Meng Yan's Transformation

Chapter 563 Falling into a Mud Pit

"This is the designer's proposal. Why put a road through a cemetery? Is this road only for the bravest? How could such an inhumane design be adopted and implemented? Is this some kind of test for cowards like me?! It's okay, it's okay, there are no ghosts in the world! Those things that look like ghosts are just starlight dancing a waltz in the fields..."

Zhan Mengyan kept muttering to herself, gripping the handlebars tightly and pedaling the bicycle with all her might, as if she wanted to grind the wheels into sparks, but her trembling knees made the front of the bicycle wobble.

The sound of dogs barking came from afar, and the warm yellow lights of the emerging town were sparse yet bright.

The barking of dogs pierced the night, becoming a signal for Zhan Mengyan to find her way home. The lights guided her, and Zhan Mengyan felt that hope was just around the corner, and that there was a warm waiting ahead—evoking a sense of familiarity and security in her.

As Zhan Mengyan turned toward the village entrance, the wheels rolled over mud pits, the chain groaning wearily. She rolled over another mud pit, the path undulating and uneven. A cool breeze carrying the smell of rust rushed toward her, and each bump made the handlebars vibrate violently.

Suddenly, Zhan Mengyan got her bicycle stuck in a mud puddle. The bicycle tilted violently, and Zhan Mengyan lurched forward like a puppet with its strings cut…

Zhan Mengyan fell heavily into a mud puddle, her elbows and knees slamming into the ground. A sharp, excruciating pain exploded within her, bringing tears to her eyes and blurring her vision. She rubbed her aching arms and pushed her mud-caked bicycle forward. Suddenly, the night wind billowed her sleeves, and the roadside grass rustled against her trouser legs, making walking difficult. A memory flashed through her mind: as a child, she and her fourth brother, Zhan Ziqiang, herding pigs on the meadow. She had gone to pick her mother's favorite carnations, and as she walked through the dense clumps, her trouser legs had been rubbed against them... Then she saw the most vibrant carnation, and as she excitedly reached to pick it, she saw a mangled, bloodied body beside it...

In the darkness, Zhan Mengyan felt a shadow begin to writhe. The mangled, bloody body suddenly moved towards her, viscous liquid dripping onto her forehead. The body was twisted like a broken doll, shattered bones piercing the skin, its neck bent at an eerie angle, emitting intermittent whimpers: "I...died...unjustly...ah...take...me...home..."

As Zhan Mengyan struggled to sit up, the hallucination suddenly vanished. Only the detached bicycle chain lay curled up in the mud, reflecting the pale moonlight, and blood seeping from her knees mixed with muddy water, leaving dark stains on her trouser legs.

From the deep, inky darkness in the distance, a hollow echo resounded, as if countless wheels were still turning and revolving in the darkness. The whimpering of the mangled, bloodied body rang out again: "Take...me...home..."

The sound grew closer and closer, rushing towards him.

Fear surged back like a tidal wave. Zhan Mengyan's heart raced, almost leaping out of her chest. Her legs felt like lead, yet she forced herself to flee quickly.

Zhan Mengyan threw down her bicycle and ran like a madwoman, all she could hear was her rapid breathing and the sound of the wind.

Zhan Mengyan kept turning back, but the other person was always following her like a shadow, as if even the shadow itself was maliciously approaching.

Zhan Mengyan ran past a brightly lit doorway and caught a glimpse of the elongated silhouette of the person behind her. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints, her throat tightened, and she almost suffocated and fell.

Finally, as she rushed into the Jin family compound, Zhan Mengyan's heartbeat gradually calmed down, but cold sweat had already soaked through her underwear, and the pain returned.