“Shhh…” the village head raised his index finger to his lips, signaling everyone to just watch and not speak, as it would be highly disrespectful to the gods. As soon as the villagers saw the village head’s expression, they immediately stopped their murmurs and fell silent, watching intently as Zhang Daxian began his divine ritual.
Within a short time, the apple was eaten. He seemed a bit tired and sat in a chair yawning. Suddenly, with a “whoosh,” the oil lamp and candles all extinguished at once. At the very moment the lights in the house went out, plunging everyone into darkness, Zhang Daxian spoke: “The beast has killed.” Everyone in the room was stunned, trying to understand what he meant, but Zhang Daxian said no more. The room was deathly silent. One minute passed, then two… still no sound. Just as everyone grew anxious in their waiting, the lights in the room came back on, lit by Zhang Daxian’s assistant. At that moment, everyone noticed that Zhang Daxian was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, and the candles and incense had already burned out. With a soft “mmp,” Zhang Daxian shook his head, stood up from the chair, turned around, and began bowing toward the altar. Then, he took a slip of paper from a bowl that had been overturned on the altar. Everyone was stunned, watching Zhang Daxian’s every move. Everyone in the room had clearly seen that the overturned bowl had been completely empty just moments ago, yet now it contained a slip of paper. Everyone was eager to see what was written on it—could it reveal the identity of the murderer?
Zhang Daxian glanced at the village head, who immediately understood and stepped forward from the crowd.
“Here!” Zhang Daxian handed the slip of paper to the village head.
The village head smiled, took the slip with a nod, and said, “Alright,” holding it respectfully as he carefully unfolded it. There, written neatly, was a single character. The village head cleared his throat and announced, “The beast has killed!” As soon as he spoke, everyone was stunned. Wasn’t that exactly what Zhang Daxian had said moments ago while in a trance? To convince everyone, the village head passed the slip around for all to see. The villagers took it in hand, flipping it around carelessly, most of them unable to read and merely joining the spectacle.
“You can’t read, so don’t embarrass yourself,” another villager snatched the slip, “Xuantian Niusheng, what does it mean…”
“You’re no better!” someone else snatched it away.
“Hey, hey, hey!” The village head waved his hands, signaling them to stop fighting over the slip. “Give it back, give it back!” He snatched the slip from the villagers and said, “You’ll tear it to pieces if you keep this up!”
The villagers chuckled…
“What does the village head mean?” one villager asked.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t get it. Can you explain?”
“This, this…” the village head looked at the characters on the slip.
“What does the village head mean by ‘Xuantian’ and ‘Niusheng’?” another asked.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t get it. Can you explain?”
“This, this…” the village head looked at the slip again.
“You don’t understand either, do you, village head?”
“Yeah?”
“You brats know nothing!” the village head pointed at the younger ones, “You just chatter nonsense all day!”
“The village head doesn’t know either.”
Heh, heh, heh, they laughed.
“Stop fooling around,” the village head clapped his hands, and the room quieted slightly. He walked up to Zhang Daxian and asked, “What does this mean?”
“This is a hidden clue,” Zhang Daxian took the slip, frowned slightly, and said, “Look carefully at its meaning!”
“Xuantian Niusheng,” the village head repeated, “This refers to the killer.”
“I understand. It’s either someone surnamed Tian or someone surnamed Niu. Today, everyone is here. If you did it, step forward and confess!” the village head loudly demanded.
“I’m not surnamed Niu, nor am I surnamed Tian.”
“Me neither.”
“You’re in trouble; you’re surnamed Niu!”
The villagers whispered among themselves…
“Village head, village head,” Zhang Daxian quietly tapped the village head’s shoulder, “These four characters are connected.”
“What? Connected?” The village head turned around, surprised, and looked at Zhang Daxian, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I thought you already knew,” Zhang Daxian looked at the village head.
“Xuantian Niusheng, try putting them together,” Zhang Daxian pointed to the slip, “The character ‘Xuan’ with ‘Tian’ beneath it, and ‘Niu’ with ‘Sheng’ on its right side clearly form the word ‘chusheng’ (beast).”
“So what does the immortal mean?”
“Just that the beast has killed. Probably a wild animal from the mountains. Everyone should be careful recently,” Zhang Daxian smiled.
“I see!” the village head nodded.
“Let’s go…”
“Let’s go…”
One by one, the villagers left Sister Hu’s house…
“Thank you for your hard work,” the village head patted Zhang Daxian’s shoulder.
“My pleasure!” Zhang Daxian smiled.
“Come to my place tomorrow, we’ll have a drink together,” the village head said, putting out the oil lamp.
“Alright,” Zhang Daxian said, packing up the altar.
“Village head, immortal, thank you both,” Sister Hu came over, “You both have gone through so much trouble for my sister’s sake.”
“It’s nothing; we’re all neighbors here,” the village head said.
“Yeah!”
Soon everything was packed up, and the village head and Zhang Daxian left Sister Hu’s house.
“Village head, immortal, don’t rush,”
“No need to see us off; go back inside,” the village head waved his hand.
“Poor those two children,”
Zhang Daxian sighed with a soft “Ah.”
As they spoke, the oil lamp in the village head’s hand was suddenly blown out by a gust of wind.
“I have matches,” Zhang Daxian pulled out his matchbox.
“The wind is too strong; even if you light it, it’ll just go out again,” the village head waved him off.
“I’m going in,” Zhang Daxian opened his gate.
“See you tomorrow for dinner,” the village head shouted toward Zhang Daxian as he walked into the courtyard.
Zhang Daxian responded with an “Okay” and went inside…
The next morning early.
“Help! Village Head Zhao, Village Head Zhao, quick, help!” Zhang Shan, the young village guard, leapt over the fence into Village Head Zhao’s yard.
“You scared me,” Village Head Zhao came out wrapped in a robe, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Zhang Shan outside. “What’s wrong?”
“No, no, it’s bad!” Zhang Shan said, his face pale. “Something’s happened!”
“What’s happened?” the village head’s wife came out from the inner room.
“Something’s happened, something’s happened!” Zhang Shan said frantically.
“Go take care of your things?” Village Head Zhao glanced at his wife as she emerged.
She went back inside…
“What happened?” Village Head Zhao asked.
“My, my brother… he’s been hurt.”
“What happened? Tell me quickly!”
“He, he was attacked by a wolf!”
“A wolf?” Village Head Zhao was stunned. “Where would a wolf come from around here!” (Nowadays, villagers often go hunting, and wolves have long been eliminated from the nearby hills. However, wolves are still occasionally seen in the distant mountains.)
“Yes, right at the front hill!” Zhang Shan pulled on the village head’s arm.
“What, the front hill?” Village Head Zhao was momentarily stunned. The front hill was right in front of the village, not far from his house. Not even a snake would be found there, let alone a wolf. He quickly snapped back to his senses and said, “Are you sure?”
“Hurry, Village Head Zhao, or it’ll be too late!” Zhang Shan urged.
“Let’s go!” Village Head Zhao rushed out, but after taking a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped. “Wait!” He turned back, grabbed a hoe leaning against the wall, and shouted, “Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou!”
“Coming!” Xiao Zhou poked his head out.
“Come on, something’s happened. There’s a wolf at the front hill!”
“A wolf?”
“Hurry up!”
Xiao Zhou responded and ran out. Zhang Shan led the way, and within minutes they reached the front hill. As soon as they arrived at the hillside, they noticed some bloodstains near the grass and trees. As they moved further in, the bloodstains became clearer and more numerous. “Ah!” Xiao Zhou couldn’t help but cry out. A head, with wide-open eyes, lay in the grass. Village Head Zhao, Zhang Shan, and Xiao Zhou were all horrified by the sight.
“Little brother…” Zhang Shan cried and ran forward.
“This…”
Not far from the head was a body, the clothes torn to shreds, the belly ripped open, the intestines scattered everywhere, leaving only a piece of bone…
“Little brother…”
“What happened?”
“Little brother…” Zhang Shan knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
“This…”
“I was walking with my brother…” Zhang Shan sniffled, “We had just arrived here when I saw a shadow in the woods. As soon as it saw us, it hid behind a tree. Zhang Mao thought it was strange and followed it. Suddenly, there was a strange sound.”
“What kind of sound?” Village Head Zhao asked, looking at the horrifying scene.
“I… I’m not sure,” Zhang Shan’s face turned pale as he spoke, his body trembling nervously, “But it was really creepy. Then came a woman’s voice.” When he mentioned the woman, Zhang Shan visibly tensed…
“A woman?”
“Yes, a woman’s voice,” Zhang Shan stopped crying, his eyes fixed on Zhang Mao’s body, “We both heard it clearly!” As he spoke, Zhang Shan suddenly jumped up from the ground, screaming wildly, “It’s a monster, it’s a monster!”
“Nonsense!” Village Head Zhao patted Zhang Shan’s shoulder, “Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. Tell me slowly, I’ll help you, I’ll help you!”
“It was a monster, it really was a monster. I heard it clearly,” Zhang Shan grabbed Village Head Zhao’s arm tightly, shaking it, “It’s here, it’s here.”
“Don’t be nervous?”
“Just tell me slowly?”
“Who’s here?”
“The monster is here!”
“Weren’t you attacked by a wolf?”
“Yes, a wolf, it seemed like a wolf,” Zhang Shan said, his expression dazed and his words incoherent.
“Don’t worry, don’t be nervous,” Village Head Zhao looked at Zhang Shan and then turned to Xiao Zhou, “Go back and find some people to…”
Xiao Zhou nodded and returned to the village.
“Shh…” The village chief placed his index finger to his lips, signaling everyone to watch quietly and not make a sound, as disturbing the spirits would be a grave disrespect. Seeing the chief’s expression, the villagers immediately ceased their hushed whispers and fell silent, attentively observing Master Zhang’s ritual.
In no time, the apple was devoured, and Master Zhang seemed a bit tired, sitting back in his chair and yawning. Suddenly, the oil lamp and candles all went out with a ‘whoosh.’ As the room plunged into darkness, Master Zhang spoke, “The beast kills.” Everyone in the room was stunned, trying to comprehend his words when Master Zhang fell silent again. The room was eerily quiet. One minute passed, then two… Still, no sound. Just as everyone was anxiously waiting, the lights came back on, lit by Master Zhang’s assistant. It was then that everyone noticed Master Zhang leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. The candles and incense had burned out. With a groan, Master Zhang shook his head, stood up, turned around, and began to bow to the altar. After a moment, he pulled out a slip of paper from an upside-down bowl on the altar. Everyone was shocked, as they had clearly seen that the bowl was empty before. Now, a slip of paper had mysteriously appeared. Everyone eagerly anticipated its contents, wondering if it would reveal the murderer. Master Zhang glanced at the village chief, who understood the cue and stepped forward from the crowd.
“Here!” Master Zhang handed the slip of paper to the village chief.
The chief smiled, took the paper, and nodded, “Alright.” He then carefully unfolded it, revealing a neatly written character. The chief cleared his throat and announced, “The beast kills!” Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Wasn’t this exactly what Master Zhang had just said? To dispel any doubts, the chief passed the paper around for everyone to see. Most villagers couldn’t read, so they just glanced at it out of curiosity.
“Don’t embarrass yourself if you can’t read,” another villager snatched the paper away. “Xuantian Niusheng, what harm…”
“You’re no better!” Someone else grabbed it.
“Hey, hey, hey,” the chief waved his hand, signaling them to stop the back-and-forth. “Give it here, give it here,” he said, taking the paper back. “You’ll tear it apart at this rate!”
The villagers chuckled.
“Chief, what does it mean?” someone asked.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t get it. Can you explain?”
“This, this,” the chief examined the characters on the paper.
“Chief, what does it mean? Something about a field and an ox,” another villager inquired.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t understand. Can you explain?”
“This, this,” the chief continued to study the characters.
“Chief, don’t tell me you don’t know either?”
“Yeah?”
“You youngsters don’t know anything!” the chief pointed at the younger villagers. “All you do is talk nonsense!”
“The chief doesn’t know either.”
The villagers laughed.
“Enough of this,” the chief clapped his hands, and the room quieted down a bit. He walked up to Master Zhang and asked, “What does this mean?”
“It’s a metaphor,” Master Zhang took the paper, furrowed his brow, and said, “Look closely at its meaning!”
“Xuantian Niusheng,” the chief repeated. “This points to the killer.”
“I see. Either someone with the surname Tian or Niu did it. Since everyone in the village is here, whoever did it should step forward and confess!” the chief demanded loudly.
“I’m not surnamed Niu, nor Tian.”
“Neither am I.”
“You’re in trouble, you’re surnamed Niu!”
The villagers whispered among themselves.
“Chief, chief,” Master Zhang tapped the chief’s shoulder and whispered, “These four characters are connected.”
“What? Connected?” The chief turned around, surprised, and looked at Master Zhang. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I thought you knew,” Master Zhang replied.
“Xuantian Niusheng, try combining them,” Master Zhang pointed out. “The character ‘Xuan’ with ‘Tian’ below, and ‘Niu’ with ‘Sheng’ on the right—it clearly spells ‘beast.'”
“So, Master Zhang, what does this mean?”
“Simply that a beast killed someone. It’s likely that a wild animal has been causing trouble in the mountains. Everyone should be careful,” Master Zhang explained with a smile.
“So that’s it!” Chief Zhao nodded.
“Let’s go…”
“Let’s go…”
The villagers filed out of Sister Hu’s house one by one…
“You’ve worked hard,” the chief patted Master Zhang’s shoulder.
“Not at all!” Master Zhang smiled.
“Come to my place tomorrow, and we’ll have a drink,” the chief said as he packed up the oil lamp.
“Sure,” Master Zhang replied, gathering the items on the altar.
“Chief, Master Zhang, thank you for your trouble,” Sister Hu approached. “You’ve been running around for my sister’s sake.”
“It’s nothing. We’re all neighbors,” the chief said.
“Indeed!”
Soon, everything was packed up, and the chief and Master Zhang left the Hu household.
“Chief, Master Zhang, take care on your way back.”
“No need to see us off. You all go back,” the chief waved his hand.
“Those poor children…”
Master Zhang sighed.
As they spoke, the oil lamp in the chief’s hand was suddenly blown out by a gust of wind.
“I’ve got a match,” Master Zhang pulled out a matchbox from his pocket.
“The wind’s too strong. It’ll just blow out again,” the chief shook his hand.
“I’ll head in,” Master Zhang opened his own gate.
“See you tomorrow for the meal,” the chief called out as Master Zhang walked into the courtyard.
Master Zhang acknowledged with an “Oh” and went inside…
Early the next morning.
“Help! Chief Zhao, Chief Zhao, help!” The village militiaman Zhang Shan leaped over the fence into Chief Zhao’s yard.
“Startled me,” Chief Zhao, still in his robe, stepped out and opened the door to find Zhang Shan outside. “What’s wrong?”
“Something terrible has happened!” Zhang Shan looked panicked. “There’s been an incident.”
“What’s going on?” the chief’s wife came out from the inner room.
“Something’s happened, something’s happened,” Zhang Shan said frantically.
“Go tend to your chores,” Chief Zhao glanced at his wife, who then retreated back inside.
“What’s happened?” Chief Zhao asked.
“My brother… he’s been attacked.”
“What? Speak quickly!”
“He was attacked by a wolf.”
“A wolf?” Chief Zhao was stunned. “There haven’t been wolves around here for years!” (Nowadays, villagers often go hunting, and the wolves from nearby hills have long been eradicated. Wolves are only found in the distant mountains.)
“There is one, on the front hill!” Zhang Shan pulled at Chief Zhao.
“What, the front hill?” Chief Zhao was shocked. The front hill was right next to the village, not far from his house. It was a place where even snakes were rare, let alone wolves. Chief Zhao quickly regained his composure and asked, “Are you sure?”
“Hurry, Chief Zhao, or it’ll be too late!” Zhang Shan urged.
“Let’s go,” Chief Zhao rushed out, but after a few steps, he turned back, grabbed a hoe leaning against the wall, and shouted, “Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou!”
“Yes?” Xiao Zhou poked his head out.
“Come on, there’s trouble. A wolf has appeared on the front hill.”
“A wolf?”
“Yes, a wolf. Hurry!”
Xiao Zhou ran out, and Zhang Shan led the way. In just a few minutes, they reached the front hill. As they approached the edge, they noticed some bloodstains among the grass. The further they went, the more blood they saw. “Ah!” Xiao Zhou exclaimed as they came across a head with wide-open eyes lying in the grass. Chief Zhao, Zhang Shan, and Xiao Zhou were all horrified by the sight…
“Brother…” Zhang Shan cried out as he ran forward.
“This…”
Not far from the head, there was a body, its clothes torn apart, its belly ripped open, and intestines scattered everywhere, with only a piece of bone remaining…
“Brother…”
“What happened?”
“Brother…” Zhang Shan knelt on the ground, wailing.
“This…”
“My brother and I were walking here…” Zhang Shan sobbed. “As soon as we got here, I saw a figure in the woods. The figure hid behind a tree when it saw us. Zhang Mao found it strange and followed it. Suddenly, we heard a strange noise.”
“What kind of noise?” Chief Zhao asked, looking at the gruesome scene.
“I… I’m not sure,” Zhang Shan’s face turned pale, and he grew visibly nervous. “But it was really eerie. Then we heard a woman’s voice,” Zhang Shan became even more tense when mentioning the woman.
“A woman?”
“Yes, a woman’s voice,” Zhang Shan stopped sobbing and stared straight at Zhang Mao’s body. “We both heard it clearly!” With that, Zhang Shan suddenly stood up and screamed like a madman, “It’s a monster, it’s a monster!”
“Don’t talk nonsense in broad daylight!” Chief Zhao patted Zhang Shan’s shoulder. “Calm down, calm down. Speak slowly. I’ll take care of it, I’ll take care of it!”
“It’s a monster, it really is a monster. I heard it clearly,” Zhang Shan grabbed Chief Zhao’s arm and shook it vigorously. “It’s coming, it’s coming.”
“Calm down?”
“Speak slowly?”
“Who’s coming?”
“The monster is coming!”
“Weren’t you two attacked by a wolf?”
“Yes, a wolf, it seemed like a wolf,” Zhang Shan spoke incoherently, his mind clearly in shock.
“It’s alright, calm down,” Chief Zhao looked at Zhang Shan and then turned to Xiao Zhou. “Go back and get some people to…”
Xiao Zhou acknowledged and headed back to the village.
“A wolf, no…” Zhang Shan was still in a daze. “Yes, when we heard that strange noise, we were both scared and didn’t dare to chase further. We turned back, but as soon as we did, we heard a rustling sound behind us. We felt something was wrong and turned around. Right where we had seen the shadow,” Zhang Shan panted, “Yes, right there, something suddenly leaped out and charged at us. My brother and I were terrified and ran down the hill. That thing kept chasing us, as if it knew us. When we got here, yes, right here,” Zhang Shan pointed to the ground, “My brother was pounced on, and I ran back to the village.”
“Let’s go, it’s just ahead.”
At that moment, Xiao Zhou returned with some villagers…
“You all go and check,” Chief Zhao pointed in the direction Zhang Shan had described the wolf coming from, instructing the younger villagers to investigate. He then pointed to the older villagers, “Take care of Maozi…”
“It’s not a wolf, it’s not…” Zhang Shan seemed to be losing his mind. “It’s a wolf, it’s a wolf, it’s a monster…”
“You two, help Zhang Shan back.”
The two villagers nodded.
“Chief Zhao, the severity of the bite doesn’t seem like a wolf’s work?”
“I’m puzzled too. Where would a wolf get such strength to bite through the neck?” Chief Zhao took a deep puff from his pipe.
“But judging by the bite marks, it should be a wolf,” one villager said.
“Hey, where would a wolf come from around here?”
“True. I haven’t seen a wolf in years.”
“Right…”
By now, several villagers had wrapped Zhang Mao’s body in white cloth.
Chief Zhao tucked his pipe into his belt and said, “Let’s head back to the village…”
“Chief Zhao, we didn’t find any wolf!”
“Right. Not even a trace of a wolf.”
Chief Zhao acknowledged with an “Oh,” furrowed his brow, and glanced back at Master Zhang, who was lighting incense.
“Zhang Shan said he heard strange noises and saw a shadowy figure in the woods. What do you think…” Chief Zhao leaned in and whispered to Master Zhang.
“Don’t worry, don’t you trust my abilities?” Master Zhang inserted the incense and turned around. “Besides, didn’t the spirits’ answer last night prove true today? A beast killed someone—a wolf!”
“This…” Chief Zhao hesitated.
“Just relax!”
“I heard that the neighboring Xiushui Village had a zombie problem recently. Could it be something sinister?”
“Impossible. It’s broad daylight, and Zhang Mao was clearly attacked by a wolf. Zhang Shan’s mind is all over the place now. Would you believe him?”
“True,” Chief Zhao nodded.
After handling Zhang Mao’s affairs, everyone dispersed…
Life in the mountain village continued peacefully. Three days passed quickly, and then everyone noticed something—Zhang Shan had disappeared. He had vanished the night after his brother’s incident and hadn’t been seen since. Everyone knew he had gone mad and didn’t know where he had run off to.
One day, Xiao Zhou returned from gathering firewood in the mountains. As he passed a steep slope, his foot slipped, and he instinctively leaned back, causing the firewood he was carrying to roll down the slope. It tumbled all the way to the bottom, where it got caught in some weeds. Xiao Zhou quickly crouched down and slid after it, pulling at the firewood until it came free from the weeds. As he climbed back up the slope, he felt something tugging at him. He turned around and saw a piece of torn cloth. Upon closer inspection, he noticed bloodstains on it. He dropped the firewood and looked again, his heart skipping a beat. “Oh no!” he exclaimed as he saw a leg hanging from his firewood—more precisely, the shoelace of a leg was caught in the branches. Xiao Zhou screamed and ran back up the slope, dashing back to the village. Soon, the villagers gathered and found a body in the weeds, torn apart, with limbs scattered…
“This… isn’t this Zhang Shan?” a villager said.
“Yes, it’s Zhang Shan!”
“How did he end up here?”
“A wolf, it must have been a wolf attack,” Chief Zhao glanced at the body.
“What should we do?”
“Two people have been killed by wolves in just a few days.”
“Chief, think of something.”
“Right…”
“Alright, alright,” Chief Zhao stomped his foot, signaling everyone to stop arguing. “First, let’s take Zhang Shan’s body and give him a proper burial. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Chief Tian from Xiushui Village for the militia, and each household will send one person. We’ll hunt the wolf. Tonight, prepare your weapons. We’ll set out early tomorrow morning and comb through this forest until we kill that damned wolf…”
“Alright…”
“Kill that vicious wolf…”
“Right…”
“Let’s go…”
Early the next morning, everyone climbed the mountain, armed with their prepared weapons. They formed a long line, spaced about ten meters apart, and began a thorough search of the front hill. Soon, the entire hill had been combed, but there was no sign of a wolf—not even a single wolf hair…
“Chief Zhao, what should we do?” a villager asked.
“Keep going!” Chief Zhao waved his hand, and everyone continued forward.
The sun soon began to set, casting long shadows across the land. The day passed, and the villagers had searched several hills, but still, there was no trace of the wolf. Disheartened, they began to head back…
“Chief Zhao, something terrible has happened!” a villager ran up as soon as they entered the village.
“What is it?” Chief Zhao asked urgently. “What’s happened?”
“Sun Yinong, he… he’s been attacked.”
“Where?” Chief Zhao’s heart sank. This was a sensitive topic. “Take me there!”
“Quickly, it’s just ahead.”
At this moment, Xiao Zhou brought several villagers over…
“You few go and check,” Village Head Zhao pointed to the route Zhang Shan described where the wolf had chased them, instructing the younger villagers to investigate. Then he pointed to a few older villagers and said, “Take care of Maozi…”
“Not a wolf, not a wolf…” Zhang Shan seemed delusional, “It was a wolf, a wolf, a monster…”
“You two help Dazhan back home.”
The two villagers nodded.
“Village Head Zhao, judging from the severity of the bite, it doesn’t seem like a wolf.”
“I’m also puzzled. How could a wolf have such strength to bite through the neck?” Village Head Zhao took a hard puff from his pipe.
“But judging from the tooth marks, it should be a wolf,” one villager said.
“Ah, you guys, where would a wolf come from around here?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen a wolf in years.”
“Yes…”
At this point, several villagers had already wrapped Zhang Mao’s body in white cloth.
Village Head Zhao inserted his pipe into his waist and said, “Back to the village…”
“Village Head Zhao, we didn’t find any wolves!”
“Yeah, not even a shadow of a wolf.”
Village Head Zhao let out an “Oh,” furrowed his brows, turned around to look at Zhang Daxian, who was lighting incense.
“Dazhan said he heard strange sounds and saw a dark figure in the woods. What do you think…” Village Head Zhao whispered to Zhang Daxian.
“Nonsense! Don’t you believe in my powers?” Zhang Daxian replied as he inserted the incense, “Besides, didn’t the gods’ answer last night come true today? The beast killed him—it was a wolf!”
“This…” Village Head Zhao hesitated.
“Don’t worry!”
“I heard that recently the neighboring Xiushui Village had a zombie problem. Could it be that evil thing?”
“Impossible! It’s broad daylight, and Maozi was clearly attacked by a wolf. Dazhan’s mind is all confused now, talking nonsense. You believe him?”
“That’s true,” Village Head Zhao nodded.
After dealing with Zhang Mao’s matter, everyone dispersed…
Life in the mountain village continued peacefully. Three days quickly passed. At this time, everyone noticed something: Zhang Shan was missing. Since the night his brother had the incident, he had disappeared and hadn’t been seen since. Everyone knew he had gone mad and didn’t know where he had run off to.
One day, the village’s Xiao Zhou returned from chopping firewood on the mountain. As he passed a steep slope, his foot slipped, and he immediately tilted toward the incline. Instinctively, he took a step back, but the firewood he was holding slipped from his hands and rolled down the slope. It kept rolling until it was stopped by some weeds at the bottom. Xiao Zhou quickly bent his body and slowly slid down the slope, grabbing the firewood and pulling hard. The firewood was caught in the weeds, and after pulling back and forth a couple of times, it finally came free. As Xiao Zhou walked up the slope, he increasingly felt something was caught. He turned around and saw a piece of torn cloth. Looking more carefully, something was wrong—the cloth had bloodstains on it. He quickly dropped the firewood and took another look, his heart suddenly sinking with a jolt. He cried out in alarm, “Oh my!” There was a leg, a human leg caught in his firewood. More precisely, the shoelace on the leg was caught in the branch of his firewood. Xiao Zhou screamed and ran up the slope as fast as he could, dashing back to the village in a flash.
Soon, everyone from the village arrived. In the patch of weeds, everyone saw a corpse, torn apart, with hands and feet separated from the body…
“Isn’t this Dazhan?” one villager said.
“Yes, it’s Dazhan!”
“How did he end up here?”
“A wolf, definitely attacked by a wolf,” Village Head Zhao said, glancing at the corpse.
“What should we do?”
“In just a few days, two people have been eaten by wolves.”
“Village head, think of a way.”
“Yeah…”
“Alright, alright,” Village Head Zhao stamped his feet twice, signaling everyone to stop arguing. He loudly said, “First, take Dazhan’s body away and bury him properly. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Xiushui Village and ask their village head for a militia team. Then, every household should send one person. We’re going wolf hunting. Tonight, everyone go home and prepare weapons. We’ll set out early tomorrow morning. We’ll search every inch of this forest to kill this hateful wolf…”
“Alright…”
“Kill this evil wolf…”
“Yeah…”
“Hunt…”
The next morning early, everyone climbed the mountain, each carrying prepared weapons. They formed a long line, spaced about ten meters apart, and began their search on the front hill. Soon, the entire front hill was searched thoroughly. Not even a wolf hair was found…
“Village Head Zhao, what should we do now?” one villager asked.
“Keep searching!” Village Head Zhao waved his hand, and everyone quickly continued forward.
The sun soon tilted, casting its rays diagonally onto the ground. The day passed like this. Everyone searched several valleys back and forth but still saw no sign of the wolf. Disheartened, they began to walk back…
“Village Head Zhao, something’s wrong!” As soon as they entered the village, a villager came running.
“What happened?” Village Head Zhao hurriedly asked, “What’s going on?”
“Sun Yinong, he, he’s had an accident.”
“Where?” As soon as Village Head Zhao heard someone was in trouble, he became alert, “Quick, take me there!”
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