As Shawn Young stepped onto the edge of the Old Well of Shadows, a mysterious force suddenly surged up from its unfathomable depths, wrapping around his legs and pulling him in. Disoriented and barely aware of what was happening, Shawn lost his balance and tumbled headfirst into the well.
In a daze, Shawn felt himself being sucked into a dark tunnel, his body spinning rapidly as he was swept toward a faint light shining at the tunnel’s end—
As soon as Shawn fell into the Old Well of Shadows, the rectangular iron plate above suddenly slid shut with a loud 'clank,' sealing the well’s opening and returning everything to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Minutes later, a chubby police officer burst into the hall, panting heavily. He’d gone all out tonight trying to catch Shawn Young, but Shawn was just too quick. Stubbornly determined, the officer had chased him through vegetable patches and rice fields, slipping and falling several times on the muddy embankments. Now, covered in dirt and looking utterly disheveled, his frustration burned even hotter. He swore to himself that he’d catch that slippery kid no matter what.
The moment the chubby officer stepped into the silent hall, he was struck by a chilling, eerie sensation that crept from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head. Glancing around at the gloomy surroundings—the scattered rubble, cobwebs, and especially the giant windows draped with yellow curtains inscribed with strange talismans—he felt a spine-tingling fear in the air.
“Gulp—” The chubby officer nervously scanned the lifeless hall, swallowing hard. His urgent desire to catch Shawn had now turned to fear. Even though he considered himself a staunch atheist, the bizarre atmosphere in the hall seemed to follow him everywhere, making him feel as if a pair of eyes were watching him from the shadows.
“Uh—Hey, brat—come out! I—I know you’re in here! Stop hiding! You’ve got nowhere left to run, so get out here now!” the chubby officer shouted into the dark depths of the hall, trying to sound tough. In reality, he was scared out of his wits, and yelling was the only way he could muster up some courage.
His voice echoed through the vast hall, followed by another wave of silence. The quiet was so intense it was terrifying; it felt as if everything had gone still in an instant, even the frogs and crickets outside had stopped making noise—nothing but pure, absolute silence!
The chubby officer’s hair stood on end. He strained his ears, desperate to hear something—anything—but there was nothing. Only his own anxious breathing and the pounding of his heart echoed in the hall, and boy, was his heart racing.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept into the hall, making the yellow talisman curtains flap wildly on the windowsills. A sticky, tattered cobweb dropped from above, landing right on his head and startling him—“Pfft!” He couldn’t help but let out a loud fart, the sound reverberating throughout the hall.
In that instant, it felt like he heard a weird, distant laugh echoing in his ears, growing closer and closer. His heart leapt into his throat. Another gust of wind swept through the Main Hall, sending dust swirling everywhere—some even got into his eyes, making them sting. The chubby officer rubbed his eyes hard. The longer he stayed in the hall, the weaker his legs felt.
When he blinked away the tears, that eerie, genderless laughter seemed to be right behind him. He spun around and shouted, "Who’s there?! Quit messing around and show yourself!"
But the strange laughter just kept circling his ears, no matter how he looked around or shook his head. He couldn’t shake off that haunting sound. For the first time in his life, real terror crawled up from his bones and spread through every cell in his body—
"Mama—!" The chubby officer’s nerves snapped. He forgot all about catching Shawn Young, forgot about his atheism—he was convinced some evil spirit was tailing him! Screaming, he bolted out of the Main Hall, running for his life. He was even faster than when he’d chased Shawn Young!
After that, the chubby officer was so traumatized he got sick, spending three months at home recovering. He kept having nightmares—always about a wild-haired, white-robed ghost woman staring at him, especially at his, uh, family jewels, like she was itching to snatch them!
Whenever that happened, he’d wake up in a cold sweat and check if his balls were still there! Eventually, it became a habit—he’d get up in the middle of the night just to make sure his family jewels were still hanging in place. All that fuss slimmed him down and even made him a bit more handsome. Girls started to notice him! Talk about weird twists of fate. The chubby officer’s name was Martin Zhang. He and Shawn Young would cross paths again soon.
Meanwhile, Shawn Young was having a dream—he and Yvonne Hu, the campus belle from Southern University’s art department, were strolling hand in hand across campus. Yvonne’s arm was wrapped around his, her head resting sweetly on his shoulder. Shawn had his arm around her slim waist, feeling on top of the world—especially with all those jealous stares from the guys around them. He almost wanted to laugh out loud.
Suddenly the scene shifted, and the girl in his arms turned into the sultry boss lady from Phoenix Parlor. Before Shawn could even react, she slithered up to him like a water snake, her soft hands wrapping around his waist, her ample chest rubbing against him. Then one hand started to reach down toward his—
"Ah! No, don’t!" Shawn blurted out, but deep down, he was hoping she’d go for it!
Just then, Shawn heard the chubby officer’s roar. He snapped awake, instinctively wanting to run. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his back. He reached behind—his hand came away wet, and there was a damp, earthy smell in the air. In a flash, all the dream scenery vanished. Shawn panicked—"Wait, am I dreaming?"
Shawn’s mind snapped back to reality. He opened his eyes wide—only to find himself surrounded by pitch-black darkness. There was water trickling below him. He reached out and felt something slick and wet, the smell of muddy earth mixing with something strange. Feeling around, he realized the walls were slimy but hard. It felt like a tunnel, maybe an old, abandoned air-raid shelter.
"Did I fall into an underground shelter?" Shawn muttered to himself.
Then Shawn remembered—he’d been chased into the Mountain God Temple’s rundown Main Hall by the chubby officer, where he’d found that weird Old Well of Shadows. After that, everything went fuzzy, and now he’d woken up in this pitch-black tunnel.
"Man, when you’re down on your luck, anything can happen! Screw it, when I get out of here, I’ll just keep my head down and be a good boy. Forget about hooking up with Yvonne Hu or losing my virginity—that’s just a pipe dream!" Shawn hauled himself to his feet. He was down to just his underwear, with a few holes in the back, but at least it covered the front. He grimaced, thinking he’d better find a way out and sneak back to campus before sunrise. If anyone saw him like this, he’d die of embarrassment!
With that thought, Shawn hunched over, one hand on the wall, the other reaching out to feel his way forward, searching for an exit in the pitch-black tunnel.
He crept along nervously for more than half an hour before reaching a wall—no way forward. Frustrated, Shawn couldn’t help but yell, "Come on, give me a break! Just show me a way out, please!"
Unfortunately, aside from the echo of his own voice in the tunnel, there was no response. Shawn felt utterly dejected. He was just about to turn back and retrace his steps to look for another way out when a sudden, intense urge to pee welled up in his lower abdomen—he had to go, now!
He had no choice but to stop and turn toward the wall blocking his path. Pulling down his underwear, he took out little Shawn and let loose—never expecting that something bizarre would happen!
Midway through peeing, little Shawn suddenly throbbed with pain, as if something in the darkness had bitten him hard. A sharp, burning agony shot through him, and at the same time, he felt something slippery crawling under his right foot, winding around it and climbing upward—"Ah!! A snake!!"
Shawn couldn’t care less about peeing anymore; terrified, he jumped up and desperately shook the snake off his right foot. Luckily, with a forceful fling, he managed to throw it off. The snake dropped into the darkness of the tunnel and quickly vanished without a trace.
A stabbing pain shot up from little Shawn, and he could feel it swelling—aching, numb, and rapidly spreading to the surrounding area!
"I'm doomed! The snake venom’s kicking in—I'm finished! Death by little guy poisoning! Oh god, why am I so unlucky!" Shawn clutched his swollen little guy and threw his head back, wailing.
Suddenly, his foot slipped—"Bang—crash!" His head slammed into the wall in front of him, and something strange happened—the wall made a cracking sound! Shawn suddenly felt himself suspended in midair, falling through the wall, surrounded by the whooshing sound of wind.