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Before the Clay Buddha Temple, Yi Qing dragged the bodies of Ye Shisan and You Long’er from inside. She set up a makeshift radio,...

For a moment, Ye Shisan wished the You Long’er beside him, gentle as a lamb, was real. Otherwise, those hours with “her” would’ve been a...

In pitch darkness, Ye Shisan snapped awake. A sickening churn and his ragged breaths echoed in his ears. Groping about, he found his gear...

Qian Dani, Chief Dong’s daughter-in-law, was sharp. After Ye Shisan and the crew napped past sunset, the dining hall brimmed with...

Qian Dani, Chief Dong’s daughter-in-law, thirty-eight, loves coin but spends generously. This farm lunch—chicken, fish, a pot of beef—was...

Over seventy years ago, when Dong Laosan was still “Little Three,” a Clay Buddha was unearthed in Touxiang Village’s copper mine....

Touxiang Village’s chief, Dong Laosan, third son as his name implies, now lives with just his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Five...

Touxiang Village nestles deep in the mountains of central Jiangnan Province, a small county under a prefectural city, roughly a thousand...

Ye Shisan spun at the taunt, sensing trouble. A gaudy pack of Shamate youths surrounded them at the counter, led by a twenty-something...

For driving safety, Yi Qing and You Long’er took turns at the wheel, spending a full day to reach the town nearest Touxiang Village. This...

Yi Qing and Vanilla raced downstairs, desperate to rush back for Ye Shisan, when he caught up, cradling You Long’er, shouting: “What’re...

Truth be told, it was Vanilla’s first time in an asylum. At her age, the world brimmed with things she’d never seen. An asylum? To a kid,...

The snake-like tendril twitched, its spiral-barbed maw splitting to speak human words: “Ye Shisan, you know me?” “Old Pi mentioned you....

Ye Shisan barely recognized Yi Qing. A sleek black bodysuit hugged her form, rippling as she sprinted. A strange headset, like VR...

You Long’er, eavesdropping outside the ward, caught most of it—stunned by He Jun’s flip-flopping and puzzled by Wang Haiping’s constant...