Chapter 83: Catching Chickens Down the Mountain

It was probably because Chen Ji was blind that Granny Zhang’s single phone call summoned two ghost fire knights. They had the standard Little Yellow Hair look, complete with deafening boom boxes. Chen Ji could only make out their shapes, and it was the System Cat that told him they were yellow-haired punks.

These were Granny Zhang’s grandson and her nephew.

Deafening music pounded in his ears as the Little Yellow Hair up front bellowed, “Bro!~ How’s this music pumping you up?!”

Chen Ji had wads of napkin stuffed in his ears, and the bumpy ride was making him nauseous. “Huh? What’d you say?”

The Little Yellow Hair cranked the volume even higher, as if it wasn’t wild enough already. The whole of Little Azure Mountain seemed to echo with that heart-stirring anthem: “Gotta—love—even in death!” Chen Ji couldn’t take it anymore. He was just about to ask Second Master Huang to sabotage the speaker when he spotted Second Master Huang bouncing and dancing on the motorbike’s storage box!

They were supposed to check out what was going on together! How did it turn into a rave?!

The two Little Yellow Hairs burst out laughing. “Bro—! Your pet weasel is so lively—!”

“Bullshit! This is a great immortal!”

“What great immortal? It’s just a weasel!”

Then they both turned to stare at him. “Bro, how’d you train your weasel like that? Can I borrow him for a couple days?!”

“Whatever…” Chen Ji quietly covered his mouth. He regretted it now. He shouldn’t have agreed to come today. He could’ve let Granny Zhang head down first, or had Second Master Huang sneak him down quietly.

The blaring song roared all the way from the mountaintop down to Shangyang Village at the base. When Chen Ji dismounted the motorbike, his legs felt like jelly. The two Little Yellow Hairs grabbed him, one on each side, steadying him until he could stand.

The speakers finally shut off, and the world snapped back to the peaceful serenity of Azure Mountains and clear waters. Chen Ji let them guide his slow shuffle toward Granny Zhang’s house without protest. Along the way, they passed several village elders who asked what was wrong with him.

Granny Zhang was quick on the uptake. “No idea! He suddenly came down with something—says his eyes are all blurry!”

The elders exchanged knowing looks and sighed sympathetically. Chen Ji trailed behind, explaining, “It’s glaucoma! It’ll clear up in a few days! Already saw the doc in town! Nothing serious—just need a couple days!”

Hearing that, everyone nodded. “Well, that’s a relief!”

[System Cat: [Lying through your teeth. Those grannies and grandpas’ faces all say, ‘If you wanna fool yourself, we won’t call you out.’]]

Chen Ji couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. [[It really will get better in a few days.]]

Truth be told, he should worry less about his eyes and more about his health. His lines were even dimmer than before the S City trip, clearly from overexertion and the recent drain of spiritual energy from those talismans. Chen Ji resolved to rest up these next few days, catch up on sleep—that was the real priority.

The Zhang Family’s chicken coop was a rickety little shed, and the smell inside was pretty rank. Second Master Huang squatted on his shoulder and peered in. 【Whoa, these chickens look tasty… Doesn’t seem like a demon’s work, though—no traces left behind.】

【Told you it wasn’t my kids!】

Second Master Huang was still sporting that flashy oversized bow tie. The villagers’ gazes shifted from awe to confusion. They’d been a bit spooked at first when a weasel suddenly leaped onto Chen Ji’s shoulder and perched there, figuring it must be the Great Immortal Huang he kept. But that super-cute bow tie on its back flipped the script—they decided it was just Chen Ji’s pet.

After all, city kids loved keeping exotic pets these days. Some even kept rats or snakes! Rumor had it folks kept leeches too—who knew what the appeal was…

With nothing better to do, the villagers had all gathered for the spectacle. Granny Zhang’s chickens hadn’t vanished just yesterday or the day before, and the way they disappeared was downright spooky. Everyone was dying to know what critter was behind it.

Chen Ji raised a hand. Second Master Huang thought he wanted a head pat and, since Chen Ji couldn’t see, helpfully shoved his head into the waiting palm. Chen Ji scooped him up into the crook of his arm instead. “Granny Zhang, can you guide me around inside the shed?”

One Little Yellow Hair volunteered eagerly and led Chen Ji in. Chen Ji shuffled slowly across the ground. [Xiao Ba, replay that surveillance footage.]

The System Cat obligingly replayed the video from their arrival in Chen Ji’s mind, even kindly marking the spot where the chicken vanished to make it easier to check. Chen Ji eyed the red beam in front of him and inched toward it. When he reached the disappearance spot, a thought struck him, and he ground his foot into the soil.

The dirt here felt looser than elsewhere.

Granny Zhang chattered on beside him. “It’s just too eerie! Happens every time right here—they just vanish!”

Chen Ji scuffed the soil underfoot again, then turned toward Little Yellow Hair with a sudden grin. “Maybe we should just drop this, eh, Granny Zhang.”

“What? No way! A chicken fetches two hundred bucks!” Granny Zhang blurted, then paused, stunned. “Master Chen, why let it slide?! You mean…?”

“No, nothing that mystical.” Chen Ji explained, “Probably some kid who got carried away and snagged one. Look right under my foot… Grab a hoe and dig. You’ll see.”

Granny Zhang lunged for a hoe, but Little Yellow Hair rushed over. “Granny, let me! You’re not as spry as you used to be.”

She sidestepped him with a huff. “Outta the way! You? Wielding a hoe? You’ll hoe your own foot! Get Master Chen back—out of the way!”

Little Yellow Hair slunk back sheepishly to steady Chen Ji. Granny Zhang, no stranger to farm work, swung the hoe with practiced swings—clang, clang—and unearthed the patch. Digging deeper revealed a tunnel as wide as a mixing bowl. Granny Zhang fumed. “Well, I’ll be! A hole this big!”

The crowd gasped. “A hole like that here?”

“Doesn’t look like weasel work,” someone said.

Weasels, foxes—even wolves—barreled straight into coops or pens for a snack. Who dug a massive tunnel like this?

Was it really some great immortal after all?

So the chickens in the videos hadn’t vanished into thin air due to hauntings—they’d been lassoed and yanked through this hole. The footage was blurry anyway, and at night? No wonder it wasn’t obvious!

“Sneaky beast!” Granny Zhang dug furiously, intent on following the tunnel to its end and unmasking the thief. Chen Ji quickly intervened. “How long would that take? Light some straw, get it smoking, and see where the smoke pops out!”

“Master Chen’s right!” Granny Zhang grabbed a handful of straw, soaked it, lit it up, and soon thick smoke billowed. She stuffed it into the hole and fanned it vigorously with a big palm-leaf fan. The villagers scattered, peering around for escaping smoke.

These burrows weren’t usually long—not like rabbit warrens. And digging one that far? It’d take time—someone would’ve noticed.

Little Yellow Hair glanced aside, his lines dimming faintly. Chen Ji noticed and, on impulse, patted his shoulder. Sure enough, the kid’s lines brightened, while Chen Ji’s grew dimmer.

Chen Ji’s throat tickled, and he coughed hard several times. Little Yellow Hair steadied him. “Bro Chen, you catch a cold?”

Chen Ji waved it off. “Nah, just got some smoke.”

Little Yellow Hair muttered, “Yeah, this smoke’s killer. It’s just a few chickens—why the big fuss?”

Before the words finished hanging in the air, someone shouted, “Granny Zhang, your house is smoking!”

Everyone whipped around. Thin wisps of black smoke leaked from the window of the east room in Granny Zhang’s house—the nicest one, reserved for her grandson home on break.

They all turned silently to Little Yellow Hair.

Little Yellow Hair: “…”

Granny Zhang suddenly recalled Chen Ji’s words: Probably some kid who got carried away and snagged one. Some kid… not a beast, not a great immortal. Her own kid.

Chen Ji turned away to hide his grin, generously offering them an out. “No big deal. Probably never done it before, just wanted to try.”

Granny Zhang and the villagers all stared at Little Yellow Hair.

His face flushed beet red. He nodded frantically. “…Yeah, never done it before… Granny, sorry. Didn’t think it’d blow up like this.”

The villagers roared with laughter. “So that’s the story! Thought we had a ghost immortal on our hands!”

“Exactly, Granny Zhang! Your grandson’s still growing—don’t starve the boy!”

“As long as it’s not wolves prowling the village!”

With everyone watching, Granny Zhang flushed too. All that fussing and cursing, and it was her own grandson swiping chickens. She coughed twice. “Well, what do you know… All good now! Everyone, head home! Thanks for coming out today!”

The villagers dispersed. Chen Ji prepared to leave too. He beckoned Little Yellow Hair, who came right over. “Bro Chen, what?”

Chen Ji patted his collar. “Those chickens? Eat ’em yourself if you want. Don’t go giving them away or burying them all over. Village has its superstitions—no random burials.”

Little Yellow Hair blinked, blurting, “How’d you know?”

It started with sleepless nights, wanting to mess around catching chickens. First with a rope lasso, then getting competitive with himself. He learned pit traps from videos, full of youthful energy, and soon dug that big hole. Chickens practically jumped in.

Sometimes he and his bro grilled them outside the village. Sometimes, not hungry, he’d toss live ones back. Sometimes he accidentally killed them and, scared of Granny’s wrath, buried them hastily in some random village pit.

Chen Ji said, “Someone told me.”

Chen Ji suddenly picked up Second Master Huang and placed him on Little Yellow Hair’s shoulder. Second Master Huang let out a sharp snarl at something behind Little Yellow Hair. For some inexplicable reason, Little Yellow Hair felt the hair on his body stand on end for a brief instant—then, in the next moment, the sensation vanished as quickly as it had come.

Granny Zhang finished seeing off the villagers from the area and only then noticed that Chen Ji hadn’t left yet. She was just about to call out a greeting when she saw him lift Second Master Huang down from her grandson’s shoulder. With a smile, Chen Ji turned and strode out.

The way he walked was so natural and unhurried—where was there any sign of a blind man?

But when Granny Zhang looked at Chen Ji’s eyes again, they were indeed dull and lifeless, pitch black and devoid of light. For a moment, she felt as though those eyes didn’t belong to a living person. Right then, Chen Ji spoke up. “Granny, sell me two more chickens. I’ll head home and stew them into some nourishing soup!”

Granny Zhang paused, and that strange feeling from before evaporated in an instant. “Oh, sure, sure…”