The Burning Village

There was a custom in our village. Before every girl got married, she had to take her boyfriend to the shrine to pay respects. If they came out safe and sound, it meant the two of them would live happily ever after. Both of my younger sisters got married when they were twenty. However, I was already thirty and still not married. That was because every boyfriend who had ever gone into the shrine broke up with me afterward. Some even tried to kill me. My new boyfriend was fed up with our village’s backwardness but insisted on going there. My dad, who was the village chief, brought him in. As soon as they came out, my boyfriend pinned me to the floor and tried to strangle me. I did not understand. What exactly was inside the shrine that made them change so drastically? Even though my dad knew they would turn on me once they went in, why did he insist on taking them there? Chapter 1 “You’re actually keeping a woman this despicable around? If I were you, I’d have dumped her long ago! “Mr. David, you’ve been so good to me. I’ll do this as a favor to you. I’ll kill her right now!” My new boyfriend, Colin Grant, lunged at me, grabbed me by the throat, and pinned me to the floor. I struggled desperately, but I was no match for him. “Colin, murder is a crime!” “Killing a woman like you is ridding the world of a menace!” He paid my words no heed and even slammed his knee hard into my stomach. A sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen, and I lost all ability to fight back. My breathing grew weaker and weaker. I could even feel death closing in on me. Colin finally let go. However, before walking away, he kicked me twice with all his might. “You piece of trash, I’ll kill you sooner or later!” After he left, I had barely crawled to my feet when my father, David Miller, kicked me across the room. I did not fight back while he was beating me. It was pointless. He was the village chief. No one dared to stop him when he laid a hand on someone. He pinned me to the floor and beat me for half an hour. I ended up breaking three ribs and two fingers. I remembered clearly that this was the tenth time since I turned twenty. Back when I had chosen a fiance and brought him home to pay respects to the shrine, every ex-boyfriend who had ever gone near the shrine had broken up with me afterward. Some had even tried to kill me, like Colin earlier. My dad always told people that I brought bad luck and that this was happening because I angered the deities. To appease their wrath, he had to teach me another lesson. Although I did not want to believe the altar really had that kind of power, the same thing has happened to so many of my boyfriends over the past ten years. I had no choice but to believe it. All of this made me even more curious about the shrine. I could not help but message a few of my close friends to ask if they had heard of similar strange occurrences in their hometowns. [No way. Everyone has to go inside our shrine to pay their respects.] [We often hold events there, and I’ve never heard of anyone coming out of the shrine with a completely changed personality.] [Poppy, did your dad do something with the shrine? He’s never liked you since you were little, has he? Why don’t you go inside and see what’s going on?] I thought that was the best solution, too. However, no matter how much I begged, my dad kept saying that the shrine was exclusively for men to pay their respects. I was not allowed inside. If I asked too many questions, I would just get a severe beating. However, he never did that before his two adopted daughters. At one point, I even suspected I was not his biological child. I secretly had a test done, though. The DNA results confirmed I was his biological child. I even suspected that he hated me because he hated my mom. However, my mom passed away many years ago. He had been alone ever since. No matter who tried to set him up, he turned all potential partners down. “The one I love most in this life is Margaret. I’ll never marry anyone else.” Everyone knew my dad was deeply devoted to his wife and that he doted on his children. No one believed what I said. No one would believe he would ever want to beat me to death. I had no choice but to call my grandmother. She saw the bruises on my body in the videos I sent her. Chapter 2 My grandmother was so heartbroken she could not stop crying. Without a word, she brought my uncles with her and stormed over to our house. “David! Get your butt out here!” “Do you think the Lloyd family has no one left? How dare you treat my niece like this? I’ll beat you to a pulp!” Facing my two uncles, who looked like they were ready to tear someone apart, and my grandmother, who was swinging her cane at him, my dad did not say a word. He just pulled my uncles toward the shrine. My grandmother carefully bandaged my wounds while making plans to take me away. A moment later, my uncles emerged with grim expressions. Without a word, each of them slapped me hard across the face. Before I could even react, they snatched the walking stick from my grandmother’s hands and smashed it down on my head. Blood streamed down over my eyes. I clutched the wound on my head, at a loss. My grandmother tried to stop my uncles, but her face turned pale when she heard them whisper something. She let my uncle grab one of my arms and force me to my knees. “Mom, hit her hard. Beat her to death today. Trash like this doesn’t deserve to live in this world. Margaret will surely forgive us when she finds out.” My grandmother raised her cane. “I’m an old lady. If I turn myself in after beating you to death, there’s not much they can do to me!” The military medals on her chest glowed a terrifying red. I lost track of how long I was beaten that day. All I knew was that I eventually passed out. I was jolted awake by the excruciating pain of my flesh being torn apart. When I opened my eyes, I found myself still outside the shrine. Stray dogs were tearing at my bleeding wounds. A chunk of my scalp had already been torn away. I staggered to my feet and made my way home. I did not dare make a sound the whole way because my dad always said he did not like noise. I had once thought about never returning to this backward village. However, whenever I spent more than three months away, my dad would bring my two adopted sisters to my office. They would make a scene outside the building, accusing me of abandoning them. I thought about cutting all ties with him completely, but everything was connected nationwide these days. As soon as he posted a missing person’s notice, he would be able to find me. When this happened with my third boyfriend, I called the police. Yet when the police arrived, the whole village sided with my dad and claimed I was lying. “She’s a bookworm. She reads all day and has read herself into a delusion.” “They have three kids. The other two are fine. There’s no way he’d hit only her, right?” “Officer, this girl has been a liar since she was little, and she steals things too. You can’t trust a word she says.” I knew the villagers were speaking up for my dad because of his status. There was nothing I could do about it. After I called the police that time, he kept me imprisoned in a cave up in the mountains, all alone. It was an old air-raid shelter. It was chilly and damp. There was nothing in there but water. I was kept there for a week. When I was let out, I almost fainted. This time, when I got home, my dad was already asleep. My adopted sister urged me to stop causing trouble and just be a good girl. She even smashed my phone and computer, cutting me off from the outside world. A sudden, indescribable rage welled up inside me. I stormed straight into my dad’s room, woke him up, and confronted him. “If you don’t want me to get married, just say so. Why did you encourage my boyfriend to break up with me? “What have I ever done to deserve this? Ever since I was a kid, I’ve done everything you’ve told me to do. Isn’t that enough? What exactly do you want me to do?!” He was furious after being woken up. He picked up a stool and threw it at me. I fell to the floor, unable to move. Then, he pulled out his belt and wrapped it around my neck. “I want you dead! Just die!” I struggled desperately but could not get away. All I could do was carefully use the backup phone in my pants to call the police. When the police arrived, they saw me lying on the floor. They immediately took my dad and my two adopted sisters into custody. Yet no matter what the police asked, they refused to say anything. Chapter 3 “It’s our village custom. He agreed to take people inside to pay their respects. What happens next is beyond our control.” “It’s all fated.” My best friend, who had come with the police, saw the wounds on my body and was furious. She lunged forward and grabbed my dad by the collar. “She’s your own daughter! How could you be so cruel! Didn’t you say everyone in your village is backward? Don’t you expect her to light a candle for you after you die? If you beat her to death now, no one will even bury you when you’re old! “If you don’t want this daughter, then don’t keep bringing her back time and time again, only to treat her like trash. You’re a total jerk!” Just like me, she could not understand why my dad wanted to kill me yet would not let me leave. The police kept pressing him for an explanation. My dad gave a cold laugh. “If you want to know the reason, follow me into the shrine. “But only male officers can come in with me. Female officers aren’t allowed. That would break our rules and bring wrath from our deities.” My best friend snorted derisively. “Don’t bring ‘wrath’ into this. You’re the one who caused all her injuries. This is intentional assault! I’m definitely going to the police station to press charges against you.” My dad completely ignored her and waited for the police to make a decision. The police could not very well force their way past such a rule, so they had no choice but to send two officers in with my dad. I stood in front of the officers while begging and pleading repeatedly, “Don’t go in. I beg you, don’t go in. I don’t know what’s inside, but every man who goes in comes out wanting to kill me, so something’s definitely wrong.” The police officer bent down to comfort me. “Don’t worry. We’re police officers. We don’t believe in such superstition. Once we uncover the truth, we’ll rescue you from this misery.” As I watched them walk inside, fear swept over me. However, I was blocked by the other officers and could not do anything to stop them. Ten minutes later, the two officers came out looking grim. They slapped me hard across the face twice and looked like they were about to hit me again, but they managed to hold back. “If I weren’t a cop today, I’d definitely kill you!” My best friend was speechless. “Are cops allowed to hit people? Believe me, I’m going to file a complaint against you!” The officers pulled her aside and whispered something to her. My best friend, who had always stood by me, turned around and stomped on my leg. With a crack, the bone snapped. Amid my agonized screams, my best friend threatened me viciously, “You wretched woman. You’re going to die sooner or later! Stop wasting resources by calling the police. You don’t deserve it!” The female officer who had not gone inside gave me a puzzled look. The two male officers just glared at me menacingly. “Don’t make false reports in the future, or you’ll face legal consequences. Let’s head back first. This concerns their family alone. It’s not our business.” “I thought she was about to be beaten to death…” Some of the female officers looked at me with sympathy, but the male officers forcibly dragged them away. After taking just a few steps, the male officers whispered something to them. The female police officer, who was feeling bad for me a moment ago, wanted to come back right away to beat me up. I had completely lost all hope and lay motionless on the ground. My dad threw me into the pigpen. That was the place I feared most. Since I could not move and was covered in wounds, I looked like a delicious meal to the pigs. They kept nuzzling against me. They tried to bite me several times, but I managed to break free each time. For three whole days, I lived alongside the pigs. I ate pig feed. My body was covered in bite wounds. Since they went untreated, they all became infected. You could smell the stench of decay even from a distance. When my brothers-in-law returned, my dad finally took pity on me and let me out. Seeing me like this, my brothers-in-law were all disgusted. I fetched water by myself to bathe and did the best I could to tend to my wounds. Chapter 4 Just as I had finished treating my wounds, my grandfather, Dan Miller, who had long since cut all ties with my dad, suddenly showed up. He headed straight for my room and saw that my body was covered in bruises. He turned around and slapped my dad across the face. “How can you treat your own flesh-and-blood like this? Are you even human? If you don’t explain this to me clearly today, I’ll never forgive you!” My dad tried to explain, but I did not dare let my grandfather hear him. I hurriedly grabbed my grandfather’s hand. “Grandpa, I know you’re doing this for my own good, but please promise me you won’t go to the shrine, okay?” “Don’t worry, I won’t go there.” He squeezed my hand tightly. “What shrine? I don’t care about that at all. All I care about is whether my granddaughter has been hurt.” My grandfather sighed. Tears were streaming down his aged face. “It’s my fault for not raising him properly. I’ve raised a monster of a son. Don’t worry, I’ll take you away tomorrow.” I leaned into my grandfather’s embrace and cried my heart out. “Grandpa, please don’t go to the shrine…” My grandfather raised his hand in a solemn oath. “I promise I won’t go.” He had always been a man of his word. With his assurance, I felt much more at ease. I fell asleep holding his calloused hands. However, the next morning, as soon as I woke up, I sensed something was wrong. The house was deadly quiet. I felt my way out of the room. To my surprise, the whole family was sitting in the living room. Their expressions were grave. Hearing the sound of my footsteps, they all turned to look at me at once. However, my grandfather, who had been with me last night, was nowhere to be found. “Where’s Grandpa? Why isn’t he here?” My dad gave me a cold stare. “So, you have learned to tattle, have you now, brat?” My eldest younger sister’s husband, Alex, looked me up and down with disdain. “You dress all fancy, but who’d have thought you’re actually that kind of trash on the inside? “No wonder the man who was going to marry you didn’t want to be with you once he found out the truth. If I were in his shoes, I’d be disgusted too.” My youngest sister’s husband, Aaron, was even more blunt. “Get lost. You’re an eyesore. If I’d known there was an older sister like you in the family, I never would’ve married your sister. It’s embarrassing just to mention it.” My youngest sister flew into a rage when she heard this. She walked over, grabbed my head, and slammed it against the wall. “It’s all your fault! You almost made Albert divorce me!” I tried to break free, but my other sister came over and pinned me down too. After beating me up, they laughed as they looked at the blood all over the floor. “Dad, what should we do with her?” I struggled to break free from their grip and crawled toward the door. From their reaction earlier, I already knew they were planning to kill me. If I did not run, I would die. “Grandpa, save me! They’re going to kill me!” However, my grandfather, who had been so kind to me just last night, pushed me away. He brushed off the areas I had touched as if I were filthy. “You deserve it.” I froze. I stared silently at him with bloodshot eyes. “Grandpa, did you go to the shrine?” He looked down at me with a cold, terrifying gaze. “How else could I have found out that you were such a wretched woman?” “But you promised me you wouldn’t go. Didn’t you say I was the one you loved most? Why did you lie to me?” My last shred of hope was shattered. I scrambled to my feet like a madwoman and confronted the people behind me. “Even if you hate me and want to kill me, at least let me die with the truth! I’m going to the shrine. Even if I die, I want to die knowing the truth!” The group exchanged glances. Finally, my grandfather nodded. My grandfather took me into the shrine at dusk. No lamps were lit inside. It was pitch black. I stared at what was before me, frozen in shock. “No wonder. No wonder no one wanted to marry me. So, that’s why…”