Chapter 65: This Venerable One’s Story Is Super Bad

Having spoken to this point, Mo Ran smiled again before he

continued, "A long, long time ago, there was a small child."

Chu Wanning's eyes were closed. "Wasn't this about an ox grazing?

What's with this kid?"

"Let me finish." Mo Ran grinned. "Once upon a time, there was a

small child who was very poor and who didn't have a mom or a dad. He was

a child laborer in the household of a landlord. He had to wash dishes, wash

clothes, and wipe the floors, and he also had to take the ox out to graze.

Every day, the landlord's household gave him three pieces of flatbread to eat,

and the child was very happy that he could fill his stomach.

"One day, he took the ox out to graze as always. On the road, they

bumped into a mad dog that bit the ox's leg. Because of this, the landlord

unsurprisingly gave the boy a sound beating. After the beating, the landlord

made the boy go kill the mad dog to vent his rage. If the child didn't, the

landlord threatened not to give him his flatbread.

"The child was very scared and could only follow orders, so after he

beat that mad dog to death, he brought it back. However, when he came

home, the landlord discovered that the dog that bit his ox's leg was actually

the beloved pet of the county master."

Chu Wanning opened his eyes. "And then what?"

"What else could they do? That dog was the county master's favorite,

and due to its master's position, it was used to having its way and being a

bully. Who could have imagined it would be beaten to death like that? If the

county master were to find out, he wouldn't just let it go. The more the

landlord thought about it, the angrier he became, so in the end, he didn't give

the child his flatbread. He even threatened to hand the child over if the county

master came looking."

"What is this mess? So unreasonable. I'm not listening to this

anymore."

"Lots of things are unreasonable to begin with." Mo Ran laughed. "It's

all a matter of who has more money, whose fist is tougher, and whose

position is higher. The next day, the county master indeed came knocking and

the child was handed over. But because he was so young, it would've been

unbecoming for the county master to lock him up, so he was flogged ten times

and released."

"And the child ran away after that, right?" Chu Wanning asked.

"Ha ha, he didn't run away. The kid returned to the landlord's

household, recovered from his injuries, and went back to tending the ox for

them. He was still getting three flatbread a day."

"Wasn't he mad?"

"As long as his stomach was full, he couldn't be mad. A sound beating

is just a sound beating. After it's over, it's over. Things were peaceful for

over a decade. By that point, the oxherd boy had grown up. One day, when

several esteemed guests came to the landlord's house, the landlord's son—

who was the same age as the oxherd—saw one of the guests had brought a

particularly beautiful agate snuff bottle. He took a liking to it, so he stole it.

"The snuff bottle was an heirloom and extremely precious. The guest

was quite panicked and looked all over the house for his possession. The

landlord's son realized that he wouldn't be able to hide it anymore, so he

stuffed the snuff bottle into the oxherd's hands and told him that if he dared to

tell the truth, they would never feed him again and he would starve to death."

Having listened to this point, Chu Wanning was at a complete and utter

loss for words. He found himself thinking that although Mo Ran had been lost

at a young age and hadn't been able to grow up with his family at Sisheng

Peak, at the very least he had grown up at a pleasure house where his mother

was the madam. Even though it couldn't have been the happiest of times, it

wouldn't have been miserable either. So why were all the stories he made up

so gloomy and sad?

Mo Ran went on, quite enjoying himself, "The snuff bottle was soon

found. The oxherd could only brace himself and take the blame so that he

would continue to have food to eat, and naturally, what followed was another

viciously sound beating. This time, they beat him so badly that he couldn't get

out of bed for three days.

"The landlord's son got away with it all, so he secretly snuck a

steamed bun stuffed with marinated pork to the oxherd. The oxherd wolfed it

down and stopped resenting the landlord's son, even though he'd harmed

him. He'd never tasted such a delicacy before, so as he held the bun, he kept

saying, 'Thank you, thank you.'"

"I'm not listening anymore." This time, Chu Wanning was actually

aggravated. "How could he stop resenting him? One steamed bun and all is

forgiven? And thanking him too! What was there to thank?!"

Mo Ran blinked innocently. "No, you're not listening carefully."

"How am I not?"

"That steamed bun was stuffed with marinated pork," Mo Ran said

with a grave air.

Chu Wanning was flabbergasted.

"Ha ha, look at your face! You don't understand, do you? Usually that

kid only got his hands on a scrap or two of fatty meat on New Year's Eve. He

had thought he was going to die never knowing the taste of marinated pork, so

of course he'd thank whoever gave him some."

At the sight of his little shidi stumped speechless by his words, Mo

Ran smiled brilliantly. "Either way, this incident passed just like that. The

boy still collected his three daily flatbread, and time went on. One day…"

Chu Wanning was by now familiar with the pattern of Mo Ran's tales.

The moment "one day" was uttered, nothing good could follow.

Sure enough, Mo Ran said, "One day, the landlord's son committed

another crime. This time, he violated a girl at the neighboring mill, and

coincidentally, the unlucky oxherd came upon the scene."

"And that child is going to take the blame again?" Chu Wanning asked.

"Aiya." Mo Ran laughed. "That's right. Congrats, congrats! You know

how to tell stories now too."

A pause. Then, "I'm going to sleep."

"Nooo, I'm almost done. This is my first time telling someone a story,

so grant me some face, will you?"

Chu Wanning fell into a disgruntled silence.

"This time, the oxherd definitely had to take the blame, because the

girl, unable to take the humiliation, had committed suicide by way of bashing

her head into the wall. But the oxherd wasn't dumb. He knew that whoever

took the fall would have to pay for this with their life, and there was no way

he was going to give his up for the sake of the landlord's son. However,

when he refused, the landlord's son locked him and the dead girl inside the

mill and ran off to report it to the authorities.

"This oxherd already had a troubled history. When he was young, he'd

randomly beaten the county master's dog to death, then later he'd stolen a

guest's snuff bottle, and this time, he'd sexually assaulted a common girl.

Naturally, he could not be absolved of his crimes. No one was willing to

listen to him explain himself. He was caught red-handed with all the

evidence, so he was arrested."

Chu Wanning eyes went wide. "And then?"

"And then he stayed in jail for a few months. When autumn came, he

was sentenced to death, to be hung at the execution platform outside the city.

As he followed along the execution procession winding through the fields, he

suddenly saw someone about to slaughter an ox not far in the distance. He

could tell at a glance that the ox was the very same one he'd been tending

since he was young. Now that it was old, it didn't have the energy to plow

the fields, but it still needed to graze. However, if it only ate and performed

no labor, what use was it to the landlord? It had plowed fields for them its

whole life, but in the end, they were going to butcher it and eat its meat."

Even as he spoke of this cruelty, Mo Ran wasn't sad. He still smiled.

"That oxherd had grown up riding on the back of that ox, and he had told it

many of his secrets, had fed it hay, had hugged its neck and cried when he'd

been wronged, and taken it for his only family in this world.

"So he knelt down and begged the executioner to let him go bid

farewell to the ox. Of course, the executioner didn't believe there could be

any such attachment between man and beast, so he thought the boy was only

trying to pull a trick and didn't allow it."

"And then?"

"And then? And then that oxherd was hung to die. The ox was

butchered. Hot blood flowed all over the ground, and those who gathered to

watch the show dispersed. That night, the landlord's household ate beef, but

the beef was old and kept getting stuck in their teeth. They ate a little, didn't

like it, and dumped the rest."

Chu Wanning was once again speechless.

Mo Ran flipped over, smiling happily at him. "There, it's done. How

was it?"

"Get lost," said Chu Wanning.

"Hey, the first time I made this up for myself, I cried. You're so

heartless. You're not even gonna cry a little?"

"You suck at telling stories…"

Mo Ran laughed a bit and put his arm over his little shidi's shoulder to

pat him on the head. "Well, that can't be helped. Your shixiong is only so

talented. All right, the story's done. Let's sleep."

Chu Wanning didn't acknowledge him, but after a long time, he

suddenly said, "Mo Ran."

"Call me Shixiong."

"Why is the story called 'Ox Eats Grass'?"

"Because just like people, an ox has to eat. If you want to eat, you have

to do a lot of work. If one day you can't work anymore, then no one will care

if you're alive or if you're dead."

Chu Wanning stopped talking again.

From the yard outside there came the muted voices of those seeking

refuge, and every now and again, an ominous cry or two from ghosts and

demons outside the barrier.

"Mo Ran."

"Aiya, so cheeky. Call me Shixiong."

Chu Wanning ignored him and asked, "Did that child really exist?"

"Nope." Mo Ran was quiet for a moment, then he suddenly smiled, his

dimples deep and charming. He squished the little kid into his arms and said

warmly, "I made it up to tease you, obviously. Be good. Go to sleep."

Yet unexpectedly, before long there was a sudden commotion in the

yard.

Someone was shouting angrily, "Are you still trying to see the gongzi?!

The gongzi is busy—who has the time to attend to your business? Toss that

corpse aside! Don't you know that the ones with blue dots will rise?! Are

you trying to get us all killed?"

This voice was like thunder in the middle of a dark night, and the

moment the prospect of a rising corpse was mentioned, there was an uproar.

In a flash, everyone who had been asleep was sitting up and looking toward

the commotion.

Mo Ran shielded the little shidi behind himself and glanced over,

frowning. "Hm?" he said in a low voice. "Isn't that the guy from earlier?"

The individual who was kneeling and being berated was indeed that

youth named Xiaoman, whom they'd met when they arrived. He was still

wearing the close-fitting clothing from earlier, but his behavior was entirely

different.

It was as if his entire person had been emptied out. He could do

nothing but cling tightly to the dead body of his adoptive father. The corpse's

nails had grown significantly, a sure sign that a corpse would rise. When the

others saw this, they all backed away.

The head steward was scolding him sharply. "Your father was my

colleague—I also feel terrible that he was killed. But now what? You were

the one who cried for food last night, so he went out to find food for you. You

dragged your dad to his death, and now you want to drag us there too?"

Xiaoman was kneeling on the ground, his hair wholly disheveled, and

his eyes were red as he sobbed. "N-no, I'm not… Dad. Daddy. Please, I beg

you, let me see the gongzi. The gongzi has a way to stop my dad's corpse

from rising. I want to bury him properly. Please, I beg you all, don't…don't

dismember him…" By the time he uttered the word "dismember" he was

choking on his sobs. He buried his face in his palms and wiped messily at his

trembling lips. "Please, I'm begging you… Let me wait until the gongzi

comes back…"

"It's going to be midnight soon and the gongzi is out, so how can he

possibly attend to your wishes? You know that normal corpses can still be

purified, but your dad's got those blue spots and his nails have already

changed. How can he hope to hold out until the gongzi gets back?"

"No… He can, Uncle Liu… I'm begging you, I'll do anything. I-I'll

think of a way to repay you after. Please, I beg you, just don't touch my

daddy… I beg, I…I beg you…"

The middle-aged steward let out a long sigh at his pleading, the rims

of his eyes also turning red. Even so, he replied, "I can't do that for you, not

when it would cost everyone else their lives as well. Guards!"

"No! Don't!"

It was too late. No one would help the boy. Everyone knew that if this

corpse was left intact, then when midnight came, it would inevitably turn into

a ferocious spirit.

The corpse of Xiaoman's adoptive father was forcibly dragged away

to be dismembered outside. Several people held the boy back, and his bitter

tears flowed furiously, sullying his whole face as bestial howls escaped his

lips. In the end, he was still half pulled, half dragged away into the distance.

Once this storm had passed and after some muttered whispers, the yard

returned to its peaceful quiet. However, Chu Wanning did not fall back

asleep. He lowered his head pensively.

Mo Ran glanced sidelong at his little shidi. "What are you thinking

about?"

"That person lost his father, then did something terribly foolish. Then,

on top of that, his father's body was wrested from him. Of course he'd resent

everyone. I can't be sure, but I suspect that he was the one who botched

Lin'an's migration."

"I think so too," Mo Ran replied without missing a beat.

Chu Wanning shook his head. "It's too early to tell. We can't make any

conclusive claims yet. Let's just keep an eye on him for now."