They only stopped once they reached the village entrance, glancing back from time to time.
Under the glow of their flashlights, everyone looked more or less frightened.
Fortunately, those animals were clearly uninterested in them and had not chased after them.
Zhou Niu and Wang Dazhu panted heavily. "Village Chief, see? We weren't lying, were we?"
The Village Chief nodded. He had run himself breathless and could not say a word. It took him a long while to recover.
The other villagers wore uncertain, astonished expressions. "Good heavens, what was the deal with those little animals? Why were they all gathered there? Seeing them watching in the middle of the night was downright creepy."
Although those animals were all rather small, the way they had gathered like humans and made gestures of worshiping the moon, followed by the sight of them all turning their heads in unison—
The visual impact had been enormous. The moment they saw that scene, their scalps had gone numb. The uncanny valley effect had practically reached its peak.
One villager rubbed his chin. "Could there be something special about that place? Or maybe some treasure?"
"If you ask me, those animals were absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and cultivating. Maybe they're about to become spirits."
"That makes a lot of sense. I once heard a grandmaster say that the Feng Shui and terrain around our place are both excellent."
The Village Chief frowned slightly. "Stop spouting nonsense. What's this about cultivating and becoming spirits? Didn't they say that animals aren't allowed to become spirits after the founding of the country? What are you all babbling about here? Is our village short on college graduates or something?"
He waved his hand. "All right, it's already this late. Stop discussing it and go back to your own homes."
Since the Village Chief had spoken, the villagers could not say anything more. After muttering a few words, they went home. No matter how bold or curious they were, none of them dared to turn back and investigate.
The next morning, seeing the bright sun in the sky seemed to give the villagers a great deal of courage.
Zhou Niu dragged Wang Dazhu along with several villagers from the previous night, and they went together to the place they had visited yesterday.
"It's daytime now. Even if there really are some mountain spirits or wild monsters, they wouldn't dare cause trouble in broad daylight!"
But when they arrived, everyone was dumbfounded. There was no trace of anything. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
"Strange. It was clearly here yesterday. We should have the right place."
They had come twice already, and this was their third visit. It was broad daylight too, so there was no way they had taken the wrong path.
Everyone searched all around. They nearly turned the ground upside down, yet found absolutely nothing. Apart from a large stone, there was nothing unusual about the place.
It was almost as if the animals they had seen the night before had all been hallucinations.
Zhou Niu and the others knew perfectly well that so many people had seen them. It could not have been a hallucination.
"Hey, this was where we ran into those animals worshiping the moon yesterday, right? How did they disappear without a trace overnight?"
One of his companions could not help rolling his eyes. "Listen to yourself. Those animals stayed up all night worshiping the moon. They're probably snoring away in their nests right now. What, were they supposed to wait for you?"
"Come to think of it, this place is pretty ordinary."
As they spoke, the villagers made their way down the mountain.
Why so many little animals had appeared here the previous night left several villagers scratching their heads in bewilderment.
The matter seemed to grow wings and spread throughout the village in an instant, sparking heated discussion among the villagers.
"Hey, have you heard? Yesterday, Second Ox, Wang Dazhu, and the others ran into a whole bunch of little animals worshiping the moon and cultivating in the mountains!"
"What did you say? They ran into fox spirits and had their souls bewitched right out of them? No wonder they looked so absentminded today, with dark circles under their eyes."
"That's right. When the men from our household went looking for them, they insisted they had seen some immortals from Yaochi gathering. In the end, all those immortals were mountain spirits and wild monsters that had taken human form!"
"Pass it on! There are animals in the mountains cultivating to become spirits. They have eyes and ears everywhere, and plenty of villagers have already fallen into their trap. The mountains haven't been peaceful lately. It's best not to go up there for a while."
"What mountain spirits and wild monsters? You're talking nonsense. They were clearly the Mountain God. Mountain God, please forgive us if we've offended you. Bless Longyuan Village with favorable weather and abundant harvests next year."
The story spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. All sorts of versions emerged. Even the neighboring villages heard about it, and some people came over to ask for details.
Regardless of which version they heard, many villagers took the matter seriously. So many people had witnessed it that whether it was mountain spirits or the Mountain God, neither was someone they could afford to offend.
The people of Longyuan Village were simple and honest. Besides, the villagers who had gone into the mountains and witnessed the animals worshiping the moon described it with such supernatural flair that even those who did not believe it felt some awe in their hearts.
As a result, far fewer villagers had been going into the mountains lately, and those who did went only in broad daylight.
They were terrified that if they walked the mountain paths at night too often, they might run into something they should not see, just like Zhou Niu and Wang Dazhu.
If they happened to encounter a yellow weasel asking for a title, they truly would have nowhere to cry.
"If you ask me, it's all superstition. I went to take a look afterward too, and there was nothing there."
Beneath a large tree, several men fanned themselves with palm-leaf fans as they enjoyed the shade. They were discussing what had happened recently when the Village Chief and the others went up the mountain.
At first, only a few people had known about it. But several of them had gotten drunk and embellished the story with wild boasting. The more they talked, the more exaggerated it became, leading to the several versions that followed.
Just then, a weak voice came from the corner. "Uncle Zhang, are there really Mountain Gods in the mountains?"
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a little girl looking at them timidly. A basket was strapped to her back, filled with pigweed and pressing down on her thin, narrow shoulders.
Her clothes did not fit properly. They had been washed until they were faded and were covered in patches, one here and another there, with hardly an undamaged spot.
Even with her sleeves and trouser legs rolled up, she still looked empty and loose because she was so undersized, as if she had stolen an adult's clothes to wear.
Uncle Zhang froze for a moment, then smiled. "Little Hu, that's all superstition. You can't take it seriously."
At those words, Hu Xiaocao slowly lowered her head. The light in her eyes gradually faded.
Thin and frail, she was malnourished, and her hair was as dry and yellow as straw. Her eyes were the only part of her that looked halfway healthy, yet now they seemed like a candle flame snuffed out by the wind, making it painful to watch.
The companion beside him kept signaling frantically. Uncle Zhang quickly realized what he had done and coughed several times. "Still, perhaps the old Mountain God really does exist. You never know."
Hu Xiaocao immediately lifted her head. The light returned to her eyes, and the corners of her mouth slowly stretched into a smile.
"I understand, Uncle Zhang."
She looked up at the sky, then suddenly slapped her forehead. "Oh, Uncle Zhang, I can't chat with you anymore. I have to hurry back. Mother is waiting for me to boil her medicine."
They watched Hu Xiaocao's retreating figure.
The pigweed, nearly half a person's height, almost swallowed her up, covering her entire body. It was probably too heavy, because she had no choice but to hunch over.
Her frail body bore more than just the pigweed. It carried the entire weight of her life, all of it pressing down on her shoulders.
Uncle Zhang and the others could not help sighing. "Little Hu is such a pitiful child."
The people beside him sighed as well. "Who could say otherwise?"
I've gotten so used to writing fantasy that whenever I write mountain scenes, I unconsciously slip into a fantasy setting. So, in the previous chapter, I accidentally wrote "torch" instead of "flashlight." It has been corrected.
(End of chapter)
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