Dawn pierced the unseen dread shrouding Laoya Village, bringing no warmth.
Without a word, Wang Yan grabbed Li Ke and strode back towards the village, refusing to look back at the dilapidated hut.
They hurried out along the gravel path they'd come in on, disappearing swiftly at the edge of the mountain pass. But the moment they entered the woods, Wang Yan froze.
"This way!" He pointed to an overgrown path climbing through waist-high brush, leading towards a gentler slope of terraced fields outside the village.
His target was clear.
Earlier, descending the mountain, he'd glimpsed a figure alone by a distant, muddy field, slowly cutting mugwort.
The old man moved with the weary numbness of a life crushed by hardship, and crucially – he was isolated. He was the key.
Silently, master and apprentice circled to the ridge above.
Crouching, they observed. The farmer cut a few stalks, then paused, gasping for breath, his wrinkled face etched with sorrow as he gazed at the lifeless village below.
He was perfect – old, simple, burdened with secrets and no one to tell.
Wang Yan straightened his dew-dampened jacket, took a deep breath, and forced a look of "concern" onto his face (a skill honed over years in the countryside).
He slid down the slope, appearing suddenly before the old man.
The man jumped, almost dropping his sickle into the mire. Fear filled his clouded eyes, and he instinctively tried to bolt towards the village.
"Uncle! Don't be afraid! Just passing through!"
Wang Yan called out quickly.
He closed the distance but stopped a few paces away.
Fumbling in his coat, he pulled out a small cloth bundle and carefully revealed two bent, cheap cigarettes – not his usual fare, but precious
"bribes" in these mountains.
"Brother, take one? Calm your nerves?"
Wang Yan offered the cigarettes without
moving closer.
He sighed, sounding weary himself.
"Need a pick-me-up... walked all night, trying to cut through here to the next county for work. Slept rough in that old shack on the other side of the village... nearly scared the life out of me!" His voice held genuine fright, but his eyes were sharp, watching the old man's face.
Seeing hesitation, Wang Yan stepped forward decisively, pressing one cigarette into the man's calloused hand.
He struck a match for his own, taking a deep drag. The harsh tobacco made him cough, adding to his disheveled appearance.
Leaning in conspiratorially, he lowered his voice: "You've seen much in your time... We're from the county... investigation team.
" He glossed over the details. "Came through the pass last night. Something felt wrong! Soon as it was light, we got moving. But this bright day... the village is like the gates of hell, silent as the grave... Surely it's not... ideological trouble?"
He emphasized the last words, his gaze sharp, hinting at "official concern."
The word "ideological" acted like a prybar, cracking the old man's defenses.
"C... Comrade!"
The cheap cigarette trembled violently in Old Man Wang's hand.
His thin lips quivered, fear flooding his eyes. "N... Not ideology, Comrade! It's... it's Old Lady He... she... she came back!" The last words were choked out, almost a sob.
"C... Came back?"
Wang Yan's eyes narrowed.
He moved closer, his voice coaxing.
"Old Uncle, don't panic. We're here precisely to deal with these... superstitious disturbances. Tell me everything, clearly!"
The old man seemed to grasp a lifeline, the word "organization" unleashing a torrent of words he desperately needed to share. He took a shaky drag, coughing violently.
"Half a year ago... Poor Old Lady He!... Sixty-seven, she was. Lost her son young, only had her daughter-in-law to rely on...
Widowed, raised a boy who went off to fight and died... That daughter-in-law! Zhang, her name! A tyrant! Treated the old woman like dirt!
Food? Lucky to get slops and husks! Cold weather, biting to the bone... Zhang said she stank, was filthy... drove the poor soul out to live in the... the woodshed out back! Barely better than a kennel, drafty as hell!"
He plunged into the heart of the tragedy:
"Who knows when she died? Found days later! That stone hut you stayed in yesterday, behind it, by the bamboo grove... that's the shed... The smell... leaked right through the cracks!
That bitch Zhang! Stuffed her own belly, forgot all about the mother-in-law rotting out back!"
His voice rose with anger, then dropped with terror.
"She was scared! Scared witless! Afraid the production team would find out she'd abused the old woman to death... Losing work points would be the least of it... If they held a struggle session... the shame alone could drown her!... She dared not report it! Had to cover it up!" His face twisted.
"Called her brothers – reckless brutes from her mother's family. Right there by the shed... dug a shallow pit themselves... too shallow even for a coffin! Wrapped her in a tattered mat... like rolling up old rags... dumped her in... and filled it quick!"
At the crucial point, the old man trembled violently, eyes wide with horror.
"But when they buried her... that's when the real terror started!... The old woman... clutched something to her chest! A huge black wildcat! Eyes green as grave-fire!
Stiff as a board... claws like hooks... sunk deep into her chest! Couldn't pry them loose! Like they'd grown together!"
He took a frantic drag, fighting the fear. "One lad who helped... Zhou's foolhardy son... told me later... as the dirt fell... he swore he saw... saw those cat eyes... just before the earth covered them... shift... that sickly green light... moved!... I thought he was raving! But then... oh!"
"Barely two months after they buried her..." The old man's voice dropped to a whisper.
"First, the chickens and ducks... vanished! Two from the Zhangs today, one from the Lis tomorrow... found dead in the coops... blood drained, flesh torn! Then cattle and goats... trouble in the pens! Then... then it came for people!"
"A month ago... Old Liu at the village end... remembered late he hadn't boiled the pig feed... went out back in the dark to fetch firewood..."
The voice was barely audible.
"He said... in the moonlight... by the woodshed, near the grave... he saw a figure sitting in that old locust tree!"
"Rags hanging off it... like... like the old woman's grave clothes dug up! The face... half was human... wrinkled, rotten skin... nose sunken... but... the other half! Hairy... black... mouth split wide like a cat's, clear to the ears! And the throat... made this sound...
'Murrr... murrr... murrr...'... not a mating cry, not a death rattle! But the eyes! One... still human... but bulging... pure white, no pupil! The other... green! Like a cat's eye! Just... staring straight at Old Liu!"
The old man's face drained of color.
"Old Liu let out a strangled scream! Pissed himself! Crawled back, scrambled all the way home! Took to his bed... dead in three days! Raving mad... babbling 'Cat-Granny'... 'cat'... 'green eyes'... scared to death!"
He broke down, voice despairing.
"Even the children know now! Old Lady He died too full of hate and bitterness! Her spirit didn't rest! Merged with that black cat's ghost! She's become the 'Cat-Granny'! Comes out every night for revenge! Comrade... save us!"
The old man's tale unfurled like a putrid scroll in Wang Yan's mind: Yin-ghost, tortured death, wildcat, buried alive in rage, corpse fused with cat, green-eyed vengeance... All the pieces clicked horribly into place.
Cat-Devil! The realization struck Wang Yan like a physical blow.
His face turned to ice. He took a deep, steadying breath, fighting the rising tide of dread.
"Old Uncle, we understand. Stay calm, say nothing. We'll find a solution quickly!"
He clapped the trembling shoulder firmly, then grabbed the pale, horror-struck Li Ke, and ran for the village outskirts without a backward glance.
Once safely away from the fields and the old man's sight, deep within a pine forest, Wang Yan slumped against a thick trunk, catching his breath.
"Cat-Devil..."
His voice was hoarse, laden with unprecedented gravity.
"That old family manual was right... This thing is worse than any common corpse-demon! A vengeful spirit of violent death, its resentment taking form, fused with the malice of a dark beast... especially an old cat with a touch of the uncanny! Hatred tangled with death-energy... relentless!
Troublesome, extremely troublesome!" A slight tremor ran through his hand – not fear, but the immense pressure of facing an unknown, terrifying foe.
He shrugged off the worn yellow bundle strapped to his shoulder, unwrapped the layers of oilcloth, and pulled out a book. Its cover was coarse, dark grey fabric, threadbare at the corners.
Three faded characters were inscribed in stark black ink: Book of Evil Spirits.
Excerpt from Book of Evil Spirits concerning "Cat-Devil" (Ancient Text):
Cat-Devil ( Māo Shà)
A vengeful corpse resonates with Yin, influenced by the evil aura of beasts. Often arises from improper burial rites, the corpse exposed atop an ill-omened site, or from sudden, violent death steeped in hatred. When the corpse's Qi erupts, it is seized by the fierce spirit of a Yin-aligned cat, causing mutation.
Form:
Primarily humanoid. Appearance often swollen, putrid, skin covered in malignant sores and black fur. Claws and teeth grow sharp as hooks; extreme danger is signified when fingernails harden into black, blade-like talons. Eyes are aberrant: either one eye becomes a fully feline pupil, or both become vertical slits, glowing green like phosphorus.
Nature:
Ravenously consumes warm blood and living souls. Cunning, suspicious, excels at hiding in shadows, moves with feline silence. Strength surpasses tiger or leopard; body hard as rigor mortis. Fears fire, yet common flames are ineffective. Particularly detests thunderclaps and high-pitched shrieks. Dreads true Yang energy; hides in places of extreme Yin filth (e.g., its grave) during daylight.
Abilities:
Can command lesser beasts like cats, dogs, rats, badgers – using them as eyes, ears, claws. Can exhale a miasmic breath; contact causes flesh to rot and minds to fracture, leading to self-harm. Claws carry corpse-poison; entering the bloodstream, it penetrates the marrow. Victims beyond saving turn into corpse-puppets.
Countermeasures:
Most vulnerable to Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Peach Wood! Pierce its skull with its sharpened point (must penetrate consecutively the Baihui, Qianding, and Xìn points at the crown!). Combine with Pure Yang Talisman Fire (must use cockscomb blood mixed with cinnabar to ignite!). The corpse must be burned to ash. Avoid bronze weapons (attracts the evil). Avoid proximity to water sources (if it escapes into a major Yin-water current, the consequences are dire). Grave peril! Avoid its claws and fangs. Aim to sever the head and burn the remains!
The ancient ink on the page was stark and terrifying. Wang Yan's face tightened further, a vein pulsing at his temple. His eyes, like nails, fixed on the key phrases: "fears thunderclaps and high-pitched shrieks", "aim to sever the head and burn the remains". His fingers traced the rough paper unconsciously.
[Li Ke's First-Person Interjection]
...I sat hugging my knees on a pile of pine needles, not far from Master. My eyes stayed fixed on his back.
I rarely saw him like this... More than serious. His face was ashen, jaw clenched tight. The fingers holding the book... they seemed to tremble slightly.
Turning the pages looked slower, heavier. That book... was it the Book of Evil Spirits Grandmaster mentioned?
Did it hold the way to defeat this "Cat-Granny"? But that look on Master's face... what was it? Was it... panic?
Impossible!
Master was like a stone cliff in my mind, unshakable!
But... if not panic, what was that thing he was desperately holding down beneath his furrowed brow? Was what the book described too terrifying? Or... did even Master doubt we could win?
My palms were clammy with sweat. Master... are you... afraid too?