Reversing Falsehood and Preserving Truth: All Gods and Gods Are in My Hands

Pushing open the door, the aroma of sweet and sour pork ribs wafted out, enveloped in the warm yellow light. My mother, Lin Hui, wearing a floral apron, came out of the kitchen: "You're finally back. Wash your hands quickly. The last dish will be ready soon. Your dad just heated up some milk for you, have something to eat first."

Lu Jianming, the father, was sitting on the sofa watching the evening news when he heard this. He got up and brought out a glass of warm milk from the kitchen, handing it to Lu Yu.

During the meal, Lin Hui kept putting ribs on Lu Yu's plate, picking out the lean meat closest to the bone for him.

"Eat more," the mother nagdredged on.

"I'll make you some chive and egg dumplings tomorrow morning. You used to be able to eat twenty at a time when you were little. You can take them to school as a snack; they're cleaner than the ones you buy outside."

Lu Yu ate his rice, feeling as if his throat was stuffed with cotton, his heart churning with grievances and fear that he could hardly contain.

He suddenly raised his head, his voice barely audible and hoarse: "Mom, Dad, there's one student missing from class today."

Lin Hui and Lu Jianming paused simultaneously. Lin Hui put down her chopsticks, her eyes full of concern: "A classmate is missing? What happened? Did he take sick leave?"

Lu Jianming also looked at him, his brows furrowing slightly.

Lu Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say, "She was turned into a monster and eaten by Zhang Hao," but when the words reached his lips, he looked at his mother's gentle profile and his father's concerned eyes—how should he say such a thing?

"N-nothing," he mumbled, lowering his head and shoveling a large mouthful of rice into his mouth. "It's just... I transferred schools."

Lu Jianming nodded and didn't ask any more questions: "Transferring schools is normal. It's senior year of high school, and some families will make adjustments. Just focus on your studies and don't overthink it."

The lie pierced his heart like a needle; he dared not look his parents in the eye and could only lower his head and eat his rice.

After finishing his meal, Lu Yu returned to his room. The moment he closed the door, his tense nerves tightened again. He took out his phone, his finger hovering over Su Wan's chat window, his pale face reflected on the screen. She was the only one who remembered Lin Xi, and perhaps she could understand his fear, but the warning from the unfamiliar text message still echoed in his ears:

"Don't say it, don't believe it!"

He opened the chat window, typed and deleted, repeated this several times, and finally closed the page.

Su Wan's home is a small two-bedroom apartment in the old city. The walls are somewhat mottled. There is an old sofa in the living room, where her father is sitting and mending the shoulder strap of her drawing board.

"Why are you back so late today?" Su Wan's father's voice was hoarse. He was a truck driver who drove long distances all year round. His face was etched with the marks of time, and his hands were covered in calluses. Yet, his sewing movements were exceptionally gentle, as if he were afraid of tearing the canvas.

"Did something happen at school?"

"Without Dad, it's just a little slow to pack up the drawing board." Su Wan sat next to him, holding the drawing she had done after school, her fingertips tracing the paper.

She suddenly froze. The once clear outline of the tentacles in the painting was now just a blurry trace, as if some invisible force was quietly erasing those traces that shouldn't exist.

Meanwhile, in Lu Yu's room, the ancient coins in his pocket suddenly became hot without warning.

Startled, he quickly went to the window and quietly peeked through a crack.

A tall figure stood in the shadows by the streetlights downstairs in the residential area, looking up in the direction of his home. It was Zhang Hao!

His face was hidden in the shadows, his expression obscured, but his posture was eerily unsettling; he neither swayed nor spoke, like a soulless sculpture.

What made Lu Yu's scalp tingle even more was that Zhang Hao's shadow fell on the ground, slightly distorted, with countless tiny tentacles wriggling and stretching in the shadows, as if precisely locating his position.

"He's found his way here!"

Lu Yu's heart was pounding so hard it felt like his ribs were about to shatter, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, soaking his shirt.

"He came looking for me?! What if he barges in? Will my parents be in danger?"

"Was Grandma's disappearance related to him?"

"He can't stay at home, we have to get him out of there!"

Lu Yu quickly changed into a dark coat, clutching the ancient coins tightly in his palm, and gently opened the door. His parents were already in the bedroom; only the nightlight was still on in the living room.

He tiptoed to the door, and just as he was about to open it, he heard his mother, Lin Hui's voice coming from the bedroom, still drowsy: "Xiaoyu, where are you going so late?"

"Mom, I suddenly remembered I left an assignment at school. I'll go get it and be right back." Lu Yu lowered his voice, trying to make his tone sound natural.

"It's so late, can't we do it tomorrow?" Lin Hui's voice was filled with worry.

"It's due tomorrow, I'll be right back."

After saying that, Lu Yu gently closed the door and ran wildly away from home. Lu Yu's ears were perked up like radar; the footsteps behind him were barely audible, like the wind following a tail.

As Lu Yu ran past a hardware store, he accidentally knocked over an iron bucket by the door, the loud clang particularly jarring in the night. He quickly ducked into a narrow alley next door, pressed himself against the wall, and held his breath.

A few seconds later, eerie footsteps passed by the alley entrance, carrying a faint fishy smell.

"Thank goodness, this guy's eyesight is terrible." Lu Yu had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zhang Hao's figure turn back from the alley entrance, slowly peering into the alley, his eyes frighteningly empty!

Lu Yu's heart pounded, and he turned and ran deeper into the alley.

At the end of the alley was a wall. In his panic, he scrambled up a pile of old things next to the wall. As he climbed over, his arm was cut by a wire, and he winced in pain. He lost his balance when he landed and fell into a pile of discarded plastic bottles with a loud crash that nearly made him jump out of his skin.

The ancient coins burned hotter and hotter, as if searing his palms, or perhaps guiding him, drawing him unconsciously toward the old town.

That was where his grandmother used to live, the corner he was most familiar with from his childhood.

The old town was particularly deserted at night. The streets and roads were damp and most of the old houses on both sides were dark, with only a few houses still lit up with a dim yellow light.

Grandma's old house was just ahead, the door lock was rusted, and next to it was the familiar bicycle repair shop, with a broken light bulb hanging at the door, the light so dim that it could only illuminate a small area at our feet.

Standing at the door of the old house, Lu Yu felt a pang of sadness. When he was little, he would always come to play with his grandmother, and Old Zhou, the bicycle repairman, would always give him fruit candy and praise him, saying, "This child is really clever."

But now, only a desolate shadow remains here, along with ancient coins that are getting hotter and hotter in my palm.

He didn't have the key and couldn't get into the old house. Just as he was about to turn around and run away, he suddenly heard a heavy breathing sound behind him.

Lu Yu turned around abruptly, his pupils shrinking.

Zhang Hao stood under the streetlight behind him, his face expressionless, his eyes frighteningly empty.

His body was undergoing a bizarre transformation. The translucent mist at his neck reappeared, churning like boiling water and rapidly spreading throughout his body. His arms swelled to a size larger, tearing his loose school uniform. Sticky muscles covered his entire body, gleaming with a cold, eerie light. Countless slippery tentacles emerged from the muscles, writhing wildly in the night and hissing.

It's over, there's no escaping it now...