Chapter Five: The Toad

Under the blazing sun, Yu Ge sat on a stone by the street, a stalk of foxtail grass dangling from his lips. He idly picked at his teeth, appearing relaxed, yet his sharp gaze remained fixed on the gate of Tailor Wang’s courtyard across the road.

He watched as the procession of mourners gradually departed, his palm absently rubbing the black iron dagger at his waist. An inexplicable tension stirred within him.

Why not wait until nightfall, when the moon was shrouded and the wind high? Experience had taught him that venturing out at night invariably led to trouble—unexpected incidents always seemed to find him. At noon, the oppressive sun not only subdued supernatural forces but ensured that, should anything happen, help could be summoned quickly.

Time passed, and the stream of mourners dwindled to none. Seeing the courtyard deserted, Yu Ge circled to the rear gate, deftly flicking the wooden latch open with his dagger.

He glanced inside; the front yard remained still. Yu Ge tiptoed in, and after just a few careful steps, the main hall came into view. At the front stood a table laden with offerings; behind it, on a wooden board, lay Tailor Wang, dressed in burial robes.

He had not yet been placed in the coffin—likely awaiting ritual rites.

Only one woman knelt in the hall, her hair tied up; Yu Ge recognized her as Tailor Wang’s wife. He decided to wait, but just then, the woman rose and left the front yard.

No time to waste. Yu Ge slipped inside, bounding swiftly to Tailor Wang’s side and hastily pulled open the burial robes.

He wanted to see what exactly Tailor Wang had been scratching that afternoon. The posture seemed odd for a simple itch.

Peeling back the robes, Yu Ge revealed the back. The skin was swollen from immersion, pallid in a sickly way, but otherwise unremarkable.

Was it truly drowning?

Suppressing his discomfort, Yu Ge ran his hand over the back, scrutinizing every detail. Aside from several reddish marks from fingernails, nothing else appeared.

He had no time for deeper investigation; footsteps echoed from the rear. He quickly restored the robes and slipped away.

He had no doubt that discovery by the family would result in a disastrous scene—if accused of desecrating the dead, he could be beaten to death.

He left Tailor Wang’s home, only stopping once he was safely distant. Disappointed, Yu Ge had found nothing of value; it seemed Tailor Wang’s death was merely a straightforward drowning.

He had examined the body, visited the place where Wang drowned—now, even if he wanted to pursue the matter further, there were no leads.

Recalling Wang's strange demeanor that day, Yu Ge shook his head, consoling himself that there was nothing left to investigate.

He left the town, caught a few fish from the nearby river, and hurried back to his courtyard as dusk approached.

Night deepened. Yu Ge lay in bed, his consciousness surveying the handful of star-like motes within his mind.

He would continue working on them tomorrow.

Lying there, Yu Ge closed his eyes, a restless urge to grow stronger gnawing at him.

A thin red mist draped the town, and the breaths within his chamber grew steady.

Suddenly, from the shadows of the courtyard, a faint rustling arose. A black, basin-sized creature emerged from the darkness beneath the wall, its form repulsive.

It was an unknown animal, its body covered in sticky brown skin, scattered with countless green, transparent spots the size of soybeans. A pair of dark green eyes hid amidst the mottled surface, making it hard to see—deeply unsettling.

A quarter hour passed.

Those dark green eyes stared intently at the room, shifted, and, as if making a decision, the creature moved, swiftly gliding across the ground toward the door.

The wooden door creaked open. The creature slipped through the crack, scanning the room before fixing its gaze on Yu Ge, lying on the bed.

Its tiny eyes gleamed with greedy intelligence. Webbed feet shuffled forward, then it suddenly leapt, mouth agape, shooting a red tongue like a steel spike.

Just as the figure on the bed was about to be struck—

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

With a thunderous shout, Yu Ge sprang from the bed, flinging the quilt at the creature.

The black iron dagger hidden beneath the quilt flashed coldly, slicing through the darkness.

The quilt swept down, smothering the creature, who shrieked, recoiling its tongue and jumping aside, dodging both the quilt and the blade. It landed at a distance, baring its teeth at Yu Ge.

Now Yu Ge could see the creature clearly and frowned. It was uglier than a toad, larger, with tiny eyes and disgusting green spots. Even without a fear of clusters, it made his skin crawl.

He hadn’t expected the midnight visitor to be such a thing.

His inspection of Tailor Wang’s corpse had yielded nothing but those red marks—no other clues.

Still, Yu Ge had remained vigilant, thinking caution never hurt. Who would have guessed it would pay off so quickly?

Yet, he found it odd: such a large creature, the size of a basin, how could it have drowned Wang, a man nearly two hundred pounds?

Now, Yu Ge placed all suspicion for Wang’s death on this toad-like monster.

Seeing Yu Ge stand ready with his dagger, the creature’s dark green eyes darted, and it bolted for the half-open door.

Yu Ge had finally caught a glimpse of its true form—he couldn’t let it escape so easily.

He lunged, slashing with the dagger, but it was too short, and the creature was agile; he couldn’t land a single blow.

Several times, he nearly fell prey to its tongue, uncertain of its full power—but as the beast’s signature weapon, it couldn’t be underestimated.

Would the dagger work?

After a few fruitless attempts, Yu Ge remembered the dagger’s special properties, and his gaze fell on the creature’s hind legs.

The monster seemed suddenly aware of a chill between its legs, as if threatened, and ran even faster.

Seeing it about to slip out the door, Yu Ge didn’t hesitate; he hurled the black iron dagger at the creature’s underside.

With a sharp whistle, a flash of light streaked across the room, followed by the monster’s agonized howl. The dagger embedded itself in the doorframe.

Yu Ge rushed forward to retrieve it, but the creature, enduring the pain, had already leapt out the door and vanished. On the floor, a palm-sized chunk remained.

Yu Ge was stunned—the creature’s speed had increased drastically.

So the dagger’s special effect truly worked!

He glanced at the green lump on the floor, put on his shoes, and cautiously approached, nudging it with his foot.

The bloody chunk, wrapped in brown-green skin, didn’t resemble any unmentionable part; recalling the creature’s speed, it must have dodged the worst.

That was fortunate—otherwise, he’d have to worry whether the dagger was still usable.

He didn’t know if the creature was poisonous. According to the memories in his mind, he’d never encountered anything like it. Carefully, he wrapped the meat in layers of rag and set it in the corner.

Afterward, he found some sticky residue on his hands. Washing thoroughly, he detected nothing amiss, and so gave it no further thought.

He planned to show the specimen to Zhao Ziming tomorrow. With concrete evidence, he’d have persuasive proof; as for the future safety of the town, that was not his concern.

He still aspired to become a true achiever—he couldn’t waste time on such matters.

Locking the doors and windows, Yu Ge lay in bed once more, eyes narrowed. He remained vigilant against a possible return attack from the toad, but nothing stirred until dawn crept across the sky.