Chapter 2 — Thanh La Phong Nguyet Ky

5 Seventy years old! On the day of his seventieth birthday, the children and grandchildren who were adopted by their grandparents in the village as their adopted sons and ancestors all came to offer congratulations. He was so happy, he drank a few more cups of wine, suddenly wanted to chop firewood, and said: "I'm still young, not old yet!" I can't stop it forever. In front of a whole yard full of juniors, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms, which were still as strong as those of a young man. As soon as the hammer was raised, it made a "crack" sound, the piece of wood the size of a bowl split in half, the surface of the wood was as smooth as a knife. The children and grandchildren clapped loudly, admiring and praising their grandfather and great-grandfather for their "full blessings and abundant energy". I stood at the kitchen door, holding a tea tray for guests, my fingernails pressing on the edge of the tray until it made a creaking sound. “Abundant energy?” I silently gritted my teeth. What year is this called seventy years old? Is it because it was my first time going down the mountain that I was still immature? Or… are mortals these days all this strong? I wanted to secretly use my spiritual energy to probe his body, but I was afraid of breaking the rules of my training and didn't dare to move. 6 When he was eighty years old. In early spring, the snow in the mountains had just melted, and a wild boar rushed into the village and wreaked havoc on the fields. As soon as he heard the news, he immediately took the hunting knife that had been with him for many years and left. I chased all the way to the beginning of the village, only seeing a back with snow-white hair, but my steps were still agile, chasing the several hundred-pound wild boar, causing it to scream and run wildly across the mountainside. The villagers watched in amazement. I also watched in amazement. In the end, the wild boar was chased until he was exhausted and fell to the ground. He neatly killed it with a few slashes of the knife. He dragged his prey home, his face red, his mouth smiling proudly. That night, he gnawed on wild boar's trotters, drank homemade sticky rice wine, and muttered about his age, his legs were no longer as fast as before. Then turned to me and said: "Tue Nuong, this old me... will probably still be with you for another twenty years!" Right when I was pouring soup for him. My hands trembled, I almost dropped the bowl into the pot. Another twenty years? The world rotated before my eyes, I almost showed my true form right on the spot to scratch his old face! The old lady pretended to be a mortal but her tail was about to fall off because of the stress! 7 Days went by like that... drop by drop, drop by drop. Year after year, as if serving an indefinite prison sentence. I watched his hair turn white, his teeth gradually fall out, and his back slowly bent. He sleeps more and his spirit is not as good as before. I longed for him to return to earth soon, but it brought with me an indescribable bitterness, seeing him truly entering the age of the end of his life. Finally... he is old. He's so old that he can't go to the mountains to hunt and can only sunbathe in the front yard. He's so old that he has to rely on me to help him take even a few steps. He often held my hand, stroking the back of my hand over and over again, still "maintained by me" as smooth as before, his cloudy eyes filled with guilt. "Tue Nuong... I'm sorry... I left you and went away... You still look as beautiful as that year..." The wet cotton ball in my heart... absorbed water, weighed down... so heavy that I wanted to fall but couldn't. 8 During those last years, I almost forgot that I was a fox, forgot about the demon world, and forgot about practicing. I'm just Tue Nuong, Liu Tranh's wife. I brewed medicine for him, combed his hair for him, sat next to him and listened to him mumble old stories. Sometimes when I look at his profile while he sleeps, I think... decades This long life is not too difficult to live. Now… he is finally dead. Quiet, peaceful, lying there as if just sleeping. 9 I followed human customs—cleaned his body and changed into the clothes I had prepared long ago. Then call your children and grandchildren to inform you. They cried until the sky and earth shook, then got busy preparing for the funeral. Luu Tranh was a highly respected and virtuous old hunter in the village. Almost the whole village came to pay his respects. At night everyone is quiet, the spiritual hall is just me. My children and grandchildren have all been sent away to rest. The candles flickered and swayed, the light became irregularly bright and dark. I am sad inside. Anyway, decades are not an illusion. I sat next to the coffin, sitting for so long that my legs went numb. Just as he was about to change position, he suddenly heard a very soft sound—“gulu…” The sound came from inside the coffin. My whole body stiffened, my ears erect, listening. Mouse? No way. The coffin was made of premium pine wood, so tight that there wasn't even a single gap. 10 Just when I suspected I had heard wrongly, that sound rang out again: "gulu..." This time it was accompanied by the light sound of cloth rubbing. My ear unconsciously twitched. A bad premonition arose. I held my breath, slowly leaned closer to the coffin, placing my ear on the wooden surface. Inside came the sound of compressed breathing... then a very small chewing sound, like biting into something crunchy. I immediately went crazy! Great! Good for you, Liu Zheng! You dare... fake death?! I trembled with anger, remembering the past few months when he lay in bed barely alive, remembering how every day I brought tea and medicine, taking care of every little thing, remembering the days when I secretly felt sad because of him... I jumped up, frantically pushing open the coffin lid! "Liu Tranh! How dare you—" Before I finished my sentence, my throat choked. Because in the coffin... Luu Tranh was wearing a neat robe, lying on his side, holding half a roast chicken, his mouth stuffed with meat to bulge his cheeks. Seeing me suddenly open the lid, he was startled and almost dropped the chicken on his robe. But the thing that shocked me the most... wasn't the chicken.