Whispers in the Streets

After the Blue Martial Arts Hall expanded its enrollment, the days suddenly became much livelier.

The moment he arrived at the Training Ground in the early morning, Chen Mo found that several wooden posts that had once stood empty were already surrounded by people.

Some rushed to seize a spot the instant they finished a round of practice, some simply hugged the posts and refused to let go, while several newly arrived apprentices stood nearby arguing over who should go first.

"Make way, make way!"

Zhao Chuan squeezed out of the crowd, sweat already beading on his forehead.

"You finally made it. If you'd been any later, you wouldn't even have gotten to touch a wooden post."

Chen Mo glanced at him.

"Didn't you used to complain that the posts hurt your hands?"

"There were fewer people back then."

Zhao Chuan said it as if it were only right.

"Now that I can't grab one, of course I have to cherish it."

Chen Mo chuckled and found a slightly less crowded spot.

Just as he was about to practice his punches, someone beside him suddenly said:

"Have you heard? Something happened out west again."

"In the mountains again?"

"Yeah."

Those people lowered their voices.

"A hunter went into the mountains two days ago. When he came back, he could barely raise one arm."

"Bitten by a wolf?"

"Who knows? They said he saw something, and after he came back, he didn't say a single word."

Another person curled his lip.

"Stop scaring yourselves. Didn't the authorities put up notices? There have just been more wild beasts in the mountains lately."

Chen Mo's movements paused.

Zhao Chuan had heard it too.

"Something happened again?"

Seeing him lean over, those people became even more animated.

Some said it was wolves.

Some said it was wild boars.

Others claimed an old tiger had become a spirit in the mountains.

The more they spoke, the more outrageous it became.

After listening for a while, Chen Mo could not help saying:

"If you keep talking, the mountains will be packed full of monsters."

They immediately laughed.

Zhao Chuan laughed too.

"Exactly."

Yet after the laughter died down, Chen Mo still looked toward the west.

There was nothing to be seen there.

It was just that these reports seemed to be growing more frequent lately.

He did not dwell on it and continued practicing his punches.

The morning training proceeded as usual.

It was just that with so many people around, many things had become troublesome.

Before, after finishing their punches, they could simply step aside and find a place to rest.

Now, even sitting down required finding a spot.

By lunchtime, there was even a line outside the dining hall.

Zhao Chuan squeezed over beside Chen Mo with his bowl in hand.

"There are way too many people."

"Didn't you say yesterday that the martial arts hall was flourishing?"

"Flourishing is flourishing."

Zhao Chuan lowered his head to look at the food in his bowl.

"I never said it should flourish to the point where we have to fight for a mouthful of food."

Chen Mo laughed.

After eating, the two returned to the Training Ground.

By the end of the day, Chen Mo felt that the martial arts hall had become much noisier than before.

But what truly stayed with him were the reports coming from town.

When the hall's rest day came, he slung his things over his back and prepared to head home.

He had not gone far from the martial arts hall when the activity in the streets made him realize something was wrong.

At this hour, Qinghe Town was usually lively, but there had never been so many people gathered together talking.

Today was different.

Several tables at the tea stall ahead were occupied.

Every table was discussing the same matter.

Chen Mo drew closer and heard someone say:

"That cow died in the strangest way."

"Whose was it?"

"The Wang Family's, over in the east."

"Didn't they say it ate something unclean?"

"What kind of coincidence would that be? It was a perfectly healthy cow, grazing in the morning, then it collapsed in the afternoon."

Another person lowered his voice.

"Its belly was covered in wounds."

"Not a wild beast?"

"Don't know."

An old man nearby cut in.

"Something from the mountains must have come out."

Someone immediately picked up the thread.

"Then we'd better keep a close watch on the livestock at home lately."

Chen Mo walked past the tea stall. Hearing that, his steps slowed.

The cow was dead.

And it had been wounded.

Further ahead was the town entrance.

Several people were standing there talking.

"Have you heard about Old Zhou, the herb gatherer?"

"What happened?"

"He went into the mountains to gather herbs and still hasn't come back."

"They haven't found him?"

"No."

Someone sighed.

"He probably ran into a wild beast."

After those words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Chen Mo did not linger for long.

He continued walking home.

Along the way, he heard more and more similar reports.

Someone's sheep had gone missing.

Someone had found torn animal hide at the foot of the mountains.

And hunters had fled out of the mountains covered in wounds.

Everyone told it differently.

But one thing was becoming increasingly clear.

The mountains had indeed become far more dangerous lately.

When Chen Mo reached the street corner, he saw a constable posting a notice on the wall.

Several people had gathered beside him.

Chen Mo stopped as well.

The constable clapped his hands.

"Take a good look."

"Wild beasts have been breeding in the mountains recently, and there have been frequent incidents of people being injured."

"The authorities warn every household: unless necessary, do not venture deep into the mountains, and do not enter them alone."

Someone asked:

"What about those missing people?"

The constable frowned.

"The wild beasts in the mountains have gone mad. If something happens, no one can say for sure."

"In any case, be careful."

After saying that, he left with another constable.

Someone in the crowd nodded.

"If the authorities say so, then it should just be wild beasts."

"Right."

"As long as we don't enter the mountains, it should be fine."

Others frowned but said nothing.

Chen Mo stood before the notice for a while.

Wild beasts gone mad.

Those four words did sound perfectly reasonable.

Yet for some reason, he felt that something was off.

He could not say what it was.

As for evidence, he had none at all.

If he truly had to give a reason, he could only think of that wolf from more than a month ago.

That wolf, so emaciated it scarcely looked like a wolf.

And the old wounds on its body.

Chen Mo stood there for a while before finally turning away.

Forget it.

Maybe he really was overthinking things.

At least for now, these matters were still far from his own home.

By the time he returned home, the sky had already begun to darken.

The moment Chen Huan heard the door, she ran out of the house.

"Brother, you're back?"

"Yeah."

Chen Mo set his things down.

"How has your schoolwork been lately?"

"I haven't been slacking off."

Chen Huan gave a soft snort.

"Mother even praised me."

"That's good."

Chen Mo smiled and ruffled her hair.

At the dinner table, their father brought up the recent incidents in the mountains.

"For the time being, don't go too deep into the mountains."

Chen Mo looked up.

"What happened?"

Their father picked up some food with his chopsticks.

"Things haven't been peaceful lately."

"The few wild beasts I've encountered have all had very strange temperaments."

Chen Mo frowned.

"How strange?"

Their father thought for a moment.

"Wolves used to avoid fire when they saw it. Now, some things don't avoid it."

"Sometimes, even when you clearly see someone, you still have to charge forward."

Chen Mo fell silent.

His mother chimed in from the side:

"Your father has only dared to move around the shallow mountains lately."

"If you can avoid going, then don't go."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Then you shouldn't run too deep inside either."

His father glanced at him.

"Got it."

Chen Mo lowered his head and ate.

Chen Huan was still asking beside him:

"Brother, are there tigers in the mountains?"

She had clearly heard some of the rambling nonsense Zhao Chuan had said during the day.

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"If there really were tigers, you'd be the first to run faster than anyone."

"I'm not scared."

"Then shall I take you into the mountains tomorrow?"

"No."

Laughter suddenly broke out around the table.

Chen Mo laughed along with them.

But after the laughter faded, he thought again of all the news he had heard throughout the day.

Cattle and sheep had died.

Herb gatherers had gone missing.

Hunters had been injured.

And there were all those strange things his father had mentioned himself.

That night, Chen Mo lay in bed and turned over.

Outside the window, everything was quiet.

He closed his eyes, yet the image of that wolf still lingered in his mind.

The way it had looked at him then was completely unlike an ordinary beast.

Chen Mo thought for a long time.

In the end, he merely muttered softly:

"Could there really be something else...?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he laughed at himself first.

"What am I even thinking?"

He turned over and pulled the blanket higher.

Still, he did not sleep as soundly that night as he usually did.

And the mountains west of Qinghe Town remained quietly crouched beneath the night.

No one knew whether those scattered, strange incidents were merely beasts gone mad.

Or something else entirely.