Volume Two: The Secret Burial in the Cliff Valley — Chapter 108: The Donkey Rolls on Its Back

Our group of four still had to follow Third Uncle’s orders. Once Third Uncle made a decision, we had no choice but to comply.

After asking around along the way, we drove in turns toward Nanliu Village.

After a bumpy stretch of dirt road, a narrow mountain path lay ahead. Although Liang Yue’s vehicle was an off-road car, the path was too narrow and difficult to pass. We inquired about the distance and learned that Nanliu Village was still five or six miles away along the mountain trail.

There was no other option, so we parked the car in the town, carried as much of the supplies as possible on our backs, and proceeded on foot toward Nanliu Village.

The mountain path was rugged and hard to walk on. After more than an hour, we finally caught sight of a village in the distance.

That must be Nanliu Village.

We walked closer to the village, but Masu kept shaking his head.

I glanced at him and asked, “Old Ma, what’s wrong?”

Masu said, “Something’s off about this village. It’s dinnertime now. Whenever I’ve visited other villages at this hour, there would be curling smoke from cooking fires and the air filled with the aroma of grains. But look at this place—it feels lifeless.”

After hearing Old Ma’s words, it did indeed seem that way.

The entire village appeared dark and gloomy; not a single light was on.

I asked, “That’s strange. Didn’t they say that all normal express deliveries reach this village? That would mean it’s a normal village. How could there be a problem?”

Third Uncle nodded. “That was two years ago. No one can say what changes have occurred since then. It’s best to see for ourselves. It’s getting late; we should enter the village, find a household, spend the night, and ask around.”

We had traveled all day and were quite hungry. Hearing Third Uncle, we gathered and walked step by step toward the village.

Just as we neared the village entrance, a braying sound came from nearby. Turning our heads, we saw a black donkey tied to a tree beside the village gate.

The donkey was large and well-fed.

But when we saw it, the donkey was wildly ramming its head against the tree, shaking it violently, causing leaves to fall.

We all found it strange and stopped to watch the donkey.

After a while of ramming, the black donkey began frantically kicking out with its hind legs, emitting a series of mournful cries.

It spun its kicks around its head, its attacks shifting direction as if an unseen target circled it.

“Third Uncle, what’s going on?” I whispered.

Third Uncle’s expression was grave; he motioned for me to stay silent.

After the donkey’s hind legs thrashed wildly, it collapsed to the ground and began struggling fiercely. The mournful wails made my scalp tingle.

Lying on the ground, the donkey twisted its body, rubbing its back against the earth. It seemed oblivious to the pain, for within moments, its back was raw and torn.

Yet despite this, the donkey showed no signs of easing up and continued frantically rubbing its back against the ground.

This scene lasted over twenty minutes until the donkey’s limbs twitched, it emitted a final wail, and its body shook violently. I saw tears fill its hollow, helpless eyes.

Looking at its back, now a bloody mess, we could only imagine the force it had exerted.

Everyone present understood that the donkey’s behavior was abnormal. For a moment, no one spoke.

Finally, Third Uncle broke the silence. He quietly asked me, “Yangzi, did you see anything besides the donkey?”

“See anything? No... I didn’t see anything...” I rubbed my eyes hard, but truly saw nothing.

Third Uncle let out a soft “Oh,” then said, “Looks like your Yin-Yang eye hasn’t been triggered. Stay here; I’ll go take a look.”

With that, Third Uncle told us to remain where we were. Holding a peach wood sword, he strode over.

The donkey tried to get up as Third Uncle approached but lacked the strength and could only look at him helplessly.

Third Uncle circled the donkey once and beckoned to us.

We gathered around, several flashlights illuminating the donkey’s back. It was panting heavily.

Suddenly, Liang Yue pointed to the donkey’s wound and shouted, “Look! There’s something inside!”

Our gazes were drawn there. The donkey’s back was torn open, and fresh blood was flowing. Something inside seemed to be moving.

Third Uncle used his peach wood sword to prod at the object.

Masu quickly shouted, “Don’t move!”

But he was too late. The sword tip had just touched the donkey when something suddenly burst forth from the wound, swiftly clinging to Third Uncle’s sword and racing up his arm.

Startled, Third Uncle hurriedly shook the sword free. Fortunately, he dodged in time. The creature fell to the ground with the sword but did not attack us. Instead, it darted rapidly into the nearby grass.

Everything happened in a flash, barely a blink of an eye. None of us saw clearly what it was, only roughly judging it looked like a small snake.

We looked at each other. I asked Third Uncle, “Did you see what it was?”

He shook his head, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Damn, didn’t get a good look... seemed like a snake?”

Liang Yue said, “Definitely not a snake. Snakes don’t move like that.”

I nodded. That thing moved straight ahead, almost as if it had legs, not the winding, coiling motion of a snake.

At that moment, Masu stomped his foot in frustration, looking deeply regretful.

“Old Ma, what’s wrong?” I asked.

Masu pointed at Third Uncle. “You reckless old Taoist, I told you not to move, but you did anyway. You let my Earth Jiao escape. Return my Earth Jiao!”

I was stunned. That thing was an Earth Jiao?

I recalled Masu’s illustrated book. Although we hadn’t seen the creature clearly, its shape was quite similar.

Last time, Masu and his group had to go through great trouble to find two Earth Jiaos in the mountains, nearly costing Zhou Zheng and Wen Youyou their lives.

And now, before we even reached Nanliu Village, we had encountered the very Earth Jiao Masu had been seeking. Was this a blessing or a curse? A disastrous start or a good omen?

Third Uncle was somewhat resentful of Masu’s blame: “What Earth Jiao, what Sky Jiao? How is that my fault? Even if I hadn’t moved, with your skills, could you have caught it?”

(The End of this chapter)