"Uncle Hu, uncle Hu, what happens next?"
"Yeah, continue the story!"
In a small beach-side town North of Cloud-Connecting City, a middle-aged man sat facing the ocean. Surrounding him were youngsters of ages no less than 8 or 9, pestering him ceaselessly.
The man in question shrugged his shoulders, "Children, it's getting late and the lot of yous pester me every year to retell the same stories over and over again. Where's the fun in that?"
A boy at the front of the crowd placed his hands on his hips, staring up at the grizzled Uncle Hu, undeterred by the older man's scarred face or his withered ginseng-like arms.
"Today is Jiazi! Storytelling is tradition," the boy stated, his words met with affirming cries from others in the crowd.
Uncle Hu couldn't help but squint at their fervour. The children were feral and with his weakened state and hidden injuries, escaping the encirclement like this was out of the question.
Hu chose his strategy: to divide and conquer.
"Hmph. Ji Chen, you little brat, wish only to skip your daily chores by using Jiazi and tradition as an excuse. Do you think you can fool me, your grandfather?"
Ji Chen blushed slightly at the accusation and under the sudden scrutiny of the other kids around him. Whether Hu's words were true or not, the other children would no doubt tease Ji Chen for weeks to come - they might even use them as blackmail material, threatening to tell his parents if he did not 'help' the others with their chores.
The boy was unsure of how to react. It was only when he turned red as a radish at the jeering of his peers did Uncle Hu strike again.
"Don't think you can use Jiazi as an excuse to skip out on your duties! To think that a stinky brat like you dares try and drag down the other children with you, making them implicit in your plan!"
Hearing this, allies quickly became enemies. Some children were innocent, having already finished their chores, while the others who truly were guilty of Uncle Hu's accusations were given a chance at redemption.
By dividing and turning them all against Ji Chen, Hu forced all the other children into the 'good' camp, directing their attention to the boy who happened to be the biggest and most vocal supporter of storytelling. Even if Ji Chen claimed to be innocent, the other kids, either in good humour or with ill intent, would deny him and begin an unfair 'trial'.
A masterstroke. Swindler Hu works his magic once more.
'And now it is time for me to make my escape.' Hu chuckled, secretly preparing to make his move.
The children had focused all their attention to Ji Chen, jeering and shouting, while the boy in question was close to tears, unable to respond. Some of his closest friends fought back against the crowd, trying to sue for his freedom.
An opening!
Uncle Hu mobilised power greater than his weakened body seemed able to muster. Like a carp leaping through the dragon gate, his pitiful exterior morphed into one of might and agility, threading through the encirclement to his imminent escape.
His movement was instantly noticed, and rallying cries of 'catch the thief' and 'take down the swindler' sounded to his rear. But Hu was focused on one desire - to escape and spend the rest of the day in his hammock.
Unfortunately, this would remain just that - a desire. His plan was foiled by a rogue rock jutting out from beneath the sand. As Hu made first-contact with the ground face-first, he ate a mouthful of sand and regret.
The chanting behind him grew louder and louder and he knew that his fate was sealed.
———
Hu, despite his initial reluctance, was admirably committed to the retelling of their folklore. Each expression, though marred by his facial scarring, was filled with passion. Each word, though hampered by his gravelly voice, was filled with the vigour of the living at one moment, then the coldness of the dead at the next.
With each gesture, his reed rope bracelet swung like a taoist temple's wind chime, its spherical bells jangling lightly with each movement. With each twist and turn, the various gourds and sachets strapped to his body swayed as if emulating the dancing of the roaring campfire at the centre of the group.
He continued to speak as the seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours. The sun - long risen - began to set. Snacks were exchanged and for the people present, hunger was not a problem, for they had faced worse and storytelling on a level like Uncle Hu's was rare. For the entertainment-deprived coastal town, an event like this that occurred only once a year during Jiazi was worth savouring to the fullest.
And more than that, there would be a grand feast to celebrate in the evening.
Soon enough, the sky had begun to darken and children were being called away. They, of course, responded with rebellious shouts of 'just one more story, please' or bold responses of 'five more minutes'. The parents then came to fetch the children themselves, but were eventually absorbed by Hu's story telling and so 'one more story' became another, and another, and another…
As a result, the fireside became like the dips and humps of a valley, a sea of children, the fires dancing in the reflections of their eyes, with parents and adults interspersed amongst them every now and then.
Night truly fell and at this moment, the campfire and the stars were the only remaining source of illumination.
"We've had enough fun, it's time to start the feast," said a woman near the edge of the gathering.
"No, I don't want to, I want to listen to the story," protested her child.
"You've listened for the entire day and you've barely eaten. Come right this instant," she commanded, arms crossed.
"But we haven't heard the fifth story yet!" the child complained, ducking to avoid the grasp of his mother.
Seeing this, her husband had no choice but to intervene.
"Honey, perhaps we can stay for just one more story? The fifth one is very special, after all."
"No. Pick him up and let's go," she replied, directly shutting down his petition.
The husband let out a quiet sigh and complied. Do not be mistaken. This was not a coward, but a wise man who understood his position in the pecking order of their household.
As he manhandled their boy, the blacksmith couldn't help but speak up.
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"Drag him back now and he'll be restless the whole night - you'll not be able to enjoy the feast either," he advised, "another story won't take much longer and it'll save you some trouble."
"Old Zhang, you always have sagely words." The husband replied, immediately switching sides and placing his son back down on the log upon which they had sat.
The wife fumed, but under the gazes of the surrounding families, eventually relented. She realised that due to their disruption, Hu had paused story telling, causing her to earn the ire of their neighbours.
"Old Hu, where were you?" Someone asked, urging the man to continue his story posthaste.
Ignoring him, Hu frowned and looked up towards the starry night sky instead.
"Oi, Swindler Hu, answer the man!" Another person yelled.
Hu didn't reply, continuing to ignore them. That person who had just spoken turned to someone else sitting nearby, who happened to be a young girl, "which story hasn't he told yet?"
"The one about Ao Er Sen," she replied timidly, shying away from him.
"Hey, don't frighten the girl like that," someone said - a parent this time.
The previous man turned to stare confrontationally, even puffing up his chest, "Swindler Hu is wasting everyone's time! We've got a feast to attend to and he's putting on airs and ignoring us."
"Pfft, ignoring you. Like any wise person would do," the parent retorted.
"So you admit that you are unwise, eh?" The ruffian shot back.
The parent returned the jibe with a disdainful look, "this great god has been feeling merciful this evening, otherwise, I would not deign to interact with a roach such as yourself."
The ruffian stepped forwards, "Oh yeah? Well let's see how your face deigns to interact with my fist!"
The scene immediately escalated into a fight. Parents on either side attempted to diffuse the situation as children dove and crawled to escape the ensuing brawl, younger children wailing amongst the chaos.
Yet despite all the commotion, Hu remained unfazed, his gaze directed unfalteringly at the starry sky.
With each second that passed, the stars got brighter and ever so slightly larger. A streak of azure light appeared above, grazing the now-illuminated ocean, cutting closely above the canopy of the nearby forest.
One begets two, two begets three, and three begets a storm of light shooting across the heavens. The ocean seemed to become one large mercury mirror, the ground dust of various rare and exotic crystals and gemstones sprinkled across at lightning speeds.
The two who had initiated the brawl paused instinctively, despite the chaos. One lay on his back while the other held his hands around the former's collar, but they froze in the moment. The people around them stilled also, some who had moments prior been trying to calm the situation, while others simply enjoyed the show.
Even the children quietened, save for the subconscious whimpering of two of the younger children, as well as the unpacified crying of a baby. As the people fell silent, the sounds of bristling foliage and rhythmic lapping of the ocean's tides felt piercingly sharp to the ear.
As they stared into the skyline in unison, their faces mirrored the ocean, with streaks of light of various colour painting their faces - it was as if the world was a canvas and the artist, dissatisfied with his work was drawing and redrawing each stroke with his celestial brush.
Then came the sound. The same way the stars seemed to have suddenly fallen out of nowhere, the sounds of their impacts instantly drowned out those of the trees and the tide. The sound was indescribable to both natives of the town, to even their more educated big city counterparts.
It felt as if heaven itself had begun to collapse, as if a tidal wave the size of a mountain had risen from the east, while an earthquake of the likes of which the world had never seen came from the west.
But amongst those faces on the beach with expressions of fear, shock and horror, was one of longing and relief.
"So the time has come…"
As Uncle Hu muttered quietly, the astral phenomenon vanished just as it had arrived, though while the sky had returned to darkness, the rumbling chaos still filled their ears.
"Haha, the fifth story shall remain forever untold!" He chortled deliriously.
His strange words elicited no reaction from amongst the crowd, as they were all still in shock. Besides, it was unlikely he could be heard, for his words had been drowned out long before they even left his throat.
Hu clasped the black octagonal pendant hanging from the bangle on his left wrist, feeling its glassy smooth texture. It was warm to the touch and seemed to be getting warmer by the moment, but this oddity did nothing but help reassure the man further.
It even confirmed his hunch.
"Our glorious purpose, once dormant, shall soon be awakened!"
Suddenly, almost immediately after Hu shouted, the area became silent. The townsfolk still seemed to be able to hear the rumbling in their ears, but whether that was psychological or real was difficult to tell.
What was certain was that strange whistling sound that had begun to pervade the area. As it intensified, an object appeared above the horizon. Following what appeared to be a parabolic trajectory, the glistening azure light seemed to slow down briefly mid-arc before sinking deep into the ocean, creating a rippling wave on its surface.
Suddenly, the sky turned bright once more. The beach began to bear craters - at first sporadically, but then more and more impacts occurred.
One of the townsfolk disappeared from sight, a hole in the ground where they stood previously.
The girl from before who so desperately wished to stay and listen to the fifth story vanished too. She would never hear any story ever again.
As more craters formed, more people mysteriously disappeared.
And then red liquid and fleshy parts began to fall from the sky, like bloody tears soaking the earth. The initial impact against the sandy ground gave off a squelching sound, though barely audible over the whistling and screaming.
Unafraid, Hu stood straighter than ever, facing the oncoming storm of gore and stars with a manic look on his face. His arms were outstretched, as if ready to embrace a descending angel.
"Praise the way!"