Chapter 49: There Is a Fierce Beast in the Village

In the west room, Yun Shan’s breathing was even, and Hua Qi lay quietly beside his head.

Suddenly, Hua Qi opened both eyes, his forked tongue flicking rapidly in and out. His snake head lifted high. In the darkness, he sensed that Dou Ming’s scent had faded.

There was no movement in the courtyard. Dou Ming had clearly already left.

What was this little tiger going to do?

The black snake lowered his head and slowly moved closer to Yun Shan. He flicked out his tongue to confirm that the little human cub was sound asleep, then quietly slid down from the bed. Avoiding the leopard, pangolin, and goat sleeping on the floor, he opened the door and disappeared into the night.

Following the scent Dou Ming had left behind, Hua Qi quickly caught up with him.

Qin Niang’s scent was here too. This should be her house.

What had the little tiger come to Qin Niang’s house for? Was he here to eat her family’s chickens too?

Hua Qi slipped through a gap in the fence and into the courtyard. He turned his head and swept his gaze around, and sure enough, he spotted Dou Ming in the chicken pen.

Dou Ming had his front half inside the chicken pen, his bottom slightly raised. He seemed to be eating with great enjoyment.

Hua Qi slithered over without a sound and suddenly said, “Is it tasty?”

“Roar—” Dou Ming jumped in fright and quickly shrank backward, accidentally shouting once in a tiger’s voice.

That shout was not quiet. Half the village heard it. Hua Qi heard movement from inside Xia Sheng’s house.

He immediately cast an invisibility spell and set up a barrier. His snake tail struck Dou Ming’s head without the slightest mercy as Hua Qi said anxiously, “What are you yelling for?! Why yell so loudly?”

Dou Ming rubbed his head, aggrieved. “You were the one who scared me.”

“You’re a tiger, aren’t you? How are you this timid?” Hua Qi curled his lip. “How many chickens have you eaten?”

“I didn’t eat any chickens.” Dou Ming showed Hua Qi what he was holding.

In the moonlight, Hua Qi easily saw that Dou Ming was holding two eggs.

“What are you taking eggs for?” Hua Qi grabbed Dou Ming’s ear and twisted it lightly. “Taking other people’s things without permission is stealing.”

“It’s not stealing,” Dou Ming argued. “Xiu Niang said Qin Niang should have brought eggs for Yun Shan. Since she didn’t bring them, I came to take them myself.”

“What are you here for?”

Hua Qi looked at Dou Ming. He felt there was something wrong with what Dou Ming had said, but it also made a little sense. If they had hurt Yun Shan, then they ought to bring over something good as an apology. But why did he feel something was off? He could not figure out where.

He threw the thought aside and answered Dou Ming, “To eat chickens.” How could he possibly let the family who had injured Yun Shan off so easily?

The rules on Yunling Mountain said demons could not attack humans on their own initiative, but they never said demons could not eat humans’ chickens.

“Wait a little first. After I take all the eggs out, then you can eat.” Dou Ming quickly lowered himself and crawled back into the chicken coop, feeling around under each hen’s belly one by one.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck.” The hens were woken up and cried out in displeasure.

The rooster pecked Dou Ming’s hand. Dou Ming yelped in pain, pulled the rooster out in one grab, and with a hard twist of both hands, snapped its neck. He casually handed it to Hua Qi. “Eat.”

Hua Qi transformed back into his original form, opened his great mouth, and swallowed the rooster.

Qin Niang lay stiffly on the kang, not daring to move at all. In a breathy whisper, she said, “Xia Sheng, I heard the chickens. Something is harming our chickens.”

“Then let it harm them,” Xia Sheng whispered back in the same breathy voice. “That cry just now sounded like it came from something big. As long as it doesn’t come harm us, it can eat the chickens all it wants.”

That logic was sound. People were more important than chickens. But Qin Niang’s heart still ached terribly. Their family had five hens. In ten days, they could save up a basket of eggs. Eggs cost two copper coins each now, and one basket of eggs could sell for one hundred copper coins.

After eating the chickens and taking the eggs, Hua Qi and Dou Ming left perfectly satisfied.

When they returned to Qiu Sheng’s house, Dou Ming headed straight for the chicken pen and stuffed the eggs he had taken from Qin Niang’s house under Xiu Niang’s hens.

Xiu Niang was a light sleeper. When she heard the chickens crying, she immediately pushed Qiu Sheng awake. “Go outside and take a look. Why are the chickens crying so badly? Don’t tell me something came to harm them.”

Qiu Sheng rolled out of bed and quickly ran out of the room.

The chicken pen had already quieted down. Through the chicken cage, Qiu Sheng saw only darkness inside. He went into the kitchen, found a fire striker, and lit a torch.

With the torch lighting the place, the situation in the chicken pen was clear at a glance. The family’s three hens were crouched obediently in the cage, and the long-tailed rooster was pacing back and forth beside them.

Qiu Sheng carefully checked around the chicken cage as well. After confirming there was no problem, he saved himself the trouble and put the torch directly into a wooden basin full of water. He rubbed his hands together, patted them off, and went back into the room.

Not a single sound came from outside, but Qin Niang and Xia Sheng still did not dare sleep. They lay there with their eyes open until dawn. Only when they heard people talking outside did they dare climb out of bed.

Xia Sheng first leaned out the window to inspect their courtyard. Seeing that there was nothing in it, he finally felt safe enough to open the door.

Qin Niang immediately ran to check the chicken pen. A few chicken feathers had fallen beside it, and inside, it was completely empty. Not a single chicken remained. “What a sin.” She cried out in pain, tears instantly welling up, and cursed in a low voice, “What beast came down the mountain and picked our family? Not one chicken left for us. It’s killing me.”

“What are you howling for?” Xia Sheng’s mother walked out of the room and said with a stern face, “Keeping your life is already a good thing. Don’t keep thinking about those chickens. Hurry up and clean up. After breakfast, we’ll go to Yunling Temple and pray.”

While Qin Niang was cleaning up the chicken pen, several groups of people came by the house to ask what had happened.

“Last night, we heard a wild beast howling from your place. Thank goodness everyone in your family is all right.”

“The chickens were all harmed by the wild beast? Aiyo, those things eat whatever they see.”

“That wild beast won’t come down the mountain again tonight, will it? Should we hide? Anyone with large livestock at home had better keep a close watch. If a wild beast smells them, I guarantee not even the bones will be left.”

“My family’s fine. Looks like the wild beast only went to Xia Sheng’s house.”

After listening to all this, Qin Niang thought, Fine. None of the surrounding households had any trouble. Only her family had been harmed by the beast. Her heart immediately felt unsettled. Did even beasts think her family was easy to bully? Why not go to anyone else’s house? Why come to hers in particular?

When Xiu Niang got up early to collect the eggs, she actually found eight eggs in the chicken coop. The family only had three hens. One hen laid one egg a day, so at most, their family could have three eggs in one day. But now they suddenly had eight. One of the chickens had laid three eggs today!

“Qiu Sheng, Qiu Sheng, come look.” Xiu Niang crouched in front of the chicken cage and called Qiu Sheng. “Our chickens laid eight eggs today. No wonder they cried last night. They must have been straining hard.”

“That can’t be. I’ve never heard of anyone’s chicken laying three eggs in one day.” Qiu Sheng walked over. When he saw the eggs Xiu Niang had placed on the ground, for a moment he did not know what to say. In the end, he only said, “That really is strange.”

Feeling guilty, Dou Ming quickly walked outside.

When Tuo Tuo saw him, he ran after him and shouted, “Dou Ming, wait for me. I’ll go up the mountain with you.”

Dou Ming pulled Tuo Tuo along and urged him, “Go, go, go. Hurry.”

Hua Qi could not help laughing. He lowered his head and met Yun Shan’s smiling face. He said, “Our Yun Shan has now also seen a chicken that can lay three eggs in one day.” Then he lowered his head and quickly whispered by Yun Shan’s ear, “Five of those eggs were taken from somewhere else by Dou Ming last night and put in there.”

“Ah?” Yun Shan did not understand any of this. He opened his mouth slightly and stared blankly at Hua Qi. His silly look made Hua Qi even happier.

“Qiu Sheng.” Fifth Auntie ran into the courtyard and shouted, “A wild beast got into your eldest brother’s house. All the chickens were eaten.”

Qiu Sheng’s eyes widened in fear. “My parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my nephew? What about them?”

“The people are fine. It’s just the chickens that were all ruined by the wild beast. Hurry over and take a look. When I came, your sister-in-law was still crying.”

Xiu Niang asked Hua Qi to look after Chun Hua, then she and Qiu Sheng hurriedly ran toward his parents’ house.

After squeezing through the crowd watching the excitement, Qiu Sheng saw his parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law all standing safely in the courtyard. Only then did he let out a soft breath of relief.

“Father, Mother, Sister-in-law.” Xiu Niang said gratefully, “It’s good that you’re all right. I heard…”

“It’s all because of you, you jinx.” Qin Niang suddenly turned on Xiu Niang, pointing at her and cursing. “Yesterday I had just suffered anger at your house, and today this happened. It must be you, you unlucky jinx. No wonder you only gave birth after three years of marriage, and even then it was a girl. You brought it all on yourself.”

She vented all the grievance from yesterday and all the resentment from today onto Xiu Niang in one breath.

“What nonsense are you saying!” Xia Sheng hurriedly covered Qin Niang’s mouth and scolded, “Did losing a few chickens drive you mad with anger? What crazy talk is this? We’ll go to town later and buy chickens. Raise them for two months, and they’ll lay eggs again.”

He turned his head and smiled apologetically at Qiu Sheng and Xiu Niang. “Last night, when the wild beast was eating the chickens, we all heard it. Your sister-in-law was probably scared silly. Don’t take it to heart.”

Xiu Niang tried to force out a smile. After trying several times and failing, she simply let her face fall and stopped pretending.

Qiu Sheng was so angry his whole body trembled. He pulled Xiu Niang and turned to leave.

“Mmph, mmph, mmph.” Qin Niang tugged at Xia Sheng’s hand, struggling as if she still wanted to speak.

Xia Sheng lowered his voice and roared beside her ear, “What are you trying to do? Can’t you behave yourself for once? How can this be blamed on Xiu Niang?”

“Why can’t it be blamed on Xiu Niang?” Xia Sheng’s mother disagreed. “I think Qin Niang is right. She’s a jinx. Ever since she married into our family, Qiu Sheng has been clamoring to split the household. And after all these years, she only gave birth to a girl.”

“Mother.” Xia Sheng was helpless. “Why are you making trouble too? Qin Niang is talking nonsense. Why are you talking nonsense too?”

The mother and daughter-in-law’s words were heard by the villagers, and before long, some busybody had carried them to Xiu Niang’s parents’ home.

Xiu Niang’s father said angrily, “That family is really no good! Back then, if I hadn’t thought Qiu Sheng was decent, we never would have let Xiu Niang marry into a family like that. Other than Qiu Sheng, not one person in that family is worth mentioning.”

“Calm down.” Xiu Niang’s mother’s heart ached for her daughter too. But what could they do? If there were many brothers in the family, if their own clan were here, they could march right up to that house. If Qiu Sheng’s family dared say even one bad word about Xiu Niang, they would make sure they could not get away with it. But Xiu Niang only had one brother, Da Shan, and their family were outsiders. No matter how hard this anger was to swallow, they still had to swallow it.

She advised her old man, “Wasn’t Qiu Sheng the one we took a liking to? Look how good Qiu Sheng is to Xiu Niang. From what I’ve seen, Xiu Niang has even gained quite a bit of weight lately.”

Wan Niang smiled and said, “Exactly. Yesterday, I even went to her house. Xiu Niang’s whole face has rounded out. You can tell she’s being well cared for. Her family eats meat every day, and they haven’t mistreated Xiu Niang one bit. Father, Mother, you can rest easy.”

Hearing that their daughter’s life was genuinely going well, the old couple finally felt a bit more comfortable. Xiu Niang’s mother still could not relax. “No, I have to go see Xiu Niang. I need to talk to her properly and tell her not to blame this on Qiu Sheng. What his in-laws did is their business. Qiu Sheng has always been beyond reproach toward her.”

Xiao Cong sat between Chun Hua’s and Yun Shan’s cradles, embroidering while watching over the two little human cubs.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose from the chimney and slowly drifted away with the wind. Hua Qi sat in front of the stove, tending the fire and cooking porridge. He had already learned how to steam buns, make pancakes, and cook noodles.

Chuyi led the lamb outside at a leisurely pace. Although it was called a lamb, the sheep was no longer small. Because Yun Shan needed to drink milk, Chuyi had never weaned the lamb.

When Chuyi passed the cowshed, the water buffalo gave a low “moo—,” as if it had some complaint.

Chuyi glanced at it and led the lamb out of the courtyard.

“Moo—” The water buffalo let out a long cry.

Xiao Cong turned to look at it and saw the water buffalo pacing anxiously back and forth inside the shed.

He asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Moo—” The water buffalo cried again.

Xiao Cong completely could not understand what it wanted to express. Just as he was worrying over it, Hua Qi came quickly from the kitchen, carrying the fire poker.

“I’ll let you out now. After you finish eating grass, come back. If you don’t come back, I won’t need Dou Ming to hammer you to death. I’ll strangle you first. Do you hear me?” Hua Qi pointed the fire poker at the water buffalo and said fiercely.

“Moo—” The water buffalo stared at Hua Qi with innocent bovine eyes.

“Do as you see fit. If we beat you to death, eating beef today works too. We don’t have cattle on our mountain, and I haven’t eaten beef in many years.” As Hua Qi spoke, he went to untie the rope fastened to the water buffalo’s nose ring.

The moment it was free, the water buffalo immediately trotted out of the cowshed, dragging Hua Qi so that he stumbled several steps.

Hua Qi, furious, threw the fire poker after it and cursed, “You cow, you—you’d better come back today, or I’ll have Xiu Niang stew you!”

He turned his head and met Xiao Cong’s eyes. Hua Qi said viciously, “What are you looking at? Hurry up and embroider your flowers!”

Xiao Cong lowered his head in fear and only hoped Dou Ming would hurry back. He did not want to face an angry Hua Qi.

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