The world shook violently.
Jinhai groaned as his body bounced against rough wood. Pain shot through his limbs. His body ached in place he didn't know could hurt. Every breath came with a sharp stab in his ribs.
"Where…am I ?" He muttered, slowly opening his eyes and blinking a few times.
This wasn't 2010. maybe not in city. That much was obvious. The sky Above was too clean- it was the kind of sky that made you forget pollution ever existed. The air smelled fresh, too fresh.
But the road beneath the cart?
Dirt. No pavement.No buildings. No traffic lights. No sign of the modern world at all.
Ouch.
He shifted half an inch. His ribs flared like someone had taken a hammer to his side.
Ambulance?
He tried to sit up - and failed.
The last thing he remembered-
Bright headlights. A loud horn. A truck speeding through the intersection, not slowing at all, while he stood frozen on the crosswalk. One hand hold his phone. The other griping his work bag.
Then…boom.
Blood on both sides of his mouth, Screams. Someone yelling, " Call an ambulance, now!"
So why am I in a wooden cart?
He looked down. His body was rail-thin. Bones pressed against skin like he'd been starved for months. Pale. Weak. His hands trembled.
And-
"The hell? Why am I wearing a red robe?" He muttered. " A wedding outfit? Is this new hospital gown? Some kind of prank?
He reached inside the folds of the robe.
No phone.
No wallet.
Huh? Did someone steal my stuff?
The pain throbbed again as he moved. The robe looked worn and dirty, dust settling into every fold.
Everything hurt.
From up ahead, the driver mumbled something.
Jinhai strained to listen.
" Poor brat…just like the last one. Sent to rot in the resting village."
The word came out so fast- too fast.
Like he'd repeating them dozens of times before.
Resting village?
That didn't sound like recovery place.
It sounded like a place people were sent to be forgotten.
Jinhai's fingers tightened around the edge of the cart. His knuckles were pale against the splinters wood.
He opened his mouth to ask-
But a sharp pain cut through his chest.
Khaaaaak-!
He coughed violently. Something wet hit his palm.
Blood.
The driver didn't even glance back.
"Almost there," he muttered.
The cart creaked on forward, wheels crunching over dry dirt leaving behind a trail of dust.
Once the pain faded bit, Jinhai tried to steady his breath.
That's when the memories came - fast , chaotic and overlapping.
He saw his old office. His friends. His family. Their smiles blurred into shouting. But those shouting come from people that he never saw in his whole life but he feel like he know them since his birth.
"Why are you so useless?"
"Why do you eat so much?"
"Don't wast our money."
"Can't you just die already?"
He grabbed his head. His vision spun.
Then everything went black again for a moment.
When he opened his eyes, he checked his robe.
Torn in several places.
He fumbled at his waist - his hand touch something feels like a small pouch, it jingled softly.
From up ahead, the driver shouted, "We'll reach the village before nightfall!"
Then he pause. His tone sharpened.
"I'll drop you near the village entrance. Then I'm gone. You're on your own after that."
Jinhai opened his mouth to reply -
But the cart lurched sideways again. He lost balance and tumbled off, landing hard on the dirt.
"Good luck, kid." The driver muttered. He didn't even stop. Just snapped the reins and vanished into the dusty road.
Jinhai groaned, trying to push himself up.
Some villagers peeked out from their huts.
"Another one?"
A young girl rush toward him, trying to help - but her father yanked her back with a scowl.
A few thin men, old and sun-worn, walked out slowly. They said nothing.
But they helped him to stand up.
And carried him toward the village center.
After arriving at the village center, the thin men quietly returned to whatever jobs they had.
Jinhai was alone again.
He sat in silence for a moment, then looked around.
Broken huts with crooked roofs. Walls patched with straw. A dying tree stood near the well, its leaves curled like old paper. Everything looked like it was on the verge of collapse - just like him.
So this is where they throw people like me.
He looked up.
The sky overhead was burnt orange. Almost red. Like blood soaked into the clouds.
Fine, he muttered. I'll survive. And then I'll rise back to where I belong.
But first - he had to crawl.
The men had pointed at a hut before they left. Said it was his " new home."
He dropped to the ground and started dragging himself forward. No one helped this time. No one watched.
Each rock on the the dirt road stabbed into his ribs. His arms shook. His breath caught.
"Khaaak"
He coughed again. Blood hit the dirt.
But he didn't stop
Finally, he reached the hut.
Its roof leaked. The window half missing. The door barely hung on one hinge, with a fist-sized hole in the center.
Jinhai took a long breath.
Then sighed.
He pulled himself inside, inch by inch, until he collapsed beside a half filled water pot. He drank with shaking hands. It was warm. Bitter. But it didn't matter.
Then he crawled toward the bed - if it could be called that. Just a pile of rage in a wooden frame.
He lay down slowly. Every bone hurt.
Let me sleep, he thought. Just enough to be able to walk tomorrow.
His eyes grew heavy.
And in the quiet, ruined house…
Jinhai closed his eyes.
Then-
A soft knock at the broken doorframe.
His breath caught.
Footsteps.
Lightly
Through the hole in the wooden door, a small figure stepped into the moonlight.
It was the girl from before.
The one who'd tried to help him.
She held something in her hands - a sharpened stick, worn smooth from use. It was barely more than a broom handle.
She bit her lip, trembling and stepped closer to the bed.
One step. Then another.
She raised the stick halfway.
Jinhai didn't move or dare to make a sound he even try to hold his breathe
Her eyes locked onto him- wide and wild, like murderer ready to finish the job.
The little girl raised the stick higher.
All the way above her head.
Her fingers clenched tight around the splintered wood,
Then -
" DIE! DIE! DIE!" She screamed, voice cracking as she brought the stick down with everything she had.
Jinhai's eyes widened -
He has no energy left to react.
THWACK!
The impact shook the entire hut.
Blood sprayed across the wall.
The moon light slipped in through the broken window, painting her face in silver.
Her eyes were wide. Her cheeks spattered red. Her breath ragged.
She just stood there - covered in blood, holding the stick with both hands.
And she was smiling.
A small, trembling smile stretched across her face….
Followed by a soft, breathy giggle.