It was rare for the people from Wangbao to come down from their mountain village, but one spring, they arrive in town with sensational news - a virgin birth. What's more, there is something very odd about the baby - he is as big as a child of three, black all over and missing a finger. The villagers whisper that he is the thunder god's son, but back in town, the local doctor knows something he is too afraid to tell.
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Madwoman on the Bridge.