Rumors Stir in Town

On the day the Blue Martial Arts Hall closed, Chen Mo went home.

After breakfast, he left the Blue Martial Arts Hall with an empty cloth bag slung over his back.

The streets looked much the same as usual.

The vegetable sellers had set up their stalls. A few people squatted outside the breakfast shop eating noodles, while porters carrying shoulder poles cut through the middle of the street, calling for people to make way.

Only up close could he see the small changes.

The butcher's shop on the corner had half as much meat hanging out front as before.

As Chen Mo passed, Shopkeeper Zhang stood at the door, looking inside.

"Uncle Zhang."

"Oh, Little Mo."

Shopkeeper Zhang turned around. The smile on his face barely lasted before he sighed again.

"Home today?"

"The hall's closed."

Chen Mo glanced at the butcher's counter.

"Why is there so little left?"

"How much do you expect me to have?"

Shopkeeper Zhang picked up his knife and chopped it against the cutting board.

"I had three pigs left two days ago. Another one disappeared last night."

"Ran away?"

"Ran away, my foot."

Shopkeeper Zhang pointed irritably toward the wooden pen out back.

Chen Mo went around and took a look.

A few broken slats lay beneath the pen, and the ground was covered in messy footprints.

"Someone stole it?"

"If a person had stolen it, I'd be happy."

"What do you mean?"

"At least I'd know who did it."

Shopkeeper Zhang set down the knife and lowered his voice.

"There was a commotion in the backyard last night. By the time I came out, the pigpen gate had been knocked over. There was blood on the ground, and the pig was gone."

"Did you go after it?"

"I sell meat. You expect me to chase after it with a kitchen knife?"

Even Shopkeeper Zhang seemed to find the idea pointless. He shook his head.

"People in the village say it was a mountain beast."

Chen Mo frowned.

"Did anyone see it?"

"Who would've seen it?"

"If no one saw it, how do you know?"

Shopkeeper Zhang froze.

"Isn't that what the County Office notice says?"

"Notice?"

"It's posted at the street entrance."

Chen Mo looked in the direction he pointed.

Sure enough, a new notice had been posted on the wall at the street entrance.

Seven or eight people had already gathered around it.

Some stood on tiptoe to read it. Others had barely read halfway before they began discussing it.

Chen Mo walked over.

The notice was brief. It said mountain beasts had recently been active in the forests, occasionally descending to attack livestock. Villages were to reinforce their courtyard walls and livestock pens, and ordinary people were forbidden from entering the forests without authorization.

It bore the seal of the County Office at the bottom.

After reading it, someone asked:

"That's it?"

"What else do you want?"

"They could at least say how they're going to deal with it."

"Didn't the County Office say they'd send people?"

A lanky man gave a cold laugh.

"Send people? Didn't Old Li's cow get bitten just a few days ago?"

Someone beside him chimed in.

"The cow didn't die. Give it a few days and it'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say."

The lanky man pointed at the notice.

"If this means there are more and more mountain beasts, are we supposed to be afraid to raise cattle and sheep from now on?"

A woman selling tofu passed by and stopped to put in a word.

"What family doesn't keep livestock? How are we supposed to make a living without them?"

Someone in the crowd said:

"If the authorities have put up a notice, they must have a way to handle it."

"You're awfully confident."

"What's there to worry about? It's just mountain beasts going mad."

The man waved a hand.

"It's happened before."

"Not this often."

"Have you seen more of them with your own eyes?"

"I..."

As the two argued, their voices grew louder and louder.

In the end, an old firewood seller beside them stepped in.

"That's enough. What good will arguing do? If you've got livestock at home, just shut your gates tight at night."

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Chen Mo did not linger.

He walked a little farther and passed an apothecary.

Several bunches of dried herbs hung outside its door.

Shopkeeper Zhao was weighing medicine for a woman.

"Why has this gotten more expensive?"

The woman looked at the scale pan.

"That wasn't the price a few days ago."

Shopkeeper Zhao worked his abacus as he replied:

"There are fewer herbs coming down from the mountains."

"Fewer?"

"The herb gatherers don't dare go up there."

"But you can't raise the price this much."

Shopkeeper Zhao looked up.

"You think I want to?"

The woman said nothing.

Shopkeeper Zhao sighed.

"Before, the herb gatherers would head for the mountains with baskets on their backs as soon as day broke. Look around now. How many still dare go in?"

The woman muttered under her breath.

"Then what are we supposed to do when we need medicine?"

"Use as little as you can."

Shopkeeper Zhao handed her the packet.

"But don't skimp too much."

The woman took the medicine and left.

Chen Mo stood at the door and watched for a while.

Shopkeeper Zhao recognized him.

"Chen boy, buying medicine?"

"No."

"Then what are you standing there for?"

"Just looking."

Shopkeeper Zhao smiled.

"Things haven't been too peaceful at your martial arts hall lately either, have they?"

Chen Mo did not answer.

Shopkeeper Zhao glanced at his clothes.

"Forget it. I won't ask."

"I just wanted to remind you: if your family needs medicine, stock up early if you can."

"Why?"

Shopkeeper Zhao lowered his voice.

"Who knows what it'll cost in another little while?"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Got it."

After leaving the apothecary, he noticed quite a few newly driven wooden stakes along the street.

One courtyard wall had originally been only waist-high. Now a row of sharpened wooden slats had been added along its top.

Another household had moved its chicken coop directly beneath the eaves.

Someone else had nailed the livestock shed door together again.

None of these changes was large.

No one was fleeing.

No one was packing up to leave, either.

People still did business and ate their meals as usual.

They were simply taking one more precaution than before.

Chen Mo walked through an alley.

Two women were sorting vegetables outside a doorway.

One of them said:

"Did you hear it last night?"

"Hear what?"

"Over by the west end of the village. I think it cried out again."

"A dog?"

"Didn't sound like one."

The other woman hurried to say:

"Don't go saying things like that."

"I'm only telling you what I heard."

"Then keep it to yourself. Don't spread it around."

"Who would I even tell?"

As they talked, the conversation drifted back to vegetable prices.

Chen Mo did not stop.

When he reached his home, he pushed the door open and went inside.

Chen Huan was crouching in the courtyard.

An open book lay in front of her, with a wooden bird beside it.

At the sight of Chen Mo, she sprang to her feet.

"Brother, you're back."

"Mm."

"Why are you back so early today?"

"The hall's closed."

Chen Mo glanced at her book.

"How far have you memorized?"

Chen Huan closed the book.

"All of it."

"I asked how far you'd memorized."

"..."

Chen Huan's eyes darted.

"Brother, are you hungry?"

Chen Mo smiled.

"That trick might work on Mother, but it won't work on me."

"I really did memorize it all."

"Then recite it."

"Now?"

"Now."

Chen Huan pouted and had no choice but to open her book again.

She recited a few lines.

Then she got stuck.

Chen Mo didn't scold her.

"Go over it again this afternoon."

"Got it."

"Don't just memorize the beginning."

"Got it."

Chen Huan put her book away.

"Brother, have a lot of people left the Blue Martial Arts Hall lately?"

Chen Mo looked at her.

"Who told you that?"

"People were talking about it in the street."

"Some have left."

"Why?"

"Things came up at home."

Chen Huan thought for a moment.

"Is it because of that thing in the mountains?"

Chen Mo didn't answer right away.

"Don't worry about that."

"But everyone's talking about it."

"Let them talk. You focus on your studies."

Chen Huan murmured her assent.

After a while, she asked quietly:

"Then will you leave?"

Chen Mo paused.

"Why would I leave?"

"Leave the Blue Martial Arts Hall."

"I won't."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only then did Chen Huan smile.

"That's good."

Liu-shi came out of the kitchen.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing."

Chen Huan ran over to help carry the bowls.

Chen Mo glanced toward the kitchen.

"Mother, where's Father?"

"In the backyard."

Chen Mo went over.

Chen Shan was crouched on the ground, mending an old bamboo basket.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't look up.

"You're back?"

"Mm."

"The hall's closed today?"

"Mm."

Chen Shan threaded a bamboo strip through the basket.

"How's your training been lately?"

"Not bad."

"And the Quarterly Assessment?"

"I still want to make the top ten."

Chen Shan smiled.

"Then train hard."

Chen Mo crouched beside him.

"Father."

"Mm?"

"Have you been near the mountains lately?"

Chen Shan's hands slowed.

"No."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Chen Mo looked at him.

"A lot's happened in town lately."

"I've heard."

"And you still go?"

"I said I haven't."

"I mean from now on."

Chen Shan turned the basket over to inspect it.

"If I can avoid going, I will."

"What do you mean, if you can?"

"Just that some things don't have to be done right now."

Chen Mo said nothing.

Chen Shan glanced at him.

"Don't worry."

"I value my life more than you do."

"I know."

Chen Shan smiled.

"Your father's lived this long. I still know which places are safe to go and which aren't."

"You used to say that too."

"When did I ever say that?"

"Didn't you often tell me when I was little that there was nothing to fear in the mountains?"

Chen Shan froze.

"You remember that?"

"Of course."

"You were so young back then."

"I remember it all the same."

Chen Shan smiled and shook his head.

"Things were different then."

"And now?"

"Now..."

Chen Shan glanced beyond the courtyard wall.

"Now we have to be even more careful."

Hearing that, Chen Mo felt a little relieved.

Neither of them said anything more.

At dinner, Liu-shi set the food she'd bought that day on the table.

There was one less plate of meat than usual.

Chen Huan picked up some greens with her chopsticks.

"Mother, isn't there any meat today?"

"There is."

Liu-shi pointed to the corner of the table.

A tiny dish of cured meat.

Chen Huan looked at it.

"That's all?"

"It's all we have left at home."

Chen Huan asked no more.

Chen Shan picked up a piece and offered it to her.

"You eat it."

"Father, you eat it."

"I don't like it."

"But it used to be your favorite."

"Not anymore."

Father and daughter passed it back and forth.

In the end, Chen Shan put the piece of meat in Chen Huan's bowl.

Chen Mo lowered his head and ate.

After a while, he spoke.

"Father."

"Mm?"

"Go into the mountains less often from now on."

Chen Shan looked up.

"This again?"

"Mm."

"You heard plenty on your way back today, didn't you?"

"More or less."

"Is there a lot of talk in town?"

"Quite a lot."

Chen Shan put down his chopsticks.

"People can say what they like."

"I've never gone deep into the mountains."

"Don't even go into the foothills."

Chen Shan didn't answer.

Liu-shi said softly from beside them:

"He's only worried about you."

"I know."

Chen Shan looked at Chen Mo.

"You're training in martial arts now. Don't spend all day worrying about things at home."

Chen Mo shook his head.

"I can't help it."

"Why not?"

"You're my parents."

The voices around the table fell quiet at once.

Chen Shan watched his son for a moment, then picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks.

"Eat."

Chen Mo said nothing more.

After dinner, Chen Huan cleared the dishes.

Liu-shi washed them in the kitchen.

Chen Shan sat on the threshold, smoking his pipe.

Chen Mo walked into the courtyard.

The old locust tree was showing its age, its bark split with lines and furrows.

He stood beside it, leaning against the trunk.

Voices came from the neighboring courtyard.

"Heard something happened out west again?"

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Old Zhang at the village entrance said so."

"Is it true?"

"Who knows."

"The County Office posted a notice. How could it be false?"

"Didn't the notice say it was mountain beasts?"

"That's what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"There are more mountain beasts around."

"Aren't you scared?"

The man laughed.

"Scared of what? They haven't come into my yard."

The courtyard fell quiet for a moment.

Then another voice carried over.

"Two of my chickens went missing last night."

"Didn't you say it was a weasel?"

"I checked this morning. Even the chicken-coop door was broken."

"Could've been a dog."

"A dog could smash through a wooden door?"

At that, both voices dropped.

Chen Mo stopped listening.

He looked up at his family's courtyard wall.

It wasn't high.

If something really charged in, the wall probably wouldn't hold it back for long.

He soon pushed the thought aside.

In the courtyard, Chen Shan coughed.

"What are you doing out there?"

"Getting some air."

"Get to bed early."

"I will."

Chen Mo turned around.

His father was still sitting on the threshold.

The ember in his pipe glowed, then dimmed in the night.

Chen Mo went over and sat beside him.

"Dad."

"Mm?"

"You really aren't going into the mountains?"

Chen Shan glanced at him.

"I'm not going deep into the mountains."

"What about the foothills?"

"We'll see."

Chen Mo frowned.

But Chen Shan waved a hand.

"Stop asking."

"Focus on your Quarterly Assessment first."

"I know."

They sat together in the doorway.

Footsteps in the street gradually grew fewer.

Someone shut a door in the distance.

A wooden bolt dropped into place with a click.

A few more words drifted over from next door.

"I'll put another layer around the chicken coop tomorrow."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Better to believe there's something out there."

Chen Shan heard them but said nothing.

Chen Mo stayed silent too.

After a while, Chen Shan knocked out his pipe on the ground and got up to go inside.

"Get some sleep."

"Mm."

Chen Mo did not go in right away.

He stood beneath the old locust tree, listening as the sounds in the lane faded one by one.

Someone shut a door.

Someone tidied a courtyard.

Someone drove their livestock back into a shed.

The town was still the same town.

But when each family closed its door, it slid one more wooden bolt into place than it used to.