Gao Ming obtained a lot of important information from Chun Niang. Elder Tang had a birthday celebration every year. Each year, he became scarier. The servants and villagers all had something to ask from him. They were slowly swallowed by him until they couldn’t leave the Tang Residence anymore.
He stole the stone lions and the woman from the Water Dragon King. He used the villagers’ lives to trade for copper coins and joss sticks. Elder Tang was a rich man. He did so many horrible things, but he enjoyed a great life. The villagers knew Elder Tang was worse than an animal, but they would bring presents when it was his birthday. Even a tester like Tang Hu would do anything to endear himself to Elder Tang. He was even worse than the local villagers.
“Since greed can’t be killed, then nothing can be done to Elder Tang. The villagers know Elder Tang’s weakness, but who can really kill him? No one! He cannot be killed!” Chun Niang thought about what had happened to her. Hatred caused her to oscillate between rationality and madness. “No. You are also lying to me! All of you are lying to me! Crushing this whole village is impossible!”
“I can prove it to you!” Gao Ming didn’t think Chun Niang would spiral out of control so suddenly. Whenever she was reminded of her past, she would lose her mind. The rotten body slammed into the bed. The curtains in the room wanted to wrangle everything alive in the room.
“Liars! All of you are liars! I will not trust you again!”
“Give me a chance to prove myself!” The fishtail swept over. Gao Ming barely evaded it. If the tail hit him, he would be crushed.
“Die! Those who lie to me will die!” Chun Niang slammed around her recklessly. The room trembled, but the fragile-looking windows and doors remained intact. The room was probably imbued with some kind of power, so Chun Niang couldn’t escape.
Gao Ming jumped around, and he didn’t use his knife. It was not because he was afraid of harming the beauty but because the butcher was right outside. He was scared that drawing blood with the blade would introduce new unstable factors.
Several minutes later, the smell of rot in the room intensified. Chun Niang’s action slowed. Gao Ming also noticed something was wrong. Chun Niang’s fish body was pierced by chains. There was a golden lock on her fish stomach. Whenever she moved, the chains would injure her.
The wrinkles on her face instantly disappeared. Her lips became full and alluring again. She pushed away the pot and looked at Gao Ming. Chun Niang was once the prettiest woman in town. Men wanted her body, and the women wanted her face. Then, she was sacrificed to the River God and became a monster. She had seen all kinds of looks from people. However, she had not experienced a look similar to that of Gao Ming’s before. He was not captured by her beauty or repulsed by her ugliness. He really wanted to empathise with her.
“I’ve been tricked by many people. Those villagers who sacrificed me to the River God gave me so many grand promises.”
“Trust is one of the most precious things in the world. Once it is broken, it’s hard to regain it.” Gao Ming somehow survived. He didn’t think he could persuade Chun Niang, but Chun Niang suddenly changed her mind.
“You were right. That’s why I don’t care for promises. I want to see what you’ll really do.” Chun Niang’s hatred was hidden away. She became charming once more, “Didn’t you say you’d kill the entire town for me? If you dare to enter the ancestral hall to the north, take out the plaques under the altar table and burn down the hall, I’ll listen to your every order in the future.”
“What do you need the plaques for?” Gao Ming felt that Chun Niang wanted more than just revenge. She might have been an innocent girl in the past, but that was gone after she was sacrificed.
“The town ancestral hall has been taken over. No one knew who did it. No one dares to speak up. You will be doing a good thing.” Chun Niang smiled. The trace of the mad woman from earlier was gone.
Burning the ancestral hall meant making enemies of the whole town. Gao Ming temporarily didn’t have that plan.
“Never mind. I knew you were lying to me.” Chun Niang looked around. “It’s too hard to expect you to burn down the ancestral hall. I’ll have you do something else. I have a golden lock on my stomach. The key is in the hidden room behind Elder Tang’s birthday hall. If you get me the key, I can help you with three things.”
“Yes. A golden key.” Chun Niang told Gao Ming. “One favour for three. No matter what, you’re getting a good deal.”
“Okay. I’ll give it a try.” Gao Ming nodded. He didn’t believe in promises but he believed in history. Chun Niang didn’t like the villagers. He could make use of that.
“Go on. I’ll try my best to help you.” Chun Niang leaned close to Gao Ming. Her scary body followed behind. “I’m just realising how much more handsome you are compared to Tang Hu. I’ll give you a set of clothes I’ve once worn.”
The curtains moved. A muslin shirt covered in fish scales and blood landed in Gao Ming’s hands.
“Take this. It can be your sheath to hide the blade from the butcher’s detection. My clothes are far better than that annoying sheepskin.”
“Thank you.” The shirt was thin. Gao Ming removed the sheepskin and wrapped the blade in the shirt. The crying from the sheepskin stopped. Gao Ming sighed in relief. He walked to the window and poked open a hole.
The butcher was at the Tang Residence, but Elder Tang didn’t show up. They didn’t have a conflict as Gao Ming had hoped.
There were two voices in the butcher. The sharp voice was consoling the other voice. To prevent conflict, he even said he had carried a birthday present to participate in Elder Tang’s celebration.
“Fuck you! Why would I do that? If I don’t murder his whole family, my surname is not Zhu!”
“Elder Tang, ignore me. I have taken over Manager Wang’s business. I’ll have to depend on you in the future.”
“Nonsense! I’ll kill all of you!”
The butcher was a creature of conflict. He was like a bomb that could explode at any time.
“This is strange. I’ve heard the butcher and Elder Tang’s voices, but I have not seen either of them in person.” Gao Ming was waiting for a chance. The later the night, the more chaotic it would be.
“Hai Shi Er Geng! Close the doors and windows. Be careful of thieves!”
As Gao Ming readied to turn back, the old night-watcher’s voice came from the north street.