Chapter 0011: The Six-Year Tribulation
The situation with Ma Lao San's wife was resolved, and the next day someone found her corpse discarded in the back hills by my father. However, the body no longer displayed the hideous features from the night before—no fangs, no sharp claws. It appeared to be an ordinary corpse, which Ma Lao San then reburied.
That night, the commotion at our house had been overwhelming: eerie wailing and strange noises echoed through the dark. But no one dared to investigate; it was simply too terrifying. Even Ma Lao San, who suspected it might have been his wife's ghost, didn't come to inquire. And so, the matter was left unresolved.
Three days later, I finally woke up, but I was feverish and delirious for several days, terrifying my parents and grandfather. During this time, a vision kept appearing in my fevered mind—a beautiful white fox with eight white tails, lying quietly. Occasionally, it would open its eyes, but it seemed very weak.
My grandfather, deeply concerned, made a trip to the town hospital where Liu Granny was still recovering to ask about my condition. She reassured him, explaining that the celestial spirit within me had manifested to protect me, damaging its core essence in the process. Since the celestial spirit and I shared a bond, its weakness also affected me. But she promised that I would recover after a few days.
Grandfather was skeptical but relieved to find her words true—I indeed recovered fully after my fever broke. Strangely enough, my dependence on blood diminished drastically after this ordeal. I was finally able to eat normal food, which brought immense joy to my family.
When I was born, I had fox-like features—a face resembling a fox, white fur all over my body, and tiny sharp teeth. By the age of three, most of these traits had faded, leaving only my peculiar need to consume blood. Now, even that had improved significantly, which my parents saw as a blessing in disguise.
Despite this progress, an ominous weight still hung over my family. Both Wu Banxian and Liu Granny had prophesied that I was destined to face a calamity every three years—a curse that was inescapable and would either claim my life or that of someone else. This prophecy haunted everyone in the family.
Though the foxes and weasels that once frequently visited our home now came less often, they still appeared occasionally, bringing wild game. It was likely because my need for blood had waned. By the time I was three, my life seemed to normalize, and I grew up like any other child, healthy and seemingly ordinary.
Still, the villagers regarded me as an oddity. Other children avoided me, and I was often left to play alone. My best playmates were the foxes and weasels, who would appear whenever my parents were out working in the fields. Unlike others who feared these creatures, I felt a natural affinity for them. They surrounded me as I played, and I could pet them freely without them showing any aggression. When my parents returned, they would scatter.
This state of normalcy persisted for three years, but my grandfather never forgot the looming "three-year tribulation." As my sixth birthday approached, he grew increasingly anxious and decided to personally invite Liu Granny over to help us prepare for whatever might happen.
Over the years, my family maintained close ties with Liu Granny, visiting her with gifts during the holidays. She had no children of her own, as all her children had died young, never living past the age of three. My grandfather insisted that my parents treat her with the same respect as they would their own mother, given how she had saved our family at the cost of losing an eye.
On the day before my sixth birthday, grandfather left for the neighboring town to fetch Liu Granny, leaving us at home. It was during his absence that trouble arose.
The Zhang family, a prominent household in the village, had five brothers. The youngest, Zhang Lao Wu, was preparing to marry and decided to take over a plot of land our family used for growing vegetables without even notifying us. When my father heard about it, he went to confront Zhang Lao Wu. The argument quickly escalated into a physical altercation. Although young and strong, Zhang Lao Wu was no match for my father, who had learned some martial arts from my grandfather, a former soldier.
Humiliated, Zhang Lao Wu returned later that afternoon with his four brothers to seek revenge. In the ensuing brawl in our courtyard, my father was soon overpowered. Zhang Lao Wu, the most aggressive of the group, wielded an iron spade with such force that it nearly snapped in half. My mother tried to intervene but was shoved aside, helpless and crying.
Seeing my father beaten, I lost control and charged at Zhang Lao Wu, biting down hard on his leg. He howled in pain, cursed me as a "freak," and slapped me so hard that I fell to the ground.
As I lay there, my face stinging, I suddenly noticed foxes and weasels perched along the courtyard wall. Their eyes glowed with malice as they glared at Zhang Lao Wu. The same thing had happened when Ma Lao San's wife attacked me.
Enraged by the sight of me being struck, my father, bloodied and battered, staggered to his feet. With a roar, he dashed into the house and emerged with my grandfather's large machete in hand...