The deepest fears are often born of a world out of order.
Like "There's someone under the bed," "She's smiling on top of the wardrobe," and "Don't set foot on that mountain."
Or when a neighbor you haven't seen in ten years suddenly takes your hand and says: I'm your fiance.
And there's not a single word written in your journal.
So, will something terrible happen during the Qingming Festival?
--
Lin Mingzi lost her soul ten years ago. Since then, she's managed to live in the present by relying on her journal, alarm clocks, and muscle memory.
During the Qingming holiday, she goes to help out in the kitchen at her cousin's small mountain resort.
It's supposed to be a warm April in the south, but an uncanny snowstorm suddenly hits the mountain.
Heavy snow seals off the mountain, trapping everyone at the resort.
Maggots crawl out of a bowl of clear water. A Taoist priest coming up the mountain gets into a car accident. It seems like something is always trying to break down the door...
Worst of all, she discovers that--
Someone who has lost their soul must never go into the mountains again.
--
Someone warns Lin Mingzi:
Don't go near that man with the cold, pitch-black eyes.
Lin Mingzi: Why?
: Because he's very clever.
Lin Mingzi: ...Why?
: Because his intelligence will only turn him into a cold, selfish, evil sorcerer.
Lin Mingzi: ...So when did my old neighbor become an evil sorcerer? And when did he become my fiance?
--
How much can a mountain hold?
Plants, animals, graves, the dead, fugitives, spirits, ghosts...
Are the red cords tied to the trees there to pray for blessings, appease something, or warn us?
If something stirs deep in the forest, should we lock the doors and windows, or open the door to welcome our guests?
Will the turmoil of the past affect the present on a small mountain at the junction of Tibetan, Yi, and Han regions?
Should we consider the possibility that something terrifying is lurking in the house?
--
The main story:
The romance matters because love matters.
The mystery-solving matters because this world is real.
Style: Not gory. Folk-horror mystery atmosphere, focused on the slow dawning of terror, supported by supernatural logic.
Additional notes:
[The author hates writing cannon fodder and thinks dead people are a low-level kind of horror. What's truly eerie is when someone has become a different person.]
[The author believes a good ghost story has a convincing quality that becomes more terrifying the more you think about it.]
Theme: Fighting to live on, just as you are.
