Mists and Mysteries of the Mountain Village

A blood moon hangs overhead, and crows cry from withered trees. Strange murders plague a remote mountain village one after another. Each victim wears a foolish smile, with a blood-red demonic flower blooming from their chest. The villagers whisper that a mountain spirit has come to claim a bride, and now it has come to take their lives.

Su Xiuniang, who lives at the western end of the village, wears red as vivid as blood. Exquisitely beautiful, she is a delicate beauty who furrows her brow and sheds tears at the slightest touch. As she twists a needle between her fingers, the mandarin ducks on her embroidery frame gleam with a cold light. Only those who catch a glimpse of the sinister glow in her eyes realize that this delicate flower has roots soaked through with poison.

The local police are at a loss, but she takes the case to them herself. Pointing out subtle flaws in the files, she coughs softly and explains the inhuman nature of the matter. Then she "invites" a wild Taoist expelled from his sect, a Miaojiang sorceress who turned her back on her homeland, and a retired officer with blood on his hands. Together, they are a band of "freaks," each with secrets of their own.

They seal their pact and become one another's fangs and blades. Amid layers of mist, she lays trap after trap, using herself as bait to lure the evil creature into the open. As the wild Taoist's talismans burn to ash and the sorceress's silver bells shatter, she smiles beneath the blood moon. Her embroidery needle draws a thousand threads of blood, and it turns out... she is the most fearsome player in this game

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.