Kill Love

By L. J. Snowman

Forbidden Love, Horror, Suspense, and Darkness A young woman's body is discovered by a riverbank in Southwest China. Her head and limbs are missing. This mysterious, forgotten corner by the riverbank belongs to the Hmong ethnic group. The place carries an unthinkable past and has unknown powers. The beautiful victim witnesses herself being butchered and watches herself become a time-traveling spirit… Can she find out the truth and take justice into her own hands? What will she learn about the essence of human life on her journey? The brutal killing is inspired by a true murder case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645366935

L. J. Snowman

(author does not want to insert the author blurb)

Book preview

About the Book

Forbidden Love, Horror, Suspense, and Darkness

A young woman’s body is discovered by a riverbank in Southwest China. Her head and limbs are missing.

This mysterious, forgotten corner by the riverbank belongs to the Hmong ethnic group. The place carries an unthinkable past and has unknown powers.

The beautiful victim witnesses herself being butchered and watches herself become a time-traveling spirit… Can she find out the truth and take justice into her own hands? What will she learn about the essence of human life on her journey?

The brutal killing is inspired by a true murder case.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to LOVE, to people who know and don’t know about love.

We are all born to seek love. We madly create illusions of love to love ourselves.

— L. J. Snowman

Copyright Information

© L. J. Snowman (2019)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Snowman, L. J.

Kill Love

ISBN 9781645366935 (ePub e-book)

The main category of the book — Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907949

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Acknowledgement

So much love and thanks to Juho-Matti and Lily who love and believe in me.

Thank you, Yan Feng, for being the best listener and supporting me in what I love doing.

Many thanks to my family: Mom and Dad, Liisa, Veli-Matti, Elina, and Pauliina.

Special thanks to my initial editor, Dr. Ed Dutton, for squeezing new ideas out of my head; thanks for the whipping and adjusting.

Thanks a lot to the Austin Macauley USA team for bringing out my work—each one of you worked so hard.

Thanks to my loyal fans—your long-lasting support has been a faith of light to keep me going.

Thank you all, and I shall not fail you.

Synopsis

A retired military officer is sent to lead a remote minority village.

This is a place with a mysterious past and unknown powers.

He is a decent married man, but can’t help falling in love with a local teenage girl.

Unfortunately, she’s not just a normal girl.

The Hmong girl witnesses her lover butcher her, can her spirit help herself out? Can she finally take justice for herself?

The brutal killing at the heart of the story was inspired by a real-life murder case, which took place in 2012 in China.

Background

Lover-killing incidents are seriously occurring in China and the rest of the world, mostly driven by the twisted mindset of I love you so much and you don’t love me back. I must take your life since you deserve it.

Kill Love dives deep into the dark side of people and the criminal’s mind—once upon a time a saint—to chart the course of transformation from a saint to a demon.

The story is set in China from the 1980s to 1990s, the time before and after China opened up to the outside world.

The scenes take us from a remote village to the modern capital city of Yunnan Province. The brutal killing in the story was inspired by a true murder case in mainland China.

In this book, the killer and the victim are both opening their hearts to the audience through ‘He Said’ and ‘She Said’ narratives.

Insane or abnormal thoughts lay within the narratives; at least they are brave enough to face up to who they truly are with pure honesty. They are sharing their experience, perception, and thoughts with the world.

Kill Love touches several key subjects: good and evil, angel and devil—each of us naturally carries these characteristics.

To be good or to be bad, we are certainly affected by many complex factors surrounding us. Society is complicated as we all know, but we often forget about how complicated we truly are.

A variety of people formed a complicated society. Every single one of us is complex. We need to watch out for others in the society; we also need to know the harmful human instinct that is hidden inside ourselves.

Black Sail

I am facing the dark tide. I’m done with fighting it.

Black waves are striking towards me, howling at me like a dragon, my black dragon.

No one knows what the dragon is capable of except me. He has always been with me.

Now, it’s the right time. He came to collect her. I’ll let go of her body and keep her soul.

My dragon, please sail her to the place where she was born—Winding Dragon Valley.

Winding Dragon Valley

The chill creeps in Winding Dragon Valley. Desperate winds shriek into the desolate gorge. Whistling an old, wild song.

It’s the territory of the mysterious Hmong minority.

Through the fogs, you can see their agile figures in embroidered linen clothes, with silver ornaments flickering from top to toes. You can also see the wooden buildings, which stand up from the mountain slope in staggered layers. It’s their hanging attic—the stilt house.

The turbulent River of Anger crashes through the Winding Dragon Valley, snaking across Phoenix Village and Banana Plateau, creating an idyllic landscape.

Cold wind pins like needles. Several Hmong villagers are killing fishes and ducks in the icy water.

Their silver ornaments glimmer in the pale sunlight. The Spring Festival will soon be here. According to Hmong tradition, this is the way to embrace the harvest. They are preparing dried fish and duck for the banquet.

The beauty—Winding Dragon Valley—sits on a magical and fertile land.

It lies between the Hengduan Mountains and the three legendary rivers: the River of Anger, Golden Sand River, and Lancang River. The Hengduan Mountains are the only ones to connect the Pacific and Indian Oceans in China. Their elevations range from 1,300 to 6,000 meters, easily form high mountains and deep gorges.

Beside the rivers, Raytheon Mountain builds up a wavy connection with the sharp Pangu Peak and Lingxiu Peak. It’s as though these peaks are in a beauty competition. They are filled with perennial clouds and fog, keeping them at a mysterious distance.

A widespread folk legend the Changed Heart had happened right here, which set profound roots in the history. It was said that two thousand years ago, a local peasant fell in love with a beautiful fairy named Lingxiu.

One day, Lingxiu was ordered to visit the Queen Mother of Heaven. But just on her way back to her lover, the Queen Mother had her secret discovered and furiously turned her heart into a stone. She couldn’t move and refused to return to Heaven; she insisted on waiting for her lover to find her.

That’s how she kept standing here until she turned into Lingxiu Peak. Now if you look carefully, a silhouette of the elegant fairy Lingxiu can be seen at the top of Lingxiu Peak—she is still waiting for him.

This mystic land is flooded with rich legends: mountain trolls and water monsters that eat human flesh, the witchcraft of Hmong, lingering demons, and a thousand years of haunting spirits…

The waves that the River of Anger pushes through the gorge have the strength of a living dragon. A white waterfall is hanging above the gorge, bursting down, three thousand feet straight, as if a soft veil floating on the cliff.

The great Southwest China, a place you will find pure beauty, unspoiled villages.

Right now, the waves bring a beauty to the riverbank. A brave Hmong villager uses his knife to open the package, just like he splits open a fish. Layers of green army raincoats make the package as a gigantic dumpling, which is usually wrapped in reed leaves.

On the shimmery smooth pebbles, lays the beauty. Her pale body is stiff as jade. The waves are kissing her. Her delicate body shows her charm. She lies in a graceful pose, yet with her vital parts missing—her head and limbs.

Broken branches of begonia and camellia flowers surround her, faded and bone-dry. Still, specks of depressed ruby-red petals are struggling out from the death, added a flush on her.

The bleak wind continues funneling through the gorge, whining and breaking out into sobs. It’s the cry for her.

Chapter 1

Your Heart – He Said

A teardrop is rolling down from her rosy cheek. Shining as crystal, precious as a pearl.

Pearls break on my palm, so warm, so heavy, so pure, and so innocent.

I see…humans’ tears are heavy as mercury; they can break into ancient patterns.

Impressive.

My love, she’s back in my bed again.

She doesn’t make a sound when I strike the ax. Her beautiful head quickly rolls aside. She gazes at me, as silent as the first time we made love.

Back in the wild cave 13 years ago, she was so young, so innocent…like a tiny flower bursting out of the green bud…like a butterfly broke out of its cocoon, fragile and shivering.

Today, she harvests the eternal peace. Time stands still for her.

Her precious tears are telling me how much she loves me. They’re my tears too, but now all evaporates into a sentimental soul.

Gently, I wipe off her tears. I rub her hair, over and over again. Her eyes are turning into dark diamonds. They freeze in, dazzling for me, forever.

Before the black dragon takes her sailing, I must preserve her beauty.

I chop a lock of her hair to roll a black rose. The edge of the rose was polluted by her yellow hair dye. I put the rose into my pillow. She’ll be with me, days and nights.

Without the beautiful head, she lost balance.

I fix her with my ax, as gentle as I can. Every single blow makes her lovely eyelashes tremble, like a flopping black butterfly. This butterfly will NOT fly away from me anymore. This time, she’ll really stay with me.

Blood spots are sweeping past my face, land onto the wall. Her blood is so warm, just like the summer raindrops on the day I met her.

That summer’s rain was warm, fascinating. I’ll never forget about that rain.

Tomorrow, I’ll spend the whole day planting her favorite flowers on her perfect body. Then let the black dragon send her home, following the River of Anger into the Indian Ocean. She often dreams about the sea. I’ll make her dream come true.

My darling—anything else you want me to keep?

I want your heart, I always do.

Your heart is still warm. Oh, my angel has such a dark red heart—I finally meet you. Sweetheart, I want you more than anything. I’ll make sure we share one heartbeat. My heart is beating only for you, never changed. You can tell me anything you want, anytime, just like before.

Finally, we’re part of each other, now and forever.

Chapter 2

My Head – She Said

Pain is all I feel.

A bust of sharp pain is drilling into my brain, spine, and into my heart. It twists me to a silkworm, writhing in a cocoon.

I must break the cocoon. I must fly out of here!

Deadly blackness. I keep struggling. I warp myself into a ball of haystack, bearing the agony.

I can’t see, but I feel it. A firm arm nails me onto a chopping board, and a cold blade cuts through my throat. I’m panting, shaking, waiting for the moment—to be gutted like a fish wrenching with pain.

Am I trapped in a nightmare? Last night, I dreamed of blood. Blood flooded into town.

Sparkling stars, spinning…suddenly, I’m soaring into the sky. I float in the air like a dandelion seed, with its little umbrella and a mighty dream. It makes me dizzy and insecure. My body must have gone with the wind; all I am left with now is a heavy woozy head.

A flash of blue lightning is piercing through my nose, bursting into my temples. It makes an eerie humming.

Holding a gleam of hope, taking a deep breath, I focus onto the blue lightning and throw all my energy to it. Then, I blast that mixed energy into the pineal gland between my eyes. Following an intense bounce! As if a light is switched on in a dark room, I can see again.

Blood! BLOOD is everywhere!

The red tide is pouring down to the whole world.

Ming is sawing a piece of wood with his small saw. He never stopped making those tacky pieces of furniture, which were ordered by farmers. Eh…something is NOT right. Why is he sawing a chair leg in bed?

I lean closer. I look into every detail.

Blood is spilling out from the saw. My head is stuck between the two pillows. My body is pressed by Ming’s knee. That piece of chair leg he is sawing, it’s my left arm! My eyeballs turned to plastic balls, as dark as the crow. They’re gawking at me desperately. Death laid his claws onto my face. Dark veins are radiating the cold of crushed ice…

God…what on earth is happening? Ming had me killed? Somebody… HELP! Help me!

I swirl down like a tornado to strike Ming. Yet I touch nothing. I’m just a shadow, shooting around does change nothing.

What I see next makes my soul creep.

Ming puts my arm under the bed, so calm, as if piling up pieces of wood that he often deals with. Then he picks up the ax to rip open my chest, digging out my heart. He holds my bleeding heart carefully, gazing at it. That’s the same look—he kept staring at me over kisses last night. He couldn’t get enough of me.

After the sweet night, my neck is ripped open as an abandoned mine. Dark blood goes pitter-patter…dripping into streams. Life evaporates from my dead-fish eyes. The whole world dries out and cracks apart in front of me.

This can’t be happening. Last night he loved me like a maniac, and today he chops me off? Killing is not the thing Ming would do, NOT to me, not to anyone. Ming is the kindest man I’ve ever seen in this planet.

Oh God—show your power, please!

I start screaming until my throat is torn. I cry my eyes out. Nobody comes to rescue me. The shrill wind is wailing outside. Crickets are sobbing for me.

Nothing can make me believe this horror! I’ve been Ming’s whole world for 13 years. And for the past eleven years, I’ve been returning his love. He has no right to do this to me!

Bright moonlight floods over me. The full moon is so brilliant, so chilly.

Surrounded by the moonlight, I’m mesmerized. A blast of strange energy lifts me up in the haze. The only thing I can do is watch myself dissipating into smoke and to be swallowed by the moonlight little by little. The moonlight is as gentle as before, but there’s no mercy.

No, no, no, no, no…nobody can do this to me! I must live. Soon, I’m going to be the most beautiful bride in the world… I just turned 27. I CAN’T DIE!

Chapter 3

Phoenix – He Said

My little angel, now she follows me everywhere. We’re in the same boat through storm and rain.

I wish she could take me back to the starting point, Phoenix Village, the birthplace of her—a phoenix whose feather shone under my protection.

I burned her heart to ashes and carefully preserved it in an antique bottle. The bottle is hung around my neck. We’re together days and nights. We’re bound heart-to-heart. I’ve made my promise come true: we’d never be apart.

This snuff bottle is very special, one of those artifacts favored by Qing dynasty nobleman. A metal-bodied enamelware painted with gold outline, the classic imperial style. It had its glorious time in Qianlong Emperor’s period from 1735 to 1796.

We both loved that Golden Age of Qianlong—remember? So you must enjoy the room inside of this very special bottle.

Nothing else can match your unique beauty and elegance except such exquisite artwork. Such beauty cost half my savings. A big bulk of cash notes was thrown into the antique shop. You know I never spent money like this. For you, I am willing to do anything. Well, those savings were all meant for you. They’re finally used on you, so nothing to regret.

My angel, she deserves this valuable bottle because she is NOT just any pretty girl on the street. She carries my youth, my dreams, and the hope for my life. She is another form of me and part of me. We have been bound and twisted