I was playing with the little dog when my dad came back from outside.

Dad told me that the dog's name was "Wang Wang," and I said it was fortunate that it wasn't named "Wang Cai."

Dad said he originally wanted to name it "Wang Cai," but someone else had already taken that name, so they had to settle for "Wang Wang."

I asked dad why every household in the village had started keeping dogs within a week.

Dad said, "You don't know. Recently, there have been chicken thieves every day. One household is affected each night. The chicken theft incidents happen every day, making everyone in the village worried. So many people started keeping dogs to guard their homes. If the chicken thieves dare to come, the dogs will bark, and then we can catch the chicken thieves!"

I was surprised to hear that there were chicken thieves every day.

Dad said, "Exactly. Although our Hongqi Village is poor, the people here are honest and kind-hearted. For so many years, we haven't heard of anyone losing anything. Why did chicken theft suddenly occur recently? Some suspect people from other villages, some suspect locals, some even say it's the "yellow-skinned people," and some even say it's wild people coming down from the mountains. In short, there are all kinds of rumors!"

Mom came out of the kitchen and called us in for dinner.

While eating, Dad said to Mom, "I might not come back tonight. Village Chief Yu organized a small team to catch the thief, and I'm the captain. We will patrol the village overnight, hoping to catch the chicken thief!"

With chicken theft happening every day in the village, although the losses weren't significant, the impact was severe. Village Chief Yu couldn't sit still anymore. In the afternoon, he organized a meeting with young adults and formed a small team to catch the thief. My dad was appointed as the captain to lead the team in patrolling all night, hoping to catch the chicken thief and restore peace to Hongqi Village.

After dinner, it was already dark outside. Dad sat at the door, preparing a torch with a burning stick wrapped in rags soaked in oil.

Before leaving, Dad put half a catty of white wine in his pocket and some peanuts in the other pocket. He said that if he got hungry or tired in the middle of the night, he could have a few sips of wine to refresh himself.

Dad left, but I felt restless and uneasy. I couldn't sleep, tossing and turning. It felt like something was going to happen tonight.

I got up, feeling a bit annoyed, so I opened "The Book of Three Pure Ones" and started reading it.

Slowly, as I entered the world of "The Book of Three Pure Ones," my mood gradually calmed down.

As I was reading, in the middle of the night, I suddenly heard a commotion outside, and the quiet village suddenly became bustling.

I leaned against the window, looking outside, and saw flickering flames and people running. They were shouting, "We caught the chicken thief! We caught the chicken thief!"

People had grown extremely disgusted with the chicken thief these days. Upon hearing the news of catching the chicken thief, many people rushed out of their homes, including many children who followed to see what was happening.

I also put on my coat and walked out of the yard. The night sky outside was chilly, and although the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed for several days, the moon was still quite round, casting a cold light on the hills.

As soon as I stepped out of the yard, I bumped into Xie Qiang, who had also come out of his house, holding a burning stick in his hand.

Excitedly, Xie Qiang said to me, "I heard they caught the chicken thief. Let's go and see. Damn, dare to steal the breeding chickens from my house. I'll teach him a lesson!"

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Following the crowd, Xie Qiang and I arrived at the backyard of Lao Sun's house.

Lao Sun wasn't actually old; he was my dad's classmate and the same age as him. However, his hair turned white in his youth, and by middle age, all of his hair had turned white, making him look like an old man. So everyone called him Lao Sun, and we secretly called him Lao Sun Head.

Our family's mongrel dog Wang Wang was brought back by Dad from Lao Sun's house.

When we arrived, there were already many people gathered in Lao Sun's backyard.

Dozens of torches were held high from all directions, illuminating Lao Sun's backyard as bright as day and turning the moon in the sky red.

Xie Qiang pulled me to the front of the crowd and found Fatty there too.

I asked Fatty if they caught the thief, and he nodded, pointing to a figure in the corner of the chicken coop. He said, "Look, over there! That despicable chicken thief has finally been caught red-handed. Unless he can grow wings, he won't be able to escape tonight!"

I raised my head and looked towards the corner. I saw the figure facing the wall, with its back to the crowd, crouching in the corner, as if chewing on something.

At first glance, I felt that the figure was somewhat familiar.

At the second glance, the figure was short and looked like a child.

At the third glance, something was clearly off about the figure. If the chicken thief was a child, facing the chase and blockade of so many people, they should be scared, not this calm. Moreover, the person was dressed in black clothes, resembling funeral clothes worn by the dead. What was even stranger was that the person's clothes, pants, and shoes were covered in yellow mud, as if... as if they crawled out of the ground.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as the night wind blew.

"Chicken thief, turn around!"

"Chop off both hands for stealing chickens and dogs!"

"Beat him! Beat him!"

The angry crowd cursed at the chicken thief, but despite the insults, the chicken thief remained indifferent.

The brazen attitude of the chicken thief angered everyone. The crowd parted, and Village Chief Yu walked out from the crowd, pointing at the chicken thief in the corner, and sternly commanded, "Who are you? Turn around and let everyone see your face. Do you dare to do it, but not dare to admit it?"

"Kiki..."

The chicken thief completely ignored Village Chief Yu's words and even let out a sneering laughter.

The laughter of the chicken thief ignited the anger of the villagers, and even Village Chief Yu's face showed a layer of anger.

Waving the burning stick, Xie Qiang cursed, "This little bastard is too arrogant. Unless I beat him to the ground, he won't understand why the flowers are so red!"

Village Chief Yu gave my dad a signal. As the captain of the small team to catch the thief, my dad had an obligation to step forward. He grabbed the back collar of the chicken thief, lifting them up and angrily rebuked, "Turn around!"

The chicken thief turned around, and my dad froze for a moment. He suddenly released his grip in terror, as if he had seen something extremely frightening. He took several steps back, sitting on the ground, pointing at the chicken thief, "You... you are..."

The onlookers erupted in a gasp, and after a few seconds, it suddenly fell silent again. The courtyard became as still as death.

The chicken thief in front of us was familiar to everyone present. They were indeed a child, and a child who had recently died. Their name was... Er Gou!