Chapter 1: A Startling Dream in the Night

Otherwise, I would not mind tearing you apart!

He was holding a麻黄鸡 in his hand, stretching his neck as he gnawed at the chicken's neck with a crunching sound

Do not!

Then this seat will take it by itself

The ten-mile road to the neighboring village is not far, Grandma said she would definitely return before midnight to accompany me in paying respects to my godmother, and told me to wait for her at home and not to go out

Stealing one or two would have been forgivable, but to have taken all of my laying hens is simply outrageous

The man, seeing that he could not obtain the response he desired, seemed to have exhausted his patience. His golden eyes suddenly turned ominous and chilling, a wild smile lingering at the corner of his mouth: "Good! Very good!"

The other party seemed to be enraged by my actions, suddenly turning around with a face and mouth covered in chicken blood and feathers, their bulging eyes glaring fiercely at me

However, in my impression, Zhang Youde has always been chubby and plump, with a face full of flesh. How could he have lost so much weight in just half a month to the point of looking like a skeleton

When we were able to descend the mountain, for some unknown reason, a pile of loose stones suddenly fell from above. My father was killed on the spot, and while my mother was trying to dodge, she lost her footing and fell into the ravine.

I was astonished and confused, instinctively opening my mouth, only to realize that I could not produce any sound at all

"Don't move! Put down my chicken!" I shouted, pointing at him with a firewood stick

One of the foxes was large in size, its belly round and bulging as if it were pregnant. It showed no fear of people, its eyes sparkling with intensity, fixated directly on my mother's belly

He slightly raised his thin lips, and a deep yet contemptuous voice emerged: "It is you who has secretly hoarded the items belonging to me, isn't it?"

However, this year there was a situation where someone in the neighboring village fell seriously ill and insisted that my grandmother go to their home to provide medical assistance

"I told you to let go! If you don't let go, I might call for help!" I poked him in the shoulder with a fire stick, wanting to see who this chicken thief really was

I shone the flashlight on his face, somewhat incredulous: "Zhang, Uncle Zhang? How is it you?"

The collapse of ancestral graves is considered a serious taboo in our area

That face was very close to me, almost touching the tip of my nose

I was filled with terror, instinctively wanting to break free from the man's control, yet my body remained unable to move.

I glanced up at the wall clock; it was already past 10 PM, and Grandma had not yet returned

things

In a dark corner, a gaunt figure squats on the ground with its back turned to me

I immediately became alert and slowly approached with a fire stick in hand

The golden eyes seemed like a vast abyss, capable of swallowing a person whole

As the words fell, I saw the man's index fingernail slowly elongate, resembling a sharp blade, glinting with a cold light, gradually applying pressure at the position on my chest...

Zhang Youde remained silent, his pair of eyes fixed on the direction behind me, and his pupils suddenly trembled, as if he had seen something that terrified him

A man's cold voice echoed in my ears, seemingly carrying an indescribable sense of intimidation.

"Uncle Zhang, are you alright?" I asked with concern, noticing that Zhang Youde's condition seemed a bit off.

As I watched the procession carrying the coffin draw closer to me, I felt a chill rising from the soles of my feet straight to the crown of my head, yet my body felt as if it had been encased in cement, rendering me unable to move

What is it

Upon arriving at the backyard, I saw feathers scattered all over the ground, and more than a dozen hens had their necks bitten off, with a strong smell of blood permeating the air

Upon closer inspection, although they were dressed in human clothing and walked in a manner that closely resembled humans, the cuffs of their pants revealed a length of red fur, resembling a certain animal that had transformed into a spirit

Has a thief broken into the house

Ah

It turns out that it was just a dream.

What does he want me to submit

By the time the villagers found my mother, she had already lost her breath, with only her belly slightly rising and falling, as if there were still fetal movements.

stubborn and unyielding

I remembered my grandmother's instructions and stayed at home all day, preparing dinner in the evening and waiting for her inside the house

The ancestral grave has been destroyed, and it can no longer be visited.

Hand it over obediently, and I may still allow you to keep your body intact

The man's bony fingers gripped my chin tightly, forcing me to meet his gaze

It seems that the other party is completely ignoring what I am saying, continuing to focus on gnawing at the chicken neck.

Zhang Youde has a good relationship with my family and usually takes good care of me. I never expected that the person who stole the chicken would be him

My father leaned in closer and discovered two sleek-furred foxes nestled in the grave pit

Do you still dare to pretend ignorance in front of me

I am completely stiff, not daring to breathe, with a mind full of confusion

I felt a chill run down my spine, my breath halted, and I was so frightened that my soul nearly left my body

I got up to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water to calm my nerves, when I suddenly heard some rustling sounds coming from the backyard, seemingly from the chicken coop.

The tall figure of the man loomed over, emanating a chilling aura of danger from head to toe

The man's skin resembles cold ice, his nose is high and straight, and the contours of his features are sharply defined.

No ... ...

A pair of cold and terrifying eyes stared at me intently, as if they were a vast abyss, ready to swallow my soul at any moment

I originally thought this was just something the elders in the village used to scare children, but unexpectedly, it came true in our home

I suddenly woke up, abruptly sitting up in bed, a chill running down my back, and my forehead was covered in cold sweat

Get lost

When my mother was nine months pregnant, she was forcibly taken by my grandfather to pay respects at the grave, as he said it was to ensure that the child in her womb would be a boy

I was filled with doubt and could not help but turn my head to follow his gaze.

This is a custom of the older generation in our area; whether it is effective or not is uncertain, but my grandfather believed in it

My mother could not resist, so she had no choice but to have my father accompany her.

The fortune teller said that I was born with deficiencies and was highly susceptible to misfortune, and that I would need the protection of divine spirits to grow up safely. Therefore, she took it upon herself to have me recognize the old locust tree at the end of the village as my godmother, and she also gave me a wooden hairpin made from a branch of the locust tree, instructing me to carry it with me at all times, claiming it was a token from my godmother

Grandmother is a well-known barefoot doctor in the surrounding villages, having practiced medicine for many years and possessing rich experience. Some difficult and complicated ailments that county hospitals cannot treat can be cured by my grandmother and the library grandmother with their remedies, which is why people often come to seek their medical advice

Perhaps I had waited too long, and somehow I fell asleep with my head resting on the table. In a daze, I saw a group of people dressed in white mourning clothes, carrying a coffin, bouncing towards me.

When I was born, over a thousand wild foxes surrounded the gate of the courtyard, wailing incessantly, their cries echoing through the sky, and since then, my grandfather has disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead.

Grandfather, fearing the ancestors' displeasure, had my father take my mother back first, while he stayed behind alone to tend to the grave

I turned my head at the sound, and caught a faint, elusive fragrance of coldness in the air. A man with long silver hair, as beautiful as a demon, came into my view

It was originally the anniversary of my parents' passing, and my grandmother had established a rule not to see patients on this day. However, the one in urgent need was Liu Yinpo, the midwife who assisted in my mother's delivery; she saved my life and has great merit towards our family, leaving my grandmother with no choice but to comply.

Upon reaching the mountain, before I had the chance to pay my respects, half of my family's ancestral grave suddenly collapsed, revealing the coffin boards of my ancestors.

Those individuals had faces as pale as death, devoid of any expression, with two round patches of highland red painted on their cheeks, and their lips smeared a crimson as blood, their heads bobbing in rhythm with the bouncing, creating a most eerie spectacle

Just as I was filled with panic and fear, a pale face devoid of features suddenly appeared before me

That face slowly transformed before my eyes, with triangular ears, a pointed mouth, and a layer of fiery red fox fur sprouting from both cheeks

In my memory, my grandmother never took me to the mountains to pay respects to our ancestors, but every year on the anniversary of my parents' passing, she would accompany me to the old locust tree to pay homage, year after year, without fail, regardless of the weather.

My name is Bai Xiang, and I was born in a remote and underdeveloped mountain village, where the people still hold onto the outdated notion of valuing sons over daughters, especially my grandfather, who dreams of having a big grandson to carry on the Bai family's lineage and continue the family line

This dream feels so real, I am breathing slightly heavily, and my heart is pounding, inexplicably feeling a bit anxious

Upon discovering that the ancestral grave had been occupied by a fox, my grandfather was infuriated. He immediately struck down with a stick, cracking open the head of the plump fox.

The bizarre scene before me was instantly scattered like dust by the wind

Beneath the sword-like eyebrows, a pair of slender fox-like eyes exuded a chilling and murderous aura

The chicken thief before us turned out to be Zhang Youde, the old tailor from our village

My scalp feels a bit tingly, I have heard of chicken thieves, but I have never seen someone gnawing on a live chicken

The Eight Immortals carrying the coffin are not tall, each of them walks with a slight sway, their postures are quite uncoordinated

Another fox ran quickly, seizing the opportunity to dart out and into the nearby forest. Before leaving, it turned back and glared fiercely at grandfather, and then it vanished without a trace

I opened my eyes wide, and a tremendous fear engulfed me like a tidal wave, while a strong white light burst forth from my chest

I don't know anything at all

There is an old saying in our village: When a fox turns back, there must be a reason; it is either to repay a kindness or to seek revenge

At first glance, it resembles a skeleton wrapped in a layer of human skin, with a hunched back, as if it has aged several decades.

Grandmother, suppressing her grief, went to the neighboring village to find a midwife to assist my mother in childbirth