A Second Time

Pushing open the cold wooden door, Jiang Feng walked into the room with light steps as his mother followed behind him. Being the son he was, he stayed behind and ensured his mother had entered before closing the entrance.

Turning back around to look at the sky outside of the windows, Jiang Feng saw that minuscule drops were still falling down from above. Putting his sights farther away, his eyes landed on a mountain about the size of a tower.

Limited by the frame of the window, Jiang Feng could only see the lower body of the mountain, but not its tip, supposedly said to be covered in snow.

Shifting his attention away from the mountain, Jiang Feng started walking along the long dining table next to him as he passed by multiple chairs made up of the same material. Stopping before the seat opposite to his mother, Jiang Feng slightly lowered his head to the man between him and his mom.

"Good morning, dad."

Putting down the mug in his hand, the man grabbed a sheet of tissue placed nearby and wiped off the stains of coffee on his lips, turning to look at Jiang Feng at the same time. Penetrating through the square-sized glasses, a sharp glint swiped up and down on Jiang Feng, examining him closely.

"Good morning, Jiang Feng. I heard that you were plagued by that nightmare again?"

Placing his attention on the grilled lamb chop before him, Jiang Feng's dad asked as he held the fork and knife up, slicing a small piece out from the whole thing before bringing it to his mouth.

"Yeah, things seem to be getting worse much recently. I've tried drinking hot milk like mom said, but the nightmare's like a set alarm, always waking me up in the middle of the night." Jiang Feng complained as he pulled out the chair and sat down.

"You sure you don't want to go meet that therapist that Aunt Lee introduced a few days ago? I heard that the man has quite some skills in treating mental problems." With a look of worry apparent on her face, Jiang Feng's mom leaned over slightly to pat Jiang Feng's head, showing her worry for her son.

"I plan to meet him one of these days. Else I might really die due to lack of sleep." Jiang Feng cracked a joke as he tidied his hair after his mother's hand retracted.

"Manners, Jiang Feng."

"Ouch!"

Receiving a flick on his forehead, Jiang Feng massaged the painful spot while looking at his father with slight resentment present in his eyes, clearly dissatisfied with the sudden attack from his father.

"Now, now. Let's have breakfast together, shall we? Your dad can have another cup of tea while he waits for us. I'm sure things wouldn't bother you much right, Mr. Jiang?" Jiang Feng's mother asked as her kind eyes full of love landed on her husband who was pushing away the empty plate.

"A few minutes can do. The meeting is scheduled 4 hours later, I'm sure the board directors can handle the small things well even without me."

Replying with a nod, Jiang Feng's dad turned to the maid standing at the wall and signaled for her to move. Receiving the sign, the maid stepped forward and picked up the empty plate as well as the empty cup of coffee, clearing the table for the three.

A few minutes afterwards, two young butlers came in with a circular serving tray in their hands and stopped next to them. Placing two bowls of fresh mushroom soup before Jiang Feng and his mom as well as the tea ordered before his dad, the butlers bowed slightly to them and stepped back to the wall, awaiting quietly for their next orders.

"Let's eat!" Jiang Feng's mother said delightfully.

Picking up the silver spoon, Jiang Feng started imitating his mother's actions, gracefully enjoying the soup's aroma before sending it into their mouths, engulfing the myriad of flavors provided by a seemingly simple dish.

Jiang Feng's dad, on the other hand, started sipping his tea while scrolling through an app on his mobile. Pausing before a message he received to frown at it for a few seconds, he proceeded to scroll and continued enjoying his time.

"That's right, Jiang Yang and the others invited me out again on Saturday, so if there's anything just call me. I'll keep the ring on." Jiang Feng said suddenly as his words gathered the attention of both of his parents.

"Going out to play again? That's good. It's necessary for youngsters like you to exercise more, though take care of yourself well. I don't want to come home seeing you fainting on the bed." Jiang Feng's mother said as she revealed her warming smile.

"I heard from the elders that you guys are bringing outsiders into the family's ancestral cemetery? I'm fine with it, but like the elders said, keep your friends in line and away from the tablets." Jiang Feng's dad warned.

"Also, try to come home early once you guys are done. It's better to stay away from the remains of the dead."

"I will." Jiang Feng replied before returning to drink his soup.

…

After finishing his breakfast, Jiang Feng left the dining room first and headed back to his room. Sitting before the study table, he started organizing the messy surface caused by his chaotic placement of homework.

Once the matter was done, all of the papers and books were placed inside his bag in an orderly manner, ready to be taken away as soon as the weekdays came.

"There's still 7 days left, I guess that leaves me with time for preparation. Not that it needed much anyways." Muttering to himself, Jiang Feng's eyes shifted away from the calendar hanging right before him and onto his mobile that he had just taken out.

Opening a news app, Jiang Feng leaned back on his chair and started scrolling for entertainment. As his eyes scanned through multiple blogs about the situation around the world from the perspective of morals, economy, and politics, his finger stopped on one that was awfully related to it.

Catching his interest just by reading the title, Jiang Feng checked on the date and found out that it was a matter of 19 years ago, exactly a year right before his birth.

Curious to know what had happened before his birth, Jiang Feng clicked on its title and was redirected to another page full of rows of letters. At the top middle of his screen, was a line of words that was bolded and capped, writing 'THE DISAPPEARING INCIDENT IN JIANG FAMILY'S CEMETERY'.

Reading the title again to confirm that he had read everything correctly, Jiang Feng then proceeded to scroll down to receive the blog's content.

"On the day 19 June 2033, a mysterious incident happened within the perimeters of the Jiang Family Residence. A group of teenagers was said to have disappeared while exploring a cave in the mountain near the Jiang Family's ancestral cemetery."

"All methods of contact had been lost and after 7 days, the Jiang Family decided to request help from the nearby police station. Receiving the request, a total force of 30 policemen was sent out to investigate the strange accident that had happened to the group of teenagers."

"Due to the suspicion of there being a pit within the cave, the police forces also brought out radars and even requested help from the ambulance as well as the firemen."

"However, upon arriving at the site and setting up all equipment, the forces were surprised to find out that their group of 7 policemen all disappeared on the radar as soon as they entered 100 meters deep into the cave."

"This alerted the remaining forces as they requested for more backup. As they waited, another group consisting of 2 policemen and 3 firemen was sent in again to the cave to search for their missing comrade."

"However, like before, the group immediately disappeared from the radar's detection after reaching 100 meters deep. All methods of contact were even lost when they reached that point, leaving the only thing to hint their existence was a rope tied on them and connected to a nearby pole."

"Deciding in the end to pull their comrades out, the rope was pulled to drag the bodies back. Yet, when their signals reappeared on the radar, the forces were terrified to find headless bodies within the suit, yet not a single drop of blood was seen staining their uniform."

"The situation immediately caused an uproar in the government as soon as the news reached the upper echelons, sending an order down to gather all experts from related fields to assist in the investigation."

"After another week of preparation, more than 200 experts from all fields stood before the mysterious cave of the Jiang Family's ancestral cemetery. With the best equipment on hand, the forces started their investigation as two groups of five was once again sent in."

"Prepared for their disappearance, a special group was stationed right at the entrance, ready to pull out the two groups should their disappearance be detected."

"Reaching the 100-meter mark, the two groups disappeared from the radar's detection as expected. Without a single bit of hesitation, the special group started pulling the rope tied onto them. Surprisingly, life signs could be detected from the radar as their existence appeared back on the screen."

"However, just as the people were feeling restless to receive their first clue about the situation within the cave, a shrieking scream pulled them back to reality as one of their comrades lost signal on the radar again, dragging the man from the special group down into the mysterious cave within."

"Similar accidents happened repeated itself as the nearby ones also experienced the exact situation, being dragged into the cave with no methods of contact or whatsoever."

"The Jiang Family was then placed on lockdown for a month as the government spread their request for help to the whole world, putting on tempting rewards for those who possess skill and confidence in them."

"But another bone-chilling situation took place in the mysterious cave again. When 5 groups of special forces from the military were sent in with their certain death in mind, everyone was shocked to find that they didn't disappear even after walking 100 meters deeper from the 100-meter mark."

"This odd discovery prompted the military soldiers to walk deeper to search for the missing bodies of the teenagers as well as their comrades. However, when the group reached the dead end of the mysterious cave, no signs of battle or remains of the missings were found."

"In the end, the search went on for another 2 months before the case was forced to be closed without an end. Later on, the government gave their utmost condolences to the families of the missings, even giving them 10, 000 yuan to each of the families in hopes to ease their pain."

"Months after the incident, no reports of similar situations were ever heard again by the police, but this particular one made the whole city give the mysterious cave a name, calling it the Devouring Cave of the Jiang Family."