The moon hung high in the sky, torn into fragments by the thick tree canopy. The cries of various animals rose and fell throughout the night, quickening the heartbeat and stirring fear.
Surrounded by pitch darkness, Oldest Song couldn't shake the feeling that something was hiding in the shadows, watching him.
He had just started up the mountain and was already having second thoughts. "Grandniece, this place is eerie. Let's go back."
Song Jinzhao turned to look at him. The torch in her hand cast a bright, fiery light, painting their faces a golden yellow.
"Uncle, be quiet. Don't speak. Sound carries too clearly at night and will attract beasts."
Oldest Song clamped his mouth shut, feeling a sting of shame at being chastised by a junior.
Arriving at the trap set during the day, Song Jinzhao crouched down, pressing her right cheek against the ground to search for the mother goat's footprints.
A mother wouldn't easily abandon her kid. She must have stayed nearby for a long time, only leaving when all hope was truly lost.
Following the direction of the footprints, Song Jinzhao stepped deeper into the mountains.
Oldest Song gripped his firewood chopper tightly, his fingers clenching and unclenching, forcing himself to follow.
How could a fourteen-year-old girl be so bold? Surrounded by impenetrable darkness, she showed not a hint of timidity, striding forward as if walking down a street in broad daylight.
Leaves rustled against their clothes. Song Jinzhao looked at the goat droppings on the ground, confirming she was on the right path.
From not far away came the dull thud of bodies colliding, accompanied by a hoarse, muffled sound, as if something was being stubbornly held in a mouth.
A shadow flickered in Song Jinzhao's eyes. She tightened her grip on the axe and sprinted rapidly toward the source of the noise.
Please don't let it be what I think it is.
"Jinzhao! Jinzhao!"
Oldest Song shouted after her, watching as she didn't stop even when his voice grew hoarse, breaking out in a cold sweat of panic.
He hesitated, torn between going forward and back, then gritted his teeth and followed.
Rushing through the woods, a slope overgrown with wild grass and bushes came into view.
The sudden appearance of torchlight made the leopard, which had been tearing at its prey, loosen its jaws. Its fierce gaze shot straight toward Song Jinzhao, as if it wanted to devour her.
The sturdy mother goat seized the chance, ramming its head forward, trying to make the leopard spit out the kid in its mouth.
The leopard twisted its body ninety degrees, released its grip, and sank its teeth into the mother goat's neck.
The kid goat lay motionless on the ground, lifeless or alive, it was impossible to tell.
Fearing the mother goat would be killed, Song Jinzhao charged forward with her axe. Oldest Song arrived right behind her but failed to grab hold in time.
His face turned pale as he stared in terror at the blood-smeared leopard. His chopper clattered to the ground, his legs gave way, and he collapsed.
Seeing Song Jinzhao charge to attack, the leopard pushed off with its hind legs and lunged at her with force.
Song Jinzhao fell backwards, her heels scraping a straight line in the dirt. She raised her axe and swung it horizontally into the leopard's belly, slicing open a smooth, meter-long gash.
A torrent of warm leopard blood gushed out, drenching Song Jinzhao, staining her face and body a deep crimson.
She pushed off the ground with one hand and stood up in an instant, turning like a sharp sword to mount the leopard's back. With a powerful swing of her arm, she brought the axe down, severing the leopard's head.
Oldest Song's pupils contracted, his breath caught. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his chest.
The leopard fell to the ground, undeniably dead. Song Jinzhao turned to look at the mother goat.
The mother goat stood beside her kid, nudging it incessantly with her head, as if calling for her child to get up. She didn't even move when Song Jinzhao approached.
Having already lost one child, she was determined not to give up on the remaining one.
The kid goat's neck had been pierced by the leopard's bite, two dark puncture holes oozing blood.
It was beyond saving.
Only after seeing the leopard killed by Song Jinzhao did Oldest Song dare to scramble up from the ground.
Summoning his courage, he stepped forward. The sight before him made him sigh with relief.
The kid goat lay still and silent on the ground. The mother goat let out a mournful, drawn-out bleat, each cry seemingly sapping all the strength from her body.
Song Jinzhao effortlessly gathered the mother goat's four hooves in her grasp, picked up the leopard's corpse, and slung it over her right shoulder. With a look, she signaled Oldest Song to pick up the kid goat's body and the leopard's head.
Oldest Song's legs trembled as he stepped forward to retrieve the kid.
The leopard's unblinking dead eyes filled him with dread. He didn't dare touch the head and looked helplessly at Song Jinzhao.
Song Jinzhao rolled her eyes fiercely at the sky.
How could a grown man be so timid, afraid of something already dead?
She walked over, hooked the leopard's head with her ring and little fingers, and led the way. The mother goat struggled incessantly, but Song Jinzhao remained as steady as a mountain, her hand not even wavering.
Oldest Song followed behind her, sweating profusely, feeling as if he had just died and come back to life.
On the dark country path, the moonlight cast Song Jinzhao's shadow, making it appear exceptionally tall and imposing.
Old Lady Song heard noise outside the house. Getting up and walking to the door, she found someone knocking on the courtyard gate.
Could they be back?
"Who is it?"
Oldest Song responded in a hoarse voice, "Mother, it's me and Jinzhao."
Old Lady Song opened the gate. The first glimpse of them made her mind reel in shock. She stumbled back two steps in fright, her voice frozen in her throat.
Song Jinzhao was covered in blood. The leopard slung over her shoulder had a ragged, bloody stump where its head should be. It looked like a murder scene, sending shivers down one's spine.
The kid goat sleeping in the pen heard the bleating and ran out to see.
Song Jinzhao put the mother goat into the pen, and the two instantly nestled together.
They were indeed mother and child.
Only after the courtyard gate was closed did Old Lady Song regain her senses.
She stared in astonishment at the leopard's carcass on the ground. "Did you kill this?"
Oldest Song averted his gaze, stammering, "Not me. Jinzhao killed it."
He hadn't been of any use at all. Compared to his brave, bold, and agile grandniece, it was truly embarrassing to look at himself.
Old Lady Song clutched her chest, feeling a wave of belated fear. "I'll go heat water for you both to wash up."
After everything was settled and they returned to the old house, Oldest Song fell back onto his bed. The image of Song Jinzhao slaying the leopard lingered stubbornly in his mind.
His wife, Elder Aunt Song, awakened, asked, "Did you catch the mother goat?"
Oldest Song nodded, sighing with emotion. "More than just a mother goat. Jinzhao also killed a leopard, a full ten feet long, with legs thicker than my head. She killed it with one swing of her axe."
Elder Aunt Song's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Really?"
Oldest Song glared. "The leopard's body is in Third Brother's courtyard. Go see for yourself tomorrow if you don't believe me."
Before dawn broke, Elder Aunt Song hurried excitedly to Song Jinzhao's house but didn't see the leopard in the courtyard.
Song Qiming walked to the water vat with a clay pot to rinse rice. Catching sight of someone wandering in the yard, he instinctively called out, "Who's there?"
Elder Aunt Song approached. "It's me. Don't you recognize your Elder Aunt?"
Song Qiming rubbed his eyes, making out that it was Elder Aunt Song.
"Sorry, Elder Aunt. It's too dark, I didn't see clearly."
Elder Aunt Song asked, "Where's your elder sister?"
Song Qiming replied, "Big Sister was afraid the leopard meat would spoil. She went to the city before daybreak."
Elder Aunt Song's shoulders slumped, her face full of disappointment.
So fast? She hadn't even gotten a look.
Song Jinzhao reached the city gates before they had opened.
After waiting for half an hour, the soldier who came to open the gate saw the leopard slung over her shoulder and froze in place, rooted to the spot like a statue.
The three of them watched with wide eyes as Song Jinzhao entered the city.
"She looks like just a young girl."
The clerk at the Food Friends Inn had just opened up early when he saw a moving yellow hillock in the street. Craning his neck, he realized it was someone carrying a leopard.
He patted his chest, muttering to himself, "Good heavens, what hunter is this skilled?"
As she drew nearer, the clerk recognized her—wasn't that Miss Song?
Song Jinzhao: "Brother, is the shopkeeper in?"
"Yes, but he hasn't gotten up yet. I'll go call him right away."
The clerk turned to go inside but, flustered, tripped over the threshold, his legs tangling.
Clutching his bleeding nose, he stumbled back to his feet. How could a teenage girl dare to carry, let alone manage to carry, such a thing?
This was a leopard, a man-eater.
