The issue with Ma Laosan's wife was resolved, and the next day, someone found the body of Ma Laosan's wife that my father had discarded in the back mountain. However, her body no longer had the terrifying appearance it had the night before—her fangs were gone, and the sharp claws were no longer present. She had turned back into an ordinary corpse and was reburied by Ma Laosan.
That night, the commotion at our house was huge. The air was filled with ghostly howls and all sorts of strange noises, but no one dared to come out to see what was happening, mainly because the sounds were too terrifying. Even Ma Laosan suspected that his wife's spirit might have come for a visit, but he didn't dare to ask about it, and so the matter was left unresolved.
Three days later, I woke up, but I had a high fever for several days, leaving me dazed and delirious, which frightened my parents and grandfather greatly.
During the fever, I often saw a beautiful white fox in my mind, lying quietly. It had eight white tails, and occasionally, its eyes would open, though it appeared weak.
Because of the fever, my grandfather even went to the town hospital to ask Liu Pozi about my condition.
Liu Pozi reassured him, saying the immortal spirit inside me had always been very weak. It had been nurturing inside my body, and this time, it had manifested to save me, hurting its essence in the process. Since I shared a dual soul with this immortal spirit, when it was weakened, I would also feel weak. She assured him I would recover in a few days.
Grandfather was doubtful, but when I finally recovered after a few days of high fever, he began to believe her words.
After my recovery, I didn't crave blood as much as before and could eat other food. This change greatly relieved my family, as they thought this might be a blessing in disguise.
When I was first born, I was hard to look at—fox-like face, covered in white fur, and sharp little teeth. Now, over three years later, the previous features had disappeared, leaving only my blood-drinking habit, which had greatly improved.
My parents and grandfather didn't have high expectations for me, just hoping I would grow up healthy and survive. But in their hearts, everyone still carried a heavy burden—both Wu Banxian and Liu Pozi had said that I was destined for calamity, with a trial every three years where either I would die or someone else would. It felt like an inescapable curse, burdening every member of the family.
It's worth mentioning that after the incident with Ma Laosan's wife, the yellow weasels and foxes still occasionally came to our house in the middle of the night, bringing wild food, but it wasn't as frequent as before, perhaps because my thirst for blood wasn't as strong.
After I turned three, everything seemed to return to normal, and I grew up just like any other child, healthy and strong.
However, I was still regarded as a freak by the children in the village, and no one would play with me, making me feel incredibly lonely.
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was six years old. I had become a very sensible child, often helping my family with chores.
This led my family to believe I had become a normal child, especially since, as I approached six, I completely stopped drinking blood and ate regular meals like everyone else.
Sometimes when my parents went out to work on the farm, they would take me with them instead of leaving me alone at home.
Whenever this happened, a group of foxes and yellow weasels would suddenly appear, gathering around me.
In our area, the yellow weasels and foxes were considered spiritual creatures. Most people treated them with respect and fear, keeping their distance.
But I had no fear of them; I felt a natural bond with them. The yellow weasels and foxes weren't scared of me either. They would lie around me in a circle, allowing me to pet and play with them. Even when I accidentally hurt them, they didn't bare their teeth at me. Only when my parents returned would they scatter and hide.
Those yellow weasels and foxes became my best playmates in childhood.
Although I seemed completely normal over the past three years, my grandfather still worried about the fate that awaited me every three years.
The day before my sixth birthday, my grandfather personally went to Thirty-Li-Pu to find Liu Pozi, planning to invite her over to help me with the calamity of turning six.
Over the years, Liu Pozi had maintained contact with our family, and every year, my parents would visit her, bringing gifts, since she had lost an eye to save us.
Liu Pozi had no children of her own, as her spouse had passed away early, leaving her alone.
In fact, Liu Pozi had several children in the past, but none of them lived past the age of three.
Because Liu Pozi had saved our entire family, my grandfather had instructed my parents to treat her as if she were their own mother, showing her the utmost respect.
With my sixth birthday approaching, my grandfather wanted to prepare in advance, worried that something unexpected might happen.
Unfortunately, the very day he left, trouble came to our home.
The incident started with the Zhang family, a prominent family in the village. There were five brothers, and the fifth brother, who had come of marriage age, decided to build a new house and marry. Without consulting us, he took our plot of land used for growing vegetables.
Upon hearing this, my father went to confront Zhang's fifth brother. A quarrel broke out, and before long, they started fighting. Though Zhang's fifth brother was young and strong, he was no match for my father, who had been trained in martial arts and boxing by my grandfather, a former soldier.
Zhang's fifth brother was beaten, and by the afternoon, he returned with several of his brothers to seek revenge, attacking my father in our courtyard.
As the saying goes, "Two fists cannot defeat four hands," and soon my father was knocked to the ground. Zhang's fifth brother was the most vicious, almost breaking a shovel with his strikes.
My mother went to stop them, but was pushed to the ground, crying helplessly.
At six years old, seeing my father being beaten, I rushed over, and without thinking, I bit Zhang's fifth brother on the leg.
Zhang's fifth brother howled in pain, cursed me a freak, and slapped me to the ground.
As I lay on the ground, my face burning with pain, I suddenly saw several yellow weasels and foxes appear on our courtyard wall, their eyes full of hatred, glaring at Zhang's fifth brother.
The last time I was struck was also in a similar situation, with Ma Laosan's wife.
My bloodied father, seeing me being slapped, was overcome with rage. He struggled to rise and rushed inside the house, grabbing my grandfather's large machete…