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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 92: Strange Happenings in the Village (2)
The villagers said, "Recently, our fields have been trampled extensively, and the losses have been significant. However, we cannot figure out what is causing it, which is quite troubling."
Hearing this, I almost lost my balance and fell to the ground; it was truly shocking. I thought we were dealing with some evil spirit or that someone had died in the village. Little did I know that early in the morning, they came to me because their farmland had been trampled by something. They should be looking for a hunter; what could a paper craftsman like me do?
At that moment, I was dumbfounded. I said, "Brothers, how could I possibly help you with this? It must be wild boars or rabbits running into the fields at night. I have no hunting rifle and no manpower; I am simply unable to assist!"
To my surprise, they shook their heads vigorously and said, "No, sir, please don't be anxious. If it were just wild boars causing the damage, we wouldn't have come to you. The main issue is that this damage is not caused by ordinary wild animals."
Upon hearing this, I became even more curious and thought to myself that if it wasn't wild animals, then what could it be? So I remained silent and waited for them to continue; I wanted to see how strange they would make this situation sound.
The villagers began to elaborate in detail to convince me of their claims. They said they were from an ancient village and had been farmers for generations. Each household relied on a few acres of land for their livelihood, and during their spare time, they would engage in side jobs. Therefore, their few acres of farmland represented their entire family's food supply for the year.
However, this year they encountered a problem. As the lunar calendar approached Golden Autumn August, the crops were nearly ripe. A bountiful harvest was in sight, and they were about to store it in the granary when suddenly something trampled their rice fields.
In one night, a large area was trampled; whether it was rice or soybeans, everything in the trampled areas was completely destroyed. For several consecutive days, many villagers' fields suffered similar fates.
This left everyone in a panic. After working hard all year long and finally being close to harvesting their crops, how could they bear to see them trampled like this? Initially, they suspected that someone’s cattle or sheep had strayed from home and were eating the crops. However, after inquiring around, they found that no one had left their livestock outside; all were secured in their pens before dark.
After several days of turmoil with nearby fields being extensively trampled and villagers suffering losses without knowing what was causing it, those whose fields remained untouched began to worry that their crops would also suffer the same fate one night. Meanwhile, those whose crops had already been trampled were furious and determined to catch whatever was destroying their crops.
Thus, they decided to go out together at night to capture whatever wild beast was damaging their fields.
At this point, the villagers suspected that wild boars or similar beasts were responsible for ruining the crops since they lived in a mountainous area where wild boars would occasionally come down from the deep mountains to harm the crops; however, such occurrences had never been so severe in previous years.
However, what surprised everyone was that they waited for several nights in the Farmland but did not see the creature, yet the Crops continued to be eaten. The villagers stationed themselves at the east of the village, but the Grain at the west was consumed; when they guarded the west, the Grain at the east was eaten. However, if they spread out, they worried that one person would not be able to fight off the beast.
In the end, everyone understood that the beast must be able to sense them from a distance, so it was useless for them to guard together. With no other options, the villagers decided to guard their own Farmland individually.
Just last night, Old Man Wang from the Village went alone to his own field, holding a flashlight to watch over his Grain and Soybean. In the middle of the night, Old Man Wang suddenly saw movement in the soybean field and heard loud noises. Although he had a flashlight in hand, visibility was poor at night, so he could not see what was in the Farmland.
However, Old Man Wang was very angry. Although he could not see what it was, he knew it must be the beast that had been harming his Crops. So he slowly approached, turning off his flashlight to avoid scaring away the beast. When he got close, he raised his hoe and shouted angrily, "You thief eating my Soybean, I will kill you!" But just as Old Man Wang lifted his hoe high, he suddenly felt dizzy and weak, collapsing to the ground. When he regained consciousness some time later, it was already dawn, and he saw that all his Soybean had been eaten while he was unconscious.
Old Man Wang returned home feeling very unlucky. His wife asked him what happened, and he told her the truth—that something stealing Crops had magic powers; he couldn't even hit it and felt as if he had been possessed, unable to control his head.
Once this news spread, several villagers from Village responded that they had encountered similar situations last night. It turned out that Old Man Wang was not alone; four or five villagers had also suddenly fainted in their Farmland.
This frightened everyone. If only Old Man Wang had experienced this, people might think he was lying or that he had suddenly fallen ill. However, with several villagers fainting in one night, it could not be taken lightly. Moreover, these individuals were all those who had guarded their Crops and discovered their Grain had been eaten by morning. After discussing it together, everyone unanimously concluded that their fainting must have been caused by whatever was eating the Grain; perhaps it was not an ordinary beast but rather a spirit or ghost.
After reaching this conclusion, the villagers became fearful. They realized that if they continued guarding their Crops like this, it might lead to loss of life. However, they were also unwilling to let it continue harming their crops. Finally, they thought that since this creature was not a living being, perhaps they should invite a Great Master to take a look.
This suggestion received everyone's agreement; however, where would they find a master who could catch ghosts and monsters? There were priests in their village who performed rituals for souls but their own Crops had also been eaten clean.
Just as everyone was troubled about where to find a Great Master, one villager recalled hearing from a distant relative about a Great Master named Master Ma in the city who was said to be very powerful and could catch ghosts and subdue demons; perhaps bringing him in could deal with the current monster.
Thus, early this morning they ran to my shop…
After explaining everything in detail, the villagers anxiously asked me: "Sir, do you think this is strange? Could it be some kind of spirit or ghost causing trouble?"
To be honest, after listening to their detailed account of events, I felt quite overwhelmed because this situation truly seemed very strange—almost eerie. Logically speaking, there should be nothing other than beasts harming Crops at night. However, beasts wouldn’t cause dizziness! Could it really be that a beast had gained intelligence and learned magical powers?
Thinking this in my heart, I still wouldn't speak recklessly before I had real evidence. So I replied to the villagers, "This matter is indeed strange, but if you suspect it is a spirit or ghost, I can accompany you to take a look and see what exactly is harming everyone."
Upon hearing this, everyone became very excited and gratefully shook my hand.
That day, I returned to the Ancient Village with the villagers. The Ancient Village is about a hundred kilometers away from the city. Although there are now roads leading to the village, the journey was bumpy. By the time we arrived at the Ancient Village, I felt like I was falling apart; I had no idea how many times I had vomited along the way, almost bringing up bile.
The Ancient Village is surrounded by mountains, with endless mountain ranges all around. The village is home to indigenous people who have lived there for generations, with about fifty to sixty households and two to three hundred residents. The village is not large, and the houses are sparsely distributed, with one house on the east and another on the west.
The people in the mountains are warm-hearted, which is true everywhere. Upon learning that I was the Great Master they had invited to deal with the monsters, everyone treated me with great enthusiasm, serving tea and snacks and offering delicious food and drinks. Perhaps in rural areas, they still hold people like me in high regard and treated me as a distinguished guest. The mountain people believe that one must properly entertain a master; if they neglect any aspect and offend him, he might casually do something harmful. Of course, this belief stems from their strong faith in ghosts, what we now call superstition, as well as traditions passed down from older generations that instill respect for figures like me.
After arriving in the village, I asked the villagers to first take me to the fields to have a look at the situation.
When we reached the fields, I realized that the villagers were not lying to me. There were vast areas of farmland that had suffered severe losses, as if a harvester had come through and devoured everything in patches. No wonder the villagers were heartbroken; anyone would feel this way in their shoes.
Everyone knows that grain fields usually have water in them, so if something enters the field, it would easily leave footprints. Therefore, I specifically went to check and found many footprints. Those left behind were clearly made by animals; as for what kind of animals they were, since I'm not an animal expert, I couldn't determine right away. They looked somewhat like wild boar tracks but also resembled those of tigers or similar large animals because each footprint was about the size of a fist.
After inspecting the fields, I told everyone that we wouldn't be able to find any clues during the day and would have to wait until nightfall to keep watch in hopes of making some discoveries.
So we returned to the village and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the villagers with their fine food and drink while waiting for nightfall to begin our work...
After being treated as a guest for a day, night soon fell. After having dinner at one of the villagers' homes and seeing that it was getting late, I stood up and said to the villagers, "I think it's about time; let's head to the fields and keep watch!"
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