Stranger Danger

Chapter 332: A Tale of Cattle

“Why so hasty, customer? Your brothers are waiting to eat beef, you know? It will be bad if lunch is delayed because of us!”

After struggling a couple more times to no avail, Mrs. Jiao opted for the opposite approach and pressed up against Yang Yun’s chest. “You can always find me after you finish lunch!”

“Hehehe, remember what you said, innkeeper!” Yang Yun reluctantly let her go and began looking for a suitable bull in the cattlepen.

I’m... not... I’m... help...? Why are there words inside the cattlepen?

Yang Yun had just taken a few steps when he noticed that many of the wooden stakes and feeder trays had strange markings that looked like words. It looked like they had been chewed out with teeth. It took him a long time to recognize just a handful of words, and while he found them to be strange, he didn’t really pay attention to them.

“Huh? Why are these cattle crying, innkeeper?” Suddenly, Yang Yun noticed a few cattle shedding tears and moving closer to him. It was almost like they were trying to tell him something.

“Well, animals can feel emotions as well. They must realize that one of their own or they themselves are about to die. That is why they’re crying,” Mrs. Jiao said with a giggle.

“You’re quite knowledgeable, innkeeper!” Yang Yun grinned.

His grin slowly stiffened on his face, however. It was because he saw one of the crying bulls staring him straight in the eye and writing with its hoof:

“SAVE”

“ME”

Save me?

Yang Yun’s heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, he felt like he was caught in an Anomaly. How could a bull write human words? Was it a Stranger? If it was, then why would it ask for help from a human? Maybe it wasn’t a Stranger? Maybe it was really a... human!

At the same time, Yang Yun recalled the words he saw on the wooden stakes and feeder tray. Suddenly, the words he couldn’t identify before became clear in his head:

I... I’m not cattle... I... I’m human... Help... Help me...

If these cattle were human, then who were they before they were transformed into cattle?

Could they be... the customers who visited the inn?!

He immediately recalled another oddity he didn’t notice until now. He had seen several cartloads of goods parked at the back garden while he was making his way to the cattlepen earlier, so this meant that there should be other people in this inn. However, the dining hall was completely empty when they entered even though it was lunchtime.

Besides that, the white mantous, flatbreads, candied fruits and jerkies he saw in the feeder tray earlier were obviously traveling rations, but the innkeeper claimed that they were fodder for the cattle. Could cattle even eat such things?

All the signs seemed to be pointing toward one thing.

Cold sweat began creeping onto his forehead. His back felt ice cold as well.

“Have you done picking a bull, customer?” Mrs. Jiao asked in her usual sweet voice, but right now, Yang Yun couldn’t feel any attraction toward her at all. In fact, he nearly jumped like she was a walking Anomaly.

“Gulp...”

Yang Yun swallowed as quietly as he could and stealthily wiped away the words on the floor with a wisp of force. Then, he forcefully suppressed his fear and feigned nonchalance, “Yep! I-I’m done picking! I want t-this one!”

“N-Now let’s get back to my brothers. I-I’m sure they’re getting impatient.”

Yang Yun spun around and hurriedly strode toward the exit, but right before he would step out of the cattlepen, Mrs. Jiao’s voice came from behind him,

“You saw everything, didn’t you?”

“W-What? I didn’t see anything!” Yang Yun knew his cover was blown there and then. He raced forward as quickly as he could while getting ready to cry for help.

“MOO!”

But what came out of his mouth wasn’t a human cry, but a bull’s moo. Not only that, he realized that his hands had turned into hoofs, thick fur was growing out of his arms and his body, and he was leaning forward uncontrollably as if standing in a vertical position went against his nature.

The next moment, his bones contorted painfully, and his flesh began warping and swelling into something else. A tail grew out of his butt as well.

“Moo!!!”

It was after the transformation that Yang Yun realized that he had turned into a bull. He was gradually losing his ability to think like a human as well. It might not be long before he turned into an actual bull; cattle that anyone could slaughter as they pleased.

He charged forward with all his might while mooing as loudly as he could. Perhaps his companions might think that something was amiss if he created a big enough racket. But the second he lifted a hoof, a rope abruptly wrapped around his neck and dragged him away with unstoppable force. He was then tethered to a wooden stake.

“I was going to let you live a little longer, but what can I do when you discover my secret[1]?”

Mrs. Jiao giggled as she sauntered over to Yang Yun. She was holding an exquisite root carving[2] of an old yellow bull and a mill. The bull was currently turning the mill like it was alive, and every time it made a full circle, the mill would release some sort of strange energy that made Yang Yun’s consciousness just a bit blurrier than before.

“It’s fine though. You will all turn into my cattle eventually.”

Mrs. Jiao circled around Yang Yun a couple of times before complimenting him, “As I thought, warriors make for good cattle. Just look at that smooth fur, healthy physique, and firm muscles. Anyone can tell that you’re top quality livestock. You’re gonna sell for a lot of money, dearie.”

Her delight only lasted for a few seconds, however. “Still, how am I going to explain your disappearance to your companions? They don’t look easy to fool. How troublesome.”

“Oh well. I suppose I’ll have to do that.”

Mrs. Jiao walked around the cattlepen for a bit. Then, she stopped in front of a black bull and mumbled, “You’re old and thin, so you’re not worth much anyway. Very well.”

Mrs. Jiao grabbed the head of her bull carving and turned it backward. The bull carving began turning the mill backward and causing the black bull to let out a moo of pain. Its body began shrinking, and its fur began receding back into its body. One full revolution later, the black bull actually turned back into a human being; a thin, frail old man to be exact.

The old man was naked and crouching on all fours. He was dripping saliva and wearing a goofy grin on his face.

“Have you become a bull for so long that you’ve forgotten how to act like a human?”

Mrs. Jiao kicked the old man, but he couldn’t seem to feel it. He continued to wear a silly grin on his face.

“This isn’t going to work,” Mrs. Jiao mumbled to herself before grabbing a cowhide hanging on a drying pole and throwing it over the old man. Then, she grabbed the bull carving’s head and turned it again.

The bull carving let out a displeased moo. Then, it reluctantly turned the mill in reverse again.

The cowhide started morphing into Yang Yun’s appearance. It had his face, his features, everything. Then, it clung to the old man’s skin and shrank until the old man looked just like Yang Yun.

“This is much better.”

Mrs. Jiao giggled. “Now go. Do not draw that group’s suspicion. If you perform well, I’ll allow you to remain a human for a bit.”

“Hehehe...” The fake Yang Yun let out a silly grin and slowly rose to a standing position. He began walking back and forth inside the cattle pen as if he was trying to get used to his body.

......

“We’re back, squad leader.”

Zhao Lei and Ju Shui returned to the dining hall and saluted their leader.

“How many people are there in this inn?” The squad leader asked.

“No one, actually. It’s strange. There’s no one in this inn besides the innkeeper and the cook,” Zhao Lei reported with a puzzled voice.

“What’s so strange about that? There are countless inns out there that have zero customers.” A guy sipping his wine dismissed his concerns. “In fact, this is better for us. It’ll save us so much trouble.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Zhao Lei shook his head with a frown. “Some of the beddings in the guest rooms are disturbed, and I saw parcels and clothes inside the rooms as well. There should be other customers inside this inn, and yet this whole place is empty besides us. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Come now, you’re overthinking this. Maybe those customers just left the inn, and the innkeeper didn’t have the time to clean the bedding. As for the parcels, maybe they’re gifts for the innkeeper or discarded trash.”

Another Dark Guard chimed in, “My Warding Talisman isn’t sensing anything. The innkeeper is definitely a human.”

“I hope so!” Zhao Lei sighed, though his worries hadn’t abated much.

“What’s taking Yang Yun so long?” Someone asked suddenly.

“You know how that guy is. I’m surprised we haven’t heard the screams yet,” The jealous guy from before muttered.

The squad leader frowned. “Someone go get Yang Yun. We have a mission to carry out. I don’t care what he does during his free time, but letting loose right before a mission is just unprofessional and risky.”

“I’ll go!” A guy responded. However, he had just risen to his feet when Yang Yun walked out of the entrance leading to the back garden.

“You’ve been gone for a long time, Yang Yun. What did you do?” A guy asked while winking at Yang Yun.

“I went to pick a bull, hehe...” Yang Yun said with a silly chuckle.

“Yeah, that smells like bullshit. How long does it take to choose a bull? Tell us, Yang Yun. You fucked the innkeeper, dincha?” Someone asked with a lecherous grin on his face.

“Hehe...” Yang Yun’s only response was to chuckle again.

“Do you even need to ask? Just look at his face!”

“Seriously? But you’ve only been gone for like what, ten minutes? You don’t last very long, do ya?”

“Sure seems like it. I’ll introduce you to a good doctor when we get back. He's been a kidney specialist for sixty years, and his treatments are sugar free. I guarantee you’ll be fucking like a racehorse after this!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Everyone guffawed, and Yang Yun was still chuckling like an idiot. Everyone thought that Yang Yun was still high from the experience and paid his strange reaction no heed.

The group continued to chat and drink until the dishes were served. The innkeeper hadn’t been joking when she named the feast the “Beef Buffet”. There were beef tongue, beef liver, oxtail, cuts, chucks, ribs, loins, rounds, flanks, plates, briskets and shanks[3]; pan-fried, stir-fried, boiled, friend, steamed, cooked and more. Every dish looked and smelled like heaven on earth.

For a moment, everyone was transfixed by the heavenly food in front of them. Then, they pounced on top of the table like they had never eaten in their lives and chowed down like no tomorrow. Some people even thought using chopsticks was too troublesome and tossed them away. They grabbed the beef directly with their hands and shoved it all into their mouths.

“Hahaha... eat. Eat until you can eat no longer, customers. Only then can you be sold for a good price. Hahaha...”

The innkeeper couldn’t stop giggling as she watched the group from the sidelines.

It wasn’t long before everyone had reached max capacity—literally. Their stomachs were bulging, and even their intestines were full of beef. Despite this, they continued to shove food into their mouths like they were crazy.

No one noticed the transformation. First, they started growing thick hair on their body. Then, their arms and legs turned into that of a bull’s. Finally, their head transformed into a bull’s head as well.

However, it wasn’t until they had completely wiped out the dishes, and they had completely transformed into fat bulls that they finally noticed their transformation. There were black, yellow, white, spotted bulls and more.

“Moo moo moo!”

Shocked and horrified, the bulls ran all over the place in panic. Mrs. Jiao giggled at the sight and called out, “Hubby, the cattle are escaping. Come out and catch them before it’s too late!”

“Coming!”

A hunch-backed, ugly man ambled out of the kitchen. A rope flew out of his sleeve and split into several ropes before catching every bull by the neck with unerring precision. As soon as the ropes appeared around their necks, the bulls abruptly calmed down as if by magic. They then followed the man to the back garden with mute obedience.

“Hahaha... that’s another big haul.”

Mrs. Jiao smiled so wide that wrinkles appeared on her face. She then looked at the fake Yang Yun—the only human of the group who wasn’t turned into a bull—and rebuked him, “What are you blanking out for, old man? Clean up the items already! It would affect our business if a customer sees this mess!”

“Hehe...” The fake Yang Yun let out a silly chuckle and began licking the dirty plates. The leftovers on the plates were no longer beef, however. They were grass.

Humans eat meat, and cattle eat grass. But in All Cattle Inn? It was the other way around.

“Hahaha... I wonder when the next batch of cattle will show up? Hahaha...”

1. This is what should’ve happened to every horror game with this type of plot really. ?

2. Root carving is a traditional Chinese art form. It consists of carving and polishing tree roots into various artistic creations. ?

3. I took a bit of liberty and just copied the whole list off a beef website instead of translating them one by one. There are still some stuff that probably only exists in a Chinese menu such as the tongue, liver and tail. ?

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