Sun Ning asked gently, “What does this mean? What does ‘because Pan Pan is Pan Pan, so there’s no danger’ mean?”
Pan Pan tilted her head, puckered her lips in thought, and said, “It means Pan Pan is Pan Pan.”
Once inside, the young girl insisted on going next door to fetch water for them.
As the young girl went out the door, Li Cancan lowered her voice and asked, “Pan Pan is Pan Pan, so there’s no danger. God Xin, don’t you think this situation with the little girl is a lot like the time you encountered a girl looking for her mother in that fairy tale copy?”
“That girl was the creator of that dream copy, so she couldn’t be harmed within that copy.”
“So, is it possible that the current Pan Pan is also the creator of this copy world, which is why she’s not in danger?”
Bai Lixin hadn’t figured it out either. To be honest, he also didn’t quite understand the meaning of “Pan Pan is Pan Pan.”
But it was clear that Pan Pan wasn’t a simple NPC; she must be an important character.
Not long after, Pan Pan returned with a heavy thermos. Li Cancan quickly got up to take it from her. “Pan Pan, let Auntie do it, you can sit down.”
The young girl blinked her eyes and watched Li Cancan work busily but didn’t say anything. She simply walked to a chair at the side of the room and used both hands and feet to climb onto it.
Perhaps because she was a bit bored with the four adults, the girl started humming the same tune Li Cancan had heard in the yard earlier.
The tune sounded like a kind of folk song, and due to the characteristics of folk songs, some of the words they heard weren’t very clear.
However, as the little girl continued to sing, the expressions of the four adults who had been sitting suddenly turned serious as they exchanged meaningful glances.
“Under the green mountains, there’s a village, where resides the Eighteen Sisters. Eighteen Sisters, so beautiful, each one a charming maiden. When the Eighteen maidens turn eighteen, the matchmaker comes to discuss marriage. Eighteen Sisters blush with shyness, the matchmaker waves her handkerchief, and fate is sealed.”
“Eighteen charming maidens, not seeking wealth or looks, they have fertile fields in abundance. But they seek a good man for their house. He lives in their courtyard, sleeps in their beds, tends their fields, and slaughters their pigs.”
“Hey~ whose handsome son is this? Hurry, enter my gentle village.”
“Gentle village, Hero’s tomb, don’t ask about the future road of heroes. Listen to the maiden’s song, and we’ll grow old together.”
“Good son, enter our home. Would you like to stay in our village? The gate is open for you. From now on, you are the master, and I am your partner. We’ll raise children together, and for four generations, we’ll live in happiness.”
The little girl sang one line at a time, and while singing, her legs dangled from the chair, swaying gently.
After finishing one round, she began singing it again from the beginning.
Sun Ning couldn’t help but interrupt the girl’s song. “Pan Pan, who taught you this song?”
Pan Pan, with her hands on the armrests of the chair, swung her legs and replied, “Auntie taught me.”
“Who is Auntie?” Sun Ning quickly asked. Her sixth sense told her that this song was a clue, and this “Auntie” seemed important too.
Pan Pan’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “Auntie is Auntie, Pan Pan’s Auntie. Auntie has already gone.”
Several people were stunned immediately.
Li Cancan hesitated and asked, “Gone, as in… what I’m thinking, gone? Your Auntie, is she… deceased?”
Pan Pan nodded heavily. “Yes, she’s gone.”
Bai Lixin asked, “How did your Auntie leave, Pan Pan?”
Pan Pan replied, “Auntie was very beautiful. On the day she left, she was wearing a red dress, like a young bride, so beautiful. Auntie left with a smile, waving to me, and then there was a ‘splash’ sound. She jumped into the well, and the water in the well turned red like rose petals.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
If water turned red after someone jumped in, then the red dress might not have been a red dress at all; it could be clothes dyed by the blood.
In other words, a horrifying event might have happened in the village at that time. If that were the case, the other people in the village should know about it.
Sun Ning: “Do you remember when your Auntie left, Pan Pan?”
“It was when I was five years old,” Pan Pan jumped off the armchair and hopped into the courtyard. “Uncles and aunties, do you want to play hide and seek with me? Pan Pan loves playing hide and seek the most. On the day Auntie left, she played hide and seek with Pan Pan, and many people played with Pan Pan. But their hide and seek was really tricky; Pan Pan looked for them for a long time and couldn’t find them.”
Pan Pan spoke in her childish, innocent voice, but for some reason, Li Cancan suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
She looked at Pan Pan, who was now playing in the yard, and a shiver ran through her body.
‘So scary. I want to escape!’
This was supposed to be a welfare copy; how did it suddenly turn into a supernatural story?
It’s not just Xia Chi who’s incompatible with supernatural copies, she was too.
This is really putting her life on the line.
‘Help! SOS!’
——————————-
In the live broadcast room
[Dreaming of “Orphan”.]
[Dreaming of ‘The Shining’.]
[Wuuu, it scared me. I wasn’t scared by the abusive husband, nor was I scared by those screaming pigs. Now I’m scared by a little girl’s song and words. Mom, save me.]
[Mom says when you’re in danger, you remember her. But you never call her when you are not in danger. ]
[Males only, Gentle Women, Iron House, Self-healing Pigs, Red-clothed Person (Female), Pan Pan…Uh, is this really a welfare copy?]
[God Xin: I don’t need this welfare!]
[Hahaha. Perhaps for the players before God Xin arrived, it really was a reward. Didn’t you see that player with the small braid has already surrendered? This beauty is delivered to him; it’s a welfare copy, so it’s a perfect reward. It’s been so many years since I came to this game, I haven’t enjoyed this kind of entertainment. Who can resist such passion?]
[Well, in a sense, to the copy, God Xin is like a legendary God of Bad luck. I can’t help but laugh to death.]
[Players trapped in Gentle Village: I’m fine.]
[Gentle Village NPCs: We’re fine too.]
[Copy: I’m fine too.]
[God Xin: No, you’re not fine. Shut it down!]
[ “Wherever I go, I leave no trace behind.”]
—————————-
When they left Pan Pan’s house, the weather outside had changed.
A few dark clouds were slowly drifting in from the distant green mountains, and it was getting darker around them.
It seemed like it would rain soon.
Seeing the unfavorable weather, Li Cancan, couldn’t help but remind Pan Pan to lock the door, close all the windows, and not go out after they left.
The gate of Small Braid’s courtyard was already closed at some point. They just glanced at it and didn’t say anything more in tacit agreement.
Small Braid had already been cautioned.
Sun Ning reminded him, and so did Bai Lixin.
If Small Braid could listen, he would have listened long ago.
If you can’t listen, even if they say it a hundred times, Small Braid wouldn’t listen.
At this time, it was eleven in the morning. When they parted ways, Sun Ning looked at Bai Lixin. “After hearing Pan Pan’s song, do you have any conclusions?”
Bai Lixin said, “Eighteen Sisters, eighteen women. From the sound of this song, it seems like these eighteen women weren’t marrying far away but were looking for men to marry them.”
As they walked, he continued, “Fertile fields in abundance, but they seek a good man for their house. He lives in their courtyard, sleeps in their beds, tends their fields, and slaughters their pigs… Good son, enter our home, would you like to stay in our village? The gate is open for you. From now on, you are the master, and I am your partner. We’ll raise children together, and for four generations, we’ll live in happiness.”
“Now, this village already has hundreds of households, but from the sound of this song, it doesn’t seem to have started with many. And that ‘four generations living together,’ do you remember when we went to Old Li’s house for the hundredth-day celebration? At that time, those people were blessing Old Li’s family with ‘four generations living together.’”
Li Cancan asked, “What does this mean?”
Sun Ning: “It shows that in this village, they regard continuing the family line as a matter of great honor.”
“Speaking of which, have you noticed that all the children in the village seem to be boys? Except for Pan Pan, have you seen any girls?”
Li Cancan, now realizing it, widened her eyes. “I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it. It’s true, besides Pan Pan, all the children in the village are boys. Could it be that this village values boys over girls, and if they discover it’s a girl, they dispose of her and keep only the boys?”
“Or maybe someone in the village knows how to manipulate things to ensure they only have boys. Isn’t there a barefoot doctor in the village? Could he be involved?”
“If neither of those is the case, it might be an issue with the village itself? Something related to the magnetic field or such? Making them have only boys every time?”
“In that case, Pan Pan seems even more special, the only girl in the whole village. I wonder if that’s fortunate or unfortunate.”
Sun Ning looked at Li Cancan appreciatively, unable to resist complimenting her. “Cancan, you’re so smart. I hadn’t expected you to come up with so many possibilities in just one sentence and lay them all out, your mind works quite fast.”
Li Cancan blushed. “Come on, Sun Ning, you’re teasing me, aren’t you? How can I compare with you and God Xin? Both of you have much faster minds than me. If I’m a drum, you two are like a spinning top and a high-speed engine.”
Spinning Top: “…”
High-Speed Engine: “…”
It’s a metaphor, but why does it sound strange?
Bai Lixin: “So, here’s the problem. First, we need to find out what’s really going on with the pigs in the blue iron house. Second, we need to know why all the children born in the village are boys. I think what Cancan mentioned about the barefoot doctor and issues with the village are possible. Third, we need to find out what happened to Pan Pan’s aunt, the woman in red back then.”
“Yesterday, I encountered a disheveled woman in red on the mountain. I wonder if Pan Pan’s aunt and this woman in red are the same person.”
Sun Ning burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Li Cancan: “Why are you laughing, Sun Ning?”
Sun Ning: “I’m laughing because it seems like we won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”
She glanced at Bai Lixin, and the two of them shared a knowing smile.
Beast Eared Dijia: “…”
‘Are you assuming I’m dead?’
—————————
Around one or two o’clock in the afternoon, the rain finally began to fall.
The rain seemed to mean there was no need for work. Teh men who were supposed to go back to work in the afternoon didn’t leave because of the rain. Instead, they dozed off in their rooms.
Bai Lixin thought that now might be the perfect opportunity to investigate the blue iron house. He borrowed an umbrella from the mute woman, used some coaxing and deception to leave Beast Eared Dijia at home, and ventured out alone.
The rain came swiftly, but It wasn’t heavy.
A single rain shower seemed to wash away the vitality of the village during the day. There was not a soul on the roads outside the village, only mist on the distant green mountains and Bai Lixin.
The fine raindrops, like wisps of cow hair, sprinkled gently on the earth. The surrounding red walls and black tiles seemed to instantly transform into scroll paintings. Mist filled the air, creating a tranquil and hazy scene.
Bai Lixin was in no hurry. He savored this rare beauty as he leisurely made his way toward his destination.
Just as he was about to reach the village entrance, he suddenly heard a woman’s scream.
The scream was very faint, and if Bai Lixin hadn’t been strolling in the rain, he probably wouldn’t have heard it at all among the people huddled in their homes to escape the rain.
He stopped in his tracks and moved in the direction of the scream.
That voice sounded somewhat familiar.
But due to the sound of the drizzling rain, he couldn’t discern whose voice it was exactly.
However, it didn’t take him long to identify the voice.
He followed the sound to the house where Small Braid lived.
Through the wide-open door, he saw a man lying in the yard.
The man held a kitchen knife and his upper was body bare. He lay there as the fine rain washed over him.
The light rain washed over the man, leaving a red stain on his body.
Kneeling beside the man was a woman, her face covered in terror as she looked at the man lying on the ground. She then turned her gaze toward Small Braid, her expression filled with disbelief.
Small Braid held a machete-like knife in his hand, a weapon that appeared to be different from what most people in the village had. It was most likely a weapon that Small Braid kept in his backpack.
Amidst the noise of the rain and the panic of Small Braid and the woman, they failed to notice Bai Lixin’s presence.
Woman: “What have you done?! You killed him? Are you insane? Do you know that killing someone is against the law?”
Small Braid felt somewhat wronged, “But if I didn’t act, you would be the one dead! He had a kitchen knife and was about to attack you. Did you want me to just stand by and watch you get killed?”
The woman’s voice choked up, and the pouring rain washed away her tears along with the raindrops. “I’d be relieved if I died. Why did you save me? Living is so painful, but when you’re dead, you don’t have to suffer. My life is worthless; you didn’t have to risk your own life for me.”
Small Braid didn’t care about that. He limped over and embraced the woman, “You’re not worthless, you’re such a good person, clearly deserving of something better. Sister, I didn’t want to see you die. If someone has to die, it should be him!”
The woman cried even more sadly, “But I don’t want anything to happen to you either. What should we do? If someone finds his body, you’ll be caught.”
“That’s right! We need to get rid of the body,” the woman gritted her teeth, breaking free from Small Braid’s embrace. Her face was fragile, but her eyes were filled with determination. “I can’t let anything happen to you. So, the two of us will dispose of his body. If anyone asks, I’ll say my man went out to work. After some time, I’ll say he encountered danger outside and died. Then I can peacefully become a widow, and you won’t have any trouble.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Little brother, let’s drag him into the hut for now. There’s an abandoned well in the village. Later tonight, we’ll secretly toss his body into the well.”
Small Braid looked at the woman’s fragile yet resolute face and was deeply moved. “Sister, why are you doing this?”
The woman replied, “Because you’re a good person. Big Sister will definitely protect you.”
As they dealt with the body, Small Braid inadvertently glanced towards the door and instantly froze in place upon seeing Bai Lixin standing at the entrance.
Sun Ning asked gently, “What does this mean? What does ‘because Pan Pan is Pan Pan, so there’s no danger’ mean?”
Pan Pan tilted her head, puckered her lips in thought, and said, “It means Pan Pan is Pan Pan.”
Once inside, the young girl insisted on going next door to fetch water for them.
As the young girl went out the door, Li Cancan lowered her voice and asked, “Pan Pan is Pan Pan, so there’s no danger. God Xin, don’t you think this situation with the little girl is a lot like the time you encountered a girl looking for her mother in that fairy tale copy?”
“That girl was the creator of that dream copy, so she couldn’t be harmed within that copy.”
“So, is it possible that the current Pan Pan is also the creator of this copy world, which is why she’s not in danger?”
Bai Lixin hadn’t figured it out either. To be honest, he also didn’t quite understand the meaning of “Pan Pan is Pan Pan.”
But it was clear that Pan Pan wasn’t a simple NPC; she must be an important character.
Not long after, Pan Pan returned with a heavy thermos. Li Cancan quickly got up to take it from her. “Pan Pan, let Auntie do it, you can sit down.”
The young girl blinked her eyes and watched Li Cancan work busily but didn’t say anything. She simply walked to a chair at the side of the room and used both hands and feet to climb onto it.
Perhaps because she was a bit bored with the four adults, the girl started humming the same tune Li Cancan had heard in the yard earlier.
The tune sounded like a kind of folk song, and due to the characteristics of folk songs, some of the words they heard weren’t very clear.
However, as the little girl continued to sing, the expressions of the four adults who had been sitting suddenly turned serious as they exchanged meaningful glances.
“Under the green mountains, there’s a village, where resides the Eighteen Sisters. Eighteen Sisters, so beautiful, each one a charming maiden. When the Eighteen maidens turn eighteen, the matchmaker comes to discuss marriage. Eighteen Sisters blush with shyness, the matchmaker waves her handkerchief, and fate is sealed.”
“Eighteen charming maidens, not seeking wealth or looks, they have fertile fields in abundance. But they seek a good man for their house. He lives in their courtyard, sleeps in their beds, tends their fields, and slaughters their pigs.”
“Hey~ whose handsome son is this? Hurry, enter my gentle village.”
“Gentle village, Hero’s tomb, don’t ask about the future road of heroes. Listen to the maiden’s song, and we’ll grow old together.”
“Good son, enter our home. Would you like to stay in our village? The gate is open for you. From now on, you are the master, and I am your partner. We’ll raise children together, and for four generations, we’ll live in happiness.”
The little girl sang one line at a time, and while singing, her legs dangled from the chair, swaying gently.
After finishing one round, she began singing it again from the beginning.
Sun Ning couldn’t help but interrupt the girl’s song. “Pan Pan, who taught you this song?”
Pan Pan, with her hands on the armrests of the chair, swung her legs and replied, “Auntie taught me.”
“Who is Auntie?” Sun Ning quickly asked. Her sixth sense told her that this song was a clue, and this “Auntie” seemed important too.
Pan Pan’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “Auntie is Auntie, Pan Pan’s Auntie. Auntie has already gone.”
Several people were stunned immediately.
Li Cancan hesitated and asked, “Gone, as in… what I’m thinking, gone? Your Auntie, is she… deceased?”
Pan Pan nodded heavily. “Yes, she’s gone.”
Bai Lixin asked, “How did your Auntie leave, Pan Pan?”
Pan Pan replied, “Auntie was very beautiful. On the day she left, she was wearing a red dress, like a young bride, so beautiful. Auntie left with a smile, waving to me, and then there was a ‘splash’ sound. She jumped into the well, and the water in the well turned red like rose petals.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
If water turned red after someone jumped in, then the red dress might not have been a red dress at all; it could be clothes dyed by the blood.
In other words, a horrifying event might have happened in the village at that time. If that were the case, the other people in the village should know about it.
Sun Ning: “Do you remember when your Auntie left, Pan Pan?”
“It was when I was five years old,” Pan Pan jumped off the armchair and hopped into the courtyard. “Uncles and aunties, do you want to play hide and seek with me? Pan Pan loves playing hide and seek the most. On the day Auntie left, she played hide and seek with Pan Pan, and many people played with Pan Pan. But their hide and seek was really tricky; Pan Pan looked for them for a long time and couldn’t find them.”
Pan Pan spoke in her childish, innocent voice, but for some reason, Li Cancan suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
She looked at Pan Pan, who was now playing in the yard, and a shiver ran through her body.
‘So scary. I want to escape!’
This was supposed to be a welfare copy; how did it suddenly turn into a supernatural story?
It’s not just Xia Chi who’s incompatible with supernatural copies, she was too.
This is really putting her life on the line.
‘Help! SOS!’
——————————-
In the live broadcast room
[Dreaming of “Orphan”.]
[Dreaming of ‘The Shining’.]
[Wuuu, it scared me. I wasn’t scared by the abusive husband, nor was I scared by those screaming pigs. Now I’m scared by a little girl’s song and words. Mom, save me.]
[Mom says when you’re in danger, you remember her. But you never call her when you are not in danger. ]
[Males only, Gentle Women, Iron House, Self-healing Pigs, Red-clothed Person (Female), Pan Pan…Uh, is this really a welfare copy?]
[God Xin: I don’t need this welfare!]
[Hahaha. Perhaps for the players before God Xin arrived, it really was a reward. Didn’t you see that player with the small braid has already surrendered? This beauty is delivered to him; it’s a welfare copy, so it’s a perfect reward. It’s been so many years since I came to this game, I haven’t enjoyed this kind of entertainment. Who can resist such passion?]
[Well, in a sense, to the copy, God Xin is like a legendary God of Bad luck. I can’t help but laugh to death.]
[Players trapped in Gentle Village: I’m fine.]
[Gentle Village NPCs: We’re fine too.]
[Copy: I’m fine too.]
[God Xin: No, you’re not fine. Shut it down!]
[ “Wherever I go, I leave no trace behind.”]
—————————-
When they left Pan Pan’s house, the weather outside had changed.
A few dark clouds were slowly drifting in from the distant green mountains, and it was getting darker around them.
It seemed like it would rain soon.
Seeing the unfavorable weather, Li Cancan, couldn’t help but remind Pan Pan to lock the door, close all the windows, and not go out after they left.
The gate of Small Braid’s courtyard was already closed at some point. They just glanced at it and didn’t say anything more in tacit agreement.
Small Braid had already been cautioned.
Sun Ning reminded him, and so did Bai Lixin.
If Small Braid could listen, he would have listened long ago.
If you can’t listen, even if they say it a hundred times, Small Braid wouldn’t listen.
At this time, it was eleven in the morning. When they parted ways, Sun Ning looked at Bai Lixin. “After hearing Pan Pan’s song, do you have any conclusions?”
Bai Lixin said, “Eighteen Sisters, eighteen women. From the sound of this song, it seems like these eighteen women weren’t marrying far away but were looking for men to marry them.”
As they walked, he continued, “Fertile fields in abundance, but they seek a good man for their house. He lives in their courtyard, sleeps in their beds, tends their fields, and slaughters their pigs… Good son, enter our home, would you like to stay in our village? The gate is open for you. From now on, you are the master, and I am your partner. We’ll raise children together, and for four generations, we’ll live in happiness.”
“Now, this village already has hundreds of households, but from the sound of this song, it doesn’t seem to have started with many. And that ‘four generations living together,’ do you remember when we went to Old Li’s house for the hundredth-day celebration? At that time, those people were blessing Old Li’s family with ‘four generations living together.’”
Li Cancan asked, “What does this mean?”
Sun Ning: “It shows that in this village, they regard continuing the family line as a matter of great honor.”
“Speaking of which, have you noticed that all the children in the village seem to be boys? Except for Pan Pan, have you seen any girls?”
Li Cancan, now realizing it, widened her eyes. “I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it. It’s true, besides Pan Pan, all the children in the village are boys. Could it be that this village values boys over girls, and if they discover it’s a girl, they dispose of her and keep only the boys?”
“Or maybe someone in the village knows how to manipulate things to ensure they only have boys. Isn’t there a barefoot doctor in the village? Could he be involved?”
“If neither of those is the case, it might be an issue with the village itself? Something related to the magnetic field or such? Making them have only boys every time?”
“In that case, Pan Pan seems even more special, the only girl in the whole village. I wonder if that’s fortunate or unfortunate.”
Sun Ning looked at Li Cancan appreciatively, unable to resist complimenting her. “Cancan, you’re so smart. I hadn’t expected you to come up with so many possibilities in just one sentence and lay them all out, your mind works quite fast.”
Li Cancan blushed. “Come on, Sun Ning, you’re teasing me, aren’t you? How can I compare with you and God Xin? Both of you have much faster minds than me. If I’m a drum, you two are like a spinning top and a high-speed engine.”
Spinning Top: “…”
High-Speed Engine: “…”
It’s a metaphor, but why does it sound strange?
Bai Lixin: “So, here’s the problem. First, we need to find out what’s really going on with the pigs in the blue iron house. Second, we need to know why all the children born in the village are boys. I think what Cancan mentioned about the barefoot doctor and issues with the village are possible. Third, we need to find out what happened to Pan Pan’s aunt, the woman in red back then.”
“Yesterday, I encountered a disheveled woman in red on the mountain. I wonder if Pan Pan’s aunt and this woman in red are the same person.”
Sun Ning burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Li Cancan: “Why are you laughing, Sun Ning?”
Sun Ning: “I’m laughing because it seems like we won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”
She glanced at Bai Lixin, and the two of them shared a knowing smile.
Beast Eared Dijia: “…”
‘Are you assuming I’m dead?’
—————————
Around one or two o’clock in the afternoon, the rain finally began to fall.
The rain seemed to mean there was no need for work. Teh men who were supposed to go back to work in the afternoon didn’t leave because of the rain. Instead, they dozed off in their rooms.
Bai Lixin thought that now might be the perfect opportunity to investigate the blue iron house. He borrowed an umbrella from the mute woman, used some coaxing and deception to leave Beast Eared Dijia at home, and ventured out alone.
The rain came swiftly, but It wasn’t heavy.
A single rain shower seemed to wash away the vitality of the village during the day. There was not a soul on the roads outside the village, only mist on the distant green mountains and Bai Lixin.
The fine raindrops, like wisps of cow hair, sprinkled gently on the earth. The surrounding red walls and black tiles seemed to instantly transform into scroll paintings. Mist filled the air, creating a tranquil and hazy scene.
Bai Lixin was in no hurry. He savored this rare beauty as he leisurely made his way toward his destination.
Just as he was about to reach the village entrance, he suddenly heard a woman’s scream.
The scream was very faint, and if Bai Lixin hadn’t been strolling in the rain, he probably wouldn’t have heard it at all among the people huddled in their homes to escape the rain.
He stopped in his tracks and moved in the direction of the scream.
That voice sounded somewhat familiar.
But due to the sound of the drizzling rain, he couldn’t discern whose voice it was exactly.
However, it didn’t take him long to identify the voice.
He followed the sound to the house where Small Braid lived.
Through the wide-open door, he saw a man lying in the yard.
The man held a kitchen knife and his upper was body bare. He lay there as the fine rain washed over him.
The light rain washed over the man, leaving a red stain on his body.
Kneeling beside the man was a woman, her face covered in terror as she looked at the man lying on the ground. She then turned her gaze toward Small Braid, her expression filled with disbelief.
Small Braid held a machete-like knife in his hand, a weapon that appeared to be different from what most people in the village had. It was most likely a weapon that Small Braid kept in his backpack.
Amidst the noise of the rain and the panic of Small Braid and the woman, they failed to notice Bai Lixin’s presence.
Woman: “What have you done?! You killed him? Are you insane? Do you know that killing someone is against the law?”
Small Braid felt somewhat wronged, “But if I didn’t act, you would be the one dead! He had a kitchen knife and was about to attack you. Did you want me to just stand by and watch you get killed?”
The woman’s voice choked up, and the pouring rain washed away her tears along with the raindrops. “I’d be relieved if I died. Why did you save me? Living is so painful, but when you’re dead, you don’t have to suffer. My life is worthless; you didn’t have to risk your own life for me.”
Small Braid didn’t care about that. He limped over and embraced the woman, “You’re not worthless, you’re such a good person, clearly deserving of something better. Sister, I didn’t want to see you die. If someone has to die, it should be him!”
The woman cried even more sadly, “But I don’t want anything to happen to you either. What should we do? If someone finds his body, you’ll be caught.”
“That’s right! We need to get rid of the body,” the woman gritted her teeth, breaking free from Small Braid’s embrace. Her face was fragile, but her eyes were filled with determination. “I can’t let anything happen to you. So, the two of us will dispose of his body. If anyone asks, I’ll say my man went out to work. After some time, I’ll say he encountered danger outside and died. Then I can peacefully become a widow, and you won’t have any trouble.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Little brother, let’s drag him into the hut for now. There’s an abandoned well in the village. Later tonight, we’ll secretly toss his body into the well.”
Small Braid looked at the woman’s fragile yet resolute face and was deeply moved. “Sister, why are you doing this?”
The woman replied, “Because you’re a good person. Big Sister will definitely protect you.”
As they dealt with the body, Small Braid inadvertently glanced towards the door and instantly froze in place upon seeing Bai Lixin standing at the entrance.
