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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 5: The Chicken Speaks
It saw the cow, dragon, pig, and other creatures heading off to an event in droves, and it wanted to hitch a ride with the cow. However, the cow, disdainful of its laziness and aware of its cunning ways, firmly refused. The mouse had a notorious reputation, while the cow was honest and kind-hearted, earning the affection of others. With the cow's rejection, the other creatures looked down on the mouse, and its plan to hitch a ride to the event ultimately failed.
As the dejected mouse sulked in self-pity, humans appeared. It feigned great pain, limping forward to express its desire for a ride.
At that time, humans were quite kind-hearted. Upon hearing that the mouse was injured and could not arrive on time for the Drinking Contest, they readily agreed to its request for a ride. Generously extending their hand, the mouse curled up in their palm and was taken to the venue of the Drinking Contest.
On the way, the human showed great concern for this injured creature. The mouse felt grateful and considered being close to a human safe and reliable. It secretly revealed a piece of knowledge: "You cannot drink clear water; you must drink that murky water. Among all creatures, they think I am the smartest and most cunning. If I lead the way to drink that clear water, others will surely follow. So you should listen to me."
Without a second thought, the human nodded in agreement.
They arrived at the Drinking Contest venue together. All creatures living on Earth—those running on land and flying in the sky—had gathered.
The mouse and human were the last to arrive, just in time for the competition to begin.
The mouse jumped down and swaggered toward that bowl of clear water, boldly taking a sip. The other creatures could no longer contain themselves and one by one rushed over to drink from that bowl of clear water.
Only the human drank from the murky water.
In the end, all creatures realized they had been deceived and harbored intense hatred for the mouse. Whenever they saw it, they shouted for it to be punished, especially the eagle, which wanted to devour it.
Humans are articulate beings on Earth, and they kept their promise to the mouse. The mouse stayed close to them until later when it multiplied rapidly and caused many troubles, leading to its extermination by humans. However, descendants of mice continued to linger near humans; wherever there were humans, there were mice.
This story illustrates that no creature on Earth can truly speak. It was my first time witnessing a chicken politely call out to me before anything related to Night Bat occurred. I turned to Su Aizhen, who stood there like a wooden stake without any expression.
I think she didn't hear the chicken speak.
Perhaps my husband's soul, Zhu Gui, is residing in this chicken. With that thought in mind, I tentatively asked, "What happened with Night Bat?" To my surprise, the chicken seemed to wake from a dream, startled and flapping its wings wildly. Its outstretched claws came at me fiercely.
Damn!
I stepped back in fright as the rooster flew over my shoulder and blended in with the other chickens, making it impossible to identify which one it was. Just when I was at a loss facing a flock of chickens and ducks, someone arrived.
In rural areas, when someone passes away, the sound of firecrackers signals that regardless of past grievances, friends and foes alike come together to help manage some of the household affairs for the deceased. With someone arriving to take on the task of slaughtering the chickens, I made sure to have them catch one for me to inspect before deciding whether to proceed with the slaughter. Afterward, they brought in the Ice Coffin for the deceased.
Based on current events and calculating the deceased's birth date using Ba Zi, the burial date would be set for nine o'clock on the morning after the Ghost Festival.
Once everything was arranged, I sat down to rest while Fatty took up a pen to write the eulogy for the spirits. With rare free time on my hands, I went to find Su Aizhen.
"Master Ma, thank you for your efforts. With you here, I feel at ease."
"Aunt Su, have you ever heard of a chicken speaking?"
Su Aizhen looked at me in surprise and shook her head firmly. "No."
That settles it; she truly didn't hear that chicken talk. The idea of a talking chicken is simply unbelievable; even if I told someone about it, no one would believe me.
"Master Ma."
Hearing someone shout, I hurried outside and saw the person calling me holding a chicken. This chicken looked remarkably similar to the rooster from earlier. I walked over and took the chicken from his hands.
The man who caught the chicken looked puzzled, as if thinking, "Damn, I caught this chicken, so I should be the one to earn that Red Envelope money. Why is he taking it?"
Noticing his confusion, I was about to explain when he asked in bewilderment, "Master Ma, what’s going on?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just need to use this chicken for a moment. I'll give it back to you right away. You can kill it, and then I'll have the Host Family give you a Red Envelope."
"Alright then."
Of course, everyone loves money. Even a three-year-old can turn tears into laughter at the sight of cash. I took the chicken and walked to the makeshift altar, circling around the Ice Coffin. I pinched the chicken's comb and plucked some feathers to dip in its blood while muttering an incantation: mixing the feathers with the blood and placing them at one end of the Ice Coffin by the feet of the Deceased. Then, looking around to ensure no one was watching, I whispered urgently, "What’s going on with the Night Bat?"
The chicken struggled violently as I pinched its comb; each thrash was powerful enough that it nearly slipped from my grip. I held tightly onto its wings despite its frantic kicking and desperate squawking, but I didn't hear any human words from it again.
I handed the chicken to the man who had been waiting nearby. Seeing that he already had a knife ready to slit its neck, I handed him a bowl: "The chicken's blood is useful for warding off evil; collect it in this bowl."
Su Aizhen's child returned; it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.
He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking quite spirited—a typical handsome young man from the East. It made me reflect on myself; I was also quite handsome in my own way, though our environments and experiences were vastly different. He was tall but wore clothes that seemed too short for him, giving him an awkward appearance. Moreover, he was holding back his emotions; he forced his sorrowful tears back, making his eyes bloodshot. In his home, it felt inappropriate to talk too much; with more people around, it felt cramped—after all, we couldn't let someone hang out in the backyard with the chickens and ducks.
So I had no choice but to walk with him to the edge of the backyard wall. Continuing forward led us into a forest.
The forest was filled with earthen mounds; even Zhu Gui would be buried here. His grave had already been marked out.
"What is your name?"
"Zhu Gang."
"You're in your fourth year of college, so you seem to be a year older than me. That's impressive. People shouldn't compare themselves to others. Just look at me; I haven't changed much." I gave a self-deprecating smile, feeling envious that he could still sit in class and learn alongside his peers.
Some say: College is a society; stepping into college is like stepping into half of society.
"You're not doing too bad yourself, becoming a Mortician at such a young age."
"Don't joke about it."
Zhu Gang said seriously, "No, really. I've heard from my mom that you're amazing. Everything you've handled has turned out great."
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