By the time Xiao Shu and I drove to Miao Village, it was still morning. Emerging from my in-laws' house and trekking halfway up the mountain, the sun was already high in the sky. We circled the mountainside twice, but even as the midday sun beat down, we couldn't find the slightest trace of the previous night's struggle, much less Hua Jinlan's body. Forget a human corpse; we couldn't even find a dead mouse.

Gazing at the mountain slope we had circled again and again, a sense of unease began to grip me. Could Old He have been right after all—that I had misremembered?

Xiao Shu chose a clean, large rock and sat down, squinting as he surveyed the surroundings. Suddenly, he pointed toward a large tree ahead and said, "I think that tree looks a little strange."

Those four words—a little strange—dragged the gaze of Old He and me over completely. Old He walked to the tree, examining it thoroughly from all sides—front, back, left, and right. Finally, he turned his head, fixing his gaze on me, his sharp, hawk-like eyes gleaming as he said, "It is indeed a bit different from the other trees."

"How is it different?" I walked over to the tree too, scrutinizing it from top to bottom, yet it seemed no different from any ordinary tree. It was strange that I couldn't spot anything special about it.

"Don't you notice the disproportion between the branches and the trunk itself? The tree is so short, yet the branches are so thick," Xiao Shu pointed to a branch directly above my head.

"I don't notice anything!" I reached out and tugged at the branch he indicated, saying, "People can have disproportionate limbs too. I hear that American swimming prodigy, Fei—"

Before I could finish speaking, we heard Xiao Shu let out an "Ah..." followed by silence.

"What happened just now?" I was utterly bewildered.

Old He, who was studying the tree roots, looked up when I asked him. "Nothing much! Just Xiao Shu made a sound."

Saying that, we both turned to look at Xiao Shu. What we saw was unbelievable! The blood in my veins felt like it was freezing solid.

There sat Xiao Shu, as rigid as wood on the rock, with bright crimson blood slowly oozing out from beneath him. It flowed onto the stone, which first turned red, then slowly blackened. It dripped onto the earth, staining the dirt brown, which then emitted a puff of black smoke, the brown deepening to black. It wasn't just the stone and soil that were changing; the surrounding trees were draining of life, their tender green shoots drooping and withered as if scorched by acid, thin wisps of white smoke drifting up from the desiccated leaves.

The sky was no longer pale blue. A flush of red began to bloom from the horizon, sweeping closer like a rolled-up carpet, roaring as it advanced, coating the entire firmament in a murderous, scarlet hue.

I grabbed Old He's hand, struggling to steady my trembling body, and whispered, "What did I just do?"

"I don't know," Old He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with the same terror as mine.

Looking back at Xiao Shu, his head had slumped and tilted to one side, yet his body remained bolt upright. If it weren't for the conical object visible on the left side of his neck, we never would have realized he was hanging by a thread.

However, I wasn't the first to see that thing; I was too terrified and scattered to focus on my surroundings. Old He, having undergone special police training, was marginally calmer than I. He spotted the object instantly, mustered his courage, walked over, and after a careful examination, told me in a trembling voice, "Xiaoyu, Xiao Shu has been nailed to this rock!"