On the 9th day of the 10th month of the lunar calendar, it is an auspicious day for burial. It is a day when all things are unsuitable except for this activity, and the hundred ghosts are forced to retreat.

I was born on this day.

When I was born, I encountered the "ghost peeling skin" incident.

My entire body was covered in blood, without a single piece of skin left, and the midwife who delivered me fainted from shock.

My parents were so terrified that they didn't know what to do. It was my grandfather who wrapped me in cloth and took me home.

By the time my parents rushed back, they found that my grandfather had nailed the door and windows shut. My father shouted outside for a long time before my grandfather finally responded, saying, "I'm not coming out, no one is allowed to enter. You guard the door, and if anyone dares to enter, I'll split him in half."

After my grandfather yelled, there was no sound inside, and my father stood outside, too afraid to move.

Somehow, word spread in the village about my skinless condition, and the village was thrown into a frenzy. Every day, people gathered outside our yard to watch the commotion. The explanations for why I was born without skin became increasingly absurd.

One story said that my grandfather had once skinned a white fox when he was young, and now the fox had come to take revenge.

The Chen family had been skinning leather for three generations, and their skill was unmatched. One time, a customer bought leather from my family and saw a bloodied creature, resembling a dog, running out of our yard. When he looked back inside, he saw a white fox lying motionless on the skinning table, its eyes half-closed and its tail curled up like it was asleep.

The man was intrigued by the fox and touched its body, only to feel it deflate. It was, in fact, the full skin of a fox.

My grandfather slapped the man hard and shut the door, hiding the fox skin.

From that day on, strange occurrences began at our house. During the day, people could see a skinless fox howling near our home. At night, a blood-soaked woman stood at our doorstep, crying.

This continued for seven days, until the fox died right outside our door. The day the fox died was the same day I was born — the 9th of the 10th month. Was this the vengeful fox seeking retribution?

My father, hearing these stories, also felt uncertain.

He knew my grandfather had been a tanner, but he didn't know why he suddenly stopped working with leather and vowed never to skin anything again. Could it be related to that white fox?

At the time, even my mother advised my father, saying, "Maybe we should give up. A child born without skin can't possibly survive. Don't waste any more time on this. After all, Grandpa has kept the child in the house for three days, and the baby hasn't even had a drop of milk. How could it live?"

Initially, my father didn't listen to her. But after hearing so many voices, he began to doubt.

After much hesitation, my father finally gathered the courage to knock on my grandfather's window. He knocked for a long time but got no response. Panicked, he grabbed a pickaxe from the warehouse and was about to break down the door when my grandfather opened it.

At that moment, my grandfather was swaying as he walked, propped up against the wall. He weakly said, "The child is temporarily safe."

When my father heard this, he rushed inside, but when he saw me, he was so frightened that he collapsed onto the ground.

I was wrapped in the skin of a white fox, with only my face visible.

The white fox skin, with a bloodied human face exposed, was terrifying to anyone who saw it.

It took my father some time to recover. He chased away the people who had gathered to watch, then carefully helped my grandfather into the house, asking, "Father, did you really skin a white fox?"

My grandfather replied without hesitation, "She begged me to do it. I skinned her by her request."

My father was stunned. "But how could the fox ask you to do such a thing? Isn't that a sign that it had already become something powerful?"

My grandfather explained, "The fox never told me why, but I think she couldn't transform properly, so she had me skin her in hopes of becoming human."

"At the time, I was also afraid she might cause trouble for our family, so I made her swear never to harm anyone from the Chen family, and I kept her skin as collateral before I went ahead with it."

My father then asked, "Could it be that the fox is the one causing all of this? Father, can you find her? Maybe you should ask her to help save our child."

My grandfather replied, "I'll find her." He immediately began to prepare to leave. But after much pleading, my father convinced him to rest for the night. The next morning, my grandfather was gone.

There was a legend about a stone fox temple in the nearby mountains. It was said that only those with a connection could find it. Once inside, the fox goddess would grant requests.

My grandfather went to that temple.

After some hesitation, he lit three incense sticks and bowed respectfully to the stone fox goddess. "Stone Fox Goddess, I am Chen He, a tanner from the village. I've come to ask you something."

The stone statue of the fox goddess, which had a human body and a fox's head, remained motionless. But my grandfather felt as if someone was watching him from a higher place. When he looked up, he saw a red wound appear on the fox's neck.

My grandfather froze in place as the blood from the wound spread over the stone statue. Before long, the entire statue appeared to be drenched in blood, as though it had been skinned.

At that moment, my grandfather realized the truth. The fox goddess was seeking revenge, not thanks.

In a fit of rage, my grandfather cursed at the stone statue. For a while, the temple echoed with sounds resembling a ghost crying and laughing — eerily similar to the noises the skinless fox made at our door years ago.

The sounds were terrifying and made people think dark thoughts.

Later, my grandfather stopped cursing. He was consumed with worry about my future. Would I grow up with the fox skin attached to me, becoming a half-human, half-fox creature? Or would I live the rest of my life with my body covered in blood, unable to be seen by anyone? Maybe I would become a vengeful ghost, seeking revenge on all the tanners, skinning them one by one in the dead of night.

The more my grandfather thought about it, the more terrified he became. He collapsed to the ground, overcome by fear.