Wang Jue stood stiffly, his legs locked straight, his hands clenched into fists. A crimson line oozed from the gash on his neck, and his eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth were all smeared with blood.

I fumbled nervously, touching my own face, finding nothing amiss. Turning to look around, those near me, front and back, left and right, were identical to Wang Jue: bleeding from seven orifices, limbs rigid. My heart hammered against my ribs, accelerating past comprehension; the head perched on my shoulders felt detached, as if I were dreaming, yet the heavy sickle in my hand was a stark, undeniable reminder that this was real.

What now? What in the world should I do? Before we set out, the Village Chief had given us no operational plan, only telling us to follow the group without speaking. Now, faced with this terrifying tableau, was I supposed to simply stand here bolt upright with the rest of them?

Just as I was thinking this, I felt a tap on my leg, startling me into a violent jolt. Looking down, I saw the Village Chief crouched low on the ground. He gestured for me to crawl along behind him. Feeling as if I’d found a lifeline, I immediately dropped my sickle and scrambled after him, crawling out of the formation.

The two of us thus crept out of the line in a rustling hush, reaching the small path on the mountainside, where the Village Chief finally straightened up.

I stood too, noticing the dark, smudged residue coating the Village Chief’s blue cloth shoes and staining his trousers. Following the line of his legs upward, his white cloth shirt was covered in large, spreading patches of black. Looking up further, the Village Chief’s wrinkled face had somehow become unnervingly smooth, and his features seemed subtly altered. I stared at the man before me in astonishment, but he showed no surprise at all; instead, he gave a strange, toothy grin and turned his face toward me, revealing a slow-emerging scar tracing a line across his left cheek!

I was instantly dumbfounded, my entire body trembling uncontrollably. The figure standing there was not the Village Chief; it was unmistakably the Scarface who had clawed his way out of that coffin that day!

Scarface, a bizarre smile fixed on his features, raised his sickle toward me and snarled, "Escape once, you won't escape twice!" He brought it down in an instantaneous slash. I was paralyzed with fear, watching mutely as the shining blade hurtled toward me.

It’s over! Big sister, I’ll be gone before you! All the trouble and sorrow I caused you over the years—I can never repay it now!

I squeezed my eyes shut, awaiting the cold impact of the sickle, silently reciting every debt I owed my sister through the years, ready to meet an untimely end in this desolate backwater.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... I imagined the sensation of decapitation. Back when that terrorist group posted those beheading videos online, people flocked to watch; I never dared to click. Now, it was a live, personal performance.

Five seconds passed... nothing. Ten seconds passed... still nothing. I cracked my eyes open and saw Scarface standing stock-still before me, staring intently ahead. Turning, I saw the group wielding sickles had already turned around and were now walking toward us.

Each figure bled from seven openings, their legs stiff, advancing with heavy, measured steps. The sickles in their hands gleamed menacingly, the red cloth strips gone.

Scarface let out a chilling chuckle, seized my neck, and with a puchi sound, drove the blade down. I felt the world spin into chaos. Touching my neck, my head was still attached, though blood began to bubble and pour from the wound.

The sickle-squad quickened their pace, moving with increasing urgency. Scarface had stepped aside; they were charging directly toward me. Just as they neared, a voice shouted from somewhere unseen: "Grab your sickle, quickly!" Understanding dawned on me like a flash—I had forgotten my sickle on the ground when I followed the 'Village Chief' crawling out. My weapon was now impossibly far behind this horde of demons.