In the dead of night, a sudden bout of barking shattered the silence of Dafeng Village.
The barks rose and fell, fierce and frantic, gradually moving toward the west end of the village before finally dying down after a long while.
Most of the villagers were already deep in slumber and paid the commotion no mind.
At the Ji Family's home on the west side of the village.
Inside the main hall, a single, bean-sized flame flickered, casting jumping shadows across a gallery of grim, silent faces and adding an eerie, chilling air to the room.
Sitting cross-legged on the heated brick bed was the head of the Ji Family, Ji Qingshan, and beside him, his wife, Ms. Kang.
Standing below and to the left were Ji Liansong of the eldest branch and his wife, Yang.
Seated in chairs to the right were Ji Lianhuai of the third branch and his wife, Mrs. Zhu.
With that, aside from the fourth son, Ji Liantang, who was studying in town, the entire Ji Family was accounted for.
As for the second branch… everyone's complicated gaze shifted downward.
In the center of the hall floor lay a stretcher. On it was a person as thin as paper, so covered in blood they hardly looked human anymore. The sight was particularly gruesome.
Granny Kang's face grew longer and longer, the fire of rage in her chest burning ever hotter.
She suddenly hopped off the heated bed, took a few steps on her small feet, and spat.
"That damned jinx! She was born just to curse me! She's a worthless money pit—couldn't even sell her for a single tael of silver! Now that she's on death's door, I thought I could at least make a bit of money, but the silver I just got my hands on flew away before it could even warm my pocket! I would've been better off raising livestock! At least I could butcher it for meat!"
The more Granny Kang spoke, the angrier she became. She slapped her thigh and began to wail, "What sin did the Ji Family commit to be saddled with such a cursed ghost? My life is so…"
Ji Qingshan, who had been puffing on his pipe, tapped the bowl against the low table on the bed. His tone was unpleasant. "It's getting late. Let's just figure out what to do."
Ms. Kang's other complaints were one thing, but that last sentence was particularly grating.
'How is this a sin the Ji Family committed? Wuan is our second son's daughter, and he had half the Kang family's blood in him. Who knows which family is really to blame for the sin?'
He knew Ms. Kang would throw a fit if he said that out loud, so he didn't pursue the point.
Mrs. Zhu quickly chimed in, "Yes, Mother. She's breathing more out than in. It would be terribly unlucky if she died inside the house."
As she spoke, she covered her nose with her hand, as if she could already smell something foul.
The third son, Ji Lianhuai, let out a yawn while slouching in his seat. "Mother, just make a decision already. It's freezing tonight, and I want to go back to sleep."
The eldest son, Ji Liansong, opened his mouth as if to say something, but his wife, Yang, tugged tightly on his sleeve.
Granny Kang's complaints about her bitter fate were cut short. Looking at the heartless bunch before her, she felt her life was even more miserable.
However, seeing that the entire room was waiting for her to make a decision, she felt a renewed sense of importance. 'This family truly can't function without me.'
She cleared her throat and shot another disgusted glance at the floor.
"What's there to discuss? She was living in the cowshed before, so take her back to the cowshed. Once she stops breathing, we'll roll her in a ragged mat, dig a hole, and bury her."
Ji Liansong could no longer hold back. "Mother, we can't…"
"That's not a good idea," Mrs. Zhu interjected, cutting him off. "The fortune-teller said she's a cursed star of calamity with a tenacious fate! First she jinxed Second Brother to death, then Second Sister-in-law. We saw it with our own eyes. Some in the family didn't believe it at first, but look now! Whichever family takes her in gets cursed; whichever household she marries into is wiped out. We can't even get rid of her! If… if she dies in the family home and is buried in the ancestral grave, I'm afraid it will ruin the feng shui of our entire Ji Family! Not only will our ancestors find no peace, but even us, the living…"
Mrs. Zhu stole a glance at her father and mother-in-law and muttered, "It wouldn't matter so much for us, but Fourth Brother… he's going to be a government official someday…"
As expected, the expressions on Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang's faces changed instantly.
Ji Qingshan managed to remain composed, but Granny Kang, as if her eyebrows were on fire, didn't wait a second before barking her orders. "Eldest! Third! You two, hurry up! Take her to…"
Take her where? They couldn't just dump her outside the main gate; it wouldn't look good with people coming and going.
Through a cloud of smoke, Ji Qingshan coughed. "Isn't there an abandoned, broken-down shack at the edge of the village…?"
The residents of Dafeng Village were concentrated at the southern end and on the eastern and western sides. The northeastern corner, being close to the foot of the mountain, was only sparsely populated with a few households.
The shack had belonged to an old hunter who died last year. Since then, people passing by at night claimed to hear strange noises. Rumors of it being haunted started to spread, and over time, fewer and fewer people went near the place.
Granny Kang slammed her hand on the table. "Take her to the broken-down shack!"
Mrs. Zhu knew it. As long as it was done in the fourth son's name, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished.
Ji Liantang was the apple of Ms. Kang's eye and the most promising member of the Ji Family. At seventeen, he had passed both the county and prefectural examinations to earn the title of child student—a first for Dafeng Village! He had brought immense honor to his elderly parents, and there wasn't a soul in the village who didn't treat them with the utmost respect.
Thus, Ji Liantang had become the most untouchable figure in the family. For years, whatever money the different branches managed to save was all used to support his studies in town.
Mrs. Zhu wasn't actually concerned about Ji Liantang. She was simply terrified by the wretched girl's toxic curse and feared her own family, the third branch, would be next.
'Her two daughters were one thing, but her precious son was also going to study and become an official when he grew up!'
Granny Kang had made her decision, and naturally, no one else had any objections.
Although Ji Lianhuai was reluctant to go to such a sinister place, he rose to his feet unwillingly after Mrs. Zhu urged him on.
Ji Liansong, however, did not move.
"Eldest, are you daydreaming?!" Granny Kang snapped, her voice a roar.
Ji Liansong's face flushed red. He forcefully pulled away from Yang and stammered, "Mother, we… we can't do this. Wan is all that's left of Second Brother's family, and she's still breathing. To just carry her out like this… Why… why don't we get a doctor to look at her? Maybe… maybe she can still be saved…"
"Bullshit!"
Ji Liansong was sprayed with spittle before he could even finish his sentence.
When Granny Kang started cursing someone out, she spared no one, not even caring that she herself was Ji Liansong's mother.
She stood with her hands on her hips, so furious she looked ready to ascend to the heavens in a rage.
"This money pit hasn't earned me a single copper coin, and now you want me to spend our silver to treat her? No way! This is a critical time for your Fourth Brother's Scholar exam! The whole family has to tighten their belts for him. Where would we find spare money to treat a jinx? Usually, you wouldn't make a peep if someone beat you with a stick, so what makes you so righteous now? Easy for you to say! How much do you earn grubbing in the fields all day? You've got that crippled burden at home, too. In the future, this family, your branch—you'll all have to rely on your Fourth Brother!"
Ji Liansong's face turned purple with humiliation. But his mother's words struck every one of his weak spots. He lowered his head, his spine, which had straightened for a brief moment, slumping once more.
No one else in the hall spoke.