Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Dusk;

A sudden knock on the door;

There was no answer, no question, just mechanical knocking on the door.

The combination of these three conditions immediately triggered some unpleasant memories for Zhang Wei.

He couldn't help but overthink it.

Just as Zhang Wei was about to set up a little surprise at the door with an animal trap, a young voice suddenly came from outside: "Mom, didn't you go to Uncle's house with Dad? Why are you back so soon? By the way, where's Dad?"

living person?

Family members?

After a brief silence, Zhang Wei quickly put down the animal trap, placed the knives and guns on the kang (a heated brick bed) at the edge, and dismantled the bedding to conceal them. Having done all this, Zhang Wei stood by the kang, ensuring he could easily pull out a hunting rifle, and quietly waited for what would happen next.

pat!

The door lock was opened from the outside.

A boy who looked almost exactly like Zhang Wei but was a bit older walked in from outside, followed closely by a middle-aged woman wearing a floral jacket and a scarf.

The reason for the question mark is that the scarf on her head covered most of the woman's face, leaving only half of her chin exposed, and her arms were wrapped around her body with her hands tightly tucked under her armpits.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhang Wei felt a gaze, both probing and malicious, sweep over him.

The woman pushed aside the boy in front of her, walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) without saying a word, pulled the quilt over her shoulder without taking off her shoes, and lay down on the kang to wrap herself up.

"Mother, Mother? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Should we go see Third Master and get him some traditional Chinese medicine?"

"mother?"

The boy tentatively asked, but received no reply.

In rural areas, boys of this age are still young, but they are already considered half adults. However, before getting married and separating from their families, they are still used to obeying the adults' orders. His mother didn't reply, and although he had some thoughts in mind, he didn't dare to make any decisions on his own due to the tense atmosphere.

"Dog Egg, have you been behaving yourself at home?" Thinking for a moment, the boy turned around, rubbing Zhang Wei's head with his dusty hands. His eyes caught sight of the scattered bedding on the kang (heated brick bed). "You've been sleeping all day, are you hungry? Mom isn't feeling well, so I'll cook for you tonight. Go play in the yard for a while!"

Upon hearing this nickname, even though Zhang Wei knew about rural naming customs, he couldn't help but stammer.

After a moment of silence, he nodded:

"......good!"

Although he was a little worried that the knives and guns under the bedding would be discovered, now that he had been given permission, Zhang Wei wanted to see if he could leave the room and also check on the other household gods to see if the statues were in good condition.

"No!"

"If you want to play, play inside the house. You're not allowed outside!"

Before Zhang Wei could take any action, a slightly hoarse voice came from under the covers, causing the two boys to pause in surprise.

"It's just playing in the yard for a while, it's no big deal..."

"I said no, and that means no! Why aren't you listening to your mother?"

"No... then Gou Dan, you can play in your room for a while, and I'll cook you some food!"

"I'm not feeling well, so I won't be eating dinner. You all eat and go to bed early!"

From an observer's perspective, Zhang Wei, who was already somewhat suspicious of this so-called mother, became even more wary after witnessing this scene. Rural women may be shrewish or unreasonable, but they should always have the tenderness that all mothers have for their sons.

But the person in front of her, with her stiff attitude, made her seem a little scared.

Are you afraid they'll leave the room?

Was she afraid the two brothers would abandon her?

still......

Zhang Wei, whose eyes seemed vaguely familiar with the scene, rolled his eyes and made a slight guess in his mind. However, based on the existing information and his meager and incomplete preparations, he decided to wait and see.

They waited until after dinner.

As she said, the woman did not get up to eat dinner, but lay motionless as if asleep until the two brothers finished washing up.

It wasn't until Zhang Wei was helped onto the kang (a heated brick bed) by his brother, and they were about to open the covers to sleep, that the woman, who seemed to be fast asleep, spoke again: "The fat ones sleep with their mother, the skinny ones sleep against the wall!"

???

!!!

With just this one sentence, Zhang Wei's past memories flooded back like a tidal wave. The biting chill gave him goosebumps all over his body. He instinctively reached for the hunting rifle he had hidden under the blankets, but his uncontrollable eyes saw a large forehead emerging from under the blankets that had been completely wrapped up opposite him. A pair of dark eyes with a hint of eerie green quietly scanned the two brothers.

"I'm fat, I'll sleep with Mom!"

While Zhang Wei hesitated, his brother had already made the decision for him. His brother seemed happy as he tidied the bedding, but in a casual glance back, Zhang Wei caught a glimpse of his brother's silently moving mouth:

"run!"

run?

Can you escape?

Putting aside the fact that his older brother bolted the front door before bedtime, which he could barely reach by standing on tiptoe, just considering the saying "fat people lean against their mothers, thin people lean against the wall," if this story was really one he heard when he was a child, then the creature under the covers now must be a wolf spirit that ate the two brothers' mother and then transformed into her likeness!

Exposing your back to a wolf?

Zhang Wei, who didn't think he had such an ability, shook his head helplessly. After watching his brother "happily" share a bed with their mother, he turned off the light and lay back down in his corner, hugging the loaded hunting rifle hidden under the covers.

In the dimly lit room, Zhang Wei was drenched in cold sweat. Suddenly, he noticed a slight movement in the quiet bedding in the corner.

Under the dim moonlight, in the quiet cave dwelling, the quilt was slowly rising, and suddenly a crunching sound came from the corner of the heated kang.

Sensing the opportune moment had arrived, Zhang Wei feigned sleepiness, rubbing his eyes, but actually extended the gun barrel out from under the covers: "Mom, what are you eating?"

He paused slightly while chewing under the covers: "These are fried beans I got from your uncle's house. I didn't eat them tonight, I'm starving!"

"I want some too!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he sat up, and as he expected, an arm emerged from under the covers, its hand seemingly clutching something.

"Mother is so good—"

"Bang! Bang!"

In the stillness of the night, the double-shot shotgun burst into a dazzling flash of light. Propelled by the gunpowder, hundreds of steel balls pierced directly into the bedding, the muffled thuds accompanied by the slight cracking of bones echoing in Zhang Wei's ears.

But Zhang Wei seemed not to hear, and silently took out two more packets of gunpowder from under his pillow and stuffed them into his hunting rifle.

Boom!

Insert the medication, then fire the gun.

He fired ten shots in quick succession, hitting the highest point of the bulge under the blankets until the towering blankets collapsed softly. A string of subtitles faintly appeared before his empty eyes.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei, feeling reassured, used his trembling hand—whether from the recoil or from fear—to touch a match and light the oil lamp.

As soon as the dim light came on, he saw the bedding riddled with bullet holes, and blood slowly flowing from the numerous bullet wounds.