Having spoken to this point, Mo Ran smiled again before he continued, "A long long time ago, there was a small child." Chu Wanning's eyes were closed, "Wasn't it an ox grazing? How come it's a kid?" "Let me finish." Mo Ran smiled hummingly, "Once upon a time there was a small child, very poor. He didn't have a dad or a mom, and was a child labourer in the household of a landlord. He had to wash dishes, wash clothes, wipe the floors, and had to take the ox grazing too. The landlord's household gave him three pancakes to eat everyday, and the child was very happy that he could fill his stomach." "One day, he took the ox out to graze as always. On the road, they bumped into a mad dog and it bit the leg of the ox. Because of this, the landlord unsurprisingly gave him a round of beatings. After the beatings, the landlord made him go kill that mad dog to vent, otherwise he wouldn't let the child have his pancakes." "The child was very scared, and could only follow orders and brought that mad dog back after he beat it to death. However, when he came home, the landlord discovered that turns out, the dog that bit the leg of their cattle was actually the beloved canine of the county master." Chu Wanning opened his eyes, "Then what can they do?" "What else can they do? That dog was the County Master's most favourite's favourite, so the dog was used to having its way, using the might and power behind its back. Who knew it would get beaten to death so out of the blue just like that, and if the County Master should find out, he wouldn't let it go so easily.
So, the more the landlord thought about it, the angrier he became, so in the end,
he still never gave the small child his pancakes. He even threatened, if the County Master came looking for trouble, he would give the child out." "...What is this mess, so unreasonable." Chu Wanning said, "I'm not listening to this anymore." "There are a lot of things that aren't reasonable in the first place." Mo Ran laughed, "It's a matter of who has the most money, whose fist is tougher, and whose position is higher. The next day, the County Master indeed came knocking. The child was given away. But, since he really was too young, the County Master didn't have the face to lock him up, so he was flogged heavily for ten times before he was let go." "And that child ran away after he was let go, right?" Chu Wanning asked.
"Haha, he didn't run away." Mo Ran replied, "The kid still went back to the landlord's household, recovered from his injuries, and went back to grazing the ox for them. Still getting three pancakes a day to eat." "Isn't he angry?" "As long as his stomach is filled he won't be angry." Mo Ran said, "A round of beatings is a round of beatings, after it's over, it's over. And things were peaceful for over a decade. Later, the oxherd boy grew up. He followed after those who were the same age as well as the landlord's son. One day, several esteemed guests came to the landlord's house, and the landlord's son saw one of the guests had brought a particularly beautiful agate snuff bottle. He loved it so he stole it." "That snuff bottle was an heirloom, extremely precious. The guest was quite panicked and looked all over the house for his possession. The landlord's son saw he couldn't hide anymore, so he stuffed the snuff bottle into that oxherd boy's hands and told him: if he dared tell the truth, then he will never receive any meals again, and will die from starvation." "..." Having listened to this point, Chu Wanning was utterly speechless. He thought inwardly, while Mo Ran had wandered the streets since he was young,
having been orphaned, but at the very least he had grown up at an entertainment house, his mother a managing head, so even though it wasn't the happiest of days, it wasn't miserable either, so why were all the stories he made up so gloomy and sad?
Mo Ran continued on, quite enjoying himself, "The snuff bottle was soon found. For the sake of meals, that oxherd boy could only force himself to take the blame, and naturally, what followed was another round of vicious beatings.
This time, they beat him so hard he couldn't get out of bed for three days. The landlord's son got away with this this time, so he secretly snuck a steamed bun stuffed with marinated pork to the oxherd boy. That kid wolfed down the food,
and stopped resenting this boy who harmed him. Since he's never tasted such delicacies before, as he held the bun, he kept saying to the landlord's son: thank you, thank you." "I'm not listening anymore." This time, Chu Wanning really was aggravated,
"How can he stop his resentment? A steamed bun and all is forgiven? And thanking him too! What's there to thank?!" "No, you're not listening carefully." Mo Ran innocently blinked his eyes.
"How am I not listening carefully?" Mo Ran straightened his face, "That was a steamed bun stuffed with marinated pork, I tell you." Chu Wanning: "..." "Haha, look at your face, you don't understand, do you? Usually, that child could only get his hands on a scrap or two of fatty meat during New Year's Eve.
He had originally thought he was going to die never knowing what marinated pork was gonna taste like, so of course he'd thank the other party." Seeing his little shidi was stumped speechless by his words, Mo Ran smiled exceedingly brilliantly, and continued, "Either way, this incident passed just like that. He still collected his three pancakes, and passed day by day. One day…" Now Chu Wanning had had an idea of the pattern of Mo Ran's tales. The moment "One day" appeared, there was never anything good.
Sure enough, Mo Ran said, "One day, the landlord's son committed another crime." "This time, he behaved indecently towards a neighbouring girl at the mill, and coincidentally, the unlucky oxherd boy bumped into the scene." "...And that child is going to take the blame again?" Chu Wanning asked.
"Aiyah." Mo Ran laughed, "That's right. Congrats, congrats, you know how to tell stories now too."
"...I'm going to sleep."
"Don't, I'm almost done the story." Mo Ran said, "This is my first time tell someone a story, so grant me some face, will you?" Chu Wanning: "..." "This time, the oxherd boy must take the blame. Because, that girl couldn't take the shame and committed suided by way of bashing her head into the wall.
But the oxherd boy wasn't dumb. A life for a life, there was no way he was going to give up his life for the landlord's son's sake." Mo Ran said, "He wouldn't agree to it, so the landlord's son locked him and the dead girl inside the mill, and ran off to report it to the authorities." "This oxherd boy has got a history; when he was young he randomly beat the County Master's dog to death, then later he stole a guest's snuff bottle, and this time, he sexually harassed a common girl. Naturally, his crimes could not be absolved. No one was willing to listen to him explain himself. He was caught redhanded with all the evidence, so he was arrested." Chu Wanning widened his eyes, "...And then?" "And then, he stayed in jail for a few months. When autumn came, he was sentenced to the death penalty, to be sent to the execution platform outside the city. As he followed along the execution troop winding around the fields, he suddenly saw someone was butchering an ox not far in the distance. He could tell with just a glance; that ox was the one he had taken to graze since he was young, but now that it was old, it didn't have the energy to plow the fields anymore. But that ox had to graze grass. If it only ate but didn't do any labour,
why would the landlord want to keep it? It helped them plow a lifetime's worth of fields, but in the end, they were going to butcher it, eat its meat." Even as he told such a cruel thing, Mo Ran wasn't sad, and smiled, "But that oxherd boy had grown up riding on the back of that ox, had told it many of his secrets, fed it hay, hugged its neck and cried when he was wronged, and took it for his only family in this world." "So, he knelt down and begged the executioner to let him go bid farewell to that ox. Of course the executioner didn't believe there'd be any feelings between man and beasts, so he thought the boy was only trying to play tricks and didn't allow it." "...And then?" "And then? And then that oxherd boy was hung to death. The ox was butchered. Hot blood flowed all over the ground, and those who gathered to watch the show dispersed. That night, the landlord's household ate beef, but the beef was old and kept getting stuck between their teeth. They had a bit, didn't like it, and dumped everything." Chu Wanning: "..." Mo Ran flipped over, smiled happily at him, "There, it's done. How was it?" "Get out." Chu Wanning said.
"Hey, the first time I made this up for myself I cried. Your heart is so cold, not even a drop of tear." "It's you who told it so badly…" Mo Ran haha-ed twice, put his arm over his little shidi's shoulder, and caressed his hair, "Well that can't be helped. Your shixiong is only so talented. Alright, the story's done. Let's sleep."
Chu Wanning didn't acknowledge him, but after a long time, he suddenly asked, "Mo Ran." "Call me shixiong." "Why is the story called Ox Eats Grass?" "Because like people, an ox has gotta eat. For the sake of eating, a lot of work has to be done. If one day you can't work anymore, then no one cares if you're alive or dead." Chu Wanning stopped talking again.
The whisperings in the yard were the small voices of those seeking refuge,
and once in a while, there'd be an ominous cry or two from ghosts and demons coming from outside the barrier.
"Mo Ran." "Aiyah, so cheeky. Call me shixiong." Chu Wanning ignored him, and only asked, "Does that child really exist?" "No." Mo Ran was quiet for a moment, then suddenly smiled, his dimples deep and good looking. He rolled the little guy into his arms and said warmly, "Of course it's made up to play with you. Be good. Sleep." Yet unexpectedly, it hadn't been long before there was suddenly commotion in the yard.
Someone was shouting angrily, "ASKING FOR THE GONGZI ALL OVER!
THE GONGZI IS BUSY, WHO HAS THE TIME TO MIND YOUR BUSINESS?
CLEAN THAT CORPSE OUT! DON'T YOU KNOW THE ONES WITH BLUE SPOTS WILL RISE?!! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US ALL??" This voice was like thunder in the middle of a dark night, and the moment "rising corpse" was mentioned, everyone blew up. All of a sudden, everyone who was asleep sat up, and looked to where the commotion was.
Mo Ran blocked in front of his little shidi and threw a glance, frowning as he spoke in a low voice, "Hm? It's that person from noon earlier?" The one who was kneeling and being scolded was indeed that youth named XiaoMan from noon earlier that day. He was still wearing the tight suit from during the day, but his spirit and aura were completely different.
It was as if his entire person was emptied out, only hugging tightly onto the dead body of his foster father. That corpse's nails had grown significantly, the very sign of a corpse rising. When the others saw, they all backed away. The Governor's administrator was scolding him sharply.
"Your dad was my colleague, I feel bad about him being killed too. But so what? You were the one who cried hunger last night so he went out to find food for you. You were the one who caused your dad to die, so are you going to cause us all to die now?" XiaoMan was kneeling on the ground, his hair completely disheveled, his eyes red, "N-no, I'm not… dad, daddy. Please I beg you, let me see the gongzi,
the gongzi has a way for dad's corpse not to rise, I want to bury dad properly,
please I beg you all not to… don't dismember him… Sob…" By the time he uttered the word "dismember" he was already sobbing really hard. He buried his face in his palms, wiping messily, his lips trembling, "Please I beg you all… let me wait until the gongzi is back…"
"It's going to be midnight soon, the gongzi is out, so how can he possibly care for your business? You know that normal corpses can still be purified, but your dad's bluing spots and nails have already changed, so how can he possibly hold out until the gongzi is back?" "No… He can, Uncle Liu… I'm begging you, I'll do anything for you, I-I'll think of a way to repay you after, please I beg you, don't touch my daddy… beg, I… I beg you…" Seeing him beg like this, that middle aged administrator let out a long sigh,
the rims of his eyes also turning red, but still he replied, "Sigh, do you know,
you're asking for all of our lives here — GUARDS!" "NO! DON'T!!" But it was already too late. No one would go help him. Anyone knew that if this corpse was kept, then when midnight comes it would for sure turn into a ferocious spirit.
The corpse of XiaoMan's foster father was forcibly dragged away, to be dismembered outside. XiaoMan was held back by several people on his left and right, and his bitter tears flowed viciously, sullying his entire face, and beast-like howls escaped his lips. But in the end, he was still half pulled, half dragged away into the distance.
Once this storm had past, the yard returned to its peaceful quiet after some muttered whispers.
Chu Wanning however, did not fall back asleep. He hung his head pensively.
Mo Ran side-gazed at his little shidi, "What are you thinking about?" "This person lost his close family bitterly and did such a foolish thing. That his foster father's body was overtaken, of course he'd blame the others. I have an uncertain guess. I'm wondering, could LinAn City's botched migration be because of him." Mo Ran replied without missing a beat, "I thought about this too." Chu Wanning shook his head, "But it's too early to tell, we can't make any conclusive claims. Let's keep a close eye on him first."