Chapter 2

The next morning, Grandma told me to feed Đại Hắc.

Remembering the night before, I was still nervous.

She found my reluctance strange.

“You usually fight for the chance to feed him. What's wrong today?”

“I...”

I stammered, unable to come up with a reason.

In the end, I gave up trying.

Nothing would happen in broad daylight, I told myself, and carried the basin of food outside.

He was asleep in his kennel.

The daytime sun was fierce, and he usually sheltered there from the heat.

I set the basin down and nudged it toward him with my foot.

“Đại Hắc. Food.”

After a while, he came out slowly, sniffed, then lowered his head and ate hungrily.

I watched him from a short distance away.

Sensing my stare, he raised his head from the basin.

The moment our eyes met, his whole backside began to wiggle. His tail swung to and fro, eager to please.

“Tsk...”

I frowned slightly.

Just then, Grandma called me in for breakfast.

Oh, well.

He was our dog, after all.

After breakfast, Grandpa went to work in the fields.

My parents worked in the city and regularly sent money home.

But Grandpa couldn't sit still. Whenever he had nothing to do, he became restless.

Grandma said he was born to toil and didn't know how to enjoy an easy life.

I covered my mouth and giggled.

We were chatting when someone knocked at the courtyard gate.

Knock, knock, knock.

Grandma opened it, took one look, and her face darkened.

“You again?”

The beggar clung to the gate frame, craning his neck to peer inside.

“Ma'am, do you remember me?”

She frowned.

“Here for water again?”

He smiled awkwardly.

She didn't seem pleased.

“Wait there.”

Then she turned toward the kitchen.

Perhaps realizing he wasn't welcome, he remained outside, not daring to enter the courtyard.

Soon, she brought him a bowl of cool tea.

He accepted it and drained it in one go, as if he had been thirsty for a long time.

“Want more?”

He wiped his mouth and shook his head.

“No, thank you.”

Looking at her, he couldn't help sighing.

“You're a good woman. Of all the people in this village, you're the only one willing to give me a bowl of water.”

Her heart softened again.

“Things will get better,” she said gently.

He didn't answer.

His gaze moved to the dog's food basin in the courtyard.

Having eaten, Đại Hắc was asleep in his kennel.

The beggar took a triangular talisman from his pocket.

“I know you're kind and can't bear to kill the dog. This is a protective charm. Put it under your pillow, and it'll keep your whole family safe.”

“But...”

“Take it. I won't harm you.”

After hesitating, she accepted it.

Before leaving, he looked back at Đại Hắc.

The dog looked fierce, his eyes cold and sharp, as if he might spring at the man at any moment.

After much hesitation, Grandma eventually put the talisman under her pillow.

“Do you really believe that beggar?”

Thinking I was still worried about Đại Hắc, she smiled.

“Don't worry. We're not going to kill him.”

“Then why did you take his things?”

“It's only a protective charm,” she said casually. “If it's free, why not?”

Still, I felt something was wrong with him.

Whenever I saw him, my heart fluttered uneasily.

“What if... he's a bad person?” I asked.

Grandma laughed.

“What reason would he have to hurt us? I even gave him water.”

I shook my head.

“I don't know...”

“All right, all right.”

She stroked my head.

“It's getting on in the afternoon. Grandpa will be back soon. I'd better start dinner.”

She went straight into the kitchen.

Dinner was ready early.

But we waited and waited, and Grandpa didn't come home.

“Why isn't he back yet?” she muttered.

Just as she was about to go looking, two sturdy men carried him in.

His eyes were barely open, and he kept groaning.

“Oh... oh...”

“Good heavens! What happened?”

She hurried over to examine him.

Both men were villagers our family knew.

She asked one of them, “Trụ Tử, what happened?”

He shook his head.

“We don't know either. By the time we found him, he'd fallen into a ditch. Must have slipped.”

Grandpa was filthy, his clothes covered in mud.

Together, the two men laid him on the kang.

Grandma rolled up his trouser leg.

A large patch of flesh had been scraped off his calf. Blood was still flowing.

“What happened to you?”

His face was frighteningly pale.

“I don't know... Someone pushed me into the ditch.”

Then he cursed weakly.

“Damn it! If I find out who it was, I'll skin them!”

Grandma was shocked.

“Surely not? Who would be cruel enough to push you?”

Trụ Tử drew her aside and lowered his voice.

“He probably fell in by himself and doesn't want to admit it. He's embarrassed.”

She thought that sounded reasonable.

Grandpa was very proud, after all.

Just then, his eyes flicked toward them.

“What are you two saying?”

Trụ Tử stiffened and answered guiltily, “Uncle, you can't leave that leg untreated. I'll go home and get the cart, then take you to the clinic in town.”

Grandpa's expression eased a little.

“No need. We have herbs here. Put them on for a few days and it'll be nearly healed.”

Grandma immediately objected.

“No! You've lost a whole patch of flesh. What if it gets infected?

“I think we should listen to him. Let him take you.”

Grandpa pressed his lips together.

“It's too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Trụ Tử said quickly. “You've helped our family so much. This is nothing.”

Then he turned to the other man.

“We'll go first, then. I'll get the cart now.”

After lying still for a while, Grandpa nodded.

“All right. Thank you.”

About half an hour later, Trụ Tử came back with a donkey cart.

Grandpa lay on it, resting with his eyes closed.

Grandma brought two food tins from the kitchen and handed them over.

“Have these if you get hungry.”

Trụ Tử nodded, accepted them, and drove away.

She watched the cart until it disappeared.

“What did we do to deserve this?” she murmured.

With a sigh, she went back inside.

In the middle of the night, I slept in her arms.

Suddenly, scratching sounded outside the door.

A harsh, grating noise that went on and on.

Even Grandma woke.

“What... is that?” I asked sleepily.

She immediately covered my mouth.

“Shh...”

Her eyes stayed fixed on the door.

“Maybe a wild animal came down from the mountain. We mustn't go out.”

There was fear in her voice.

I was wide awake now and nodded repeatedly.

We stayed like that all night, eyes open. Neither of us slept.

Only when dawn began to break did she dare open the door.

“Stay inside. I'll have a look.”

She went out alone.

I waited a long time, but she didn't return.

Too frightened to stay by myself, I ran out to find her.

She stood in the courtyard, staring at the gate with a grim expression.

“What are you looking at?”

I walked closer and followed her gaze.

My face drained of color.

The gate was covered in a tangle of claw marks.

She told me to wait inside while she went to get someone.

I caught her clothes.

“Who are you going to get?”

She reassured me gently.

“I'm afraid the animal will come back tonight. I'll ask the village head to look. He's seen a lot. Maybe he'll know what made those marks.”

After carefully instructing me, she left alone.

I was a little scared, so I kept Đại Hắc beside me.

He understood people very well.

To cheer me up, he stood on his hind legs and began ambling about like a person.

I clapped and laughed with delight.

Just then, Grandma returned.

Behind her was the beggar.

I frowned.

“Weren't you going to get the village head?”

“He wasn't home. I met this gentleman on the way and brought him along.”

But as she spoke, her eyes shifted away, unable to meet mine.

The beggar crouched and gently ran a fingertip over the marks.

“Dog claws,” he said plainly.

Grandma and I both turned toward Đại Hắc.

“Before dogs become spirits, they imitate people walking on two legs,” he went on.

“But they're used to four, so they usually need to lean on something.”

Đại Hắc had just stood up to make me laugh.

Everyone had seen it.

Grandma went white.

“Your husband's injury wasn't an accident. Your dog has drained your family's good fortune. That's why one bad thing keeps happening after another.

“A fall is a small matter. Leave it any longer, and I fear none of you will survive.”

This time, she really wavered.

“Ngôn Ngôn, perhaps...”

She didn't finish.

But I knew what she meant.

I quickly threw my arms around Đại Hắc.

“Grandma! You promised we wouldn't kill him!”

“Well...”

She hesitated.

The beggar shook his head.

“I've said what I had to say. The choice is yours.”

He turned to leave.

Just then, Grandpa returned.

The two men came face-to-face at the gate.

To thank Trụ Tử, Grandma took out several red banknotes and pressed them into his hand.

“Oh... what are you doing?”

He hurriedly tried to give them back.

She stuffed them straight into his pocket.

“You paid for the consultation and medicine. You must take this.”

His face reddened.

“It's too much. It didn't even come to two hundred yuan. Take some back.”

He reached for the money.

“No,” she said firmly. “You took him all the way to town too. The rest is for your trouble.”

Seeing that he was still embarrassed and unwilling, she brought the visit to an end.

“It's getting late. Go on home. If you feel awkward, you can help us more in the future.”

He sighed.

“Well... all right. If you need anything, just call me.”