Chapter Ten: The Strange Case of Liu Chengzi

  A scene like a slaughterhouse unfolded before their eyes, deeply shocking the two brothers. Even Wang Sigou, who was used to killing people as easily as chopping vegetables, was shaken by the sight. Suddenly, Fang Qinghe let out a loud curse: "Son of a bitch, this beast is simply a bloodthirsty devil, truly deserving of death!" As he spoke, he punched the well frame with all his might.

  Looking at the broken limbs and bones all over the bottom of the well, Wang Sigou also gritted his teeth in anger, tightly grasping the treasured sword in his hand. Just as he was about to speak, a faint cry for help came from the bottom of the well: "Save me, save..."

  The two brothers were stunned for a moment, and there was still life at the bottom of the well! After reacting, the two brothers hurriedly lay down by the well, holding torches, shouting loudly to the bottom: "Hey, is there anyone who can breathe at the bottom? Hurry up to the light, we'll pull you out, hey..."

  As soon as the voice fell, after a short while, a woman with disheveled hair and a dirty face, covered in blood, appeared. She looked like an evil spirit from hell, slowly crawling on top of the scattered limbs and rotten bones. When the woman crawled into the firelight, the two finally saw clearly that she was just a child of only ten or so years old!

  The two of them quickly took off their long shirts, tore them into strips and tied a rope. After securing the knot, Fang Qinghe jumped down immediately. When they reached the bottom of the well, they were even more shocked! It turned out that under this dry well, three rooms-sized space had been dug out. Looking around, on one side close to the inside, there was a wall full of human heads! Fang Qinghe was horrified and quickly tied the rope around the girl's waist. Wang Siyu saw him secure the knot and immediately pulled the girl up. After pulling Fang Qinghe up as well, the two of them finally examined her carefully in the firelight. The girl in front of them was 15 or 16 years old, with disheveled hair, torn clothes, and covered in blood, except for a pair of eyes that were lifeless!

  Seeing the girl about to faint, Wang Sigou hastily held her in his arms. After Fang Qinghe examined the girl and found no major problems, the two of them discussed it and decided that they could not stay here for long! Taking advantage of the fact that the headless black donkey had not returned, they quickly carried the girl on their backs and the three of them ran down the mountain. Along the way, the trees swayed back and forth, and the darkness was vast. Fang Qinghe held a torch to lead the way in front, while Wang Sigou carried the girl on his back and followed closely behind with his knife at the ready. It wasn't until they had run so much that their lungs were about to burst that the three of them finally ran down the small mountain, far away from the cannibalistic Stove King Temple.

  As they arrived on the small road, Wang Sigou hurriedly stopped Fang Qinghe, panting heavily, and just as he was about to speak, a soft voice came from behind. The girl had woken up! The two brothers quickly put her down, only to see her eyes flutter open, and she burst into loud tears. The two brothers hastily comforted her with kind words, and after the girl cried for a long time, they finally told their story. It turned out that she was Zhao Lao Han's daughter, Zhao Yingying! The two brothers were overjoyed in their hearts, feeling that this trip had been worthwhile! Without another word, taking advantage of the girl being awake, the two brothers took turns carrying her on their backs and sent her back home under the cover of night.

  When they arrived at Zhao's house, the whole family was so grateful that they kowtowed and burned incense. Wang Si and Fang Qing comforted them for half a day before calming down the family's excitement. Later, the girl told them what had happened. It turned out that yesterday, she and her brother had gone out to play. Suddenly, they saw a donkey running in the mountains and thought it was a wild donkey, so they curiously chased after it until they entered the Guowang Temple, where they found the black donkey standing motionless beside a dry well. The younger brother, being mischievous, wanted to go forward and grab the donkey, but just as he did, the donkey suddenly turned around, and only then did the siblings see clearly that this wild donkey had no head! At that moment, they heard a loud bray, and the younger brother fell backward, unconscious. The girl herself felt dizzy, saw a black smoke floating by, and eventually knew nothing more.

  After comforting the girl with a few more words, the two brothers looked up at the sky and saw that it was already late, so they decided to spend the night at Zhao's house instead of rushing home. The next morning, after a good sleep, they woke up to find Zhao rushing into the room in a panic: "Gentlemen, something terrible has happened again!"

  Upon hearing this, the two of them immediately sat up and hastily asked him what had happened. Zhao Lao Han said: "You two, last night at the east end of Liu Cheng Zi's village, something big happened! A watchman was making his rounds at midnight when a black donkey suddenly rushed out and killed someone. Alas, it's said to be a terrible sight, with the person completely smashed to pieces! And as luck would have it, there's a widow surnamed Liu in the village who got up in the middle of the night to relieve herself and happened to witness the whole thing!"

  Liu Chengzi, a black donkey. Upon hearing this, the two of them felt a stir in their hearts. Monsters like this wouldn't easily enter villages and towns. Now that it has appeared in Liu Chengzi, perhaps it's after something in the village! Having thought this through, the two of them immediately came up with a plan. Since they now knew what kind of monster it was and where it might appear, their top priority was to hurry up and prepare, think of a way to get rid of it. Fang Qinghe suggested that with just the two of them, dealing with this mountain demon would be quite troublesome, so for now, they should ask for help. He ordered Zhao Lao Han to harness his donkey cart, and the two brothers hastily rushed to Song Xiang Guan outside Chaoyang City.

  Now the master of Songxiang Temple is called Chang Yunshan, a good friend of Fang Qinghe. Without saying a word on the way, after arriving at Songxiang Temple, they saw Chang Yunshan and the two brothers told him about what had happened. This Chang Yunshan also has a fiery temper, after listening to their story, he slapped the teapot in front of him into pieces with one palm: "Damn it! I didn't expect that such a thing would happen under my nose at Songxiang Temple, you two brothers, don't waste words, let's destroy it!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and was about to go inside to grab his weapon. However, as soon as he stood up, he stopped again, because he saw the knife on Wang Sigou's side.

  He only saw him sizing him up for a long time, and then looked at Wang Sigou with a smile: "I said brother looks like a dignified person, it turns out to be the descendant of the Wang family, disrespect, disrespect." Wang Sigou was amused in his heart, what does this descendant of the Wang family have to do with being dignified? However, on the way here, he had already expected that this old Taoist would not recognize himself, and must recognize the knife in his hand, so he hurriedly stood up to return the courtesy.

  The two of them chatted for a long time, and then the old Taoist smiled: "Wang brothers, we really have a deep connection that spans generations. Look at how our ancestors joined forces to conquer Lao Kunshan together. Now, you and I are going to work together again to destroy that headless donkey demon. This is truly fate playing tricks on us. In my opinion, brother, you have an incredibly strong affinity with our Taoist sect. Why not join us? That way, I can take you in as a disciple on behalf of the master, and you'll be like a younger brother to me...

  Before Chang Yunshan finished speaking, Wang Sigou hurriedly waved his hand and thought to himself: "What a joke! I'm not even married yet, and you're asking me to become a monk?" Fang Qinghe, who was standing beside him, also raised an eyebrow and quickly pulled Chang Yunshan aside. He stared at him with a smile and asked, "I say, you old cow nose, are you trying to matchmake my brother or that knife?" Chang Yunshan's face turned red as he was caught, and he awkwardly smiled, "Both, both! If you're willing, I'll ask Master to accept you as his disciple. I'm telling the truth, you can consider it." Before Wang Sigou could respond, Fang Qinghe made the decision for him: "No way, not a chance!"

  The old Taoist continued to persuade for a while, but seeing that it had no effect, he finally gave up and glared at Fang Qinghe before turning around and storming off. Wang Sigou and Fang Qinghe looked at each other and couldn't help but feel amused. After a short while, Lao Dao Chang Yunshan finished packing up and appeared with a black wooden box on his back and two precious swords in hand. Without saying another word, he tossed one of the swords to Fang Qinghe and said sternly, "These two precious swords are the treasures of my Taoist temple. I see that you don't have any decent weapons, so I'm lending this to you for now. If you dare to damage or lose it, I'll never let you off!"

  Fang Qinghe looked at the treasured sword in his hand, also very fond of it, and completely ignored Chang Yunshan's threat, which had no killing intent. With a playful smile, he asked: "I say, okay, Master Chang, you've brought out all the treasures to guard the house, really going all out! Alas, let me ask, what's the origin of this treasured sword in my hand?"

  He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Fang Qinghe, raising the corner of his mouth. He said in a mysterious tone, "What's your origin? Let me tell you, these two precious swords are the male and female twin swords of Emperor Liu Bei from the Three Kingdoms period. This one is the male sword, and yours is the female sword!" After finishing speaking, he let out a cold hum from his nose and ignored the two, walking towards the outside of the house.

  Fang Qinghe saw the old Taoist arguing with him, helplessly shrugged his shoulders, looked at Wang Sigou and sighed: "Alright, see this old guy throwing a tantrum." Wang Sigou smiled slightly but didn't say anything. And so, the three of them got back on the donkey cart and headed towards Liuchengzi again.

  When they arrived at Liuchengzi, it was already sunset, with red clouds filling the sky. The three of them entered the village and immediately felt a strange and inexplicable atmosphere. They saw that every household in the village had closed their doors tightly, and all the shops had closed early. In addition, every household had placed incense burners and bowls at their doorsteps, with the bowls containing black, yellow, and white rice.

  Three people were very curious, not knowing what kind of play this was. So they raised their hands and knocked on the doors of several nearby households, but strangely, although there were clearly people inside, no one answered. It wasn't until they knocked on the sixth household's door that they finally heard a woman's voice: "Knock knock knock, are you knocking on my grandma's legs? You've been making noise for half a day and I haven't made a sound, but now you're being so presumptuous, knocking on our door. Don't you see the food at the entrance? Hurry up and eat it, then get lost! Your auntie is not going to show mercy, don't think you can bully me like a young lady! I'm telling you, if you keep making noise, I'll chop your donkey meat dumplings!"

  Here is the translation:

  "Alright, upon hearing this, Brother San immediately took a big step back. Each of them wiped away the cold sweat on their foreheads and thought to themselves: What kind of evil spirit is this? Why are they so fierce?! The three of them looked at each other, and finally Wang Sigou spoke up: "Miss, we're just passing by, but there's something we don't understand, so we've come to ask for your guidance." After a brief silence in the courtyard, the gate creaked open a small crack. A middle-aged woman peeked out from behind the door, looking around nervously. When she saw Wang Sigou and the others, she let out a sigh of relief, opened the gate wide, and beckoned to them urgently: "What are you all standing there for? The ancestor could arrive at any moment! Quick, come in!" The three of them were puzzled, but seeing the woman's expression, they knew something was up, so they didn't dare ask questions and hastily entered the courtyard.

  The woman closed the door and then said to the three of them, "I told you it's not a good road, but you guys are too bold. We're in the midst of a mountain god's rage here, and you dare to run around wildly, aren't you afraid of being caught to be companions?" The three of them were puzzled: where did this mountain god come from? Chang Yunshan was about to speak when he saw the woman suddenly staring straight at Fang Qinghe with both eyes. Fang Qinghe was also taken aback, and then saw the woman take a step forward, grab his hand, and smile with a face full of spring breeze: "Ah, I thought it was someone else, isn't this Doctor Fang? Doctor, do you still remember me?" As soon as she finished speaking, a flirtatious glance flew over.

  Looking at the woman's hungry expression, Wang Sigou and Chang Yunshan suddenly smiled awkwardly. Sneaking a glance at Fang Qinghe, he saw that his face was iron-green, with black lines all over, his whole body trembling, his lips quivering, and he said in a panic: "Big... big sister, forgive me for my ignorance, I... I don't remember where we met before." After hearing him finish speaking, the woman suddenly gave Fang Qinghe a scolding glance, her mouth moving like a machine gun as she said: "Oh oh oh, look at you, you really are a noble person who forgets things easily. I'm Liu Guilan, you forgot? Last year when my belly... had a meatball in it, you were the one who prescribed medicine for me to cure it, and now you've forgotten?"

  Luckily, she's just a meatball! The three of them let out a long sigh, and Fang Qinghe even rolled her eyes in annoyance. Before the woman could continue speaking, the three of them hastily changed the subject, asking about the strange occurrences in the village. The woman snorted and said: "Huh? You guys haven't heard? Yesterday, someone died in our village. Old Li, the night watchman, was patrolling at midnight when he was struck dead by a black donkey. I mean, it's not like a normal donkey can kill someone with one blow, right? But this donkey somehow managed to smash him into pieces! There must be something fishy going on here. Later, our village's shaman, Old Sun, performed a ritual and invited the spirit of Huang Daxian to possess her body. And you know what she said? Apparently, the Mountain God was short-handed and sent the black donkey to fetch someone!"

  The three of them finally figured it out, and it turned out that they were still talking about the same donkey demon. But this was a mix of Taoist rituals and mountain god worship, what did one have to do with the other?! Chang Yunshan asked her, "What's with the incense, red candles, and three-colored rice at every household entrance?" The woman smiled slyly: "Ah, this is what the great immortal instructed. He said that the black donkey is the mountain god's messenger, and it loves to eat three-colored rice the most. If you prepare it for him, he'll be delighted and forget about taking people away!"

  The three of them listened, and immediately their minds were filled with black lines again. How could this one donkey be so annoying? The mountain god's instructions had been forgotten! Just as the few people were getting a headache, a loud and piercing bray suddenly came from outside the village. The three of them instantly changed color, looked at each other, and thought to themselves: This beast has really come!