Standing Goat

Hu Ma had a clear plan in his mind, but he needed to think about how to execute it.

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

She had pigtails, thin arms and legs, and looked as delicate as carved jade.

It seemed like one punch would make her cry for a long time...

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

Her strange speed just now, her astonishing strength, and her ability to lick her wounds to stop the bleeding all indicated that she was no ordinary person.

Seriously, how could anyone who followed such a creepy Old Woman be ordinary?

So, how to deal with her was the key.

The room was extremely quiet.

Sensing the strange atmosphere in the room, Hu Ma didn't dare to breathe, but it seemed he couldn't hear her breathing either.

So, while thinking, he cautiously began to speak:

"What's your name? What's your relationship with the Old Woman?"

"..."

"My name is Xiao Hong Tang. The Old Woman found me outside."

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

When she spoke, her voice was milky and innocent, but there was a clarity that a five or six-year-old child could never possess.

Hu Ma continued to ponder his strategy and asked, "How old are you?"

"I..."

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

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

"..."

"Seven or eight years?"

Hu Ma immediately confirmed that this was definitely not a normal little girl.

She didn't look older than seven or eight, and that was just the time she'd been with the Old Woman. What about before that?

Perhaps, like the coffin board from earlier, she was one of the "Evil Spirits" the Old Woman had mentioned?

The Old Woman asking her to take care of him was, in fact, probably just to monitor him.

Seeing her squatting on the ground and staring at him like this, Hu Ma's mind began to work.

Observing carefully, he noticed that besides staring at him, she couldn't help but glance at something on the eight-immortal table.

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

For the past seven days, she had seemed to be feeding him these strange pieces of meat. Hu Ma still remembered that fishy, nauseating feeling.

Did the little girl seem very greedy for this?

"Do you really want to eat it?"

He secretly pondered, slowly asking the little girl.

"No..."

The little girl shook her head upon hearing his words, and then looked like she was about to drool.

"It's very delicious."

Hu Ma was convinced that although this little girl was indeed not an ordinary child, she wasn't that smart either. He carefully enticed her:

"You can try it, it's very fragrant."

"..."

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

"The meat was specially cut from Lord Tai Sui by the Old Woman, meant for Brother Hu Ma to eat."

"..."

"Who is Lord Tai Sui?"

Hu Ma patiently continued to coax her: "It doesn't matter..."

"If it's given to me, it's mine. Now I'm giving it to you to eat, and the Old Woman won't know."

"..."

The little girl was clearly tempted. Her small neck swallowed continuously, and she hesitantly said:

"You won't tell the Old Woman?"

"..."

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

"Gulp..."

This time, the little girl's gulp was so loud that even Hu Ma could hear it clearly.

She hesitated, glancing at Hu Ma's honest expression, then at the piece of meat on the eight-immortal table.

Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she "whooshed" and darted forward.

Her small body easily leaped onto the table, and she extended two fair, tender little hands to cup the piece of meat.

"Awooo..."

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

Her neat, delicate rows of teeth suddenly became sharp and pointed, and she bit down fiercely.

"What the heck is that?"

Hu Ma was startled by her appearance, almost losing the strength he had gathered.

But the meat's attraction to her was far greater than he had imagined. After jumping onto the table, she acted like a starving ghost reborn, completely disregarding everything else. He also reacted, slowly and cautiously inching towards the doorway.

When he reached the door, he carefully looked back.

She was still eating, her back to him, her little butt sticking out, like a famished little beast.

Forget escaping, even if the sky fell, it wouldn't be as tempting as that piece of meat...

Hu Ma took a deep breath, quietly opened the slightly ajar door, peeked outside, and rushed out with all his might.

"Swish!"

It should have been afternoon, but as Hu Ma pushed the door open, he still found the light a bit dazzling.

He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and stumbled forward.

His peripheral vision was rapidly scanning the surroundings, but all he saw were rows of dilapidated, low wooden houses with tiled roofs. He saw uneven dirt roads, cattle and sheep penned within wooden fences, stone mills, and wells.

But he couldn't see anything familiar from his memories – no cars, no electric lights, not even a utility pole.

There were blurry figures of people around, occasionally catching his eye.

They were all dressed in drab, coarse cloth clothes and pants, carrying farming tools and wearing straw sandals, exuding a desolate and ancient aura.

"Oh my..."

Someone saw Hu Ma and seemed even more frightened than Hu Ma was at that moment, fleeing to the side in panic and alarm.

Pointing and whispering voices reached Hu Ma's ears: "Isn't that Old Woman's little grandson?"

"How is he still alive?"

"..."

The panic and unease in his heart surged rapidly.

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

Especially seeing that some people in the terrified crowd seemed to turn and run, as if to report something, he could only stumble along, using all his strength.

Unknowingly, he ran for who knows how far, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

Where was he now?

He looked at the sparse grass and fields around him, then at the tall wooden fence ahead and the deep, secluded mountain forest.

It seemed he had run to the edge of the village?

Unknowingly, it was already dusk. The sky gradually darkened, and the surroundings became quiet. Because of this frantic escape, his body was extremely weak, and his head was spinning uncontrollably.

His body felt as if it were filled with lead; he felt a sense of being unable to command his own body.

Just as he couldn't help but stop and lean on his knees, gasping for breath, a rustling sound suddenly reached his ears again.

A vague, unintelligible murmur drifted into his ears with the wind.

He couldn't understand the content of the murmur, but it inexplicably made Hu Ma's skin crawl. He suddenly turned his head, looking around vigilantly.

There were large piles of hay around, as well as several old trees that were ancient and gnarled, much taller and sturdier than he remembered from his past life.

Following the direction of the murmur, Hu Ma's gaze shifted, finally focusing slowly.

He saw the source of the sound: by a haystack stood a black goat.

Its yellowish-brown horizontal pupils stared at him eerily.

Hu Ma stared back, wondering if the creepy feeling and strange murmur had been his hallucination.

Then, he suddenly saw the black goat slowly stand up on its hind legs.

It stood like a person, extending its front legs, still staring fixedly at Hu Ma.

Its mouth gradually stretched into a creepy smile.

At that moment, Hu Ma felt his scalp tingle and involuntarily stumbled back a few steps.

"Caw caw..."

Before he could figure it out, another strange laugh suddenly rang out beside him.

With a swish, he turned his head and saw a monkey-like creature squatting on a branch not far away.

No, not a monkey, it was a person.

He was just naked, his entire body a strange, ghastly white, and impossibly thin. His limbs were noticeably longer than a normal person's. He squatted on the tree trunk like a monkey, his eyes a bizarre blood-red, looking at him and cackling with excitement.

"Little brother..."

Before Hu Ma could feel this endless sense of panic, a sweet voice called out again from not far away.

Hu Ma turned his head and saw it was a person calling him, a very beautiful woman. Most of her body was hidden in a haystack, revealing only a delicate and charming face. Her red lips parted slightly, and from time to time, she let out those alluring, soft calls.

This voice seemed to possess a certain magic, making one subconsciously follow her calls and approach step by step...

But Hu Ma only took one step before stopping.

He saw that delicate and charming head slowly emerging from the haystack.

Behind the head was a winding, dark red snake body, its scales rustling against the straw with a shasha sound.

"What is all this?"

Hu Ma finally woke up, an invisible panic gripping his entire body, like an electric shock.

A dense, strange sensation enveloped him. He couldn't catch his breath, his vision went black, and his body began to slump.

But just then, he suddenly heard a giggling voice:

"Brother Hu Ma..."

"Stop playing around, Old Woman is calling you home for dinner!"

"..."

The moment this voice appeared, the strangeness vanished completely, and Hu Ma finally exhaled.

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