The moment I heard Master Ji’s voice, Flower and I both got up. Flower nudged the door open with her mouth, and I darted out ahead of her, bounding out the door. “Master Ji, you… you finally made it!” Only then did I realize the sky was already darkening. “You little rascal, you almost wore out my telephone lines. Do you think I wouldn't hurry over?” Master Ji chuckled. “Not at all, I wanted to invite you over for a drink. It’s been too long since the two old men shared a drink!” I said, taking hold of Master Ji’s arm. Master Ji gave me a look of profound inscrutability. “A drink? This drink might not taste very good!” My heart skipped a beat. Did Master Ji seem to have an ulterior motive in his words?

I didn't have time to ponder it further and ushered Master Ji into the house.

As soon as Master Ji entered, he froze for a moment upon seeing Qin Bing'er. “Oh! A rare guest today.” His face immediately filled with puzzled surprise, his sharp, bright eyes sweeping over Qin Bing'er’s face, causing her to blush and lower her head shyly. Seeing Master Ji’s expression, I inwardly wondered if this old fellow, at his advanced age, was suddenly afflicted by the same weakness as us rough young men when encountering a beauty.

While Master Ji was greeting the others in the room, Qin Bing'er quietly leaned close to my ear. “Is he the master you were talking about? His eyes are terrifying! They make my skin crawl!” I nodded, got a cup for Master Ji, and was just about to pour wine when suddenly, there was a loud CRASH outside, as if something heavy had been knocked over. The sudden noise startled everyone inside. Flower was the quickest; she shot out the door in an instant, and immediately, fierce barking erupted outside.

I followed her out, confused. Hearing Flower’s frantic barking, I assumed someone had arrived and was about to tell her to stop when I suddenly caught sight of a person in a blue cloth shirt flashing past the edge of the threshing floor before vanishing. “Lao Ya?” I cried out in horror.

The people inside heard my shout and rushed out. “Who were you just calling? Lao Ya?” My father asked, shaking my shoulder in panic. “I think so, I didn’t see clearly!” My eyes were fixed on the spot where the person in the blue shirt had disappeared, and I muttered the words.

“Heavens! Why would he come back? Didn’t you just invite him for a drink?” Father said, stamping his foot.

“Look at Flower! What is she doing over there?” My mother suddenly shrieked.

Hearing my mother’s cry, the others noticed Flower, her rear end up in the air, her head buried deep in a clump of peony bushes by the edge of the threshing floor. She would occasionally let out soft whimpers and then pull back to bark fiercely. Because the sky was nearly dark and a light rain had begun to fall, we couldn't see what Flower was doing in those peonies. My father urgently told my mother, “Hurry and turn on the eaves light!” My mother, flustered, ran to switch on the light, and the threshing floor was instantly illuminated.

In the very instant the electric light came on, a gigantic toad sprang out from the peony bush. Flower was startled, stumbling several steps back, cocking her head, tensing her body, and staring intently at the massive toad.

“Good grief! How can there be such a big toad! I’ve lived sixty or seventy years and never seen one this enormous!” Old Man Wenshu also stamped his foot and exclaimed.

That toad was the size of a small millstone. Its entire body was covered in black pustules that made one nauseous just to look at them. Its skin was mottled black, and its hind feet were as large as the palm-leaf fans my father made himself. Most toads have white feet, but this one's were a terrifying blood-red. Its skin from its forehead down to its belly was the pale white of a corpse. Its belly was bloated and round, dragging on the ground for a good portion of its length, looking as transparent as a pig’s bladder fully inflated, as if it were about to burst. Its grotesque, ugly mouth was wide open, its blood-red tongue stretched out nearly a foot long. Its two eyes, like copper bells, were also an eerie, blood-red, shining with a soul-stealing glare, staring unblinkingly at Flower.

Flower had stopped barking fiercely and was emitting a chilling, low growl from her throat. Seeing the monstrous toad staring at her, she dared not attack rashly, instead circling it at a distance of about a meter. The monstrous toad followed her circle. Because of its massive, cumbersome bulk, every time it shifted its body, it had to push out with its large, fan-like feet, making its movements sluggish. However, its two strange eyes remained locked on Flower’s movements, allowing no slack.

Seeing the toad’s movements, Flower increased her speed, circling the toad faster and faster. Her sharp teeth flashed white, drops of saliva dripped from her blood-red tongue onto the ground, the black fur on her body stood on end, her short, thick tail wagged incessantly, and the growling from her throat grew louder.

The monstrous toad, sensing Flower’s quickening pace and fearing a sudden attack, also increased its speed of circling. However, it was no longer moving by simply planting one foot; after Flower had completed half a circle, it would powerfully leap backward, its eyes still locked with Flower’s. When the toad jumped, it didn’t rise high; its enormous belly scraped along the cement ground with a squeaking sound. That noise grated on the ears, making one’s teeth ache.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, watching the dog and the toad circle each other on the threshing floor, no one speaking, no one moving. Meanwhile, the rain began to fall harder, large drops hitting the cement ground and splashing up huge white bubbles. "One drop, one bubble; the real storm hasn't arrived yet"—clearly, a much heavier downpour was imminent.

Flower circled the monstrous toad for countless rotations but never found an opportune moment to attack. She suddenly stopped, shook her head, swiftly turned, and began circling the toad in the opposite direction. The toad, already tired, its belly contracting and expanding, was caught off guard by this maneuver. It abruptly halted its momentum, pushed hard off its hind legs, and flipped a full one hundred and eighty degrees in mid-air, its two blood-red eyes fixing tightly on Flower’s movements again. The red light in its eyes grew denser; it seemed Flower’s provocation had filled it with rage and growing anxiety.

Seeing the toad’s reaction, Flower ceased circling in only one direction, sometimes turning half a circle clockwise, then half a circle counter-clockwise. While circling, she would occasionally lunge fiercely toward the toad, only to quickly pull her head back. Just as Flower’s gaping jaws seemed about to meet its body, the toad would suddenly recoil, jumping back two steps, and flicking its blood-red tongue toward Flower, ready to counterattack at any moment.

By this time, the rain was pouring down in sheets, as if the sky had broken open. The sky was completely black. The eaves light illuminated the threshing floor, and milky white mist rose from the ground, with thick pooling water already forming on the cement. The dog and the toad remained locked in a standoff in the rain, occasionally kicking up large sprays of water. By the light of the lamp, I vaguely saw that the water around the monstrous toad was as black as ink. Looking closer, I realized the black liquid was seeping out from the tips of the black pustules on its body, winding down its disgusting crevices, and flowing into the rainwater on the ground.

Flower apparently realized the danger of the black water and dared not step into it. When the black water neared her paws, she suddenly leaped aside, her mouth wide open, the growl in her throat deeper and more urgent.

“Wife, hurry and find me a raincoat and straw cape!” My father, seeing this, shouted to my mother, worried for Flower's safety, intending to rush out into the rain to help her.

Hearing the call, everyone else snapped out of their shock and began clamoring for weapons, preparing to surround and attack the monstrous toad. In the chaos, I fumbled for a beating stick, about to ask Master Ji what on earth was happening, only to find he hadn't followed us out.

“Master Ji, what is going on here?” I shouted to Master Ji inside the house.

“Yingying, keep an eye on that ugly frog… The young lady and I are staying inside!” Master Ji called loudly from within.

Hearing Master Ji’s voice, I noticed Qin Bing'er hadn't come out either. This was strange. If Qin Bing'er was afraid of the toad and dared not leave the room, that was understandable. But Master Ji, claiming to be a "master," had seen far more incredible things; how could he be afraid of a mere toad? Something was amiss.

My mother, in her haste, couldn't find the raincoat and cape, making my father stomp his feet in agitation. Just as he was about to charge into the rain bare-headed, Man Niao Niao, standing nearby, grabbed him. “Brother, look!”

It turned out Flower was no longer circling the monstrous toad. The area covered by the black water on the ground was spreading, and the black pustules on the toad’s body were now gushing out clumps of ink-black water as if their vessels had burst. Flower had been forced back to a distance of more than three meters from the toad.

Seeing no opportunity, Flower's ferocity erupted. Seeing my father about to rush into the rain, she suddenly retreated a few steps, her calf-like body shaking violently, the rainwater spraying off her like bullets. Flower lowered her head, pawed the ground twice with her front feet, bent her hind legs, tensed her body, and then—like a drawn bow suddenly released—she lunged toward the staring toad with lightning speed.

The monstrous toad, seeing Flower charge, let out a loud “Croak!” and suddenly stood upright in the rain. Its belly stopped contracting; instead, it swelled even more, and the skin under its neck puffed out to the size of a basketball. The blood-red light in its eyes suddenly shot out with intense brilliance. Seeing Flower about to pounce, the toad suddenly opened its mouth and spat a cloud of red bloody mist directly toward Flower’s head. Illuminated by the electric light and mixing with the white mist rising from the rain, the bloody cloud was horrifying to behold.

Flower couldn't stop her momentum. Her head, covered in bristling fur, was completely enveloped in the bloody mist. Startled, we all cried out from under the eaves: “Flower! Danger!” We snatched up whatever we could find, ready to charge into the rain.

“Don’t move! That black water is highly poisonous!” Master Ji’s face suddenly appeared at the window lattice, his eyes peering through at the scene outside. He suddenly yelled at us, “Wait and see what happens first!”

Hearing the shout, those outside stopped and refocused on the situation on the threshing floor. At that moment, Flower and the monstrous toad had locked together. Flower’s front paws were pressed firmly against the toad’s body, her blood-red mouth wide open, exposing sharp teeth glinting coldly, as she strained to bite the toad’s neck. The toad fought back fiercely, its fan-like feet thrashing in the water, splashing up great sheets of spray. It pressed its ugly head hard against Flower’s, its blood-red tongue occasionally flicking out, attempting to lick Flower’s eyes.

The position of the dog and toad locked together was utterly bizarre. The toad was standing upright, its short, thick front legs clamped around Flower’s head, while Flower’s front paws pinned the toad’s head down. Her fierce mouth strained toward the toad's neck. Perhaps the toad possessed considerable strength, as Flower’s plan failed repeatedly. Meanwhile, the black sewage on the ground was already encircling Flower’s hind legs.

Flower’s head moved side to side like a drill, trying to clamp down on the toad’s neck, but she failed to anticipate the toad’s sudden tongue strike. With lightning speed, the toad’s tongue swept across Flower’s head in a swish. Where the tongue passed, a patch of raw, white flesh was exposed on Flower’s head, a sight that made us gasp in horror.

Having been tricked, Flower became even more ferocious. She kicked hard with her hind legs and clamped her jaws onto the toad’s neck, shaking her head violently in a frenzied tearing motion. However, although the white skin around the toad’s neck looked as if it should tear with a simple poke, Flower’s sharp teeth could not penetrate it. Realizing the situation, Flower sat back, using her strong waist to hoist her head up with difficulty, and forcibly yanked the giant toad more than three meters away from the ground. The toad cut through the water mist, crashing heavily against a large rock by the edge of the threshing floor. It tumbled a few times, ended up belly-up beside the rock, its four legs flailing uselessly.

After such violent exertion, Flower seemed drained, staggering as she walked. By the light of the lamp, we saw blood beginning to ooze from the spot where the toad’s tongue had touched her head. Her hind leg, which had been soaked in the black sewage, was also swollen.

Flower paused briefly, panting heavily, and swayed drunkenly toward the monstrous toad to launch a second attack. But then, Flower suddenly stopped moving. We watched as the toad suddenly sprang up from the ground with a push of its back, landing prone. Its eyes shot out an eerie red light, fixed tightly on Flower’s eyes.

Seeing the red glow in the toad’s eyes, a profound sense of sorrow suddenly welled up in my heart. I had only felt this feeling when my grandparents passed away. The sound of the drizzling rain and Flower’s whimpering seemed to recede from me.

Just then, the electric light abruptly went out, plunging my vision into darkness. That strange feeling of sorrow vanished instantly. Through my blurred vision, I saw Flower charge toward the toad like lightning, lower her head, and bite down on the toad’s neck again.

The light suddenly flickered back on, revealing an even more dramatic scene.

The red glow in the toad’s eyes had dimmed considerably, and its imposing aura had weakened. Held fast in Flower’s jaws, it was slamming itself against the large rock by the edge of the threshing floor, striking it repeatedly. With every impact, black water shot out of the pustules like arrows, splashing onto the rock, only to be instantly washed away by the rain.

Flower braced herself on one front paw while using the other to rake violently across the toad’s belly. After a few scrapes, the toad’s belly BOOMED and burst open, spewing a cloud of bloody mist mixed with streaks of black water all over Flower’s body and face. Flower paid it no mind, plunging her front paw into the toad’s ruptured belly and swiftly dragging out its entrails, scattering them across the ground. The monstrous toad let out a final, mangled “Croak!” and gradually stilled.

Seeing the monstrous toad nearly dead, Flower staggered toward us.

Master Ji shouted again: “Don’t let it get away!” We looked and saw that the toad had faked its death. As soon as Flower moved away, it slowly began to crawl up, dragging its shattered insides, attempting to crawl back toward the peony bushes. Flower turned to pursue it and finish the job, but with a THUD, she collapsed into the rain. My father cried out in alarm and rushed toward Flower. Master Ji quickly stopped him: “Don’t touch it! I can save her!”

Seeing the toad nearly reach the peony bushes, and noticing that the black water on the threshing floor had been completely washed away by the rain, Man Niao Niao and I disregarded the torrential downpour and sprinted toward the toad. We spotted a pile of granite stones by the edge of the floor, so we each grabbed one and slammed it down hard onto the slowly crawling toad. The toad let out a strange cry as blood, black water, and white slime erupted from its body. Still worried, we grabbed several more stones and buried the toad completely under the rubble.

“Yingying, come inside! Sister-in-law, hurry and scrape some soot from the pot and dig up some thousand-foot mud!” Master Ji’s face was still pressed against the window lattice. Seeing that Man Niao Niao and I had neutralized the toad, he commanded loudly.

My mother hurriedly did as Master Ji instructed. I ran into the room and gasped. Qin Bing’er was sitting on a chair, her face the color of pale gold, having fainted. Master Ji had one hand pressed tightly against her forehead. Seeing me enter, Master Ji quickly extended his other hand and touched my forehead. I felt a rush of heat instantly surge into my head. Before I could understand what was happening, Master Ji told me: “Put your hand on this girl’s forehead, and absolutely do not let go!” Although utterly bewildered, I had no time to think about why; I did as he said. Seeing my hand was in place on Qin Bing’er’s forehead, Master Ji emphasized not to let go before rushing hastily out the door.

I looked down at Qin Bing’er. I checked her breathing; she had only fainted, but her complexion looked terribly wrong. I was lost and didn't know what to do, so I could only wait for Master Ji to save Flower.

I pressed my face against the window lattice and watched the scene outside through the openings. Master Ji took the soot and the thousand-foot mud from my mother’s hands, mixed them into a thin paste with the rainwater on the ground, and meticulously smeared it all over Flower. The others had found rain gear and gathered around Master Ji, watching him work tirelessly on Flower’s body.

The so-called "soot from the pot" was the black residue scraped from the bottom of cooking pots, and the "thousand-foot mud" was the dirt from under the threshold. Since the floor in our old home was not cement, years of foot traffic at the threshold had formed mud clumps the size of eggs—that was the thousand-foot mud.

After Flower was completely covered in soot and mud, she stood up shakily after about two or three minutes. My father was overjoyed and gave Master Ji a thumbs-up. “Master, you truly are profound…” Master Ji interrupted, “Flower is fine now. Take her inside, wipe her clean, and check for any other injuries. If there are any, just sprinkle some pulverized medicinal pills on the wounds!” Then he walked back to look at the monstrous toad buried under the stones, nodding thoughtfully.

Seeing the situation outside stabilized, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Qin Bing’er. Suddenly, my mind reeled, and I shouted: “Master Ji, hurry here!”