Several days passed after that.
Brother Zhiyu and Brother Su Yan had grown much closer since the confession in the flower fields. Every time they met, the atmosphere between them turned warm and awkward, both of them far too shy to speak naturally around each other. Even the smallest glance would leave one of them flustered.
On the surface, everything seemed peaceful.
But that creature was always there.
It never left Brother Su Yan's house.
Because of its appearance—those horns, those crimson eyes, that inhuman presence—it could never walk openly among the villagers. So it stayed hidden inside the wooden house, silently waiting for Su Yan to return every day.
Still, I was certain Brother Su Yan had told it everything.
About Brother Zhiyu.
About their growing relationship.
About the future he hoped for.
And while their hearts grew closer, the village itself slowly fell apart.
Day after day, more villagers became sick with the strange disease. Their skin darkened little by little, turning almost black, while parts of their bodies began to rot. Yet somehow, they remained alive. Barely breathing. Barely moving.
Fear spread through the village like wildfire.
"Rui… stay inside the house and be careful. Don't let strangers in," Zhiyu said one morning while putting on his shoes outside the door. His voice was calm, but there was exhaustion hidden beneath it. "Things in the village aren't good right now."
Rui lowered his head slightly. "Brother… do you think this is… a curse?"
Zhiyu turned back and smiled at him gently.
"Don't worry. Everything will be alright."
He always said that.
Even when things clearly weren't alright anymore.
Just as Zhiyu prepared to leave for hunting, he suddenly coughed hard into his fist.
Rui immediately looked up in concern.
"Brother Zhiyu? Are you sick? Maybe you should rest today instead."
Zhiyu coughed again before waving him off.
"It's only a cold. Probably because I've been accompanying Su Yan to the flower fields almost every night lately."
But Rui couldn't relax.
Getting sick during times like this felt like a terrible omen.
"I'll be back early," Zhiyu said softly before rubbing Rui's head and leaving the house.
The days that followed continued as usual.
Except for Zhiyu.
His condition worsened with each passing day.
Rui often saw him coughing violently. Sometimes he would even vomit behind the house when he thought nobody was looking.
"Brother Zhiyu… are you really okay?" Rui asked one evening, unable to hide his worry anymore.
Zhiyu had just finished throwing up. His face was pale, almost colorless, yet he still forced a smile.
"I'm fine. I just need more rest."
But Rui knew.
This was not ordinary exhaustion.
And it certainly wasn't a simple illness.
Yet he stayed silent.
The truth sat heavily inside his chest like a stone.
He wanted to tell someone about the creature living in Su Yan's house.
He wanted to tell everyone.
But he remembered the promise he made that day.
And he couldn't bring himself to break it.
A few days later—
"Brother Zhiyu? You're still not awake? The sun's already high up."
Rui pushed open the bedroom door while speaking.
Zhiyu lay beneath the blanket quietly, his large body unmoving as though he were in deep sleep.
Something felt wrong.
Rui slowly pulled the blanket down—
And froze.
His entire body went cold.
Zhiyu's arms and legs had turned black.
The rest of his skin was deathly pale.
His breathing was weak.
Very weak.
Zhiyu slowly opened his eyes and looked at Rui.
"Rui… my little brother…"
"BROTHER ZHIYU?!"
Rui's scream broke apart into sobs.
Seeing his brother—someone so strong, so dependable—reduced to this state felt as though someone had torn his heart open with bare hands.
"I… didn't think it would end like this…" Zhiyu whispered weakly.
Then, after a long pause, he said softly,
"Please… protect Su Yan…"
Those words snapped something inside Rui.
Everything suddenly connected in his mind.
The disease.
The deaths.
The curse.
That creature.
If they had never saved it…
If Brother Su Yan had never brought it home…
Then maybe none of this would have happened.
Maybe Zhiyu wouldn't—
Rui broke down completely.
"Brother Zhiyu… I… there's something I need to tell you… all of this… this illness… it's because of Brother Su Yan—"
Before he could finish, Zhiyu weakly lifted his hand and gently patted Rui's head.
"I know."
Rui froze.
"I know about the creature Su Yan saved," Zhiyu murmured quietly. "Su Yan is simply too kind… And I always knew someone was watching us whenever I was with him."
His eyes slowly dimmed.
"This isn't Su Yan's fault… Sometimes fate simply enjoys mocking human kindness."
Rui cried harder.
"I-I'll find a way to cure you… I will…!"
Zhiyu smiled faintly.
"It's impossible, Rui…"
His voice grew softer and softer.
"I only want you… to stay healthy… and happy…"
Then after a long silence—
"If Su Yan is happier with that creature… then leave this village…"
His breathing trembled.
"I don't want you to become sick like me…"
His heartbeat weakened.
Slower.
And slower.
Until finally—
It stopped.
…
[That was the greatest mistake I ever made.]
[I did not listen to Brother Zhiyu's final words.]
[The moment he died, all reason left me.]
[I ran.]
[I ran without thinking.]
Brother Su Yan is hiding a demon inside his house.
Without even realizing it, Rui revealed everything to the villagers.
From the moment Su Yan found the creature in the flower fields…
To the mysterious illness…
To the villagers dying one by one beneath the curse.
The villagers' expressions twisted with fury.
Fear turned into hatred.
Hatred turned into violence.
They gathered together and marched toward Su Yan's house carrying torches and weapons.
The shouting…
The flames…
The screams…
It was too terrifying for a child like Rui.
He couldn't bear to watch what would happen next.
So he took a small boat and sailed toward the tiny island near the village, carrying Zhiyu's body with him.
He remembered how his brother once said he wanted to sit quietly beside the sea someday—
Listening to the waves.
Watching the sunset.
Rui dug the grave himself.
With his bare hands.
The rough soil tore open his skin until his fingers bled, but he could no longer feel the pain.
Because the thing hurting most was his heart.
When he finished, Zhiyu's grave stood facing the sea and the setting sun.
Everything was quiet.
Rui couldn't even cry anymore.
There were no tears left inside him.
But in the middle of that silence—
A blinding light suddenly appeared behind him.
Rui slowly turned around—
And froze.
The entire village was burning.
Towering flames swallowed every building whole.
Not a single home escaped the fire.
The red blaze consumed the evening sky itself.
The sound of crashing waves disappeared beneath the screams of villagers crying in terror.
Rui was too afraid to return.
He was only a child.
At that moment, all he could do was stand there helplessly and watch everything precious to him disappear.
[It was then…]
[That I finally realized…]
[I had lost everything.]
…
Yang Luoya slowly closed the diary.
Tears had unknowingly gathered at the corners of his eyes.
He didn't understand why his chest hurt so much.
But watching someone lose the people they loved one after another… without being able to save any of them…
It felt like a blade carving through his heart.
Yang Wei noticed immediately.
Without saying anything, he quietly pulled Yang Luoya into his arms, trying to comfort him.
…
…
Deep within a remote forest, Jing Lei lay on a crude bed made from wood and dried leaves.
His eyes slowly opened.
Pain spread through his entire body the moment he regained consciousness.
He sat up weakly and looked around.
The place was unfamiliar.
A small hut made of wood, leaves, and woven branches stood around him, simple yet warm in a strange way.
"Where… am I?"
Before he could think further, the door curtain suddenly lifted.
A young woman stepped inside.
She wore clothing made from leather and leaves. Her skin was bronze beneath the sunlight, and her long black hair was tied back with bird feathers woven into it. Despite her unusual appearance, she looked bright and lively.
The moment she saw Jing Lei awake, her eyes widened in excitement.
"Ah! You're awake!"
She immediately turned and rushed outside again.
"Baba! He's awake!"