The fifth master is an old errand boy who has never asked for a woman in his life. He keeps two cellars and raises chickens in the Huanghua Tuozi of Tunnan.
On the yellow flower tuozi, the grass is full of yellow flowers, and grasshoppers are splashing everywhere. The fifth master's chickens were loose during the day, and the chickens were free to forage and peck at grasshoppers. At night, when the fifth master blows his whistle, the sound of the whistle can be heard for two and a half miles. The hens fly, run, and rush back. The fifth master is very happy.
On this day, the fifth master came back from his wedding, and it was already dark. When he was approaching Tuozi, the fifth master saw from a distance a figure swaying by the woods under Tuozi, chasing chickens with his arms outstretched. The fifth master shouted: "Hey – who is that?" But when the fifth master yelled, the man suddenly leaned down and turned into a four-legged beast, jumping in with a "snap" Lost in the forest.
The fifth master couldn't help but tremble in his heart. He had heard someone say: Old foxes become spirits and monsters over time. They often learn to walk like humans, drive chickens into holes, raise them, and enjoy them slowly. But no one has ever seen it with their own eyes. This is the first time in his life that he has endured this. Could it be that he is really an old fox that has become a spirit?
Early the next morning, when Mr. Wu released the chickens from the fence, he counted them carefully and found that some of the hens he was familiar with were indeed missing. The fifth master put the old foreign cannon on his back and led the old yellow dog for a walk on the Tuozi, looking for the dark corners that he had never walked before. Sure enough, in a deep pit behind the lump, they found a thick layer of chicken feathers, as well as some leftover chicken heads and chicken scratches… After searching again, Mr. Wu found a hole in an old cemetery with a thick tree mouth. . The entrance to the cave was bare, and there were still a few yellow-brown hairs hanging there, and the hairs were all a little red. The fifth master concluded that it was a fox, and an old fox at that.
The fifth master went back to the house to get a bunch of dried artemisia and a large bunch of red peppers, and lit them in the windward area of the cave entrance. In an instant, thick smoke billowed and the spicy smell reached the sky… After a while, a "squeak" came from the cave. "Squeak" screams and thumping sounds. The fifth master held an old foreign cannon and stood guard at the entrance of the cave to prevent the dying fox from escaping from the entrance of the cave.
At this time, the fifth master suddenly felt something strange behind him. The old yellow dog clamped its tail and nestled at the fifth master's feet in fear, barking. When the fifth master looked back, he saw a yellow dog among the trees. The old furry fox stood upright on its hind legs and looked like a human. It screamed "Zhizhi" at the Fifth Master, its eyes were split open, its teeth were showing and its claws were showing, and it looked very scary. The fifth master couldn't help but be shocked . He was not afraid of ghost stories . It turned out that there was another one! This was the first time in his life that he saw a fox standing like a human being. He was busy turning the cannon around, searching for the old fox's fatal part with the muzzle.
The old fox was a little afraid of the fifth master's gun and did not dare to get close. He just jumped back and forth and left and right in front of the fifth master, screaming loudly and desperately… Suddenly, he jumped and disappeared into the forest. The fifth master took up the gun and led the old yellow dog to chase him, but when he reached Tuoxia, the yellow fox was nowhere to be seen.
When Wu Ye returned to the cave entrance without success, he was surprised to find that the firewood at the entrance of the cave had been scattered, and there was a faint smoke coming out in wisps here and there, and there was a faint smell of burnt fur. Taste. The fifth master knew that the old fox had come again, and he had fallen into the old fox's trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain. So I lay down at the entrance of the cave and listened carefully, and there seemed to be a faint shriek in the cave. It seemed that the old fox had no time or was unable to rescue his companions.
The fifth master found a two-tooth hook and took the fox out of the cave. When he looked, he saw that it was a female fox with three legs. The tawny fur had been stained by smoke, and his eyes were open and closed as he stared at the Fifth Master in horror, with a hoarse and feeble cry coming from his chest.
Suddenly, the fifth master's eyes flashed , and a shadow disappeared in the forest. Fifth Master knew that the old fox that ran away was still nearby. It seemed that the one that ran away must be a male fox. As long as this female fox was used as bait, he would not be afraid of not catching the male fox. The fifth master knew it well, so he shouldered the female fox and led the old yellow dog back victoriously.
After a while, the fifth master went back to the village to fetch water. The villagers already knew about the fifth master catching the fox. Someone told Mr. Wu that clothes put on the ground are often stolen when we are weeding in these days; others saw the pair of foxes wearing hats and clothes like humans looking at people in the woods in broad daylight, and sometimes blocking the road to look at people. People want to smoke. People say that such a fox has acquired human nature and become a spirit. Anyone who offends it will be punished.
The Fifth Master has been disbelieving all his life, so he doesn't care about this. He made a bet that he would catch these two foxes and show them to people, and then we would see how they seek revenge on me. After saying that, he laughed and left with the water.
After dark, Master Wu tied the female fox to a pillar in the chicken stall with a rope. He dug a pit and built a flap. After making a disguise, he turned off the lights and stayed in the house in the dark to wait for the male fox. The fox took the bait.
When the moon rose, the male fox appeared. It seemed to have had a premonition that the Fifth Master's courtyard was full of murderous intentions, and it screamed in front of and behind the Fifth Master's house, and the cry was sad and plaintive. At this time, the female fox tied to the pillar had slowed down. Every time the male fox barked, the female fox responded sadly. The screams, long and short, high and low, were like an iron saw, making the fifth master uneasy… The fifth master did not dare to close his eyes all night long.
For three days in a row, the male fox kept whining in front of and behind Master Wu's house. The cry changes from high to low, from strong to weak. The Fifth Master wanted to let go of the female fox several times, but thinking of the lies he had made about still going out in the village, he still steeled himself and endured it. By the fourth night, the male fox's cry had become weak and hoarse, and finally fell silent.
The fifth master took a gun and walked around the house, but found no sign of the male fox, so he concluded that the male fox left the female fox alone and left alone. The fifth master couldn't help but sigh, thinking that foxes are cunning and would slip away when they smell danger.
But when he woke up early the next day, Mr. Wu was shocked by the scene in front of him: the trap at the feet of the female fox had been filled with branches, while the male fox was lying at the feet of the female fox, as if asleep, with his belly rising and falling weakly. ; Look at the male fox’s mouth, which is bloody and covered with blood scabs. The fifth master moved the male fox. The male fox opened his eyes and struggled hard, but he couldn't get up. The fifth master understood: the male fox had exhausted all his strength, but still could not save the female fox. It seemed that he was going to die together with the female fox!
The fifth master could no longer harden his heart and cried out: "Husband and wife are like birds in the same forest. When disaster strikes, they fly separately. Human beings are just like that! Let's go." After saying that, he untied the rope and let go. The female fox. The male and female foxes could no longer move, but when Master Wu released them, they miraculously stood up from the ground, stood upright like humans, supported each other and staggered away…
The fifth master just stood there in shock, as if he was stupid. I felt my chest was tight and I couldn't say a word.
Three days later, the sheepherder went into the house to look for water and found that Mr. Wu was ill.
The fifth master has no children, and his only companion is an old yellow dog. The neighbors in the village hired doctors to give him medicine and took turns taking care of him, but the fifth master's illness never improved. People then speculated that the pair of foxes who ran away came back to take revenge on the Fifth Master. How else could a good person fall down?
Fifth Master understood in his heart: They were just a pair of ordinary old foxes. They were not acting strangely at all, but he was really old.
When someone came to visit Mr. Wu again, Mr. Wu forced himself to sit up and talked to people, saying that he just had a headache and a fever, it was nothing serious and he would be fine soon. But people could clearly tell from the gray face of the Fifth Master that the Fifth Master was terminally ill.
The fifth master finally collapsed and couldn't get enough rice and water. Lips moved, people listened carefully, and vaguely heard what the Fifth Master said: "Fox, fox…" People became more and more convinced that the fox was taking revenge on the Fifth Master.
That night, Master Wu suddenly got better. He wanted to eat and drink, and his face was glowing. He also asked someone to roast a chicken and hang it outside, saying that the two old foxes would definitely come tonight, and he insisted on stopping the two foxes for people to see. The experienced old man warned the two young men watching the night to be alert, saying that Mr. Wu was having a flashback before his death, and it seemed that he would not be able to survive the night.
But the night was already very deep, and Mr. Wu's eyes were still shining. He was leaning against the window with the old foreign cannon in his arms and looking outside. There was no sign of death at all. The two young men fell asleep in a daze. …-
I don’t know what time passed, but I heard a gunshot: "Boom-", and the two young people jumped up at the same time in fright. The room was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. In the flickering light, the fifth master was lying quietly on the kang, with a smile on his face, and he had already passed away. The old foreign cannon is held in the hand, and the muzzle is still full of smoke…
The two young men hurriedly ran outside. Under the moonlight, they saw something yellow lying in the courtyard. Did Fifth Master really stop the fox? When the two of them knelt down and took a look, they saw that this was not a fox, but the old yellow dog owned by Master Wu, lying in a pool of blood with the roast chicken in its mouth…