Chapter 1

When it gets dark, don't go out.

This saying has been passed down in the village of the elderly for many years. No one knows exactly when it started, but it is a truth that cannot be doubted.

As the sun slowly set behind the mountains, Grandma Si's heart tightened again. As the last ray of sunlight disappeared, the world suddenly became eerily silent, with no sound at all. Darkness slowly crept in from the west, swallowing the mountains, rivers, roads, and trees, and then enveloped the village of the elderly.

At the four corners of the village of the elderly stood four ancient stone statues. The statues were weathered and ancient, and even Grandma Si did not know who carved them or when they were placed there.

As darkness fell, the four stone statues emitted a faint glow in the darkness. The statues continued to shine, and Grandma Si and the other elders in the village breathed a sigh of relief.

The darkness outside the village grew thicker, but with the light from the stone statues, the village of the elderly was still relatively safe.

Suddenly, Grandma Si's ears twitched, and she froze, exclaiming, "Listen, there's a child crying outside!"

Beside her, Old Ma shook his head. "Impossible, you must be mistaken... Wait, there really is a baby's cry!"

From the darkness outside the village, the sound of a baby crying could be heard. All the other elders in the village, except for those who were deaf, heard the cry. They looked at each other in confusion. The village of the elderly was remote and desolate; how could a baby appear nearby?

"I'll go check it out!"

Grandma Si became agitated and ran to one of the stone statues on the edge of the village. Old Ma hurried over, "Old Si, are you crazy? It's dark, and going out means certain death!"

"Carry this stone statue out of the village. The things in the darkness are afraid of the stone statues, so I won't die right away!"

Grandma Si bent down, trying to lift the stone statue, but she was hunched and couldn't manage it. Old Ma shook his head, "Let me do it. I'll carry the stone statue and go with you!"

Another elder, limping, came over and said, "Old Ma, you only have one arm, and you won't be able to carry the stone statue for long. I have both hands, so let me carry it."

Old Ma glared at him, "Lame, you have a broken leg, can you even walk? I may only have one arm, but it's very strong!"

He lifted the stone statue with his single arm, steadied himself, and the statue was unexpectedly heavy. "Old Si, let's go!"

"Don't call me 'old woman'! Lame, mute, everyone, be careful. Without one of the stone statues, don't let the things in the darkness get in!"

...

Old Ma and Grandma Si walked out of the village of the elderly. In the darkness, strange things circled around them, but they retreated into the darkness with a strange cry when illuminated by the light of the stone statue.

They followed the crying sound, walking a hundred steps, and came to a large river. The baby's cry was coming from the riverbank. The stone statue emitted a faint glow, not reaching far, and they carefully located the sound, walking upstream for a few dozen steps. The crying was nearby, and Old Ma was struggling to support the stone statue. Grandma Si's eyes lit up as she saw a faint glow. It was a basket on the riverbank, and the glow and the crying were coming from inside the basket.

"There really is a child!"

Grandma Si approached and tried to lift the basket but was startled. She couldn't lift it. Under the basket was a pale, water-soaked arm, which was holding the basket and the child up, all the way to the shore.

"Don't worry, the child is safe," Grandma Si whispered to the woman underwater.

The woman's body seemed to hear her words, and her hand released, being swept away by the river, disappearing into the darkness.

Grandma Si lifted the basket, and inside was a swaddled baby. On top of the swaddling was a jade pendant, which emitted a faint glow. The light from the jade pendant was similar to that of the stone statue but much weaker. It was the jade pendant that protected the child from the things in the darkness.

The light from the jade pendant was weak, protecting only the child, not the woman.

"It's a boy."

Back in the village of the elderly, the villagers gathered around. They were all old, weak, and disabled. Grandma Si lifted the swaddling and smiled, her few remaining teeth showing. "Our village of the elderly finally has a healthy person!"

The one-legged lame man was surprised, "Old Si, are you planning to raise him? We can barely take care of ourselves! I think we should send him away..."

Grandma Si was furious, "I found this child with my own abilities, why should I give him away?"

The villagers dared not contradict her, and the village chief, who was carried on a stretcher, came over. He was in a worse state than the others, who at least had hands and feet, even if they were fewer than normal. He had no hands or feet, but everyone respected him, even the fierce Grandma Si.

"Since we're raising him, we should give him a name, right?"

The village chief asked, "Old woman, is there anything else in the basket?"

Grandma Si searched and shook her head, "Only this jade pendant, no other notes. There's a character on the jade, 'Qin.' This jade is pure, with strange power inside, not an ordinary item, it must be from a wealthy family."

"Is he called Qin, or is his surname Qin?"

The village chief thought for a moment, "Let's give him the surname Qin, and his name will be Mu, Qin Mu. When he grows up, he can be a shepherd, at least he can survive."

"Qin Mu." Grandma Si looked at the baby in the swaddling, and the baby, unafraid, laughed.

...

By the river, a flute sound could be heard. A young shepherd sat on the back of a cow, playing the flute. The sound was clear and melodious. The shepherd was about eleven or twelve years old, with clear features, rosy lips, and white teeth. His shirt was half-open, and a jade pendant hung from his chest.

This young man was the baby that Grandma Si had found by the river eleven years ago. The elderly in the village had raised him with great hardship. Grandma Si had somehow acquired a cow, and the baby, Qin Mu, drank cow's milk every day, surviving the early years when he was most vulnerable.

The villagers of the village of the elderly, though fierce, were all good to him. Grandma Si was a seamstress, and Qin Mu learned to sew from her. He learned to gather and refine medicine from the pharmacist, leg techniques from the lame grandfather, sound recognition from the blind grandfather, and breathing techniques from the chief, who had no hands or feet. Life passed quickly.

The cow was his childhood nanny. Grandma Si had originally planned to sell it, but Qin Mu was attached to it, so the task of herding the cow was given to him.

He often herded the cow by the river, enjoying the green mountains and clear water, feeling very content.

"Qin Mu, Qin Mu, save me!"

Suddenly, the cow under him spoke, and Qin Mu was startled, jumping off the cow's back. The cow had tears in its eyes and spoke in a human voice, "Qin Mu, you grew up drinking my milk, I am like your mother. You must save me!"

Qin Mu blinked, testing, "How can I save you?"

The cow said, "You have a sickle at your waist. Cut off my skin, and you can save me from this predicament."

Qin Mu hesitated, and the cow said, "Have you forgotten the kindness of my milk?"

Qin Mu raised the sickle and carefully cut the cow's skin. Strangely, no blood flowed, and the skin was empty inside, with no flesh or bones.

When the skin was halfway off, a woman in her twenties or thirties rolled out, her legs still wrapped in the cow's legs, her skin and the cow's skin still connected, but her upper body was free.

The woman, with disheveled hair, snatched the sickle from the stunned Qin Mu, cut the skin on her legs in a few strokes, looked at Qin Mu, and with a wicked smile, placed the sickle on his neck, "Little villain, because of you, I was turned into a cow. For eleven years, I could only eat grass and feed you milk! I had just given birth when I was transformed into a cow by that wicked woman to feed you! Today, I am finally free, and I will kill you first before I cleanse this village of villains!"

Qin Mu's mind was in shock, not understanding what the woman was saying.

The woman was about to kill him when she felt a chill in her back, looked down, and saw a knife protruding from her chest.

"Mu, your pharmacist grandfather wants you to take your medicine." The woman's body fell, and behind her stood the lame grandfather, kind and gentle, holding a bloody knife, smiling at Qin Mu.

"Lame grandfather..." Qin Mu's body went limp, looking at the cow's skin and the woman's body on the ground, still in shock.

"Go back, go back." The lame grandfather patted his shoulder, chuckling.

Qin Mu walked back to the village, one foot high and one foot low, looking back to see the lame grandfather throw the woman's body into the river.

The scene was too shocking, and he didn't even realize when he returned to the village.

"Qin Mu! You little rascal, how many times have I told you? Don't go out when it's dark!"

As night fell, the four stone statues at the corners of the village of the elderly lit up again. Grandma Si stopped Qin Mu, who was about to sneak out to check the cow's skin, and dragged him back.

"Grandma, why can't we go out when it's dark?" Qin Mu asked, looking up.

"When it's dark, some terrifying things move in the darkness. Going out means certain death."

Grandma Si said solemnly, "The stone statues in the village protect us, and the things in the darkness dare not enter the village."

"Do other villages have such stone statues?" Qin Mu asked curiously.

Grandma Si nodded, but her face showed some worry as she looked outside, "The lame one should be back... I shouldn't have let him go. He only has one leg..."

"Grandma, something strange happened today..."

Qin Mu hesitated and told her about the woman who emerged from the cow's stomach. Grandma Si said casually, "You mean that woman? The lame one told me, and he handled it well. I said I would sell the cow when you weaned at four, but you were attached to it, so I let you keep it. See, now something happened? I told you that drinking milk until four would make you attached to the cow."

Qin Mu blushed, realizing that weaning at four was indeed too long, but that wasn't the main issue.

"Grandma, the woman was killed by the lame grandfather..."

"Good kill."

Grandma Si smiled, "She got off easy. She should have died eleven years ago, but she lived because she had to feed you."

Qin Mu was confused.

Grandma Si glanced at him, "This woman was the wife of the city lord of Xianglong City, a thousand miles away. The city lord was lustful, and she was jealous. He liked to seduce and kidnap women, and every time he defiled a woman, she would have her killed. I infiltrated Xianglong City, planning to kill her, but I saw that she had just given birth to a child, who was only three months old. I also thought you needed milk, and she had milk, so I turned her into a cow to feed you. I didn't expect her to break free from the seal and speak, almost harming you."

Qin Mu was speechless, exclaiming, "Grandma, how can a person turn into a cow?"

Grandma Si chuckled, showing her few remaining teeth, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you... the lame one is back!"

Qin Mu looked and saw the lame one, one hand on a cane, the other holding a prey, limping towards the village. The darkness rushed towards the village like a tide, and Grandma Si hurriedly called, "Lame one, hurry up, hurry up!"

"What's the rush?"

The lame one still walked slowly. As he entered the village, the thick darkness enveloped it. The prey on his back was a striped tiger, still alive. Its tail was hit by the darkness, and it suddenly let out a mournful roar. Qin Mu looked and saw that the tiger's tail was only bones, the skin and flesh completely gone, as if eaten by something.

He curiously looked at the darkness outside the village, which was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

"What's in the darkness?" he wondered.