5 – The Tiger’s Roar at Midnight
Since they had been discovered, leaving wouldn’t be easy.
At Old Lady Li’s command: “No one is allowed to leave! Everyone follow me inside!”
At least they had company. Even if they were truly eaten by monsters, they’d be eaten together. So in they went.
Besides, everyone was burning with gossipy curiosity!
All of them entered the courtyard trembling with fear, only to be utterly stunned!
The Bai family stood lined up in the courtyard with arms akimbo. At the front were the five grandsons, followed by the three sons and daughters-in-law, all glaring fiercely at the visitors.
At the very back and highest position stood Bai Renyi and his wife Cui Shi. Cui Shi held a pink, dumpling-like baby girl in her arms, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Her imposing presence resembled an empress ruling over her domain!
The little dumpling in her arms wore a brand-new set of red silk clothes. Her face was as full as the moon, with tender white skin and pair of sparkling black eyes shining like stars in the sky. A crimson “beauty mark” dotted her forehead – so exquisite that one couldn’t look away.
You’d never find such a beautiful little dumpling within ten miles!
This was no monster, but clearly a princess who had fallen to the mortal world!
One glance at her made people feel like kneeling!
The women barely managed to restrain themselves from kneeling, all staring dumbfounded at the little dumpling.
“Sisters, may I ask what brings you all to my home today?” Cui Shi asked calmly while holding the little dumpling, sweeping her gaze over the crowd.
Old Lady Li reacted quickly, hurriedly smiling apologetically: “Sister, we heard your family had welcomed a new daughter and wanted to bring some humble gifts. A daughter is precious! Congratulations on being blessed with such a treasure in your middle age!”
Another woman quickly chimed in: “Yes indeed! Sister Bai, may you have boundless happiness after gaining this precious daughter!”
“Such a beautiful little girl – truly worthy of celebration!”
The women suddenly came alive as if synchronized, all chattering congratulations at once.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Cui Shi pretended not to know about their earlier suspicions, accepted the gifts, and expressed her thanks.
After some polite conversation, everyone gradually took their leave.
“That little girl is truly beautiful, just like an immortal child from the temples!”
“I think so too. She definitely can’t be a monster – no monster could be this lovely.”
“Exactly. The Bai family has lacked daughters, so they’ll surely treasure her like the apple of their eye.”
Only Zhang Cuihua remained unconvinced, saying angrily: “I think that little girl is a monster in disguise! Otherwise, why wouldn’t Bai Hu go ‘rawr’ and eat her in one bite!”
Old Lady Li glared at Zhang Cuihua: “You’re only saying that because you’re still holding a grudge over what happened two years ago!”
The women burst into laughter.
Whenever any woman in the village gave birth, Cui Shi would gift five eggs. But two years ago, when Zhang Cuihua was in confinement after childbirth, it coincided with the Bai family’s third daughter-in-law Li Zhenzhu giving birth to their fifth grandson Wu Keng. Li Zhenzhu, being a food lover, had eaten all the eggs in the house. Left with no choice, Cui Shi had to give Zhang Cuihua two jin of dried noodles instead.
Since noodles weren’t as valuable as eggs, Zhang Cuihua believed Cui Shi had deliberately snubbed her. From then on, she found fault with everything Cui Shi did – this had become an open secret in the village.
Having her sore spot exposed by Old Lady Li and being laughed at publicly, Zhang Cuihua directed all her anger toward the Bai family.”Hmph, that Bai family’s little girl is definitely a monster in disguise, a monster in disguise!” Zhang Cuihua grew angrier as she spoke, spreading rumors everywhere and telling anyone she met that the little girl was a monster.
That night, Zhang Cuihua’s husband had gone to visit relatives and said he wouldn’t return home. She went to bed early with her child.
After lulling the child to sleep, she drifted off herself. But in the middle of the night, she suddenly felt a chilling, fishy wind brush past her ears, carrying with it the roar of a tiger—exactly like the sound she’d heard the previous night.
The difference was, today the tiger’s roar felt very close, as if it were right inside her house!
This terrified Zhang Cuihua. Why was this tiger still haunting her?
Summoning her courage, she lit the kerosene lamp with a fire starter. But in the dim yellow light, she suddenly saw the silhouette of a tiger’s head projected on the window paper!
The tiger’s bloody maw was wide open, as if ready to swallow her whole!
She screamed in terror, her hand trembling so violently that the kerosene lamp fell to the floor. Without a second thought, she buried her head under the quilt!
Unexpectedly, Bai Hu began tapping its tail against the door—thump, thump, thump!
Zhang Cuihua was scared out of her wits! Shivering under the covers, she felt like she was about to wet herself.
She realized it might be because she’d spread rumors during the day that Bai Hu had come to confront her at night.
Thinking this, she stammered out a plea: “G-great Tiger Immortal, please go away! I promise I’ll never say the little girl is a monster again!”
Bai Hu seemed to have been waiting for those words. It let out a low growl, as if warning her that if she dared spread rumors again, it would return!
Huddled under the quilt, Zhang Cuihua listened to Bai Hu’s retreating footsteps and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she vowed never to call the little girl a monster again, her suspicions only grew stronger! If Bai Hu was so intelligent, what else could it be but a monster?!
Zhang Cuihua had a sleepless night. The next morning, with dark circles under her eyes, she went to the village entrance to gossip on the large stone, hoping to find out if anyone else had heard the tiger’s roar last night.
But the women were all chatting about daily life, and no one mentioned the tiger. Zhang Cuihua then understood that Bai Hu had visited only her house last night, making her even more uneasy.
She wanted to tell everyone that the little girl truly was a monster and that Bai Hu had come for revenge, but she didn’t dare—afraid the tiger would return!
Zhang Cuihua was tormented, unable to speak her mind, and utterly miserable.
In stark contrast to the fearful Zhang Cuihua, the Bai family had reason to celebrate. The previous day, the three Bai brothers had gone up the mountain to gather herbs and unexpectedly found a century-old lingzhi mushroom, which looked like it would fetch a handsome price!
Over the years, villagers had been collecting herbs to supplement their income, causing a sharp decline in the mountain’s resources. Not only were rare herbs scarce, but even common ones were hard to find. Discovering such a large lingzhi was truly a rare stroke of luck!
The Bai brothers carefully carried the precious mushroom home and presented it to their father, Bai Renyi, like a treasure.
For the first time, Bai Renyi looked upon his three sons with some approval. With the money from selling this lingzhi, he could buy many nice things for his little girl!
The room was hazy with smoke as Bai Renyi puffed on his long-stemmed pipe and spoke authoritatively: “Eldest and second son, you two go to the city tomorrow and exchange this lingzhi for silver.”
“Yes, Father.” The sons were meek and obedient in their father’s presence.
The smoke was nearly suffocating, but they suppressed their coughs.Bai Laosan suddenly changed the subject, risking a beating: “Dad, smoking all the time is bad for my sister’s health. You should quit smoking.”
The eldest and second sons turned their heads in unison to look at Laosan as if he were a monster. Had Laosan eaten a leopard’s gall, daring to advise their father to quit smoking?!