That night, dark clouds obscured the moon, enveloping the entire Er Gui Village in darkness.
In a corner of Old Mu Family's backyard, a shadow slipped into Mu Dashan's room and emerged with something in hand. Moments later, a hen screamed in agony from the chicken coop.
Soon after, calm returned to Old Mu Family.
Awakened by the clucking sound in her sleep, Old Mrs. Mu sat up with a start, and startled Mr. Mu awake as well.
"Wife, what are you doing? Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Sleep for what? I just heard our chicken clucking. Could it be thieves?"
Those few chickens in the house were the lifeblood of Old Mu Family; they depended solely on their daily eggs.
"You're overthinking it. There's no chicken clucking. You must have misheard." Mr. Mu replied confidently; still sleepy, he casually reassured Old Mrs. Mu and fell back asleep.
