The Whispers of the Night

Chapter One: The Whispers of the Night

Lin Li was an ordinary college student. At first glance, his life seemed no different from any of his peers: attending classes during the day, studying at night, occasionally going out with friends for a meal or a movie. But beneath his calm exterior, Lin Li harbored a secret he could never speak of.

He was born in a small mountain village, where the people were deeply superstitious and believed in ghosts and evil spirits. As a child, Lin Li didn't take any of this seriously, thinking it was just something the adults used to scare children. However, one night when he was thirteen changed everything.

It was the Ghost Festival, and the village was filled with offerings and incense. That night, the village held an ancestral ritual, and the elders repeatedly warned Lin Li and the other children not to wander around during the ceremony, especially not to venture into the woods behind the village. Lin Li had never seen the adults so serious, and he grew curious—what was the secret of that small forest?

Late at night, Lin Li and a few close friends snuck out. They reached the edge of the woods, exchanging nervous glances, but no one dared step into the shadows of the trees. Lin Li, usually the leader of their group, decided to prove his courage and took the first step inside. The forest was pitch black, eerily silent, without even the sound of insects. Just as he was about to turn back and call out to his friends, a cold sensation crept up from beneath his feet.

Looking down, he saw several pale, ghostly hands emerging from the ground, clutching his ankles. Lin Li screamed in terror, struggling with all his might, and eventually broke free from the grasp of those "hands." But from that night on, his life was forever changed.

After returning home, he fell into a high fever, slipping in and out of consciousness for three days. When he finally awoke, he had no clear memory of that night, only vague images of the white hands and the cold touch. From that day forward, Lin Li began to have nightmares. The dreams were sometimes chaotic, sometimes vivid, always accompanied by strange whispers. These whispers seemed to call out to him, filling him with unease but also a strange compulsion. Over time, the dreams became more realistic, as though he was being dragged into another world by some unseen force.

As Lin Li grew older, he tried to suppress these feelings, pushing them to the back of his mind. In high school, he worked hard to fit in, trying not to think about the bizarre dreams or the fear lurking deep inside him. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the whispers persisted, haunting him in the dead of night, as if warning of some unknown danger slowly approaching.

Now, Lin Li had enrolled in a university located on the outskirts of the city. Hoping to escape his troubled past, he chose a school far from home, believing that a change in environment might help him rid himself of the relentless fear. Yet, no matter how much he tried to reshape his life, the whispers in his dreams did not stop. Instead, they became even clearer, sometimes faintly creeping into his thoughts during the day.

To others, Lin Li appeared calm and introverted. He didn't like to stand out in a crowd and quietly went about his business. In class, he was an excellent student, often praised by his teachers for his diligence and focus. He was polite and reserved with his classmates, occasionally joining group activities but mostly preferring to spend his time alone in the library, poring over obscure books no one else noticed.

Lin Li was also highly attuned to people's emotions, skilled at observing their expressions and movements, especially the subtle details—changes in tone, unconscious gestures. This keen sense of awareness made him adept at navigating social interactions, yet it also kept him constantly on guard, as if always anticipating some unseen danger lurking around him.

Deep within, Lin Li was haunted by an inescapable loneliness. This loneliness was not just the quiet solitude of being alone, but the gnawing fear that came from his secret. A few times, he had tried to tell friends or family about the strange events in his dreams, but every time, the words failed him. It was as though an invisible force was preventing him from speaking out.

Over time, Lin Li began to realize that these were not just ordinary nightmares—they were something deeper, something darker. Although he couldn't fully explain what was happening, he had a gut feeling that it was all connected to that night in the small forest.

Despite the busyness of university life, Lin Li always felt as though a shadow loomed over him, keeping him on edge. He feared that the whispers from his dreams would one day bleed into reality, and the strange images that haunted him would appear before his eyes. Each night, as he lay alone in his dorm room, that sense of dread grew stronger, the air in the room seeming heavier, as if something in the darkness was watching him silently.

There were a few times when he jolted awake in the middle of the night, seeing the shadows of the trees outside his window swaying gently in the breeze, as if beckoning to him. Whenever this happened, a chill would run down his spine, his heart pounding, his breathing quickening, as if the whispers were about to speak directly into his ear.

Lin Li knew he couldn't escape these dreams forever. Some instinct told him that the true danger was drawing closer, and all he could do was wait.

What would his life become? Lin Li didn't dare to imagine. The only thing he was sure of was that this nightmare was far from over.