Upright Goat

Though he had a clear plan in mind, Hu Ma needed a moment to figure out how to carry it out.

The little girl in red before him looked about five or six years old, perhaps even younger.

Her hair was tied into little horns, and her arms and legs were thin as sticks. She looked like a delicate porcelain doll.

One punch would probably have her crying for ages...

But Hu Ma was certain that if he threw that punch, he might be the one crying.

Her uncanny speed just now, her astonishing strength, and the way she had licked her wound to stop the bleeding all proved she was no ordinary child.

Come on, how could anyone following around a gloomy Old Woman like that possibly be ordinary?

So the key was figuring out how to deal with her.

The room was utterly quiet.

The atmosphere had turned strange, and Hu Ma hardly dared breathe. But he didn't seem to hear her breathing, either.

As he pondered, he cautiously tried speaking:

"What's your name? What are you to Old Woman?"

"..."

"I'm Xiao Hong Tang. Old Woman found me outside and brought me home."

The little girl was squatting on the ground. She was so tiny that her crouched posture looked odd, like a grasshopper.

Her voice was childishly sweet, and she seemed innocent and carefree, yet she spoke with a clarity no five- or six-year-old could manage.

Still thinking up a plan, Hu Ma continued, "How old are you?"

"I..."

The question seemed to stump Xiao Hong Tang. She counted on her fingers, then said, "I've been with Old Woman for seven or eight years..."

"But I don't know how old I am."

"..."

"Seven or eight years?"

Hu Ma immediately realized she was definitely no ordinary little girl.

She didn't look any older than seven or eight, and Old Woman had found her seven or eight years ago. How long had she been around before that?

Maybe, like that coffin lid earlier, she was one of the "Evil Spirits" Old Woman had mentioned?

Old Woman had told her to look after him. In other words, she might well be keeping an eye on him.

Seeing her squat there, staring at him, Hu Ma's thoughts began to stir.

Looking closely, he noticed that aside from watching him, she kept glancing at something on the Eight Immortals table.

Following her gaze, he spotted the meat Old Woman had brought back earlier, wrapped in red paper and set on the table.

For the past seven days, Old Woman seemed to have been feeding him this strange meat. Hu Ma still remembered how fishy and sickening it tasted.

The little girl seemed to be craving it.

"Do you want some?"

He mulled it over, then slowly asked her.

"I don't..."

Xiao Hong Tang shook her head, but drool was threatening to spill from her mouth.

"It's delicious."

Hu Ma was certain that, though the little girl wasn't an ordinary child, she wasn't all that clever, either. So he carefully coaxed her:

"Go on, have a taste. It smells amazing."

"..."

The little girl was clearly tempted, but she shook her head like a rattle drum. "I can't."

"Old Woman specially cut this meat from Lord Tai Sui. It's meant for Brother Hu Ma."

"..."

"What the hell is Lord Tai Sui?"

Patiently, Hu Ma kept coaxing her. "It's all right..."

"She gave it to me, so it's mine. Now I'm giving it to you. Old Woman won't find out."

"..."

The little girl was clearly wavering. Her tiny throat bobbed as she swallowed again and again. Hesitantly, she asked:

"You won't tell Old Woman?"

"..."

Hu Ma promised, "If Old Woman asks, I'll say I ate it all."

"Gulp..."

This time, even Hu Ma clearly heard the little girl swallow.

She hesitated, glancing at Hu Ma's sincere expression, then at the piece of meat on the Eight Immortals table.

Then, as if she'd made up her mind, she shot forward with a whoosh.

Her tiny body leaped effortlessly onto the table. She stretched out both small, pale hands and picked up the meat.

"Nom..."

She opened her mouth wide, the corners stretching all the way to her ears.

Her two neat rows of fine teeth suddenly turned sharp and jagged. She bit down hard.

"What the hell is that?"

Hu Ma was so startled by the sight that the strength he'd been gathering nearly drained away.

But the meat held an even greater allure for her than he'd imagined. Once she'd jumped onto the table, she devoured it like a starving ghost, seemingly oblivious to everything else. Hu Ma seized the chance and edged toward the door, inch by inch.

When he reached it, he cautiously looked back.

She was still eating, her back to him, her little bottom stuck up in the air like a starving beast.

She wouldn't even run away if the sky fell. Nothing could smell better than that meat...

Hu Ma took a deep breath, quietly pushed open the half-shut door, peered outside, then sprinted off with all his might.

"Whoosh!"

It should have been afternoon, but when he stepped outside, the light still stabbed at his eyes.

He raised a hand to shield himself from the sun and staggered forward.

His eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings. All he saw were rows of shabby, low wooden houses with tiled roofs. He spotted the uneven dirt road, the cattle and livestock penned behind wooden fences, the stone mill and the well.

Yet not one familiar thing from his memories was anywhere to be seen. No cars, no electric lights, not even a telephone pole.

Shadowy figures kept flickering into view around him.

They all wore drab, coarse cloth clothes and straw sandals, with farming tools slung over their shoulders. They carried the air of some remote, ancient place.

"Oh!"

Someone spotted Hu Ma and seemed even more frightened than he was, fleeing in a panic.

People pointed and whispered, their voices reaching his ears. "Isn't that Old Woman's little grandson?"

"How's he still alive?"

"..."

His fear and unease surged.

He was afraid the strange little girl might chase after him, and even more afraid that gloomy Old Woman might suddenly appear.

Especially when he saw someone in the frightened crowd turn and run off, seemingly to alert someone. All he could do was stagger along, summoning every last bit of strength he had.

He didn't know how far he'd run. He only knew his heart felt ready to burst out of his chest.

Where was he now?

He looked at the sparse haystacks and fields around him, then at the tall wooden palisade ahead and the deep, shadowy forest beyond.

Had he reached the edge of the village?

Before he knew it, dusk had fallen, and the sky was growing dark. Everything around him was still and silent. After that frantic escape, his body was terribly weak, and his head kept spinning.

His body felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead. He could hardly make it move.

Just as he was about to stop, brace his hands against his knees, and gasp for breath, a faint rustling suddenly reached his ears.

Some indistinct, incomprehensible muttering drifted to him on the wind.

He couldn't make out the words, but they inexplicably made Hu Ma's skin crawl. He jerked around, scanning his surroundings warily.

There were wide stretches of haystacks, along with a few old trees, their trunks gnarled and sturdy, far taller and stronger than those in his memories of his past life.

Following the direction of the muttering, Hu Ma's gaze shifted until, at last, it slowly came into focus.

He saw where the sound was coming from. A black goat stood beside a haystack.

Its yellow-brown, horizontal pupils stared at him eerily.

Hu Ma stared back, wondering if the uncanny feeling and strange muttering were just his imagination.

Then he saw the black goat slowly rise upright.

Like a person, it spread its forelegs and stood only on its hind legs, still staring fixedly at Hu Ma.

The corners of its mouth slowly curled upward, revealing an eerie smile.

At that moment, Hu Ma felt his scalp prickle. He stumbled back a few steps.

"Gak, gak..."

Before he could figure out what was happening, a strange laugh sounded from nearby.

He whipped around and saw a monkey-shaped creature crouched on a nearby old branch.

No, not a monkey. It was a person.

It was naked, its entire body a ghastly white, and so thin it seemed hardly human. Its limbs were noticeably longer than an ordinary person's. Crouched on the branch like a monkey, it watched him with eerie blood-red eyes and cackled excitedly.

"Big brother..."

Before Hu Ma could sink into utter terror, a sugary-sweet voice called from nearby.

Hu Ma turned and saw who was calling him: a woman, beautiful beyond words. Most of her body was hidden in a haystack, and only her alluring face showed. Her red lips parted as she kept letting out soft, seductive calls.

Her voice seemed to hold some kind of magic, drawing people toward her one step at a time...

But Hu Ma took only one step before stopping.

He saw the beautiful head slowly emerging from the haystack.

Behind it was a long, winding, dark-red snake body. Its scales scraped against the straw with a soft, dry rustle.

"What are these things?"

Hu Ma finally came to his senses. A formless terror seized him, sending a jolt through his entire body.

A fine, pervasive sense of the uncanny enveloped him. He couldn't catch his breath. His vision went dark, and his body began to sway.

But just then, he suddenly heard a voice, bright with laughter:

"Brother Hu Ma..."

"Stop fooling around. Old Woman's calling you home for dinner!"

"..."

The moment that voice appeared, all the strangeness vanished. Hu Ma finally let out the breath he'd been holding.