"Isn't it just someone stealing pig feed? Why did you have to make such a fuss and drag us all the way here?" Hu Ma thought to himself, feeling both annoyed and amused.
"Yes, it's really scary," said an elderly villager, pulling Hu Ma aside with a serious expression.
"The Dong family is known for raising pigs. They used to have several, all fatter than anyone else's. But now they've sold them all, leaving only one breeding pig. The reason? Every night, someone comes to steal the pig feed. Old Dong, the owner, got so scared he fell ill."
After listening carefully, Hu Ma finally understood the situation.
The Dong family was one of the better-off families in the village, selling several fat pigs to the city every year.
The owner, known as Old Dong for his straightforward nature, had recently noticed that his pigs weren't gaining weight.
Worried as the year-end approached, he decided to check on them one night after feeding them.
To his horror, he saw a dark, shadowy old woman crouching by the trough, fighting the pigs for food.
The sight scared him so much he fell ill.
The next day, when he called the villagers to see, they were equally terrified.
With no other choice, they went to the Red Lantern Guild to ask the old shopkeeper for help.
"This does sound quite strange," Hu Ma mused.
"Did you get a good look at what it was? Could it just be a stray dog from outside the village?"
"No, it was definitely an old woman," the elder said gravely, with several strong young men nodding in agreement.
"It was dark, but we could see it was an old woman, crawling in the pen and fighting the pigs for food. She was so fast, even four or five pigs couldn't outpace her."
One of the men whispered, "I thought she looked a bit like Old Lady Li from the front house."
"Shut your mouth! Your mother's the one who'd fight pigs for food!" another man retorted angrily, and a scuffle broke out.
Hu Ma ignored the commotion and asked an old man leaning on a cane, who seemed eager to join the fight, about Old Lady Li.
He learned that Old Lady Li was the mother of Li Youyin from the front house.
She had passed away several months ago and was buried outside the village.
To suggest that she had crawled out of her grave to fight pigs for food was outrageous—and of course, someone would get punched for saying it.
Besides, they had checked the grave, and it was undisturbed.
After gathering all the information, Hu Ma looked around but found nothing unusual.
He glanced at the wall, where Xiao Hongtang, his little companion, was also staring at the pigpen, equally puzzled.
"Guess we'll have to stay and see for ourselves," Hu Ma thought.
Since the incident happened at night, they would have to wait until then, even if it meant wasting some time.
As they were talking, a pale-faced man emerged from the Dong house, holding a tray of tobacco.
He invited Hu Ma and the others inside to rest.
This was Old Dong, the owner, who had dragged himself out of bed to greet his guests.
Hu Ma followed the elder's arrangements, sipping tea and asking for more details.
As evening approached, the elder had the Dong family prepare some dishes and brought out a jug of wine to treat Hu Ma and his companions.
It was the village's custom to treat those who came to deal with supernatural matters well.
After dinner, Hu Ma asked the elder to send away the onlookers who had come out of curiosity.
His purpose was to investigate the matter and deal with any evil spirits if necessary.
With so many people crammed into the small house, any potential entity might not dare to show itself.
If they waited all night for nothing, it would be a waste of time, and they'd have to stay another day.
As night deepened, only a small oil lamp lit the room, casting faint light that barely reached the door.
Everyone sat in silence, too afraid to speak.
The yard was eerily quiet, as if time had frozen.
"Shouldn't we feed the pigs?" Hu Ma suddenly asked after a long wait.
"If there's no food in the trough, there's nothing to steal."
"Yes... yes..." stammered Mrs.
Dong.
"We usually feed them at night, but I'm too scared to go out now."
Hu Ma couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.
The Dong family raised pigs well because they fed them generously, even at night.
But since the incident, Old Dong had fallen ill, and Mrs.
Dong was too frightened to feed the pigs.
Worried about the pigs losing weight, they had quickly sold most of them.
After a moment of awkward silence, Zhou Datong volunteered, "I'll do it!"
Hu Ma warned him not to linger or use any special techniques, and Zhou Datong agreed.
He went to the kitchen, mixed some bran and cornmeal in a bucket, added some dried vegetables, and sprinkled in a bit of coarse salt.
Mrs.
Dong winced at the sound, muttering, "That's too much..." but didn't dare to stop him.
Zhou Datong poured the bucket of pig feed into the trough and then dashed back inside.
Everyone continued to wait, listening to the sound of the boar happily eating.
Just as they were beginning to think nothing would happen, they heard the boar grunting loudly outside.
Everyone held their breath as a cold wind swept through the yard.
The oil lamp in the room flickered, almost going out, and crows in the old tree outside flapped their wings in panic.
"It's here!" Hu Ma whispered, pressing down Zhou Datong, who was about to rush out.
After giving some instructions, Hu Ma picked up the lantern prepared by the Dong family and stepped outside.
Members of the Red Lantern Guild usually carried red lanterns when dealing with supernatural matters, but Hu Ma hadn't expected to stay this late.
The shopkeeper wanted Hu Ma to gain more experience, so he hadn't advised bringing a red lantern this time.
The yellow paper lantern cast a dim light, barely illuminating the ground.
Everyone followed Hu Ma out, tiptoeing closer to the pigpen.
Sure enough, a dark shadow was crouched by the trough, devouring the food.
The boar, pushed aside, grunted in frustration.
The sound of the creature gnawing on the vegetable roots sent chills down everyone's spines.
It was so focused on eating that it didn't seem to notice Hu Ma and the others approaching.
Hu Ma glanced around, making sure everyone was in position, then suddenly shouted, "What kind of evil spirit is this, so lowly as to steal pig feed?"
The old woman in the pigpen was startled and darted toward the gate.
But as she reached it, Zhou Datong appeared, holding a torch and grinning menacingly.
He swung his knife and shouted, "Where do you think you're going?"
The old woman, startled, turned and scrambled toward the west wall.
Before she could climb over, Zhou Liang appeared and spat a burst of yang energy at her.
The creature flipped mid-air and landed back in the yard, then tried to climb the east wall into the neighbor's yard.
But Zhao Zhu was already there, holding a manure fork and aiming it at her face.
The old woman-like creature darted around the yard in a panic, the cold wind swirling around her.
It was clear this was no ordinary human.
But with all escape routes blocked, it suddenly charged toward Hu Ma.
Hu Ma, who had come from the main room—the most human-populated area, which evil spirits usually avoided—was now the only option.
To the creature, Hu Ma seemed like the weakest link.
In the dim light of the yellow lantern, the elder and the Dong couple saw a pale, sickly face with remnants of pig feed around its mouth.
Its eyes rolled back, and it lunged toward them, causing them to scream and nearly faint.
But Hu Ma stood firm, the lantern in his hand steady.
He raised his left hand, still bandaged, and pressed it against the creature's forehead.
A surge of yin energy flowed into his hand, threatening to invade his body.
But Hu Ma had been waiting to test his new skills.
He withdrew the vitality from his left hand, stopping the yin energy in its tracks.
Then, with a flicker of the furnace fire in his abdomen, he channeled a burst of yang energy through his left hand, sending the creature flying.
"Wow, Brother Hu Ma has gotten so strong!" Zhou Datong exclaimed, emerging from the gate.
Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, who had jumped down from the walls, were equally shocked.
They hadn't seen Hu Ma use a knife or a wooden sword, yet he had effortlessly sent the creature tumbling.
Meanwhile, curious neighbors who had been waiting all night lit torches and rushed toward the house.
The surge of human energy from all directions seemed to terrify the creature, which curled up into a ball.
Just as the yard was fully illuminated by the torches, the creature let out a hoarse, desperate cry: "Heaven above... The pigs get food at night, but I have nothing to eat..."
The cry sent shivers down everyone's spines.
The creature then collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
After a stunned silence, someone shouted toward the Li family, "Old Li... That's not your mother... That's your wife!"
(End of Chapter)