Chapter 3: Upright Goat

The plan in his mind was clear, but Hu Ma needed to think about how to execute it. The little girl in red in front of him looked like she was only five or six years old, perhaps even younger. Her hair was styled in little goat horn braids, and she had thin arms and legs, as if carved from pink jade. It looked like just one punch would make her cry for a long time... But Hu Ma was very sure that if he punched her, he might be the one crying. The bizarre speed she had just shown, along with her incredible strength and the way she licked her wound to stop the bleeding, all indicated she was no ordinary person. Seriously, anyone hanging around such a creepy old Granny, how could they possibly be normal? So, the key was figuring out how to deal with her. The room was extremely quiet. Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was a bit unusual, Hu Ma didn’t dare to breathe, but he also seemed not to hear her breathing. So, while thinking to himself, he tentatively asked, "What’s your name? What’s your relationship with Granny?" "..." "My name’s Little Hongtang. Granny picked me up from outside." The little girl was squatting on the ground. Her small stature made her look a bit strange, like a grasshopper. Her voice was sweet and innocent, yet had a clarity that a typical five or six-year-old could never possess. Hu Ma continued thinking up ideas and asked, "How old are you?" "I..." This question seemed to stump Little Hongtang as she counted on her fingers. "I’ve been with Granny for seven or eight years now..." "But I don’t know how old I am." "..." "Seven or eight years?" Hu Ma immediately concluded that she couldn’t be a normal little girl. She hadn’t grown bigger than someone seven or eight years old. Since Granny picked her up seven or eight years ago, what about before she was picked up? Maybe, like that coffin earlier, she’s one of Granny’s so-called ’evil spirits’? Granny had her watching over him, which probably meant she was monitoring him. Seeing how she kept squatting there, watching him, Hu Ma’s mind started to race. Carefully observing, he noticed that besides keeping her eyes on him, she couldn’t help but glance at something on the square table. Following her gaze, he saw it was the meat Granny had just brought in, wrapped in red paper and placed on the table. For the past seven days, it seemed she had been feeding him these weird chunks of meat. Hu Ma still remembered the fishy and disgusting taste. Does the little girl really crave this thing? He pondered secretly, slowly asking the little girl, "Do you really want to eat it?" "No..." The little girl shook her head at his words, but drool seemed ready to spill from her mouth. "It’s really tasty." Hu Ma was convinced that although this little girl was not a normal child, she wasn’t very smart either. So he cautiously enticed, "You can try it. It’s really fragrant." "..." The little girl was visibly more tempted, but her head shook like a rattle drum. "I can’t." "The meat was specially cut from Master Tai Sui for Brother Huma to eat." "..." What the hell is Master Tai Sui? Hu Ma held his patience, continuing to coax, "It’s okay..." "It was given to me, so it’s mine. Now I’m giving it to you. Granny won’t know." "..." The little girl was visibly tempted, her small neck gulping down saliva, and she hesitantly said, "You won’t tell Granny?" "..." Hu Ma assured her, "If Granny asks, I’ll just say I ate it all." GULP. The little girl’s swallow was so loud that even Hu Ma could clearly hear it. She hesitated, looked at Hu Ma’s honest expression, then glanced at the piece of meat on the square table. Suddenly, as if making a decision, she sprang forward with a WHOOSH. Her small body jumped onto the table with ease, reaching out two small, tender hands to pick up the meat. "CHOMP!" She opened her mouth wide, the corners of her mouth stretching all the way to her ears. Her originally neat rows of teeth suddenly turned sharp as she fiercely bit down. "What the hell is this thing?" Her appearance startled Hu Ma, and he almost lost the nerve he’d built up. But the attraction of that piece of meat to her was far stronger than even he’d imagined. Having jumped onto the table, she was like a starving soul, seemingly oblivious to everything else. He reacted, inching his way cautiously to the doorway. When he reached the door, he carefully glanced back. She was still eating, her back to him, her little butt sticking up like a hungry little beast. Never mind escaping; at this moment, nothing in the world could be more enticing than that piece of meat... Hu Ma took a deep breath, quietly opened the slightly ajar door, glanced outside, then dashed out with all his might. 「...」 WHOOSH! Although it should have been afternoon, as Hu Ma pushed open the door, the light still felt somewhat dazzling. He shielded his eyes with his hand and stumbled forward. His peripheral vision quickly scanned the surroundings, only to see rows of shabby, low wooden houses with tile roofs. He saw a bumpy dirt road, cattle and sheep penned within wooden fences, a stone mill, and a well. Yet he couldn’t see anything familiar from his memories. No cars, no electric lights, not even a single telephone pole. Shadowy figures flickered around him, occasionally catching his eye. These people wore dark, coarse cotton clothes, carried farming tools, and wore straw sandals, exuding a remote and ancient aura. "Oh my..." Someone noticed Hu Ma and appeared even more frightened than Hu Ma himself, fleeing to one side in panic. Their pointing and whispers reached Hu Ma’s ears: "Isn’t that Granny’s grandson?" "How is he still alive?" "..." The panic and unease in his heart increased dramatically. He was afraid that strange little girl would catch up, and even more afraid that the eerie Granny would suddenly appear. Especially when he saw someone in the terrified crowd turn and run, as if to report to someone, he could only stumble onward, using all his strength. He had run quite a distance without realizing it, and his heart felt as if it would leap out of his chest. Where am I now? He looked at the sparse, unkempt grass and grain fields around him, saw the tall wooden fence ahead, and the deep, ancient forests beyond. Have I run to the edge of the village? Without realizing it, dusk had fallen. The sky was gradually darkening, and the surroundings were desolate. His frantic escape had left his body extremely weak, and his head was spinning. His limbs felt as if they were filled with lead; he actually felt unable to command his body. Just as he was about to stop, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, a sudden RUSTLING reached his ears. Vague, incomprehensible whispers drifted to him on the wind. He couldn’t understand the words, yet they inexplicably made Hu Ma’s skin crawl. He spun around, peering cautiously at his surroundings. There were large haystacks and a few sturdy, gnarled ancient trees, far larger and more solid than any he remembered from his previous life. Following the direction of the whispers, Hu Ma’s gaze shifted and finally, slowly, focused. He saw the source of the sound: a black goat standing by a haystack. Its yellow-brown, horizontal pupils were eerily fixed on him. Hu Ma stared back at it. Could this creepy feeling and the strange whispers be my imagination? Then, suddenly, he saw the black goat slowly rise up on its hind legs. Like a person, it spread its forelegs and stood there, still fixated on Hu Ma. The corners of its mouth gradually turned up, revealing an eerie smile. At that moment, Hu Ma felt his scalp tingle, and he couldn’t help but stumble back a few steps. "CACKLE CACKLE..." Before he could make sense of it, a strange laugh suddenly erupted nearby. He whipped his head around to see a monkey-like creature squatting on a nearby old branch. No, it wasn’t a monkey—it was a person. The person was naked. Their entire body was a bizarre, ghastly white and abnormally thin. Their limbs were noticeably longer than those of an ordinary person. Like a monkey, they crouched on the tree trunk, their eyes a terrifying blood-red, watching him and cackling strangely with excitement. "Young man..." Before overwhelming panic could consume Hu Ma, a sweet, coquettish voice called out from not far away. Hu Ma turned his head. The one calling to him was a person, a very beautiful woman. Most of her body was hidden in a haystack, only revealing a charming and tempting face. Her red lips parted slightly as she issued alluring, gentle calls. The voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, instinctively drawing one closer step by step... But Hu Ma took only one step before he came to a halt. He saw that lovely and enticing head slowly emerging from the messy hay. Behind the head was a dark red, serpentine body, winding and twisting, its scales RUSTLING against the straw. "What is all this?" Hu Ma finally snapped out of his daze, seized by an invisible panic that jolted him as if he’d been electrocuted. A fine, dense sense of the bizarre enveloped his entire being. He couldn’t catch his breath, his vision darkened, and he felt himself about to collapse. But just then, he suddenly heard a cheerful voice: "Brother Huma..." "Stop playing around. Granny’s calling you home for dinner!" "..." The moment that voice sounded, all the eeriness vanished. Hu Ma finally exhaled.