Chapter Thirteen: Huang Daxian of the Shen Family

  A stone path that I didn't know where it led, surrounded by darkness so severe that I couldn't see anyone in the distance, but behind me was that old lady with one hand missing and a tattered head, wailing and chasing after me. Her face was deathly pale, and I ran forward with all my might, but no matter how hard I ran, the road beneath my feet became increasingly difficult to walk on. And then, having finally reached the end of the path, it turned out to be a cliff, leaving me nowhere to escape, staring helplessly as the old lady caught up, her one remaining hand about to grab my neck. I could only retreat backward, but my foot slipped and I let out a blood-curdling scream as I tumbled off the cliff.

  He suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily, and was covered in cold sweat. It seemed as if the old lady was still by his side. Feeling a movement beside him, he quickly turned his head, only to see Yang Xiufeng looking at him with a bewildered expression, her face filled with concern: "Little Hai, you had another nightmare."

  I forced a smile and shook my head slightly. Could I tell Yang Xiufeng that I had dreamed of her grandmother? I just casually said, "Nothing."

  As I opened my eyes and looked around, I could no longer see Big Sister and Third Sister from last night, nor the living room from last night. The sunlight was shining down, casting a patch of light on the ground through the gaps in the tree branches. Yang Xiufeng and I were sitting next to a mound of earth, and I still had a stone clutched in my hand, which Big Sister had handed me last night.

  "What's going on?" Yang Xiufeng was somewhat perplexed, how could she be sitting here.

  "Hey, get up and stretch your body. Don't you understand? Last night we met the legendary Three Sisters, they're ghosts! You still think they'll really build a mansion for us to move in? We're lucky if they don't bury us alive. Alright, Little Feng, let's go find Godmother quickly, or else we'll have to spend another night here."

  Thinking of last night's experience, Yang Xiufeng's face changed slightly, and she quickly stood up, already pulling my hand to walk forward from here, and surprisingly, it wasn't far before we saw a solitary house, which made us suddenly overjoyed, and we hastily rushed over.

  As we approached, I couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. The house was surrounded by a small yard enclosed by a fence, but it was overgrown with weeds and the entrance was covered in spider webs, revealing the decline of this once-abandoned home. It seemed that no one had lived there for a long time. Yang Xiufeng and I exchanged a glance, our previous excitement now gone.

  We still didn't give up, pushing open the slightly ajar wooden door. I led the way, slowly making a path forward, and after much difficulty, finally reached the front of the door. Looking at the spider web-covered door, I unexpectedly didn't dare to push it open. I turned my head to look at Yang Xiufeng, and on her face was also written hesitation. However, she gritted her teeth, stretched out a hand, and gently pushed open the wooden door.

  With a creak, the wooden door slowly opened. The room was somewhat dark and we couldn't see clearly at first. We didn't dare to enter immediately, but as the door opened, a strange smell wafted out, slightly pungent yet faint, and it was unclear what was emitting it. However, the flickering light inside made our hearts sink, and we became tense for a moment.

  After a while, we got used to the dimness in the house and could see the situation inside. The house was very simple, with only one table, several chairs, a wardrobe and a kang (a traditional Chinese bed), and a large jar at the door. This is a typical rural scene 20 years ago, but it's rare to see now. As far as I know, Godmother is an elderly widow who has never been heard of having any relatives, otherwise she wouldn't live alone in the mountains. However, we are not very clear about the specific reasons.

  All this would not have caused our surprise, what surprises us is that on the table in the room stands an animal with a slender body, short limbs, long neck, small head, a fluffy tail and yellow fur. At this moment it is standing upright, looking at us, but its gaze is somewhat unfriendly. I recognize this thing, we call it a yellow mongoose here, while some places call it Huang Dashen, actually it's a yellow ferret.

  This yellow weasel is not afraid of people, even if we stand at the door, it doesn't have a hint of wanting to move, instead its mouth makes a hissing sound, as if warning us not to enter casually. However, I only glanced at the weasel for a moment, then shifted my gaze elsewhere, and after taking a deep breath, said in a low voice: "Is anyone home?"

  I don't know what to call the goddess, and if I call her that directly, it would be very rude. So I prepared myself in case someone responded, but after speaking, no one answered. After waiting for a while, there was still no response, perhaps there really was no one there.

  "Maybe no one is home, let's go in and take a look." Yang Xiufeng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't bear to leave just like that, after all, she had come with a purpose.

  I didn't object, nodded and walked in with Yang Xiufeng one after the other, while shouting loudly: "We're coming in——"

  No one responded, and Yang Xiufeng and I exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and quietly walked in. At the moment we walked in, the yellow mouse on the table, which had been silent all along, suddenly cried out louder, sounding very anxious. This was not unexpected, but what came next was unthinkable - the yellow mouse let out a fart. As everyone knows, yellow mice farts are extremely smelly, this is their lifesaving trick, enough to suffocate people to death, let alone in such an airtight environment.

  With that fart, a smell that can't be described suddenly spread out and quickly dispersed throughout the house, rushing into my nostrils and making me feel like I couldn't breathe. Dizziness followed, and I have to admit it was really too smelly, so smelly that I couldn't take it. Before I could even react, Yang Xiufeng grabbed my hand and rushed outside, taking three steps at a time until we were several steps away from the door before daring to take big breaths.

  Fresh air made us catch our breath, and for the first time I knew that there was such a smelly fart. Looking into the house, we could still see the yellow mouse standing on the table. I felt like the yellow mouse didn't want to let us in, as if we were invading its territory. The yellow mouse wouldn't leave or maybe this was its home, otherwise how would it not be afraid of people? A thought occurred to me, and I picked up a stone from the ground, aimed at the yellow mouse and threw it over. Of course, I didn't want to hurt the yellow mouse, but just to verify my idea.

  The stone hit the table with a loud crash, but the yellow weasel didn't move, its gaze seemed even more piercing. This yellow weasel was indeed extraordinary. I thought of the legend in the countryside, or another name for the yellow weasel - Huang Daxian. It's called Huang Daxian because the yellow weasel can become a spirit after growing old, having some thoughts and being able to bewilder people. Many Dongbei area's out-of-body experiences are related to this creature.

  I furrowed my brow, thinking wildly in my mind, but I was even more certain that this should be the home of the immortal aunt. This yellow weasel is so big and its fur has become multicolored, which is a sign of an old and wise creature. The reason why such a yellow weasel appears here is almost self-evident, it must have something to do with the immortal aunt, or maybe it's even raised by her. If I'm thinking correctly, or if the immortal aunt is called that because of this, or maybe she has a relationship with Huang Daxian.

  But understanding is one thing, the problem is how to do it. Is the godmother not at home? Generally speaking, if the godmother goes out, she should also bring Huang Daxian with her. Why did you stay here? With a sudden shock, I had a bad premonition. Looking around Yang Xiufeng, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. After a moment of contemplation, I said in a low voice: "Xiaofeng, wait here for a while, and I'll go take a look first."

  As soon as the voice fell, I took off my jacket to cover my nose and rushed in recklessly. As soon as I entered the door, I held my breath. Sure enough, as soon as I entered the door, Huang Daxian knew something was wrong, and then I heard a farting sound. I could even see a puff of yellow smoke rising from behind Huang Daxian's back. I guess it's smelly enough. Fortunately, I was holding my breath and wasn't afraid. Besides, the room wasn't big, and I just needed to rush in for a moment to see clearly. My target was the kang with the quilt wrapped around it.

  Just as I rushed to the table, Huang Daxian didn't want me to pass by and suddenly jumped up, fiercely swiping at me with his claws. Fortunately, I was already on guard and dodged to the side in time, leaving Huang Daxian to pounce into thin air. His body paused mid-air before turning back to pounce at me again.

  As I saw him, I was about to dodge, but at this moment, I wasn't afraid. After a quick thought, I suddenly threw the clothes in my hand towards Huang Daxian, who was caught off guard and wrapped in the clothes. However, without the clothes blocking it, a stench entered my nostrils, which was unbearable. I felt like I was suffocating, but at this moment, I couldn't care about these things. With one swift movement, I rushed to the edge of the bed and lifted up the quilt with one hand. But what I saw in front of me left me stunned, or rather, gave me a fright. I almost rushed out immediately, my hand shaking as the quilt fell back down, covering everything in front of me again.

  My face twitched involuntarily, and I had an urge to vomit uncontrollably. Because I saw a mummy, judging from the clothes that hadn't rotted yet, it should be a woman, and an older one at that. To become a mummy, she must have been dead for at least several years. This must be the Goddess Granny. No wonder no one has seen her come down the mountain in recent years - it turns out she's already dead.

  But I was only stunned for a moment, and the smell rushed into my nose again. I knew I couldn't stay there any longer, so I turned around to rush out, anyway, I already knew what I wanted to know. However, as soon as I turned around, I saw that Huang Daxian had taken off his clothes and suddenly let out a loud fart. His whole body shot up like it had a booster rocket, and under the power of the fart, he flew towards me. Was this really how things were going to go? Farts could be used in such a way? At this moment, I was on the edge of the bed, but there was nowhere for me to hide. Was I supposed to just sit there and watch as Huang Daxian attacked me? I wasn't willing to give up, so I clenched my fists...