chapter 10

I said nothing. I merely watched Grandpa Eighteen.

“Beast, attack him! I raised you for this day. If you ruin it, I’ll kill you!”

He believed victory was already his, but the weasel on the feather mound did not move.

“Are you trying to die, you wretched thing?” When it still refused to obey, he screamed until his voice tore. “Attack! Attack! Attack him!”

I almost laughed. The old bastard stood on the edge of death and still dreamed of controlling everything.

“Grandpa Eighteen, perhaps you should look behind you.”

Confused, he turned.

At some point, dozens of weasels of every size had gathered behind him. Every pair of eyes was fixed on his back.

“Good, good. You’ve come at the perfect time. Little ones, let’s kill this brat together.”

He grinned savagely. In his mind, matters had gone too far for me to leave alive.

I remained silent and watched him. The end was close now.

Just as I expected, the weasels did not attack me. They closed in around Grandpa Eighteen instead.

He continued shouting, utterly unaware that the injured weasel’s gaze had changed. Submission and pleading hardened first into hatred, then into a hunger for revenge.

The large weasel struggled upright and staggered toward him. Ignoring every command and curse, it sprang onto his body.

The moment their leader attacked, the others surged forward as if they had received an order. Wave after wave buried Grandpa Eighteen beneath claws and teeth.

I leaned against the cave wall and edged toward the exit.

“Grandpa Eighteen, every living creature has a spirit. The moment you tried to tame it without caring about the consequences, you buried the seed of your own ending.”

“You thought you could control it, but crooked arts can never withstand the light. In the end, the creature you used has turned on you. Everything you worked for is lost, and death will not come quickly.”

I turned and ran. I did not stop as his curses and screams receded behind me.

End of Main Story

Epilogue

After everything I witnessed, I no longer insisted on going to the police.

Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that ghosts and monsters truly existed.

From then on, I accepted that all things possess a spirit. You need not believe in them, but you must never show them disrespect.

After graduating from university, I joined a major technology company. Through hard work, I bought an apartment in the city and brought my parents to live with me.

Whenever old village stories came up, they would sigh. “Uncle Eighteen was such a good man. How did he suddenly disappear? What a shame…”

Several years later, I began dating a beautiful woman with a stunning figure.

One quiet night, we pulled the quilt over our heads and explored the harmony of life together.

At the height of our passion, a foul stench suddenly filled the space beneath the quilt.

Then she kissed my earlobe and whispered, “Darling, do I look human to you?”