Chapter 5, the ghostly and terrifying shadow

Grandfather then asked, "Can you see what kind of monster that is?"

After dinner, once my mother finished tidying up the house, children of all ages from the village came to my home. The sound of reading echoed within the house, yet I could not muster any spirit, appearing absent-minded. That night, as I fell asleep, I dreamt of the finger of Scholar Li, who had died two years ago, twitching slightly. I was suddenly awakened, drenched in cold sweat. My mother hurriedly wiped my sweat and held me tightly, soothing me to sleep. After quite a while, I finally fell into a deep slumber, no longer dreaming of that twitching finger.

As of now, it remains unknown what kind of beast or monster is approaching, and whether an attack will occur. We can only rely on passive patrols to manage the situation. Five consecutive days have passed without any incidents, and even the patrol teams have begun to relax. The villagers are uncertain if the monster will return, and they find themselves in a stalemate.

An incident occurred in the small village, and soon it was surrounded by people. According to Uncle Chen's recollection, last night at midnight, the hunting dog barked frantically a few times. Normally, the dog would bark whenever someone passed by the door, but since it was late at night, he was too lazy to go out and check on the dog. It was only this morning that he discovered his beloved pet had died. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene; what kind of beast could instantly take the life of a fierce dog that stood knee-high? The ability to silently kill the hunting dog indicated that a person could be utterly defenseless without any means to fight back, causing widespread panic in the village. His grandfather advised Uncle Chen to be cautious and then returned home.

Since it was merely a false alarm, everyone comforted Widow Wang for a while before dispersing to return home and continue sleeping. As they were leaving, Grandfather advised everyone to be cautious when going out recently, suggesting it would be best not to venture out alone at midnight, as there might be wild beasts causing trouble

Grandfather looked into the pit at hetushu.com, where the body of a calf had been torn into pieces, leaving only its large head staring blankly at the sky, evoking a sense of fear and unease. The sharp wooden stakes in the pit had not captured any large wild beasts. The onlookers, upon witnessing such a gruesome sight, retreated in horror, and a few timid women began to squat on the ground and vomit. Grandfather slapped the weeping Chen San, who was crying uncontrollably, and sternly asked, "What exactly did you see? What is going on?" The onlookers, upon witnessing such a gruesome sight, retreated in horror, and a few timid women began to squat on the ground and vomit. Grandfather slapped the weeping Chen San, who was crying uncontrollably, and sternly asked, "What exactly did you see? What is going on?"

"That is not a monster at all. When it looked at me, I saw clearly that the shadow was a person! Dressed in a black satin jacket and a dark red robe, wearing a melon-shaped hat, with a thick layer of white hair on his face, and two fangs protruding from his mouth. His fingers were dry and pitch black, with nails that were a full inch long. He looked exactly like the old scholar who was buried two years ago! It's haunted, it's haunted, save me!" Chen Sanfeng shouted in a frenzy. His fingers were dry and pitch black, with nails that were a full inch long. He looked exactly like the old scholar who was buried two years ago! It's haunted, it's haunted, save me!" Chen Sanfeng shouted in a frenzy.

Chen San was awakened by a slap, and he cried out, "Uncle Zhang, please save me! I intended to sneak down the mountain with the calf tonight while everyone was distracted and sell it. But as soon as I got here, I smelled blood. When I looked into the pit, I saw a dark figure tearing at the calf with its claws. In just a few moments, it had ripped it apart like this and was gulping it down. I was so scared that my legs turned to jelly, and I shouted and tried to run. That monster jumped out of the five-meter-deep pit, glanced at me, and headed up the mountain. Just that glance nearly scared me to death!"

When everyone saw Grandfather enter, they all gathered around, chattering about what they had seen upon entering the courtyard. Grandfather raised his hand to signal for silence, then squatted down in front of Widow Wang and asked, "Wang family daughter-in-law, what did you see? Why are you so frightened?" Widow Wang looked up at Grandfather and stammered, "I was in urgent need to go to the toilet, and when I entered the courtyard, I smelled a strong odor of blood. I looked down and found that bloody thing, which scared me to death!"

When everyone believed that the bizarre incident of the rooster being half-eaten was Chen San's revenge, a second event quietly arrived. This incident was discovered on the morning of the third day after the mishap at Widow Wang's house. Early on the third day, Chen Bo found his beloved dog dead in the yard, in a horrific state, with more than half of its head missing and its belly completely hollowed out. The dog had been Chen Bo's hunting companion for eight years, known for its fierce temperament and ability to track prey effortlessly, yet it had died without a sound. Early on the third day, Chen Bo found his beloved dog dead in the yard, in a horrific state, with more than half of its head missing and its belly completely hollowed out. The dog had been Chen Bo's hunting companion for eight years, known for its fierce temperament and ability to track prey effortlessly, yet it had died without a sound.

Before long, the two of them returned home and climbed onto the kang to continue sleeping. I, alone in my mother's embrace, found it impossible to fall asleep. The next morning, during breakfast, my grandfather said: "The incident with the dead chickens yesterday is suspicious; it doesn't seem like a wild animal attack, but rather like the work of a person. However, Chen San wouldn't dare to do such a thing. Who could be so cruel and strong? In any case, the village has not been peaceful lately, so you all should be careful." My parents responded softly, and my grandfather continued: "The incident with the dead chickens yesterday is suspicious; it doesn't seem like a wild animal attack, but rather like the work of a person. However, Chen San wouldn't dare to do such a thing. Who could be so cruel and strong? In any case, the village has not been peaceful lately, so you all should be careful." My parents responded softly again and continued eating their meal.

The calf was trapped in a pit, bleating incessantly, while the villagers returned home to sleep in the middle of the night. However, they were awakened by a piercing male voice and hurriedly grabbed their belongings to rush to the trap. By the time they arrived, the sound of the calf was no longer audible; only Chen San sat on the ground, howling loudly like a madman. The air was thick with a nauseating smell of blood, assaulting their nostrils.

The dog in the yard heard the shouting and barked, as our village is close to the mountains and currently in a state of chaos. We are fearful of wild beasts entering the village or of intruders attacking. Whenever someone in the village shouts in the middle of the night, everyone, young and old, grabs their weapons and rushes over. My grandfather got out of bed and called my father from the window; the two of them grabbed their hunting rifles and dashed out. Before leaving, they instructed my mother to secure the doors and windows and to hold me close while I slept. However, the scream had already shattered my drowsiness. I opened my eyes wide, turning restlessly in my father's arms, unable to sleep at all, my heart clawing with curiosity about what was happening.

Grandfather believed that this approach was not a solution. He had the men of the village dig a pit five meters deep at the entrance of the village and the mountain. The bottom of the pit was filled with sharpened wooden stakes, and to attract the monster, a three-month-old calf was placed inside. At that time, a cow was a treasure for the whole family, but in order to capture the monster, it had to be sacrificed.

Everyone returned home in fear and trepidation, lost in their thoughts. "Don't leave me behind, it has seen me, it will surely tear me apart!" Chen San cried out frantically from behind as he ran towards home. His grandfather glanced at him, sighed, and, with his father, trudged slowly towards home, his once straight back gradually bending, as if the burdens of the village rested solely on him.

Upon hearing Chen San's words, Widow Wang suddenly stood up from the ground. Pointing at his nose, she scolded, "Isn't this all caused by you, you scoundrel? You are determined to make it impossible for us orphans and widows to live well! Just the day before yesterday, you stole my hen, and when I discovered it, I endured it in silence because I am just a widow. I never expected you to become even more audacious! You might as well just kill the two of us!" As she spoke, she began to cry loudly. Everyone recalled that Chen San had been caught stealing her eggs the day before yesterday, and they suspected this was his revenge, so they all denounced him. The grandfather stepped forward and kicked him twice, sending him sprawling on the ground. Realizing he was outnumbered, he shouted loudly that this woman was crazy and that everything was being blamed on him, while he scrambled and rolled out of the courtyard.

After sighing and lamenting all night without coming up with a solution, two incidents occurred, and I couldn't even figure out what they were. The next day, my grandfather organized some strong men from the village to patrol the village all day with weapons, in order to prevent any unexpected occurrences

Since the widow Wang lost her husband, Chen San has harbored desires towards her. Several times, he attempted to bring bedding to spend the night with her, but was repeatedly rejected. He even engaged in the shameless act of peeping at her while she bathed. After being scolded secretly by his grandfather a few times, he finally abandoned the thought of a toad wishing to eat swan meat. The others found this matter amusing and were deeply ashamed of Chen San. His grandfather immediately reprimanded him loudly for being unambitious and for not knowing how to care for his neighbors.

The two men hurried into the yard of Widow Wang, carrying shotguns, where a crowd had already gathered. Widow Wang sat on the ground, weeping, while two women beside her tried to console her. A dead chicken lay bloodied on the ground, and the air in the yard was thick with a bloody and eerie atmosphere that made it hard to breathe

The faces of the onlookers suddenly turned pale, and the crowd began to whisper about the strange events that occurred two years ago during the burial. My grandfather and those who were aware of the secret looked extremely serious and said: "Chen San, you brat, you must be scared silly! Everyone should go home first. Tomorrow we will collectively go and see what is really going on. It is too late now, and it is not suitable to investigate."

Chen San collapsed at his doorstep, his eyes bulging outward, his face pale, and a large gaping wound in his throat oozing fresh blood, with his abdomen also slashed open, leaving a pool of blood on the ground. The air was thick with the nauseating scent of warm blood. A dark figure squatted beside the corpse, voraciously devouring the intestines, producing strange chewing sounds. Upon seeing this, my grandfather hurriedly picked up his shotgun and fired at the shadowy figure. Accompanied by a strong smell of gunpowder, the bullet struck the figure, which turned to let out a fierce roar at my grandfather before swiftly fleeing towards the back mountain, moving as fast as a ghost.

Grandfather walked in front of the dead chicken and poked it with a small stick, observing, "The wound was torn open while it was still alive, rather than being bitten. It doesn't seem like the work of a wild beast. How strange, what could possess such great strength?" After hearing Grandfather's words, everyone gathered around the dead chicken, looking and exclaiming in wonder. "Who says it must be a wild beast? It could very well be the work of a person. Widow Wang, tell us, who have you offended? Haha." A cheeky voice came from Chen San. Everyone knew that Chen San was inherently lazy, notorious in the village for being a slacker. At over thirty years old, he still hadn't found a wife; any girl he met would run away in fright at the sight of his unkempt beard and dirty clothes. He didn't mind at all; a few years ago, his mother was still arranging his marriage, but unfortunately, she passed away from a serious illness last year. He did have an older brother, but the brother had severed ties with him, deeming him unworthy. Truly, one person's fullness does not mean the whole family is hungry. He did have an older brother, but the brother had severed ties with him, deeming him unworthy. Truly, one person's fullness does not mean the whole family is hungry.

Lying on the bed, Grandfather had not yet removed his clothes, and the cries of a man, more tragic than before, spread throughout the village. The voice sounded like Chen San's shout. Remembering what Chen San had just said, cold sweat instantly covered Grandfather's forehead. He grabbed the hunting rifle and hurriedly ran towards Chen San's house, not even taking the time to call for his father.