"Shhh..." The village chief raised an index finger to his lips, signaling everyone to watch but remain silent; disturbing the spirits was a grave offense. Seeing the chief's expression, the villagers immediately ceased their hushed whispers and stood mute, intently watching Zhang Da Xian's trance-like behavior.

In short order, the apples were consumed. He seemed a bit weary then, slumping back in his chair and stifling yawns. Suddenly, with a whoosh, the oil lamp and all the candles extinguished. In the instant the light inside the house vanished, plunging everyone into absolute darkness, Zhang Da Xian spoke: "A beast has killed." Those in the room froze, trying to grasp the meaning, but Zhang Da Xian fell silent again. The room became profoundly still. One minute passed, then two... still no sound from inside. Just as everyone was growing anxious, the lamp inside the room relit—it was Zhang Da Xian's assistant who had managed to strike a flame. Only then did they notice Zhang Da Xian leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, the candles and incense having burned down entirely. Zhang Da Xian let out a grunt, shook his head, stood up, and turned toward the altar. After a moment of worship, he reached under the inverted bowl on the altar and pulled out a slip of paper. Everyone was stunned, watching his every move. They had all clearly seen the inverted bowl moments ago, empty, yet now a slip of paper materialized. They waited breathlessly for its contents—would it name the murderer? Zhang Da Xian glanced pointedly at the village chief, who understood the cue and stepped forward from the crowd.

"Here," Zhang Da Xian said, handing the slip to the chief.

The chief smiled, accepting the paper from Zhang Da Xian's hand, and nodded once. "Good." He held it in his palm, and two men, with great reverence, unfolded the note. Written in neat, formal script was a single character. The chief cleared his throat before announcing, "A beast has killed!" The words stunned everyone; hadn't the Great Immortal just proclaimed this while possessed? Fearing disbelief, the chief passed the note around for the villagers to examine. Most villagers, holding it right-side up or upside down, took only a cursory glance; the majority couldn't read anyway—they were just there for the spectacle!

"If you can't read it, don't make a fool of yourself," another villager snatched it. "Xuantian Niusheng, what sort of..."

"You're no better!" It was snatched away again.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The chief waved his hands, calling for an end to the passing around. "Give it here, give it here." The chief wrestled the paper back from the villagers. "You hand it over! You'll tear it to pieces!"

The villagers chuckled softly...

"What does the chief mean?" a villager asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't get it, tell us."

"This, this..." The chief peered closely at the character on the paper.

"Chief, what does it mean? What 'Tian' or 'Niu'?" a villager pressed.

"Right?"

"I don't understand, tell us."

"This, this..." The chief scrutinized the characters again.

"Chief, you don't know either?"

"Right?"

"What do you brats know!" the chief pointed at the younger men, exclaiming, "All you know is how to chatter nonsense all day!"

"The chief doesn't know either."

A burst of laughter followed.

"Stop teasing now," the chief clapped his hands, bringing a measure of quiet back to the room. He walked over to Zhang Da Xian and asked, "What does this mean?"

"It's an allusion," Zhang Da Xian took the paper back, frowning slightly. "It means you should look closely!"

"Xuantian Niusheng," the chief repeated slowly. "This means the killer."

"I understand! Either someone surnamed Tian did it, or someone surnamed Niu did it. Everyone is here today; whoever did it, step forward and confess!" the chief demanded loudly.

"I'm not surnamed Niu, nor am I surnamed Tian."

"I'm not surnamed Niu either."

"You're done for, you're surnamed Niu!"

The villagers murmured amongst themselves...

"Chief, Chief," Zhang Da Xian gently tapped the chief's shoulder and whispered, "These four characters are meant to be read together."

"What? Together?" The chief turned back, looking at the Great Immortal with surprise. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"I assumed you already knew," Zhang Da Xian replied, looking at the chief.

"Piece 'Xuan Tian Niu Sheng' together and look," Zhang Da Xian instructed, pointing at the paper for the chief. "Below the character 'Xuan' is 'Tian,' and to the right of 'Niu' is 'Sheng.' Put together, it clearly spells 'Beast' ()."

"So, what did the Great Immortal mean?"

"Just that a beast killed someone! I suspect a wild animal has visited this mountain. Everyone be careful recently," Zhang Da Xian finished with a smile.

"I see now!" Village Chief Zhao nodded.

"Let's go..."

"Let's go..."

The villagers filed out of Sister Hu’s house one by one...

"You truly went through a lot of trouble," the chief patted Zhang Da Xian's shoulder.

"Not at all!" Zhang Da Xian smiled.

"Come to my place tomorrow; we old friends will share a drink," the chief said while collecting the oil lamp.

"Good," Zhang Da Xian replied, gathering the items from the altar.

"Chief, Great Immortal, thank you for your trouble," Big Sister Hu approached them. "For my sister's matter, you've been running back and forth."

"It's nothing, we are neighbors after all," the chief assured her.

"That's right!"

Soon, everything was packed, and the chief and Zhang Da Xian left Hu's house.

"Chief, Great Immortal, walk slowly."

"No need to see us off; go back inside," the chief waved his hand.

"Those two children are pitiful..."

Zhang Da Xian let out a low sigh.

As they spoke, a sudden gust of wind blew out the oil lamp the chief was carrying for light.

"I have a light," Zhang Da Xian pulled out a box of matches from his pocket.

"The wind is too strong; lighting it would be pointless; the wind would just blow it out," the chief shook his head.

"I'm going in," Zhang Da Xian opened his own gate.

"Dinner tomorrow," the chief called out to Zhang Da Xian, who was heading toward his courtyard.

Zhang Da Xian grunted an acknowledgment and went inside...

The next morning, bright and early.

"Help! Village Chief Zhao, Village Chief Zhao, hurry and help!" Zhang Shan, a young militiaman from the village security post, vaulted over the fence of Chief Zhao's yard and landed inside.

"You startled me." Chief Zhao, wearing his robe, came out just as he opened the door and ran right into Zhang Shan standing outside. "What is it?"

"N-n-not good!" Zhang Shan said, his expression dazed. "Something happened."

"What is it?" His elderly wife emerged from the inner room.

"Something happened, something happened," Zhang Shan repeated frantically.

"Go on back in," Chief Zhao glanced at his wife, who had just stepped out of the inner room.

His wife retreated back inside...

"What happened?" Chief Zhao asked.

"M-my brother is in trouble."

"What is it? Tell me quickly."

"He, he was attacked by a wolf."

"A wolf?" Chief Zhao frowned. "Where would a wolf come from around here!" (Nowadays, villagers hunted frequently; the wolves on the nearby hills had long been wiped out. Where would a wolf be? Wolves still roamed the deeper mountains.)

"It's on the front hill!" Zhang Shan tugged at Chief Zhao.

"What? The front hill?" Chief Zhao froze upon hearing this. The front hill was right ahead of the village, not far from Chief Zhao's house. Forget a wolf, there wouldn't even be a snake there. Chief Zhao snapped back to reality and quickly asked, "Are you sure?"

"Hurry, Chief Zhao, if you don't go now, it'll be too late!" Zhang Shan pulled at the chief.

"Let's go," Chief Zhao rushed toward the door, but then stopped after two steps. He spun around, grabbed the hoe leaning against the wall, and shouted, "Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou!"

"Hey!" Xiao Zhou poked his head out.

"Come on, something happened; there's a wolf on the front hill."

"A wolf?"

"A wolf! Quickly!"

Xiao Zhou responded and ran out. Zhang Shan led the way, and within minutes they reached the edge of the front hill. Near the brush, they spotted some bloodstains. The deeper they went, the clearer and more numerous the stains became. "Ah!" Xiao Zhou couldn't help but cry out. A head—a head with wide-open eyes—lay among the tall grass. Chief Zhao, Zhang Shan, and Xiao Zhou were all terrified by the sight...

"Brother..." Zhang Shan cried out and rushed forward.

"This..."

Not far from the head lay a body. The clothes were shredded, the belly ripped open, and the intestines scattered everywhere, leaving only a section of bone behind...

"Brother..."

"What happened?"

"Brother..." Zhang Shan sank to his knees, weeping loudly.

"This..."

"My brother and I were walking here..." Zhang Shan choked on a sob and continued, "As soon as we reached this spot, I saw a figure in the woods. The figure saw us and immediately ducked behind a tree. Zhang Mao thought it was strange and followed, and then we heard a strange sound."

"What sound?" Chief Zhao asked, staring at the horrific scene.

"I... I'm not entirely clear." As he said this, Zhang Shan's face instantly paled, and he became visibly tense. "But it sounded really unsettling. Then we heard a woman's voice." Zhang Shan became noticeably more nervous when mentioning the woman...

"A woman?"

"Yes, a woman's voice," Zhang Shan stopped sobbing and stared fixedly at Zhang Mao's corpse. "We both heard it clearly!" As he spoke, Zhang Shan suddenly leaped to his feet and shrieked like a madman, "It's a demon, it's a demon!"

"What nonsense are you talking of in broad daylight?" Chief Zhao clapped Zhang Shan on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Tell me slowly what happened; I'll back you up, I'll back you up!"

"It's a demon, I heard it clearly." Zhang Shan grabbed Chief Zhao's arm and shook him violently. "He's coming, he's coming."

"Don't be nervous?"

"Tell me slowly?"

"Who is coming?"

"The demon is coming!"

"Weren't you two attacked by a wolf?"

"Yes, a wolf, it seemed like a wolf," Zhang Shan stammered, his expression shocked and his words disjointed.

"It's alright, don't be nervous." Chief Zhao looked at Zhang Shan, then turned to Xiao Zhou. "Go back and find a few people to..."

Xiao Zhou muttered an "Oh" and ran back to the village.

"A wolf, no..." Zhang Shan remained in a state of shock. "Yes, right when we heard that strange noise, we were both terrified and didn't dare chase further. We quickly retreated. Just as we turned around, we heard a rustling sound behind us—'hush-hush-hush'—right where we saw that dark shadow." Zhang Shan gasped for breath. "Yes, right there, something suddenly sprang out and rushed straight toward us! My brother and I were stunned silly when we saw it, and we turned to run down the mountain. I don't know what was wrong with the thing, but it kept chasing us, as if it knew us. When we got to this spot—yes, right here," Zhang Shan pointed shakily at the ground—"my brother was suddenly tackled, and I ran back to the village."

"Hurry up, they're just ahead."

Just then, Xiao Zhou returned with several villagers...

"You few go take a look," Chief Zhao pointed toward the route Zhang Shan described the 'wolf' taking and directed the younger villagers to search. He then gestured toward the older villagers. "Take Maozi..."

"It wasn't a wolf, no..." Zhang Shan seemed completely unhinged. "It was a wolf, a wolf, a demon..."

"You two, help Da Shan back first."

The two villagers nodded.

"Chief Zhao, the bite marks don't look like a wolf's, do they?"

"I'm wondering myself! How could a wolf have such strength to snap a neck?" Chief Zhao took a hard pull from his pipe.

"But judging by the tooth marks, it should be a wolf," one villager offered.

"Right? Where did a wolf come from around here?"

"True. I haven't seen a wolf in years."

"Yes..."

By this time, several villagers had wrapped Zhang Mao's body in a white cloth.

Chief Zhao tucked his pipe into his sash. "Back to the village..."

"Chief Zhao, we didn't find any wolf tracks!"

"Yes, not even a shadow of a wolf."

Chief Zhao gave a soft "Oh," furrowed his brow, and turned to look at Zhang Da Xian, who was lighting incense.

"Da Shan said he heard strange sounds and saw a dark shadow in the woods. What do you think..." Chief Zhao leaned in and whispered to Zhang Da Xian.

"Impossible. Do you doubt my magic?" Zhang Da Xian inserted the incense stick and turned back. "Besides, didn't the answer the spirits gave us last night prove itself today? A beast killed. It was a wolf!"

"This..." Chief Zhao stopped short, unsure what to say.

"Rest easy," Zhang Da Xian assured him.

"I heard that Xiushui Village next door had a haunting recently—a hopping corpse. Do you think it could be that evil thing?"

"Unlikely. It's broad daylight. And Maozi was clearly attacked by a wolf. Da Shan's mind is clearly muddled, babbling nonsense. Why would you believe him?"

"That's true," Chief Zhao nodded.

After dealing with Zhang Mao's matter, everyone dispersed...

The people of the mountain village lived their lives peacefully. Three days passed quickly. Then, everyone noticed one thing: Zhang Shan had vanished. Since the night his brother died, he hadn't reappeared. Everyone knew he had gone mad and wandered off somewhere unknown.

Village member Xiao Zhou was returning from gathering firewood on the mountain when he slipped on a steep slope, instantly tilting toward the incline. His instinct was to pull back, but his hand slipped, sending his bundle of firewood tumbling down the slope until it snagged on a patch of dense weeds below. Xiao Zhou quickly crouched and slid down the slope, grabbing the firewood and pulling hard. The wood caught on the weeds. Xiao Zhou pulled back and forth a couple of times before the wood finally came free. As Xiao Zhou climbed back up the slope, he increasingly felt something snagged on his load. He turned back and saw a piece of torn cloth. Looking closer, he realized something was wrong—there were bloodstains on the fabric. He quickly dropped the wood and looked again, and his heart gave a sudden lurch. He cried out, "Mom!" A leg, a leg, was caught on his firewood—more precisely, the shoelace of a leg was snagged on a protruding branch of the firewood. Xiao Zhou screamed and scrambled back up the slope in a flash, running straight back to the village. Soon, the villagers arrived. In that patch of weeds, they saw a corpse. The body was mutilated; the hands and feet were severed from the body...

"Isn't this Da Shan?" a villager asked.

"Yes, it's Da Shan!"

"How is he here?"

"A wolf, he must have been attacked by a wolf," Chief Zhao stated after glancing at the body.

"What should we do?"

"Two people eaten by wolves in just a few days."

"Chief, think of a solution."

"Alright, alright, alright," Chief Zhao stomped his foot, signaling for quiet, and spoke loudly. "First, take Da Shan's body back and give him a proper burial. Tomorrow, I'll request militia support from Chief Tian in Xiushui Village, and then every household must send one person. We'll go hunt these wolves! We'll go back tonight to prepare weapons and set out first thing tomorrow morning. We will turn this entire forest upside down if we have to, to kill these damnable wolves..."

"Good..."

"Kill these hateful wolves..."

"Right..."

"Kill..."

The next morning, everyone climbed the mountain together, carrying the weapons they had prepared. They formed a long line, spaced ten meters apart, and proceeded in a grand search across the front hill. Soon, the entire front hill had been scoured, but they couldn't find so much as a wolf hair, let alone a wolf...

"Chief Zhao, what now?" a villager asked.

"Keep going!" Chief Zhao waved his hand, and the group pressed on.

The sunlight soon slanted, casting long shadows across the land. The entire day passed. They searched several hollows and gullies, but still no sign of a wolf. Discouraged, they began walking back...

"Chief Zhao, bad news!" A villager ran up to him as soon as they entered the village.

"What is it?" Chief Zhao hurriedly asked. "What happened?"

"Sun Yinong, he, he's in trouble."

"Where?" Chief Zhao's heart sank upon hearing someone else was hurt. "Hurry and take me there!"