Chapter Thirty-Four: The Young Lady

“This… this is my home.” Pointing to a half-open little wooden door in a shadowy corner, Little Tuan Tuan raised her head, clutching at the edge of her clothes, her expression timid as she spoke.

Li Yang stepped forward and pushed open the door. Instantly, the stench of decay assaulted him, causing him to frown deeply.

“Ugh… cough, cough, cough…” Madam He involuntarily retched, then burst into a coughing fit so severe that tears welled up in her eyes.

The cramped, damp hut was utterly airless, without even a single window. In one corner stood a small bed; beyond that, there was only a makeshift stove assembled in the opposite corner of the room. It was difficult to imagine how this grandfather and granddaughter had managed to survive in such conditions.

Beside the stove, an old man lay motionless on the floor, clutching a battered kitchen knife in his hand. The stench arose from his body.

Upon closer inspection, Li Yang saw that the old man’s face was grossly swollen, and it was clear he had been dead for some time. There was a wound on his back, nearly the size of a bowl, livid and blackened, oozing thick, inky pus, from which that overwhelming stench emanated.

Madam He stood at the door, gazing at the old man on the floor. Unable to bear the sight, she turned her head away with a pained expression.

“Little Tuan Tuan, you said your grandfather was bitten by a vicious dog. What kind of dog could inflict a wound like this?” Li Yang crouched down and examined the wound carefully. Around it, there were indeed signs of gnawing, but such deep marks clearly were not made by an ordinary dog. Judging by the force and the violence of the bite, it was more akin to the work of a large, wild beast, like a lion or a tiger.

“Grandpa… sob… Grandpa was bitten by Auntie’s big black dog next door.”

“That night… Grandpa and I were cooking at home, and we forgot to close the door. The vicious dog ran in from outside, trying to bite me. Grandpa fought it off with a kitchen knife, but then it bit… bit Grandpa. I was too little and couldn’t pull it away. After biting Grandpa, it ran off.” As she looked at her grandfather lying on the ground, Little Tuan Tuan began to cry, her voice choked, recounting the events in broken phrases.

“You say that dog belonged to the house next door?” At this, Li Yang sensed something was amiss. Normally, a dog raised by humans would not behave so savagely. They’re long familiar with the scent of people; even if they were aggressive, they wouldn’t attack so violently, let alone rush into someone’s home unprovoked.

“Yes… I saw that vicious dog a couple of years ago. It was fierce, but after that, I never saw it again. Grandpa said it was an old dog and forbade me to go near it.” Little Tuan Tuan thought for a long while before hesitantly replying.

“Come and look at this!”

A low, guttural clucking sounded.

Li Yang pondered her words for a while but still had no clue. He released the Fury-Jing Chicken, which circled the old man a few times before letting out a low cry, as if it had sensed something.

“Heaven clear, earth bright, grant me divine sight: Borrowing the Method!”

The information that flashed through Li Yang’s mind was too vague to decipher the Fury-Jing Chicken’s intentions. He could only form a hand seal and, borrowing the chicken's vision, peer at the old man’s wound. Faintly, he saw a mist of dark green vapor seeping from the wound.

“Demonic energy!” The moment he saw it, Li Yang’s pupils contracted. He turned toward the house opposite, where, on the roof, similar traces of that demonic aura lingered.

Could it be this was a deliberate murder, a demon dog set upon the old man?

As the saying goes: “The old in age become spirits; the old dog, cunning.” Usually, even a house dog that has turned demon would not attack humans. Raised by people since its youth, such a dog would have long been accustomed to human scent and, as its intelligence grew, should even help people—unless its master incited it.

“Little Tuan Tuan, do you know who lives in the house next door? What was your grandfather’s relationship with them?” Li Yang gently patted her head as he asked.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” At this, Madam He, braving the stench, nervously stepped inside, her voice tinged with concern as she watched Li Yang’s expression.

He shook his head, signaling it was nothing, and turned his attention back to Little Tuan Tuan.

“No… Now it’s just Auntie living there. Grandpa never let me play at her house. Every time I got close, he’d scold me…” she murmured.

“This is rather odd,” Li Yang muttered under his breath, gazing thoughtfully at the tightly closed door across the way.

Just then, Little Tuan Tuan suddenly seemed to recall something. “Once… I think I overheard an auntie say that the auntie next door used to have a husband, but he became paralyzed. They also had a child, but the child disappeared. That auntie even called Aunt Lotus a harlot…”

“Big brother… what’s a harlot?” In her wide, innocent eyes was pure curiosity. Li Yang coughed awkwardly and replied, “Um… ‘harlot’ is a bad word. Little Tuan Tuan, you mustn’t learn bad things, all right?”

“Oh! Then I’ll always listen to what my big brother and aunties say, and never become a harlot!”

“Pfft… cough, cough, cough…” Li Yang choked instantly, clutching his chest and coughing, but seeing Little Tuan Tuan’s pure face, he couldn’t bring himself to say more.

“You deserved that… Little Tuan Tuan, remember to call her ‘sister’ in the future, not ‘auntie.’” Casting a flirtatious look at Li Yang, Madam He’s cheeks flushed. She crouched down, pinched Little Tuan Tuan’s cheek, and spoke gently.

“You stay here with Little Tuan Tuan. I’ll go check next door.” Patting Madam He on the shoulder, Li Yang rose, closed the rickety door behind him, and walked to the house opposite.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who is it?” After a long moment, a voice sounded from within. The door was slowly opened by a young married woman, perhaps thirty, with strikingly attractive features.

She had a graceful figure, curves in all the right places, and a lovely face, though it was pale and weary, her eyes ringed as if from exhaustion and indulgence. There was something odd about her, for beneath her human presence lingered traces of demonic aura.

“Who are you looking for?” She frowned, her willow brows knit in confusion as she regarded Li Yang.

“I’m Little Tuan Tuan’s distant cousin from across the way. I came to visit my great-uncle, but instead of seeing him, I ended up having to arrange his burial. Do you know what happened? Have there been any wild beasts around here?” Li Yang’s gaze burned into her, searching for any flicker of emotion.

Sure enough, a trace of panic flashed in her eyes; her expression tightened.

“No… I don’t know anything about it. You should ask someone else. I have matters to attend to, so please excuse me.” With that, she hurriedly closed the door.

There was clearly something wrong here. Even if she had not instigated the old man’s death, she was almost certainly involved.

Li Yang fixed a long look at the tightly shut door, then glanced at the darkening sky. He decided that, come midnight, he would slip inside to discover the truth.