Monster

Chen Erniu sprang from his bed, snatched the clothes beside it, threw them on haphazardly, and pulled his son out the door, asking hurriedly, "What the hell happened?!" The Chen family's eldest son, Chen Sanshui, was anxiously reaching up to take a long saber from the wall, shouting, "Father, take the saber, take the saber! We'll talk on the way!" Chen Erniu took the long saber, strapped it to his waist, and strode swiftly toward the village entrance. "A villager on night watch went to patrol the fields and heard rustling, thinking someone was out there fooling around. He quickly ducked down to sneak a peek, only to see a bloody corpse with the back of its head missing. He was scared half out of his wits on the spot!" Chen Sanshui explained in a rush as he struggled to keep pace with Chen Erniu. "How did he die?" "The back of his head was smashed in and the brains scooped out. A gruesome death." Hearing this, Chen Erniu halted abruptly, his voice filled with shock. "Has anyone been sent to inform the master family?" "Not yet..." Chen Sanshui stammered slightly in reply. "You fool! Did you think you could keep something like this hidden?!" Chen Erniu erupted in fury at once, berating him in sheer exasperation. "I already talked it over with that watchman and a few households near the fields... told them not to spread word just yet. This is the first murder in our Lichuankou in years, and I was afraid Xu Wenshan would use it against you, Father!" Chen Sanshui quickly explained, seeing his father lose his temper. "Fool! The man's brain was scooped out!" "This..." Seeing his father's panicked fury, Chen Sanshui fell half a beat behind, seemingly realizing something as well. "Could an ordinary murder involve scooping out someone's brains?! Besides, my rivalry with Xu Wenshan is just a show for others to see—we're both thoroughly satisfied with the arrangement. Would Xu Wenshan kick me while I'm down and harm me? If he took me down, wouldn't he needlessly offend more than a hundred households in Lichuankou?" "You brothers are as stupid as pigs! Xu Wenshan is younger than me. If I am no longer around in the future, what will you have to compete with him?!" "Father..." This string of rebukes left Chen Sanshui burning with shame. He hung his head and fell silent, murmuring no excuse. With a sullen face and a heart heavy with foreboding, Chen Erniu spoke coldly, "I fear a monster is at work. Go inform the master family yourself." Chen Sanshui nodded vigorously and hurried toward Lijing Village. Watching his eldest son disappear into the distance, Chen Erniu finally showed a trace of terror and sorrow on his face, muttering softly: "Who knows how terrifying this monster is? If Sanshui keeps his eyes sharp, at least an heir might be spared for our Chen family." Chen Erniu had personally lived through the horrific great drought in Lichuankou. As a young boy playing in front of his house, he had watched with his own eyes as a massive bird draped in crimson flames descended upon Lichuankou, pecked up several villagers like grubs, and flew off with a flap of its wings, leaving behind fields that spewed scorching heat for three months. The surviving villagers devoured everything edible near Lichuankou. They ladled water from the Meichi River and poured it into the fields, only for it to vanish entirely. Chen Erniu's father carried shoulder pole after shoulder pole of water, watering the ground for nine whole days before taking his own life while clutching his starved wife. Leaving behind the corpses of his parents, Chen Erniu gritted his teeth and fled in tears to Lijing Village. He kowtowed until blood pooled on the ground before he was finally taken into the Li family. At that time, every household in Lijing Village was packed with fellow villagers who had fled in recent days. Some tried to storm the wealthy estates, only to be beaten to death by tenant farmers who had been their fellow villagers just days before. Most were left with no choice but to plunge headlong into Mount Dali. Three months later, people slowly returned. No one dared mention that day, nor did anyone dare speak of how the hundred-odd survivors in the village had stayed alive. In silence, the people buried human bones that had been licked clean. Lichuankou, which had once boasted nearly three hundred households and fourteen hundred people, was reduced to a mere three hundred survivors. Seeing torches flickering before him, Chen Erniu was jolted from his memories. He pushed aside his second son, Chen Qiushui, who had come forward to meet him, raised his torch, and gazed down at the bloody corpse on the ground with its hollowed-out skull. Tears already streamed down his face as he ground his teeth and asked: "Who is this?" "Old Ye from the village entrance," Chen Qiushui answered softly, uneasy at the sight of tears on his father's face. "Go wake everyone in the village. Light bonfires and take up sabers and staves," Chen Erniu ordered in a low voice. Just then, a villager rushed over from the village gate and blurted out upon seeing him, "Manager Chen, Manager Chen! The master family sent someone to ask if anything is amiss in Lichuankou!" Chen Erniu froze, profound shock and suspicion surging in his heart. He thought to himself: *How could anyone travel between Lichuankou and Lijing that fast?! Even if an informant in the village had snitched, a round trip couldn't possibly be this quick. It must be that the moment someone died in the village, the master family knew. They must have some means of dealing with that monster.* His tightly knit brows smoothed out, and a wave of relief washed over Chen Erniu. He called out loudly: "We fear a monster is at work in the village! Someone has already been sent to notify the master family!" *** Li Xiangping silently watched the blue-gray mirror on the table. Its shattered surface seemed slightly more restored than when he had picked it up as a boy, yet it still looked as though it might break at any moment. A faint, silver-white glow radiated from the mirror, casting a dreamlike aura. "How long has that person been gone?" "A quarter of an hour already." Li Tongya gazed anxiously out the window, set down the wooden slip in his hand, and said, "We should go out. If those people don't see us, I'm afraid they might break the rules and come to this back courtyard." "Let's go!" Li Xiangping glanced at the cross-legged Li Xuanxuan and spoke in a deep voice. The moment they stepped out of the back courtyard, they saw Li Yesheng pacing in circles in the main courtyard like an ant on a hot pan. Spotting Li Tongya and Li Xiangping, Li Yesheng's eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to say, "Lichuankou sent someone! They say someone had their brain scooped out!" "Brains scooped out?" Li Xiangping froze, turning to Li Tongya. "I fear it's a monster." "Indeed." Li Tongya nodded gravely. After pondering for several breaths, he said in a heavy tone, "That monster scooped out the brain and retreated, which means it still fears humans. Its cultivation cannot be too high; it must still be in the Embryonic Breathing realm. If it were in Qi Refinement, it could simply slaughter the entire village and ride away on the mist." "I'll go take a look!" Li Xiangping pondered for several breaths, his brow slightly furrowing as he said to Li Yesheng, "Gather the able-bodied men in the village and have them bring weapons." "Yes!" Li Yesheng responded in haste and rushed off. Watching Li Yesheng leave, Li Tongya frowned and said, "We do not know the depths of this monster. You and I shouldn't go." "If we don't go today, the prestige our Li family painstakingly built among these villages will be completely undone! I have to go!" "Second Brother, keep watch on the mountain while I scout ahead. You know my temper—I won't take reckless risks." "Even if something happens, our Li family will at least still have you. At worst, we give up Lichuankou and seek help from the sect." With that, Li Xiangping nodded to Li Tongya, picked up his bow and arrows, threw on his yellowish-brown rattan armor, and hurried down the mountain.