Chapter 1: Returning Home from Prison

“Sign here and you can leave!”

The prison guard handed a pen over to a sloppy-looking thin man.

The thin man signed “Xie Zhou” without a word.

Afterwards, Xie Zhou was brought into the car by four prison guards and they drove out into the open, where the atmosphere was filled with sand.

The prison block they left was getting further and further away from them.

On the way, no one spoke.

The higher-ups had instructed that no accidents were to happen along the way and that the man had to be sent safely to the destination.

The thin man looked out of the car window with a blank expression. No one could tell what he was thinking.

The youngest SWAT1 officer had gone on a mission for the first time. However, his initial excitement soon became feelings of boredom, and he began yawning non-stop!

When they passed by a vendor selling watermelons, the young SWAT officer shouted excitedly, “There are watermelons for sale, let’s buy a watermelon! It’s too hot today!”

The SWAT officer in the passenger seat of the car went down with him.

There was still someone left to guard Xie Zhou.

As soon as they got out of the car, the young SWAT officer couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Wen, isn’t he just an ordinary villager? Why do you seem so nervous?”

Brother Wen sneered. “Before he went to prison, he was just an ordinary villager. After spending ten years inside, he’s no longer ordinary!”

That was no ordinary prison.

The prison block is called “Xisha Prison”.

The prisoners locked up inside are all felons. Almost no one has the chance to leave the prison.

The Xisha Prison was built in the desert.

Every half a month, a car would drive in and out, delivering food and water.

In such an environment, no one would want to break out of prison. Without food and water outside, they would die!

The person they were escorting is called Xie Zhou. Before he went to prison, he was just an ordinary villager. However, in the process of helping others out of kindness, he unexpectedly caused another person’s death, and was imprisoned in the Xisha Prison.

Because he had shown good behavior inside and had made meritorious contributions, he was released earlier.

Making meritorious contributions in a place like prison sounded ridiculous!

Ten years had passed. When he returned home, he had found out that his parents had passed away and that his newlywed wife had run away a long time ago. There was nothing left. He could return to Xisha Prison in less than two days.

…

The police car arrived at Xisha City, Yunzhou County, in Ping Yang Town where the Shanbai Village was located. The village was located in a relatively remote area. It had a backward economy and the villagers were not wealthy.

Sun Chengfu, the village chief of the Shanbai Village, was already waiting there.

He was there to pick up Xie Zhou.

To be honest, he was quite unwilling to accept Xie Zhou.

Back then when Xie Zhou was taken away, there was quite a commotion.

Everyone in the village knew and could not avoid gossiping about it.

Ten years had passed, but there were still people who would mention it from time to time.

Seeing Xie Zhou get out of the car, Sun Chengfu let out a sigh.

Before Xie Zhou had committed the crime, he was the most handsome young man in their village. He was capable, knew how to drive, and worked in the transport team. He even came from a wealthy family!

Yet he was still slacking off, doing nothing all day.

Looking at the sloppy-looking Xie Zhou, one could only say that God was playing tricks on him.

Sun Chengfu went forward and settled the handover process with the SWAT officer.

Before the SWAT officer left, he told Xie Zhou, “Go back and lead a good life. We’ll stay here for a few days. If you need anything, you can come find us!”

Xie Zhou didn’t say anything. His expression was still blank.

Sun Chengfu led Xie Zhou into the village and tried to talk to him. He said, “Since you’re back, let’s start afresh. Don’t think about the past anymore!”

“The village has arranged a new residence for you. Tidy up and rest in that old house located at the end of the village. You can stay there from now on!”

After Xie Zhou’s parents had passed away, his family’s house was occupied by Sun Chengfu’s uncle.

Their field was also gone.

Since they couldn’t chase him away, they could only find him another place to stay.

The village had always talked about the bad feng shui1 in the area located at the end of the village. They said that the place was haunted and that no one lived there.

Only one house consistently remained empty!

He was still worried that Xie Zhou wouldn’t agree to it, and was a little nervous.

However, Xie Zhou said, “Alright!”

Looking at the emotionless Xie Zhou and his soulless eyes, Sun Chengfu felt that it was strange. He didn’t want to stay with him any longer. He sent him to the end of the village and quickly left.

“Creak!”

The old and worn-out gate was pushed open. The courtyard was very dark and filled with weeds.

The floor inside the house was very low-lying, it was like a pit.

However, the space inside was huge. A ray of sunlight shone right into the pit.

Xie Zhou sat in a dark corner with his head buried between his knees, crying in silence.

The passersby were scared out of their wits. They said that they had run into a ghost and even heard the wailing of the evil spirit.