Chapter 314: Rat

My first reaction was that it was a rat. Rats are quite common in this kind of mountain village, and these abandoned wooden houses were practically paradise for rats. However, when we were moving things around earlier, we hadn't found any signs of rats, so it felt a bit unexpected. I thought that it might have been startled by our knocking on the floor and crawled out; we had knocked everywhere except under the bed, so it hid here.

I hadn't anticipated this situation. I wasn't afraid of the iron box being chewed up, but if the rat gnawed on it and loosened the lock, it could become dangerous. I started to worry a bit and immediately crawled toward the hidden compartment, slapping the floor twice to scare the rat away.

Sure enough, when I slapped the floor, it seemed startled, and the noise suddenly grew louder, but the rat still didn't come out from under the floorboards.

I knew that these animals that live alongside humans are incredibly clever; they can judge the situation themselves. It seemed it thought hiding inside was safer than jumping out and running away.

I don't like rats, especially since the rats here should be mountain rats, a more ferocious kind that might actively attack people. I didn't dare to move those boards recklessly, so I waited for Fatty to deal with it.

Fatty didn't care at all. He had been holding in a sulk earlier, and this was the perfect chance to vent. He muttered, "How dare you disturb me? Didn't you find out what animal your grandpa here is?" He crawled over, telling me to adjust my position to block the rat's possible escape route. He carefully pried open a board, arched his body, and made an eagle claw with one hand.

I exchanged a glance with him to signal I was ready. Fatty took a deep breath and made his move. He suddenly pulled the board aside and grabbed, twice in a row. In his excitement, he jerked his head back and hit it hard against the bed board. The pain made him curl up immediately, but he was quite professional—before yelling in pain, he told me to grab it quickly! There was a flurry of activity in the hidden compartment. Afraid that the rat, if startled, might really knock off the lock, I didn't care anymore and reached in, groping around, trying to drive it out. But unexpectedly, I grabbed something as thick as a bowl, and it immediately struggled. My mind went blank. I thought, Damn, it's not a rat, it's a snake! This is the worst—this is Guangxi, the province with the most venomous snakes in China. Just as I was about to let go, Fatty rushed over to help me, grabbing my hand and saying, "Got it, don't let go!"

My face turned green. He clamped his two hands over my hand, and together we pulled the thing out. He said, "At least we got something—wait, I'll ask Agui to stew—Holy shit! What is this thing!"

Fatty suddenly let go, and I saw that what had been pulled out of the hidden compartment was actually a gray human hand.

I screamed and immediately shook off the hand. What the hell! I saw the hand retract quickly back into the compartment, grab hold of the iron box, and start pulling. The movements were intense. After two tugs it couldn't get it out, so the hand started prying at the surrounding boards.

Both Fatty and I were stunned. It took a while before Fatty reacted and yelled, "Holy crap, pulling the rug out from under us! Thief!" I also realized—someone was under the floor trying to steal the iron box.

Fatty immediately got furious. He cursed loudly, hugged the iron box, and dragged it out of the hidden compartment. We saw that one side of the board in the compartment had been pried off, and the hand had come in through that hole. The hole was too small for the box to be pulled out.

As soon as the hand realized the box had been taken away, it immediately withdrew back into the hole. Fatty wasn't about to let that happen; he lunged forward and grabbed the wrist, telling me to help. Before I could reach down, the hand broke free and disappeared into the hole. Then we heard a clatter under the floorboards as the person scrambled away.

Fatty quickly crawled out from under the bed and shouted to Poker-face, "Xiao Ge, go outside and cut him off!"

I looked up and saw that Poker-face had already broken through the window and gone out. Fatty got excited and said to me, "Xiao Wu, watch the box!" Then he jiggled his fat and charged out. I heard him shout, "Xiao Ge, surround him from left and right!"

I dragged the box out from under the bed, my heart nearly leaping out of my chest. What the hell was going on? Whose hand was that? So terrifying. Damn, it scared the crap out of me.

After panting for a long time, whether from the humid heat or something else, I still couldn't catch my breath. I leaned against the wall with the box and heard Fatty shouting outside, "Damn it, where is he? Did he burrow underground?" His voice grew fainter as he ran off.

I tried to take a few deep breaths and go help them, but suddenly I heard another crack of wood from under the bed. I froze, let out an "ah," and suddenly realized something was wrong. Damn! Could it be that he hadn't left? A diversion? I quickly bent down to look under the bed and saw a person crawling out of the hidden compartment toward me. Chapter 11: Dough Figure My first instinct was to run. I grabbed the box and tried to get out. But the box was too heavy; I couldn't lift it alone. I shoved it a few steps, but in my panic and hurry, it got stuck on the floor and wouldn't move. I looked back and saw that the person had crawled out from under the bed, covered in mud, as if he had crawled out of a swamp like Wenjin.

Then I suddenly came to my senses—this wasn't a zombie, this was a person. Why was I so scared? I remembered the hoe Fatty had been wielding earlier, and I ran out, grabbed the hoe, and rushed back.

When I got back, the man had already picked up the iron box and was stumbling toward me. I swung the hoe at him, but he ducked and rolled to dodge, then used his elbow to hit me hard in the back. A sharp pain shot through me, and I nearly fell flat on my face. Without looking back, he rushed out the door.

Although I don't often get into fights, deep down I'm quite stubborn, with the blood of a grave robber. I was furious. I picked up the hoe and chased after him.

As soon as I got outside, I saw Fatty squatting beside the stilted wooden house, looking under it. The man, carrying the heavy box, was staggering past Fatty from behind. I shouted to Fatty, "Stop him!"

Fatty didn't understand yet; he turned to look at me. I yelled, "He took the box!" Fatty was quick to react—in that instant he realized what was happening and immediately reached out, grabbing the man's clothes.

The box was so heavy that the man lost his balance and fell to the ground, the box flying out of his hands. He immediately scrambled to get it, but Fatty wasn't like me—he wasn't going to let him succeed so easily. With a "Mountain Crushing" move, he knocked the man down again. By then I had reached the box and hugged it tightly.

That was a serious mistake. At that moment, I should have helped Fatty subdue the man, because once we caught him, the box would naturally be safe. But I was too flustered to think straight. As a result, Fatty didn't manage to pin him down, and when the man saw there was no hope of getting the box, he scrambled to his feet and ran.

Fatty yelled, "Don't go!" and immediately chased after him. I followed, but the man ran very fast. He dashed into the village and soon disappeared. The stockade's houses crisscrossed, connected by paved stone paths. If you weren't a local, you would easily get lost. We had no idea which direction he had gone.

Fatty was panting, wondering how the man had gotten out of the house

Watching the direction where that person disappeared, I felt bewildered, thinking to myself: Who is this person? Why did they suddenly appear and try to snatch that iron box? We shouldn't have any opponents left now; not many people even know we're here. Could it be an ordinary thief? But this thief's methods are too novel.

Fatty was cursing and grumbling, when Poker-face also hurried over. He had earlier instructed Fatty to go stake out the other side, so if he had been there, I reckon that guy definitely wouldn't have escaped.

We walked back to the house. The iron box had fallen in the mud, getting a big clump of mud on it. Fatty said, "Thank goodness the heavens blessed us; the box didn't break open. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened."

I said, "Seems like we can't put this thing back in its original place. I think we should take it back to Agui's place. Give him some money, he'll naturally know what to do."

Fatty nodded in agreement and said, "Even though the most dangerous place is the safest, it's more reliable to keep it by your side." Without another word, he went to move the box. He grabbed it by the seams and just as he lifted it, suddenly a "crack" was heard. The box's twist lock actually snapped off from the body, and the box fell to the ground, flipping open. The contents inside tumbled out all at once.