Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Two months ago, my sister left for Yunnan to volunteer as a teacher.

Her destination was Duoji Village, a small settlement nestled in the northwestern foothills of Ailao Mountain.

Initially, her social media posts were mostly about the natural scenery, local customs, and the innocent, smiling faces of her students.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

That was until a day ago, when she posted something bizarre on her feed:

[Black dogs grow white scales, the Flesh Well blinks with a thousand eyes, and humanity cannot escape Ailao Mountain!]

At the time, I even left a comment: [Did you eat some colorful mushrooms for lunch?]

She didn’t reply.

But less than half a minute later, she posted another update:

[Do not sever the Yin-Yang Threads!]

Yin-Yang Threads?

I was completely baffled.

Had she really accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms and started hallucinating?

I had a bad feeling about it and sent her several messages, but I didn’t get a single response all afternoon. In my anxiety, I tried calling her.

“The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”

I called several times, but each time I was met with the same familiar automated voice.

I tried every possible way to contact her, but there was no response.

The sense of unease in my heart grew stronger.

Early the next morning, I rushed to the police station.

“Officer, my sister has gone missing!”

Hearing this, the duty officer immediately perked up. “Don’t panic. Take it slow. What’s your sister’s name? How long has she been missing? Where was the last place she was seen?”

“My sister’s name is Song Yao. She went to Duoji Village in Yunnan two months ago to teach. Everything was fine at first…”

“But since yesterday at noon,” my voice trembled involuntarily, “I… I haven’t been able to get in touch with her!”

The officer tried to calm me down while typing on his keyboard. “Don’t worry. Let me look up the location first so I can contact my colleagues over there.”

As the minutes ticked by, his expression gradually darkened.

“What’s the situation?”

My heart jumped into my throat.

The officer looked at me coldly and said sternly, “If you file a false police report again, you’ll be looking at detention.”

“A false report?!”

I grew frantic at his words. “Officer, my sister really is missing! She might be in danger!”

“Still acting?” The officer’s expression was grim. “I just checked. There is no such place as Duoji Village in Yunnan!”

“Furthermore, the household registry shows that you are an only child.”

He stared directly at me as he finished:

“Where did you get a sister from?”