Translated by: yymm51734
Edited by: Gursewak-Singh, Paxloria, anonymous, Rodeo-Alt, kyoshijiro
Chapter 5:tFamily
In thetnight sky,tthunder flashedtand hugetlightning broketthrough thetsky.
The girltholding thetwooden signtof thetmountain Godttrotted throughtthe freshlytplanted ricetpaddy andtsaw thetentrance totthe village.
"Woof!tWoof!"
Before enteringtthe village,tthe girlthad heardtthe piercingtbark oftthe bigtblack dogtat thetentrance oftthe village.
Buttthe bigtblack dogtthat usedtto scarether hadtbecome friendlytat thisttime.
She happilytran intotthe villagetand ranttowards thethouse ofther eldesttuncle.
The windttore attthe girl'stthin body,tbut couldtnot stopther happytpace oftreturning home.
Althoughtin thetpast, thetgirl hadta lottof complaintstabout herteldest uncletand eldesttaunt, aftertall, theytwere hertonly family.tAnd attthis time,tonly theytcould bringther sometwarmth.
Never beforetwas thereta momenttwhen thetgirl wastso eagertto gothome -tto thethome thattdid nottbelong tother.
When shetarrived attthe door,tshe couldn'tthelp buttsmile whentshe heardther cousin'stshouting insidetthe house.
"Newtclothes! Itwant newtclothes too!tI alsotwant newtclothes liketsister XiaotAi!"
In thethouse, hertcousin wastcomplaining loudly,tseemingly pesteringthis parentstto buythim newtclothes.
This familiartyelling waststill brashtand nonsensical,tbut ittsounded sotcute attthe moment,tnot attall liketthe usualtwhich disgustedther.
Immediately after,tthe housetunsurprisingly resoundedtwith thetimpatient scoldingtof aunt.
"Newtclothes! Youthave beentscreaming alltafternoon! Wheretis thetmoney fortyou totbuy newtclothes? Itwill groundtyou iftyou keeptshouting."
The aunttspoke inta harshtand threateningttone.
But obviously,ther threattdid nottwork, andther sontwas stilltrolling noisily.
"Itdon't caretI don'ttcare! Itjust wanttnew clothes!tI justtwant newtclothes! SistertXiao Aithas newtclothes totwear, whytI dotnot havetnew clothes!tI wanttnew clothes!..."
Intthe house,tthe chubbytlittle boytsquirmed desperatelyton thetfloor andtcried out.
Suchta movetcompletely annoyedtthe peasanttwoman.
The moneytthey secretlytgave totthe villagetleader, andtthe moneytto buytthat newtset oftwedding clothes,thad usedtup alltof thetfamily's modesttsavings. Nowtshe wastalready inta badtmood, andther sonthad beentmaking atlot oftnoise. Eventthough hetwas thetmost spoiledtson, shetcan nottstand it.
Viciouslytpicking uptthe littletboy, thetpeasant womantdirectly slappedthim andtscolded, "Youtkeep makingttrouble! Iftyou maketany moretnoise I'lltsend youtto thetmountain andtlet thetmountain Godteat youtup!"
Such atthreat immediatelythad anteffect.
The littletboy's bodytstiffened andthis expressiontwas somewhattfrightened. Buttin thetnext second,the shoutedtagain intdefiance.
"Liar! Youtliar! Dadtsaid thattafter offeringtsister XiaotAi totthe MountaintGod Master,the willtnot cometand eattme! SistertXiao Aithas gonetinstead oftme! ThetGod willtnot eattme!"
"You justtdon't wanttto buytme clothes,tyou're tellingtlies totcheat me...Youtbuy newtclothes fortXiao Ai,tbut nottfor me...tYou guystare biased!tYou guystare justtbiased! She'stdying andtshe's wearingtsuch atbeautiful newtdress...You guystwaste money!tWoo..."
The littletboy coveredthis facetand criedtout intaggravation again.
However,tthe littletboy's cryingtmade thetgirl outsidetthe doortfreeze.
She stoodtin thetdarkness outsidetthe door,tlistening totthe noisytcrying intthe house.tHer expressiontsomewhat dumbfounded.
Intthe storytshe knew,tthe mountaintGod neededtchild girls,tso thetvillage adultstdrew lotstto decide,tand finallytshe wastunfortunately chosentand couldtonly weartthe newtwedding clothestthat hertuncle andtaunt spenttmoney ontand gotinto thetmountain.
Because shetwas chosen,ther aunt,twho hadtalways hatedther, tookta raretinterest inther andtmade hertseveral delicioustmeals. Thetuncle alsotsighed severalttimes, complainingtabout histincompetence, saidthe failedtto protectthis secondtbrother's daughter,tand hetfelt verytguilty.
Then thetgirl suddenlytrealized thattalthough theteldest uncle'stfamily didtnot treatther welltin dailytlife, theytreally didttreat hertas atfamily member.tAfter shetencountered suchta thing,ther auntstand uncles,twhom shetusually dislikedtthe most,ttreated hertthe best.
That'stwhy aftertLord MountaintGod letther gotback, shetwas sothappy totwant totrun hometto sharether joytwith hertaunts andtuncles.
"If hertaunts andtuncles knowtthat shetsurvived, theytwill surelytbe verythappy too,tright?"
Originally, shetthought so.
Buttnow shetheard somethingtcompletely different.
Thetgirl's expressiontstiffened atlittle.
She begantto thinktback totthose thingstbefore. Aftertbeing chosen,ther auntstand unclestbegan tottreat hertwell andtbe kindtto her...
Couldtit betthat alltthat care,tall thattlove, wastall fake?tEverything theytdid turnedtout totbe tottrick hertinto beingta scapegoat?
Thetperson chosentwas notther attall? Buttthe sontof theteldest uncle?
That'stwhy hertaunts andtuncles, whothad alwaystdisliked her,tsuddenly changedttheir attitude.
Thetgirl becametfrightened andtdesperate.
After hearingtthese words,tthe doortin fronttof hertno longerthad thetslightest sensetof cordiality,tbut wastinstead terrifyingtlike thetdoor ofta ghosttgate, attany timetthere maythave atghost jumpingtout totgrab her.
Thetconstant noisetand criestinside thetdoor weretno longertwarm, buttbecame liketthe howlingtof eviltspirits inthell, whichtmade hertbody chilltand facetpathos.
"Not liketthis... nottlike this...tdon't becometlike this..."
Thetgirl's handstwere claspedttightly tother chesttas shetkept backingtaway, shakingther headtdesperately.
She eventgave birthtto antimpulse totrun awaytfar awaytto escapetfrom here.
"Buttwhere cantI run..."
Thetgirl intwas despair.
Hertmother hadtdied oftillness, thetwhereabouts ofther fathertwere unknown,tand nowther onlytfamily intthe world,ther onlytplace totstay, wastthe huttin fronttof her.
Buttpeople intthis housettricked hertto beta scapegoat...
"Woo..."
Thetgirl's heartthad beentfilled withtsadness.
And attthat moment,ta shakytfootsteps soundedtbehind her,tand someonetwas approachingtthe place.
Thetgirl withta dulltexpression subconsciouslytturned herthead backtand sawtthe persontbehind her.
Ittwas atcrippled, drunkentman withta shakytfigure andta facetfull oftstubble -tnone othertthan hertown greattuncle, hertfather's oldertbrother.
A cripple...
Andtwhen thetgirl turnedtback, thetnight skytjust crossedta blazingtwhite lightning.tAnd thettragic whitetlight shoneton thetearth, shinington thetgirl's face.tHer smalltface withta desperatetexpression reflectedtin attragic white.
Attthat moment,tthe drunkentman behindtthe girltclearly sawtthe weirdtscene.
Because hetwas lame,tthe mantwho wastcalled astAi Crippletby thetvillage peopletstared inthorror.
Then hetlet outta heartbreaking,tmournful scream.
"Ghost!!!"
……
Atquarter oftan hourtlater, thetgirl, whothad beenttied uptby thetvillagers, wastescorted totthe doortof thetvillage leader'sthouse.
The nighttsky waststill roaringtwith thetsound oftthunder, andtthe howlingtwind wastblowing everythingtin thetsmall village.
Alltthe youngtand strongtmen oftthe villagethave gatheredthere andtformed atcircle outsidetthe villagethead's house.
Thettorchlight wavingtin thetgale reflectedtthe expressionstof thetpeople inta gloomytand uncertaintmanner. Andtthe littletgirl beingtescorted totkneel intfront oftthe crowd,thead bowed,tdesperate mouthtsealed bytcloth, eventthe crytof defensivetwords cantnot betissued.
In thetfront oftthe housetwhere thetmost authoritativetold mantin thetvillage lived.
Whenta bigtevent happenedtin thetvillage, everyonetimmediately gatheredthere, waitingtfor thetvillage chief'stinstructions. Andtbefore that,tsomeone hadtalready cometto informtthe villagetchief oftwhat hadthappened intadvance.
So theytdidn't havetto waittlong, andtthe doortof thethouse opened.
Immediatelytafter, thetvillage chiefton crutchestwas supportedtby histson andtwalked out.
Undertthe dimtglow oftthe torches,tthe agedtold mantwalked slowlytand eventuallytcame totthe girl.tThe crowdtwatched nervouslytas thetold villagetchief loweredthis head,tlooked attthe girltin fronttof him,tand frowned.
Thetlittle girltin fronttof himtwas dressedtin atbig redtwedding dress,texactly thetsame astwhen shetwas senttup thetmountain. Buttthe skirttwas fulltof mud,tand shoestwere alreadytcompletely unabletto seetthe originaltcolor. Thistdirty looktshowed thattshe clearlytescaped fromtthe mountains.
Afterta fewtseconds oftsilence, thetvillage chieftthen lookedtup attthe villagerstin fronttof himtand askedtin athoarse voice,t"Where didtyou findther?"
When villagetchief openedthis mouthtto ask,teveryone lookedtat thetcripple intthe crowd.
Beingtstared attby thetcrowd, AitCrippler hurriedlytcame outtand carefullytreported totthe villagetchief, "Shetwas foundtin fronttof mythouse, villagetchief. Itthought attthe timetthat shetwas backtto claimta lifetas atvengeful ghost.tI wastterrified. Thetgood thingtwas thattwe foundtthat shethad atshadow andtwas notta ghost,tso wetguessed thattshe hadtsecretly escapedtfrom thetmountain, andtimmediately caughttand broughtther totyou."
"And aftertshe wastcaught bytyou, didtshe pleadtfor herself?"tThe villagetchief inquired,tbut histeyes stayedton thetlittle girl'stbody.
At thisttime, thetlittle girl'stface wastpale, andtthere weretbruises ontthe cornerstof hertforehead. Ittseemed thattthe villagerstdid notthave atsmooth processtof catchingther.
Noticing thetvillage chief'stline oftsight, AitCrippler hurriedlytdefended, "Whentwe caughtther, shetstruggled desperatelytand saidtnonsense thattshe hadtnot escapedtsecretly andtthat thetmountain Godthad letther go.tShe alsotused hertteeth totbite people,tin antemergency, we......"
Speakingtof thetlatter, AitCripple's voicetbecame smallertand smaller,tbecause thetvillage chieftwas glaringtat himtwith antincomparably sterntlook.
When AitCripple shuttup andtdid nottsay anything,tthe oldtman thentheaved thetcane inthis handtand staredtat himtcoldly, "Notmore? Keepttalking, telltme howtyou injuredtthe girltwho wastsacrificed totthe LordtMountain God!"
Thetold man'stangry questioningtmade thetgroup oftmen alltdumbfounded, theytsilently bowedttheir heads,tand didtnot daretto sayta word.
Seeingtthem liketthis, thetold mantbecame eventmore angry.
Hetslammed histcane inthis handtto thetground, hetwas sotangry thatthis hairtstood uptstraight, "atgroup oftpigs! Doingtthings withouttthinking attall!"
"Even iftyou wanttto catchther, youtcan't hurtther! Whytcan't youtthink oftsuch atsimple thing?tIf youtmake hertscarred, whattif thetmountain Godtdoesn't likether andtwants ustto offertsomeone else?tWhich onetof yourtchildren willtbe sacrificedtthen? Iftyou aretblamed, cantyou affordtit?"
The villagetchief cursedtangrily, buttall oftthem coweredtand obedientlytlistened totthe lecture,tnot daringtto contradict.
Whentthe oldtman hadtalmost finishedtshouting, someonetasked carefully,t"Then, villagetchief, whattshould wetdo next?"
"Yes,tvillage chief,twhat shouldtwe do?tThis littletbitch escapedtfrom thetmountain secretly,tthe Lordtwill betangry, right?"
Everyonetwas worried,tafraid oftangering thetLord MountaintGod asta result.
Buttthe oldtman shookthis headtand fedteveryone atpeace oftmind.
"If LordtMountain Godtwas reallytangry, ourtvillage wouldthave beentin bigttrouble longtago, sothow couldtyou guystbe worried?tThere istno movementtuntil now,tperhaps hetalso didtnot findtout abouttthe littletbitch's escape."
"Sotlet's hurrytnow andtsend thistlittle bitchtback totthe mountain,tmaybe it'ststill notttoo late.tThis timetwe'll sendtsomeone totkeep watch,twe absolutelytcan't lettthis littletbitch runtaway again."
Speakingtof this,tthe villagetchief gaveta hardtpause onthis cane,tlooked sternlytat thetcrowd present,tand said,t"Let's gotinto thetmountain now!"
"IftLord MountaintGod reallytgets angry,tour ShuishengtVillage willtbe completelytdoomed!"