Chapter 122: The Great Immortal Huang

The next day, Liu Dashao woke up early, secretly took a bottle of pain-relieving and blood-stopping medicine from the medicine chest, crushed it into powder with a stick, wrapped it in paper, then went into the house and took one bottle from the case of wine that Village Chief Tian had brought previously. He grabbed a few steamed buns and left the house heading toward the small grove.

Normally, Liu Dashao would have invited Goudan to come along, but since Goudan’s arm hadn’t healed yet and his parents forbade him from leaving the house, Liu Dashao had no choice but to go out alone.

Upon arriving at the grove, Liu Dashao returned to the spot where he had saved Huang Erye the previous day, but found neither Huang Erye nor the animal trap.

He placed the items he brought on the ground and softly called out, “Huang Erye… Huang Erye… Come out quickly… I brought you some wine… Huang Erye!”

After shouting a few times, he noticed a white figure running toward him from the distant snowy field. As it drew closer, he saw it was indeed Huang Erye, with the cloth bandage Liu Dashao had tied yesterday still wrapped around his hind leg. Huang Erye looked up at Liu Dashao and suddenly stood up on his front legs.

He circled Liu Dashao a few times, then lay back down. Liu Dashao gently stroked Huang Erye’s fur—it was soft and warm.

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye, I brought you some good wine. I’ll give it to you after I apply the medicine to your hind leg!”

Huang Erye wagged his tail, seemingly understanding Liu Dashao’s words.

Liu Dashao then took out the powdered medicine, unwrapped the cloth bandage from Huang Erye’s hind leg, and sprinkled the medicine onto it. Huang Erye shook his small body slightly. Then Liu Dashao fed him a steamed bun before grabbing one for himself and squatting beside Huang Erye to eat.

After finishing the bun, the little creature started sniffing around, probably catching the scent of the wine. Liu Dashao then took the wine bottle from his chest and placed it in front of Huang Erye. The fox stood up, hugged the bottle, sniffed at the mouth of it, then tilted the bottle and stuck his little mouth into it to drink. His belly swelled up and down rhythmically—clearly he was drinking quite a bit.

Soon, the wine bottle was empty and lying on the ground. Huang Erye staggered around as if drunk, then lay down, looked at Liu Dashao with his small eyes, wagged his tail a few times, and closed his eyes—probably falling asleep.

Fearing that someone might discover Huang Erye, Liu Dashao picked him up and placed him inside a hollow tree where sunlight could still reach. Then he headed back home.

From then on, whenever he had free time, Liu Dashao would go play with Huang Erye. Sometimes, Huang Erye would bring wild fruits that were only available in summer for Liu Dashao to eat, while Liu Dashao would bring him good wine.

Huang Erye truly was a little wine barrel—he would finish every bottle Liu Dashao brought him, then wobble back to his spot. If he drank too much, he’d simply fall asleep inside the tree hollow.

As New Year’s Eve approached, Liu Dashao worried he wouldn’t be able to visit Huang Erye for several days. The next day, he brought some wine and played with Huang Erye for a while before stroking him gently and saying, “Huang Erye, the New Year is coming soon. I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you for a while!”

Huang Erye lifted his head to look at Liu Dashao and wagged his tail, indicating he understood.

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and continued, “I heard the grown-ups say you’re really talented. Is that true? Show me something, hehe!”

To his surprise, Huang Erye suddenly stood up and looked at Liu Dashao with his small eyes.

Then he came over and tugged at Liu Dashao’s pants hem before walking forward, glancing back at Liu Dashao. It was an invitation for Liu Dashao to follow him. So Liu Dashao got up and followed.

In the past few days, Liu Dashao had been changing Huang Erye’s medicine daily, and his hind leg had nearly healed. They walked for a long time until they reached the desolate mountain outside the village.

The mountain was bare and desolate, covered entirely in snow. Huang Erye turned his head to look at Liu Dashao, then ran to an open area and began digging with his front paws. Liu Dashao realized he was digging into the ground, so he picked up a large stone nearby and started digging too.

Strangely, although it was winter and the ground should have been frozen solid, this patch of soil wasn’t very hard—it was actually somewhat loose. After digging for a while, he touched something hard. Huang Erye, meanwhile, jumped onto the edge of the pit and lay there watching Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao brushed away some dirt with his hands and was startled—was that a coffin?

He was so scared he immediately jumped out of the pit. Suddenly, he heard a series of dull thumps from inside the coffin, as if someone was knocking on the lid from within. Occasionally, he could also hear the sound of fingernails scraping against wood, making Liu Dashao’s skin crawl and his body freeze in fear.

Just then, there was a loud bang. The coffin lid was thrown out of the pit and landed beside Liu Dashao.

A foul stench spread out. Looking toward the edge of the pit, Liu Dashao saw a dry, shriveled hand with long black nails sticking out from the hole.

Liu Dashao stumbled backward in terror. He looked down at Huang Erye on the ground—he seemed to be asleep.

Trembling, Liu Dashao picked him up and pleaded, “Huang Erye, don’t fall asleep now! Think of something! We’ve dug up someone’s coffin and they’re angry!”

But no matter how hard Liu Dashao called out, Huang Erye wouldn’t wake up. Looking back at the pit, he saw another dry, shriveled hand with long black nails emerging from the hole.

The two hands fumbled around the edge of the pit, suddenly gripping it tightly. Half of a body emerged from the pit, crawling frantically toward Liu Dashao.

Holding Huang Erye in his arms, Liu Dashao lost his balance and fell backward onto the ground. The corpse’s face was rotten, revealing bones beneath the decay. Its jaw was gone, leaving only exposed teeth. This was far more terrifying than seeing ghosts through yin-yang eyes—at least those were spirits. What stood before Liu Dashao now was a real, living creature!

The corpse moved extremely fast, quickly crawling to Liu Dashao’s feet. Liu Dashao, still sitting on the ground holding Huang Erye, scooted backward in fear. He quickly bit his right middle finger, extended his hand to form a talisman gesture with his right hand, held Huang Erye with his left, and pointed his right hand at the corpse while chanting, “No taboos! Banish evil!”

The corpse hesitated for a moment, then continued crawling forward. Liu Dashao closed his eyes in despair, thinking he was about to die here.

After a long while, nothing happened. Liu Dashao cautiously opened his eyes and looked at the corpse. He saw it reach into its fleshless mouth with its hand and pull out a purple, glowing bead the size of a palm. It placed the bead beside Liu Dashao, wobbled twice, then lay still on the ground.

Just then, the Huang Erye in Liu Dashao’s arms suddenly stirred. It jumped out of his arms, circled the corpse, then ran to the bead and picked it up with its front paws. Its small eyes twinkled as it looked at Liu Dashao.

It turned out that Huang Erye had possessed the corpse and opened the coffin from inside, then retrieved this bead and given it to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao took a long time to recover before standing up and asking, “So you really have the ability to separate souls and control bodies?”

Huang Erye nodded slightly with his small head.

“Is this bead also given by you?” He said as he picked up the bead, feeling a slight warmth. Huang Erye spun around a few times, and Liu Dashao put the bead away. Huang Erye suddenly started spinning rapidly on the spot. As soon as he stopped, several large wild dogs burst out from the bushes and dragged the corpse away.

Later, Liu Dashao told Huang Erye that he would come back to play with him after some time. Huang Erye circled Liu Dashao a few times, then slowly walked away. After walking a short distance, he paused to look back at Liu Dashao before disappearing into the woods.

Back home, Liu Dashao went alone to the study, hoping to find information about the bead’s origin in Zhang Enpu’s books.

After flipping through many pages, he finally found a passage marked “Xuanpin Pearl” that read: “A mysterious pearl from the ocean, clear in color, grants the ability to understand all animal languages when swallowed.” However, the bead Huang Erye had given Liu Dashao was purple, while the Xuanpin Pearl was transparent. Liu Dashao closed the book in disappointment and returned to his room with the bead.

Before long, New Year’s Eve arrived. Every household pasted couplets, “Fu” characters, and hung lanterns. Liu Dashao indulged in candy until he was full. Even before nightfall, firecrackers started crackling in the village. Liu Dashao and Goudan went outside to set off fireworks. His arm had slightly recovered, and they made dumplings, offered sacrifices to the household gods, and stayed up for the New Year celebration.

Thus, the lively New Year’s Eve passed joyfully.

The day after the New Year, everyone visited each other to exchange greetings. Village Chief Tian brought several boxes of cigarettes, alcohol, and fruits to Zhang Enpu, and also bought many sugar figurines for Liu Dashao, making him extremely happy. Villagers also came to greet Zhang Enpu, the old immortal. Thus, the New Year festivities continued for a month before gradually winding down.

Not long after the beginning of spring, Zhang Enpu received a letter. His expression became solemn as he told Liu Dashao, “A distant relative of mine has passed away. My family must attend the funeral, and it may take quite some time before I return. During this time, you must behave yourself!”

After saying this, Zhang Enpu, Liu Dashao felt secretly delighted, thinking he wouldn’t have to memorize those boring texts for a while.

That night, unable to sleep, Liu Dashao lay on the kang with Zhang Enpu chatting. Liu Dashao loved telling Zhang Enpu strange stories, and they talked until late before Liu Dashao finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhang Enpu had already packed his luggage. He said meaningfully, “While I’m away, you must listen to your grandmother and behave yourself. If anything happens, stay calm and don’t panic!”

“I’ll be good, but can I take some books to read?” Liu Dashao pointed toward the study.

“Go ahead, be a good boy!” Zhang Enpu said, patting Liu Dashao’s head.

Liu Dashao ran into the study and picked up two books—the *Tianshi Biloc* (Records of the Celestial Master), which he was almost finished reading, and the *Taiyi Tiangang*. These two books should keep him occupied for a while.

After leaving the study, Zhang Enpu led Liu Dashao to the rented house and locked the door with a large padlock. Liu Dashao sighed inwardly—home would be out of reach for some time.

Zhang Enpu turned to Liu Dashao’s parents and said, “I’m sorry to trouble you two during my absence.”

Liu Laoshi smiled and replied politely, “Master Zhang, you’re speaking too humbly. You’ve taken good care of us all along—we’re family!”

Zhang Enpu smiled but said nothing more before heading out of the village. Liu Dashao gazed at Zhang Enpu’s retreating figure, feeling a deep sense of loss. He shouted after him, “Come back soon! I’ll miss you!”

After shouting, Liu Dashao’s eyes grew slightly moist. Although it was only for a few days, tears still uncontrollably rolled down his cheeks. Goudan patted Liu Dashao’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’m here for you!”

Hearing those words, Liu Dashao felt warmth in his heart. He reached out and held Goudan’s hand tightly.