Chapter 4: I’m Begging You
Zhang Can’er looked back and said urgently, “Wan Feng! They’re right below!”
“They can come in, but they can only stay in the storage room,” Wan Feng said coldly.
The situation was urgent, so Zhang Can’er agreed without hesitation.
Only after she opened the back door and let the people in did Zhang Can’er’s heart settle slightly.
Seeing that they were about to speak, Zhang Can’er quickly made a hushing gesture and then pointed toward the main door.
Understanding, everyone nodded and covered their mouths, afraid that even breathing too heavily would attract the monsters.
Seeing that everyone was safe, a hint of a smile appeared in Zhang Can’er’s eyes. When she turned to lead them upstairs, she saw Wan Feng standing at the entrance of the storage room, blocking her way.
Zhang Can’er furrowed her brow. She tiptoed over, hurriedly grabbed Wan Feng’s hand, leaned into her ear, and whispered, “Please, I’m begging you, let them pass, okay?”
“You just agreed.”
“But it’s not right to have them stay here. What if they make a noise? That wouldn’t be good, right?” Zhang Can’er coaxed, as if placating a child.
Wan Feng looked at the dozen or so people behind Zhang Can’er, her eyes terrifyingly cold.
“Killing them would keep things quiet.”
Terrified, Zhang Can’er quickly hugged Wan Feng and said urgently, “Don’t be rash! I, I, I’ll arrange everything for them. I promise they won’t disturb you. I’m begging you.”
The people behind Zhang Can’er exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts, but they all had the same initial idea: So, Zhang Can’er likes girls.
Wan Feng stared at Zhang Can’er for a long moment, then let out a heavy breath. She pulled the girl off her and turned to go upstairs.
Zhang Can’er quickly beckoned to the group behind her and led them to a guest room on the second floor, separated from her own bedroom by one room, just in case they disturbed Wan Feng and made her unhappy enough to go on a killing spree.
Only when they were in the guest room did Zhang Can’er dare to truly breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing Qian Shen, who had always been kindest to her, she walked over and hugged her. “Auntie Qian, it’s so good that you’re all okay.”
Qian Shen also relaxed, hugging Zhang Can’er back as tears fell. “It was your Uncle Jiang and Xiao Su’s group who fought their way here with us. Otherwise, us women and children wouldn’t have survived.”
Tears also welled up in Zhang Can’er’s eyes. She looked at Jiang Shu and the others and asked, “Uncle Jiang, how did you get here? Is anyone hurt?”
The man called Uncle Jiang frowned and shook his head. “We were wearing sheet metal and stuck to the small paths. We only encountered two of them along the way. A few of the young men and I killed them. Those things have very hard bodies. It was Xiao Wang who said to cut off their heads, and only then did they die for good. Otherwise, it would have been a real struggle.”
Zhang Can’er’s heart pounded with fear as she listened. A single scratch from one of those would probably be a death sentence. It was a good thing they knew to wear sheet metal.
Thinking of this, Zhang Can’er asked again, “You knew these things were infectious?”
It was Xiao Su who answered her. His face was extremely pale, and his expression was heavy.
“My mom got scratched by one of those things. She ran back to find my dad and me. We had just come back from the fields and were sitting in the house, drinking tea and resting, when we heard Mom shouting for help from far away. When she got closer, we saw she was covered in blood, and a thing with disheveled hair was chasing her. It didn’t look human, more like a monkey.”
At this point, Xiao Su paused, found a chair to sit down on, and continued, “After that, my dad and I decided to bring Mom into the house first. We were afraid the thing would follow, so we bolted the door. At first, the thing kept ramming the door, but after a while, it stopped. I saw from the window that it ran off to find Uncle Yu, who was passing by.
“I wanted to go help, but then something happened with my dad. My mom went crazy, grabbing my dad and biting him. Just as I was about to separate them, my dad told me to run, to go get Uncle Jiang. At the time, I saw that my dad had already tied my mom up, so I didn’t think much of it and ran out to find Uncle Jiang.
“But the village was in chaos then. Many people were running on the main road. By the time I got to Uncle Jiang’s house, no one was there. For a moment, I didn’t know what to do, so I ran back. But when I got back… my, my mom and dad had both changed. They wanted to bite me as soon as they saw me, and they didn’t respond no matter how I called. Luckily, my dad had locked the door, so they couldn’t get out. After that, I ran into Uncle Jiang, who was leading people over to find me.”
“After that, I took them to the cellar where I store things. I hadn’t had time to put anything in there yet. The air circulation is bad, so we couldn’t stay long without letting in fresh air from time to time. Then we decided to come here,” Jiang Shu added.
Zhang Can’er felt a pang in her heart after hearing the story. Looking at Xiao Su’s red-rimmed eyes, she didn’t know how to comfort him.
“You must all be tired from the journey, right? I’ll go boil some water for you to drink,” Zhang Can’er said, forcing a smile as she looked at everyone’s somber faces.
“Don’t worry about it, and don’t trouble yourself. Tell us about your situation here. Who was that woman just now? She doesn’t look like she’s from our village,” Jiang Shu asked, looking at Zhang Can’er.
At his words, Zhang Can’er lowered her head, her gaze downcast. “I don’t know who she is either. She… she appeared suddenly. I was sorting medicinal herbs when I heard a roar. When I was about to go out and see, she appeared and stopped me from going out. In a way, she saved my life.”
Jiang Shu and the others exchanged a look, their eyes filled with worry. They didn’t dare get close to someone of unknown origin. After all, some outsiders had come to the village before. Some villagers had offended them and were found dead in their homes the next day. When it was reported to the Inspection Team, there was no response. As a result, the entire Phantom Star Village was particularly wary of strangers.
“Can Can, why don’t you stay here with us? Don’t go near her anymore. Even if she saved you, we don’t know what her motives are,” said Xiao Wang, who had been silent until now.
“That’s right, Can Can. You shouldn’t go over there,” Qian Shen also advised.
Zhang Can’er looked up and forced a smile. “It’s okay. She won’t do anything to me. If she wanted to kill me, she would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?”
Qian Shen looked at her somewhat pale face and said with heartache, “Did she force you to do something bad? What did you say to her when you were hugging her downstairs? Was she trying to stop us from coming in? Did you… did you promise her something?”
Although Qian Shen spoke cryptically, Zhang Can’er understood. The tips of her ears quietly turned a shade of pink. “It’s nothing like that. Auntie Qian, don’t make wild guesses. And you all shouldn’t overthink it. She won’t hurt me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have saved me, right?”
With that, she stood up and looked at Jiang Shu. “Uncle Jiang, I’ll go get you all something to eat. You must be hungry. Have something to eat first.”
Jiang Shu didn’t say anything more, just nodded. “We’ll have to trouble you.”
They were indeed hungry. They hadn’t eaten a thing since yesterday afternoon. They were starving. If they hadn’t known where to find well water on the way here, they probably would have been clamoring for water first.
