In the mid-1980s, winter in the northern region was so cold it felt as if it could freeze the bones apart.
The night was thick like ink that could not be dissolved. The cold wind, carrying dead leaves, howled as it slapped against the low adobe houses of Leijia Village, making eerie wailing sounds.
Inside the Wang family’s main room, a dim kerosene lamp flickered.
“Get on your knees straight! You unlucky jinx, and you still dare to cry?”
A sharp shout broke the dead silence.
Su Wan knelt on the icy ground.
She kept her head lowered, both hands tightly twisting the hem of her washed-out clothes, tears falling like broken beads.
Sitting in the grand chair was Zhang Guihua. She held a handful of melon seeds, cracking them one by one and spitting the shells onto the ground. Her triangular eyes were full of viciousness, as if she wanted to swallow the woman on the floor whole.
“You’ve been married in for three years and still haven’t laid a single egg! What sin did our Wang family commit to marry a good-for-nothing like you, just occupying space and wasting food!” Zhang Guihua grew more and more furious. She suddenly stood up, strode over to Su Wan, and pointed her finger almost at her nose. “Look at Old Li’s wife next door—she gave birth to two in one year after marrying in. And you? Besides wasting grain, what can you do?”
Su Wan trembled and finally lifted her head. Her face was pale like a freshly peeled egg. Even with tear stains, it still carried a breathtaking beauty.
A pair of peach blossom eyes shimmered with tears, the corners reddened, enough to evoke pity in anyone who saw her.
But in Zhang Guihua’s eyes, this beauty was a sin.
“Mother… the doctor said it’s not my problem…” Su Wan’s voice trembled as she tried in despair to defend herself. “Last time I went to the county hospital, the doctor said it was Da Jun…”
“Slap!”
A crisp slap landed heavily on Su Wan’s face, cutting off the rest of her words.
Su Wan was knocked to the side. Half her face swelled instantly, burning with pain, and her ears rang loudly.
“You’re spouting damn nonsense!” Zhang Guihua shouted, spitting as she raged. “My son is perfectly fine! Strong as an ox! It’s you who’s useless, your land is barren and can’t grow crops—how dare you blame the seed? I think you’re itching for a beating!”
Su Wan clutched her face and looked helplessly toward the man sitting on the edge of the kang.
Wang Da Jun wore a blue padded cotton jacket, holding a hand-rolled cigarette. In the haze of smoke, his seemingly honest face looked somewhat blurred.
Hearing his mother scolding his wife—and even hearing her mention his condition—he didn’t even lift his eyelids. He just smoked with obvious impatience.
“Da Jun…” Su Wan called out, her voice carrying her last trace of hope.
Wang Da Jun frowned, flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground, and crushed it under his shoe. His tone was cold, as if speaking to a stranger: “Mother is right. After three years with no results, you should reflect on yourself. Cry, cry, cry—always crying. It’s really unlucky.”
Su Wan’s heart completely turned cold.
This was her husband—the man who once swore before marriage that he would treat her well.
Clearly, it was his problem; he couldn’t even get it up. Yet he let his mother pour all the blame on her and watched her endure endless humiliation and torment.
“Enough. Stop being an eyesore here. Get out and stay in the wood shed! No dinner tonight!” Zhang Guihua waved her hand in disgust, as if shooing away a fly.
Su Wan staggered to her feet. Her legs, numb from kneeling too long, gave out almost causing her to fall. She gritted her teeth, supported herself against the wall, and slowly made her way out of the main room step by step.
Outside, the wind was even stronger, as if it could tear the roof off.
Su Wan was pushed into the backyard wood shed. With a “click,” the rusty iron lock was hung on the door from the outside.
The shed was filled with firewood and clutter, with only a palm-sized broken window high up near the ceiling.
Su Wan curled up in the pile of firewood, hugging her knees as her tears burst out again.
She couldn’t understand—how had life become like this?
Late at night, the wind carried the sound of dull thunder, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.
Su Wan was cold and starving. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly heard voices coming from the main room next door.
The wood shed and the main house were only separated by a thin mud wall. Years of decay had left cracks in it, and the voices drifted through with the wind.
“Mother, is this really… okay? What if people find out? I won’t be able to hold my head up again.” It was Wang Da Jun’s voice.
Su Wan’s heart tightened. Instinctively, she held her breath and moved closer to the crack in the wall.
Immediately after, Zhang Guihua’s sharp, harsh voice rang out.
“Face? If our family ends up with no heir, that’s when we truly lose face! There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and having no descendants is the worst! Do you want our Wang family line to end? When you die, who will smash the funeral bowl and carry your coffin?”
“But…”
“No buts! That Su Wan is just a hen that doesn’t lay eggs. Since our own seed isn’t working, we’ll borrow one! As long as the child comes out of her womb, it will still be our Wang family’s grandson!” Zhang Guihua’s voice carried a ruthless edge. “I already spoke to Er Gou’s mother. Although Er Gou isn’t very bright, he’s strong, and he’s your cousin. The bloodline is close—any child born will definitely be fine.”
Borrow a seed? Cousin Wang Er Gou?
Su Wan felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She froze completely, her blood seeming to solidify in an instant.
Who was Wang Er Gou? He was the village idiot from the neighboring village.
He drooled all day, grinned foolishly at every woman he saw, and even sometimes exposed himself in public—utterly filthy and disgusting.
And her mother-in-law actually wanted to hand her over to that fool?
“Then… will Su Wan agree?” Wang Da Jun still hesitated.
“She doesn’t get to agree!” Zhang Guihua spat fiercely. “Tomorrow night I’ll make some talisman water, add something to it, and make her drink it. Once she’s dizzy, we’ll bring Er Gou in. By the time she wakes up, it’ll already be done. For the sake of her reputation, she won’t dare say anything. Once she’s pregnant, we’ll send Er Gou far away. No one will know about this. Only heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know.”
“Fine then, Mother. You arrange it—just don’t let anyone see.” Wang Da Jun’s final words completely shattered Su Wan’s world.
He agreed.
He actually agreed!
Su Wan covered her mouth tightly, not allowing herself to make even the slightest sound, yet her tears poured down like a broken dam.
An immense terror gripped her like an invisible hand, choking her throat so tightly that she could barely…
She could hardly breathe.
This wasn’t a home at all—it was a man-eating hellhole.
If she didn’t run, then tomorrow night would be her death sentence, a nightmare she could never wash away for the rest of her life.
“BOOM—”
A flash of lightning split the night sky, followed by heavy raindrops crashing down like beans.
The storm had arrived.
Su Wan stared at the only small window, and her eyes slowly shifted from fear to determination—a desperate resolve of a trapped beast.
Run! She had to run! Even if she died outside, it would be better than being ruined by that fool!
With trembling hands, she pulled out a metal spoon she had hidden in the firewood pile. It was normally used to mix pig feed.
The handle had been worn down to a sharp edge. She had secretly kept it for self-defense—never expecting it would become her lifeline today.
Su Wan climbed onto the pile of firewood and reached the decayed wooden window frame.
The window had been nailed shut, but the wood had already rotted from years of wind and rain.
Biting her teeth, she used the sharp end of the spoon to pry at the cracks in the frame.
Once, twice…
Wood splinters flew everywhere, stabbing into her fingernails. Blood flowed down her fingertips, a pain that pierced straight to the bone.
But she didn’t seem to feel it. She kept prying mechanically, desperately.
The sound of rain covered the noise of her efforts, as well as her heavy breathing.
With a soft “crack,” one rotten wooden plank finally broke.
Joy surged in Su Wan’s heart. Ignoring the blood on her hands, she pushed the window open with force.
Cold wind and rain instantly poured in, soaking her face and hair.
The window was small—barely big enough for one person to squeeze through.
Su Wan climbed up with both hands and feet, half her body already outside.
Rain poured down like a flood, making it almost impossible to open her eyes.
She glanced back at the pitch-black wood shed—the prison that had held her for three years—and not a trace of attachment remained in her eyes.
She leapt out into the muddy, rain-soaked night.
When she landed, a sharp pain shot through her ankle and she stumbled, almost falling.
But she didn’t dare stop. Even one of her shoes fell off, she didn’t go back for it.
She knew the backyard connected to the mountain behind it—that was the only escape route.
As long as she could cross that mountain, she could escape Leijiatun and escape the Wang family’s grasp.
Su Wan ran wildly through the mud, stumbling deep into the darkness. Rain mixed with tears streamed into her mouth, bitter and cold.
Suddenly, a dog barked erupted from the yard behind her.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
It was the Wang family’s big yellow dog—the fiercest one they had.
“Who is it? Who’s in the backyard?” Zhang Guihua’s sharp voice cut through the rain.
Su Wan was terrified out of her wits. Her heart pounded violently, as if it would leap out of her throat.
She didn’t dare look back. Using every ounce of strength she had, she charged toward the pitch-black mountain.
Ahead was an unknown darkness, a forbidden land rumored to be home to wild beasts—and also the territory of the feared village tyrant, Lei Deshui.
But for Su Wan at this moment, even if the road ahead led to hell, it was still cleaner than the Wang family behind her.