Awakening

　　My father, armed with a leash and a prayer, froze. Ma's wife, no longer recognizable as human, charged toward him.

　　"Move!" my grandfather roared from the house, fear propelling him forward. 

　　But my father, paralyzed by terror, couldn't budge.

　　It was the dog – the big, black dog, sensing the unnatural aura of the approaching creature— that reacted first. 

　　Barking ferociously, it lunged, a black streak launching itself at the corpse spirit. It sailed through the air, landing squarely on the monster's chest, but failing to knock it off its feet. 

　　Seizing the opportunity, the yellow weasels and foxes rushed in, their tiny teeth bared. 

　　But the corpse spirit was impervious to pain, her flesh hardened like iron. 

　　Their teeth could find no purchase. They clung to her like baubles on a macabre Christmas tree.

　　Only the giant weasel, its powerful jaws clamped onto the creature's leg, managed to trip her, sending her tumbling to the ground. 

　　"Get back!" Liu screamed, her voice strained with effort as she rained blows on the writhing mass. "Into the house! Now!"

　　The pipe connected with a sickening thud. Ma's wife shrieked. 

　　The spell, momentarily broken, my father snapped out of his stupor. He turned and fled.

　　My grandfather scampered back into the house and into the bedroom. 

　　My mother, awakened by the commotion, cradled me in her arms. 

　　The sounds from beyond the bedroom door —- animal screeches, the corpse spirit's roars, Liu's increasingly desperate cries, the frantic crowing of roosters –– painted a terrifying soundscape of a battle raging just outside our door. 

　　My grandfather, his face a mask of fear, burst in. 

　　"Xiaojuan!" he cried, his voice raw with panic. "The shroud! Dress the child! Hurry!"

　　The chaos, my terrified father's unexpected arrival, had disrupted Liu's plans. 

　　The roosters, intended as a scare tactic, a last resort… 

　　their crowing, meant to signal the approaching dawn, had backfired. 

　　The corpse spirit, believing sunlight was imminent, panicked.

　　She fled towards the only escape route – the doorway…where it found my father and the menacing black dog.

　　Black dogs, especially purebred ones, were believed to possess strong yang energy – repellant to the undead.

　　Liu had a two-pronged plan: If she failed to subdue the corpse spirit, the roosters would scare her away, giving us time to regroup, to formulate a new strategy. 

　　If she *succeeded* … the dog would prevent the creature from escaping.

　　She hadn't anticipated *this* … 

　　her carefully laid plans undone by my father's ill-timed appearance.

　　 And her own failure to communicate clearly. 

　　My mother, fumbling with the unfamiliar shroud, was startled by a muffled cry from outside – Liu! 

　　Something was terribly wrong. 

　　Before my grandfather could react, a monstrous shadow fell across the bedroom window. 

　　Before we could even scream, a pair of hands –- those hideous claws gleaming in the moonlight –- smashed through the paper pane. 

　　Ma's wife, grinning that terrible grin, hoisted herself through the window. 

　　My mother screamed again, a high-pitched wail of terror. 

　　My grandfather, his courage renewed by desperation, charged, swinging his cleaver. 

　　But she was ready for him this time. 

　　She caught his wrist in a grip that belied her decayed flesh. 

　　 One swift kick sent him crashing to the ground. 

　　"Wu Jie… *Where is Wu Jie?*" she rasped, her eyes darting around the room. 

　　Then, confusion. She couldn't find me. 

　　A corpse spirit might be blind to the human world… but it could *sense* life, vitality. 

　　And my aura… that, she was drawn to. 

　　The shroud. That was Liu's other safeguard. 

　　A shroud cloaked the living in the semblance of death. 

　　 It masked the very life force that drew the creature to me.

　　Before, she *felt* me. Now…

　　"Please," my mother whimpered. Tears streamed down her face. "Spare my son! He's just a child!" 

　　The corpse spirit's nostrils flared. She snarled, her eyes fixing on my mother. 

　　"Bring him out! Or she dies! "

　　Her claws shot out, reaching for my mother's throat… 

　　I, oblivious to the terror engulfing my family, watched with wide-eyed fascination.

　　Then… *it* appeared. 

　　The room, moments before filled with the corpse spirit's menacing presence, was suddenly … different. 

　　The air crackled. The temperature plummeted. Even the stench of decay seemed to recede … 

　　as if something ancient… primal… had awakened. 

　　An enormous shadow filled the room. 

　　 A fox. But a fox unlike any I'd ever seen –– its form shimmering, shifting, *eight tails* billowing behind it like ethereal flames.

　　My head throbbed. My vision blurred. 

　　And then, in a voice that was not my own –– a woman's voice, powerful, ancient, filled with righteous fury –– I spoke. 

　　*"Go!"* The word boomed, echoing through the room. 

　　Golden light erupted from my body, a blinding flash that engulfed the corpse spirit. 

　　The creature howled –– a sound of pure agony –– and flew out the window. 

　　My eyes rolled back, My head spun. 

　　My limbs trembled. 

　　I crumpled against my mother. 

　　Whatever had possessed me… had retreated, leaving behind a dazed child, and a mother who clung to him, too relieved to process the impossible.