clean up properly? As usual." The chief warned. "You can trust me. At the cliff's edge, the bodies were pushed over. Clothes tossed aside—no trace of them, alive or dead. We used blunt weapons to match the injuries from a fall. Even if the curse lifts in a week or two, the bodies will be too decomposed to tell." The young man sounded smug, even proud of his handiwork.
"During your patrol earlier, did you see her try to escape? We can't kill her yet—it's best if she offers herself willingly. Our god will surely grant us greater blessings." The old man sounded almost fanatical.
"Like I said, Chief, you can trust me. This time, can I lead the ritual? With her, I'll have four heads—enough to become a vessel for the Evil Child. Hahaha!" The young man's face was eager. "Hmph, we'll see how you do."
"Should I just go in and tie her up, then force the potion down her throat?"
"Fool! You've caused trouble several times before. Force-feeding medicine is nowhere as reliable as this slow erosion. She's now like a turtle in a jar. Moreover, forced medication might leave her with lingering fear. If she regains even a shred of clarity during the ritual, our entire ceremony will be ruined. Who will bear the wrath of the deity then? You? Or me? Hmph! If I hear such foolish words again, I'll rip your head off as an offering to the deity, making you truly one with divine will." As the old man spoke, his angry expression revealed bulging veins beneath his skin, their crimson hue unnatural, writhing like maggots beneath the surface. The younger man hastily lowered his head in apology.
Suddenly, the young man's expression sharpened, his yellow vertical pupils contracting like a predator's. He sniffed carefully, as if detecting something amiss. "Has the human-pig awakened? Why is the fragrance so intense? It shouldn't mature for another day yet…" Hearing this, the village chief also grew alert. Perhaps concerned about disrupting Wang Zhi's hypnotic conditioning, he merely approached, examining the pig's head closely. Finding the creature still motionless with tightly shut eyes and snow-white skin, he retreated silently.
"Indeed," he murmured to the younger man, "this offering ranks high, second only to that newcomer Wang Zhi. The scent must mean it's nearing readiness. We must prepare for tomorrow's blessing ceremony. Are your preparations complete? We need to rehearse once more—tomorrow is the crucial Soul Sacrifice." The youth nodded obediently. After ensuring all doors and windows were securely fastened, both men slipped outside unnoticed.
I attempted to rise, but the creature pressed down firmly, pinning me. Just as I thought it couldn't comprehend and prepared to push it away, the creature turned its head and opened its eyes—eyes brimming with complex emotions no ordinary pig could possess. Earlier, when it had shielded me from view, I'd suspected something. Now, seeing that gaze, I knew: this was no animal, but likely a person, perhaps even one of my companions. The pig held my stare, nudged my mouth with its snout, then turned away, resuming its feigned slumber. The message was clear: remain still.
After enduring the crushing weight for over ten minutes until my limbs grew numb, I faintly discerned movement—the village chief crouching silently at the stairway landing, his gaze sweeping between the pigpen and my window. Wang Zhi shrank deeper into hiding, relieved to see the flashlight completely obscured by the pig's bulk, not a sliver of light escaping.
The chief descended soundlessly this time, his feet touching stairs yet producing no noise. His muttering seemed half-delirious: "Could it truly be my imagination?" Then like a specter, he glided across the courtyard and vanished beyond the gate into the night.
At this moment, the pig also stood up, shook its body, and signaled for me to pick up the flashlight. Then, it tapped the ground with its trotter and began to scratch marks. Since there were grass fragments on the ground, the scratches appeared quite clear under the flashlight's beam. After writing each character, the pig would erase it before writing the next one. Slowly, I understood the message it was conveying:
"Wang Zhi, tomorrow you will undergo a blessing ritual—the second step of their sacrifice. You've been here for three days, not two. On the second day, our plan failed. Don't try to escape or fight them directly. They aren't normal people. Tomorrow, remember to collect blood. The idol has two layers, but I don't know where the second one is. Tomorrow will be the last day I can remember you. Our conclusion is that we're unsure whether this place is reality. These are all things you told me to tell you. You said you'd definitely come back to the pigpen to find me. You must remember who you are—we're all counting on you."
As soon as these few sentences ended, the pig immediately started acting restless. I knew it was time to leave. I whispered, "Thank you. Though I don't know who you are, I'll do everything I can to break free from this prison."
Wang Zhi hurried back to her room, quietly latched the door, and slowly poured lamp oil outside the window. She didn't have time to process everything and forced herself to sleep immediately. She knew that if the village chief and the others returned, she would be taken back to the main village road to begin another "first day of the journey." So, she had to fall into a deep sleep.
Exhausted from the overwhelming information and the constant fear that the village chief might check if she was asleep, Wang Zhi drifted into a deep slumber within moments.