Chapter Five: Uncle Jiu

At dusk, they entered the courtyard carrying torches. In the flickering firelight, at the head of the group was a lean man in his thirties or forties. Although his frame was thin, his bones were broad, and as he strode into the yard with a tiger’s gait, his gaze swept the scene with an indescribable intensity and command.

Suddenly, by the fire’s glow, his eyes fell upon the severed head on the ground, and he was instantly taken aback. He squinted for a closer look.

“Third Sister-in-law?!”

He cried out in shock, then quickly turned his gaze to Li Mu, who stood by the carcass of the ox.

“Mu, what happened here? Many villagers said they heard a tiger’s roar just now. What on earth…”

Tear stains still marked Li Mu’s face. He stood frozen for a moment before he looked at the newcomer.

“Ninth Uncle… A tiger came to our house. My mother… it ate her. Uncle Ox was also killed by it…”

“What?!”

“A tiger?!”

“There’s a tiger loose here?!”

Li Mu’s voice was hollow and numb, not loud, yet everyone’s attention was fixed on him, and so every word was heard clearly. Instantly, the villagers outside the courtyard gasped in alarm.

“Where did it go?”

They pressed him with urgent questions.

Li Mu instinctively looked toward the direction in which the tiger fiend had fled.

“The Western Mountain? The tiger entered the Western Mountain?!”

The villagers drew in sharp breaths. The Li family village stood beside the river Ling and the Western Mountain. During the off-season, many villagers made their living between these mountains and waters—fishing, gathering firewood, supplementing their families’ needs.

Now, with a tiger having entered the Western Mountain, it was a matter grave enough to threaten the livelihood of a hundred households.

“Ninth Brother.”

The villagers turned to Ninth Uncle. His expression grew solemn, and he nodded. “I understand. I’ll go and see for myself. But it’s already late. I’ll enter the mountain tomorrow, in daylight.”

Ninth Uncle was the only martial man in the village and naturally confident in his ability to subdue a tiger.

Li Mu, still dazed, snapped out of it when he heard Ninth Uncle would go into the mountain. He hastily called out, “Ninth Uncle.”

“Yes?” Ninth Uncle lowered his head to look at him.

Li Mu hesitated, then whispered so only the two of them could hear, “That’s not an ordinary tiger… it’s a tiger fiend.”

“A tiger fiend?!”

Ninth Uncle was startled, drawing a cold breath. Suddenly, as a realization struck him, he looked sharply at the ox’s corpse beside Li Mu.

“And this too…?”

Li Mu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded gently.

Ninth Uncle inhaled sharply as he gazed at the ox’s body. He had seen this old ox before. Li Mu herded it every day, always riding it to and from the village—he had encountered them countless times. Who would have imagined that this ox was, in fact, a demon?

And now… This ox demon had fought the tiger fiend to the death for Li Mu? No wonder, he thought, no wonder… He had wondered why the house had collapsed. So, it was a fierce battle between two demons that explained everything.

He had heard of wealthy households keeping demons, some of which were so loyal they would fight to the death for their masters. But he had never actually seen it with his own eyes. This time, he had witnessed it for himself.

Countless thoughts swirled in Ninth Uncle’s mind, but at last, he drew a slow breath and said in a low voice, “I understand. But do not spread word of this. I have my own plans.”

The matter of demons was not fit for the whole village to know, lest it cause panic.

Li Mu nodded quietly, then lowered his head once more, gazing at Uncle Ox’s body, saying nothing.

After some thought, Ninth Uncle stood and addressed the anxious, murmuring villagers, “I’ll see to the tiger tomorrow during the day. Until then, no one is to enter the mountain. For now, our most pressing concern is to see to Third Sister-in-law’s funeral. You all know the kind of people Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law were. Third Brother only just passed, and now Third Sister-in-law has been lost as well. Little Mu is still so young. We must all help with the funeral arrangements.”

At these words, the villagers murmured their agreement, each nodding.

“Of course—it’s only right. We’re all one village. If we don’t help, who will?”

The villagers were all willing to help. Though Li Mu’s heart was far from settled, at this moment, he could only rise, bow deeply, and thank everyone.

“Poor child…”

Ninth Aunt, along with a group of women, approached. Seeing Li Mu, her eyes filled with tears as she stroked his head with deep affection.

Li Mu didn’t know how to respond. He simply gazed at Uncle Ox’s body.

“Alas, what has become of the Li San family? Li San only just left us. Little Mu was only beginning to recover, and now a tiger has entered their home…”

“Third Sister-in-law was such a good woman…”

“It’s all fate, that’s all…”

“But tell me, how did the house collapse?”

“The ox was killed by the tiger—during the struggle, it must have crashed into the house and brought it down. The house was old and not sturdy to begin with.”

“Go, get a few people and tidy up the place first. See… how much of Third Sister-in-law’s remains can be found. Such a tragedy—to not even leave a whole body…”

Under Ninth Uncle’s direction, the villagers began to busy themselves, some tidying up the ruined house.

The old woman’s head was carefully wrapped in a scrap of cloth by an elderly villager. Throughout, Li Mu knelt in stunned silence beside the old ox’s corpse. Soon, a few beams were cleared away, but when a villager searched inside, a sudden scream rang out. The man stumbled out, face deathly pale.

From his incoherent account, they learned he had found the remains of Li Mu’s mother.

Remains, indeed—barely anything left but a severed hand and half a foot. Even on those, the marks of the tiger fiend’s fangs were visible.

“She must have been in such pain… so afraid when she died…”

Ninth Aunt wiped her tears. She’d always been close to Li Mu’s mother. In this world, where everyone lived with so little, whenever her old hen laid eggs, she would always bring some over. That showed the depth of their bond.

Thinking of a sick woman, lying in the dim room, waiting for her son to return from herding the ox, only for a tiger to burst in…

How helpless and terrified she must have been in that moment.

At this thought, Ninth Aunt’s tears wouldn’t stop.

A few women came to Li Mu’s side to check if he was injured. After confirming he was unharmed, they stroked his head and wiped their own eyes.

This poor boy—he lost his father three months ago, and now his mother is gone. Even the family’s only ox was killed by the tiger. How will he go on from here?

Their eyes brimmed with pity as they whispered among themselves, away from Li Mu’s hearing.

Ninth Uncle came to Li Mu’s side. He looked at the boy, then at the ox’s corpse, and after a moment’s silence, chose not to speak further. He sought out his wife, said a few words to her, and she nodded.

Returning, he sighed to the still-dazed Li Mu, “The house has collapsed. The village will help you rebuild. Until then, you’ll stay with us.”

Li Mu came back to himself, his eyes dull, but he forced himself to bow to Ninth Uncle. “Thank you, Ninth Uncle.”

“There’s no need for such formality with me… This ox’s body—how do you wish to handle it?”

“Bury it.”

Li Mu’s reply was immediate. Not only would he bury it, but he would erect a tombstone.

This was Uncle Ox.

Ninth Uncle seemed about to speak, but finally just nodded gently.