Chapter 163: Don't Look at the Bed (Inner City Plot, Choose Your Own Translation)

When she returned to the shack, Shen San was lying with his back to the entrance.

Li stood at the entrance, staring fixedly at him. The grief of losing her daughter had pierced her heart with countless wounds. Facing Shen San, she no longer entertained the thought of asking why.

It was pointless.

She just looked at that back, that neck, that head...

Shen San turned around and met Li's gaze.

His eyes were swollen, his face puffy, and he seemed numb all over.

He glanced behind Li and Shen Jin, asking, "Didn't you find her?"

As if he expected to see Tianya behind them if he looked hard enough.

Li said nothing and entered the shack, sitting down by the corner of the bed. Shen Jin bowed his head, and when Shen Yin realized that no one else was coming, her tears fell. She asked softly, "Brother, where's Tianya?"

With a tear-stained face, Shen Jin didn't respond, and Shen Yin knew that their search had been fruitless. Even the youngest, Shen Tie, who was too weak to do much, lay there with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Feeling awkward and out of place, Shen San tried his best to appear sorrowful, burying his head in silence.

Neither Shen Yin nor Shen Tie complained about hunger that day. Madam Li sat motionless for a long time, lost in thought until her body grew weak and she broke into cold sweat. Sensing something was amiss, Shen Jin offered her some leftover bean dregs from the previous day, which finally reminded her to eat.

Shen Jin was busy grinding straw, sifting soil, and boiling it. When Madam Li regained some strength, she took over the task from her son.

After shaping six large and small patties, she realized what she had done, and big teardrops fell onto the biscuits. Madam Li turned and made two more large ones.

Seeing the four small mud pies, Shen San felt uneasy for a moment. Then, noticing Madam Li making two more substantial ones, he asked, "Making so many today?"

Madam Li simply replied, "I was distracted."

Her voice was hoarse, and after that, she said no more.

When distributing the mud pies, Madam Li still gave the smallest portions to Shen Jin and his brothers. As she handed them over, her hands hesitated slightly, and she warned, "Only eat if you're really hungry."

To Shen San, she gave a piece of the same size as usual. He calculated the remaining days they would need to rely on mud pies and, after a moment's hesitation, reached out to take it.

Li shot him a glance and asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

Of course Shen San was famished; he hadn't eaten anything all day and had no intention of going out to eat. After all, she was his own flesh and blood, and he wasn't that heartless. He could endure one more day before visiting her again.

But his hunger was nothing compared to Li's. They were probably too weak from hunger to even speak. Despite his recent feast, he still had some strength left in his stomach.

However, he couldn't admit this. Shen San's eyelids flickered as he replied, "We've planned on eating these clay cakes for several days. During the famine back then, a family we met ate soil for ten days, and only four of them survived out of ten."

Recalling those terrifying times, he said with lingering fear, "I'll bear with it a bit longer."

Li stared at the clay cake in her hand and said, "Yes, eating soil can kill."

So you've lost your conscience, even considering biting into your child's flesh!

Her hands trembled as she took a clay cake for herself and began gnawing at it. She chewed slowly, her mouth filled with soil and grass fragments. She dared not drink water now, as it would mix with the mud and cause disaster in her stomach. So, she swallowed it dry without any liquid.

Once a person who practiced self-restraint, eating only half if one was enough, seemed to be in a daze today. Lost in thought, she finished the clay cake in her hand. Then, she picked up the smaller extra one she had made earlier, gazed at it blankly for a while, and began consuming it bit by bit.

Seeing that she was even eating a second piece, Shen San's eyes flickered, but surprisingly, he didn't try to dissuade her.

On the other hand, Shen Jin held onto Madam Li's hand. "Mother, you shouldn't eat too much."

Madam Li paused in her eating before responding, "I'm so hungry. If I don't eat more, I won't have the strength."

Her voice was weak, and it was clear that she had been ill for a long time. The months of hunger followed by the harsh conditions after entering the city had drained her. Today's search for Sweet Girl was solely powered by her determination.

Shen San looked at Madam Li and was reminded of the dying family they had encountered during their famine years. They were too similar.

Thus, she didn't find anything wrong with Madam Li's manner of eating.

However, Shen Jin felt his heart tremble.

Nine-year-old Shen Jin hadn't fully understood the significance of his mother's words when she had specially instructed him before returning to the hovel. He just knew that his mother wouldn't harm him and that he should obey her.

Now, watching his mother feed herself the tasteless earth cakes expressionlessly, swallowing them bit by bit, and hearing her say that she needed strength, a sense of inexplicable fear and panic enveloped him.

A nine-year-old child couldn't grasp certain things due to his age, but Shen Jin was seized by a deep unease. He held onto Madam Li's hand. "Mother, if you're hungry, eat in smaller portions."

Li nodded. "I understand. I'll only have this one piece."

……

In the Shen family's makeshift shelter, an eerie silence reigned that day. In the refuge outside the city, Shen Lie grew increasingly anxious with each passing day of waiting.

Days had passed, yet the person he was hoping for still hadn't arrived. Meanwhile, battles raged both inside and outside the city, leaving him with no alternative. The longer the wait, the more his unease intensified.

The refuge was dimly lit, with only a faint glow seeping in through the ventilation shafts disguised as hollow tree trunks. In the darkness, his mind couldn't help but wander to the current state of Qiyang County and whether the trapped children were still safe. Had they managed to hide the jerky he gave them, the soybeans that Shopkeeper Xu secretly exchanged with peddlers, and the small gold pieces Little Jin took in?

At this point, Shen Lie was too preoccupied to dwell on whether these items might also benefit Shen San and Li. He just hoped that the two would protect the food supplies and ensure the children could endure a little longer.

Even Chen Dashan and Shen Lie themselves weren't as confident as they once were that Shopkeeper Xu would actually dig a tunnel out. If he did think of it, would he be able to find a suitable, concealed location to begin digging?

They simply refused to give up hope.

……

In the Xu family's underground tunnel in the western part of the city, Wei Lingzhen felt a stifling sensation in her chest, and her head spun slightly.

"Yuanchang," she whispered, grabbing hold of her husband who was also digging beside her. "We need to get out. It's hard to breathe down here."

Shopkeeper Xu jumped in surprise, quickly setting down his hoe to support Wei Lingzhen. He patted Xu Wenchang on the back. "Go out first."

The trio retreated from the tunnel together. Xu Wenhong had just emptied a basket of soil; now, apart from this messy entrance, every other room was filled with earth.

Seeing his parents and elder brother emerge from the tunnel with ashen faces, he hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Shopkeeper Xu replied, "The tunnel is too deep, and there isn't much air inside. It might be due to staying down there for too long. Quick, get your mother a cup of water."

In fact, Shopkeeper Xu knew that there might be another reason.

They were engaged in physically demanding labor day and night, with only a couple of hours of rest at a time.

But they ate very little – just two bowls of thin rice gruel with barely any grains each day. Their bodies couldn't handle it. If not for the preserved meat they had obtained from Dongfu Lou's storeroom, which they added to their meals, his wife, along with himself and his sons, who had stronger constitutions, might have already collapsed.

Xu Wenhong handed a cup of water over, which Shopkeeper Xu took and personally offered to Wei Lingzhen. Watching her sip it gradually and seeing her complexion improve slightly, he finally relaxed.

"You don't need to go in anymore. Sit outside. Wenqing and I will continue digging."

Wei Lingzhen nodded. "Don't all three of you stay at the deepest part. Take turns, and if you feel unwell, speak up immediately so we can help you out."

Xu Yuanchang agreed. "Don't worry. If the situation becomes really bad, the oil lamp will go out. We'll dig and transport the soil ourselves, so we won't stay inside for long. Be careful, and it should be fine. I reckon we're quite close to the city wall. Once we manage to dig outside the wall, we'll find a way to create two small ventilation holes by hollowing out bamboo tubes and attaching them to the exterior wall at night."

Wei Lingzhen, seeing that he had a plan, felt slightly reassured. "Then go on. I'll start boiling some rice soup soon. We can all have some later."

While Wei Lingzhen rested, Xu Wenhong took over the hoe she had left behind and joined his father and elder brother in their work underground, just as Shopkeeper Xu had instructed. They dug for a while, then carried the soil out, and for the time being, they could breathe without difficulty.

After another hour or so, when Shopkeeper Xu returned from carrying out soil, Xu Wenhong rushed out excitedly before he could even reach halfway. He whispered, "Father, come and see! Have we dug to the foundation of the wall?"

Shopkeeper Xu was overjoyed and immediately followed his second son inside. Xu Wenchao held up an oil lamp, illuminating a spot on the innermost part of the tunnel's ceiling. Upon hearing footsteps, he eagerly waved at Shopkeeper Xu.

The three of them gathered around, and indeed, a small section of the ceiling that had been excavated revealed different stones from the surrounding earth.

Shopkeeper Xu's spirits lifted. He nodded vigorously; this was the foundation of the wall.

They were now beneath the city wall, and there were many soldiers patrolling nearby. None of the three dared to speak loudly. Shopkeeper Xu, almost whispering, instructed his sons to be careful not to damage the foundation above and to make this section of the tunnel narrower.

The father and sons worked with renewed vigor until Uncle Xu, back at the yard, unlocked the gate and discreetly knocked on the main door, using his body as a shield. After Wei Lingzhen closed the main house door and confirmed it was Xu returning, she opened the yard door to let him in and then bolted it again, calling out to the father and sons inside to come out for a meal.

Uncle Xu took out half a steamed bun from his bosom.

He had been conscripted to carry the wounded, receiving one bun per day. Starving during the day, he ate only a small part and brought the larger portion back. Tearing it up and soaking it in the rice soup made it possible for the five of them, master and servants alike, to each get some sustenance, a better option than just plain rice soup.

As the Xu father and sons emerged, Uncle Xu could see the joy on their faces. His tired expression brightened as he gestured towards the main house, and all three Xu men nodded in unison with smiles.

The courtyard was not a place for conversation. Wei Lingzhen took the half bun to the kitchen, while Xu, the shopkeeper, led Uncle Xu back to the tunnel.

Seeing the exposed section of wall foundation, distinctly different from the surrounding earth, Uncle Xu's hands trembled with excitement, "Can we leave tonight?"

Xu, the shopkeeper, shook his head, "We need to dig a bit more, emerge beyond the city wall, and find a spot with more tree roots for cover. It'll be safer to dig an exit near a large tree."

They discussed the need for bamboo poles. Uncle Xu, having been outside these past days, knew exactly where to find them. After eating, the master and servant had Wei Lingzhen bolt the door from inside while they locked it from outside and left to get the bamboo poles.

That night, along the outer base of Qiyang County's city wall, two inconspicuous holes appeared, common in areas with snakes and rats, so ordinary that no one would take notice of them on the road.

Having exited the range of Qiyang City's walls, honestly, in an urgent situation, they could dig an exit at any time despite the danger, which greatly eased everyone's mind.

"We've dug more than half a zhang beyond the city wall now. Wenchao and I will continue digging. Uncle Xu, you should go up and rest for a while. Be extra cautious when you're on the city wall tomorrow. We should be able to leave by nightfall tomorrow."

At this crucial moment, they couldn't afford any accidents.

Uncle Xu nodded. "I'll be careful."

Though these words were spoken, his feet hesitated, not moving immediately.

He had not forgotten the scene he witnessed that morning.

During the day, he chose to keep it to himself, pretending he hadn't seen anything. He didn't mention it when he returned home, for he was preoccupied with his own troubles.

But now, they had dug outside the city walls, and by nightfall the next day, he could leave. Once out, he wouldn't have to worry about starving as he did now. This realization caused a certain conflict within Uncle Xu.

He had seen the four children of the Xu family's third branch on many occasions; practically every other day. He could easily imagine what had happened to the child named TianYa without needing to inquire further.

For a fleeting moment, thoughts of the other three children stirred his resolve.

Yet, it was but a fleeting moment.

Seeing that Uncle Xu was still standing, Shopkeeper Xu asked if there was something else. Uncle Xu shook his head. "No, I'll just take a short nap. I'll come back later to relieve you."

He turned and left.

The current situation was no longer about simply exchanging goods for food to feed a few children. He despised Shen Family's Third House couple, especially Shen San, who could sell his own children. Would he have any qualms about exploiting others? In such a perilous moment, he didn't wish for Ah Lang to be further entangled in their affairs.

As he walked out of the tunnel, Uncle Xu's steps remained steady, but his hands trembled slightly.

Jin and Yin, always hiding at the entrance of the mountain path, waiting for him, calling him ' peddler grandpa'. If they were just innocent children, he shouldn't be so ruthless. But with parents like theirs... he had someone else he wanted to protect more.

Exiting the tunnel, he went to sleep on the mat in the kitchen, opening the door to the main house that was usually kept shut. He noticed that the moon hanging high in the sky was mostly obscured by clouds. Perhaps it was an illusion, but both the clouds and the moon seemed to be faintly tinged with red.

...

In the makeshift huts near the county school.

Lying half-awake and half-asleep outside the hut, Shen Yin and Shen Tie had originally been asleep inside before Shen Jin was startled awake by some noise. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on a patch of dry grass outside the hut, with Little Yin and Little Tie beside him.

The moon had barely peeked through the clouds, casting a faint reddish hue upon the scene.

Shen Jin's heart pounded fiercely, a sense of inexplicable panic rising within him. He fumbled to his feet and leaned against the entrance of the hut, peering inside by the moonlight.

Inside the shelter, silence reigned. A figure sat half-upright on the edge of the bed. Shen Jin could only detect an intensely sweet and metallic scent with each breath. His voice quivered as he called out, "Mother?"

Li Shi had been frozen in place for who knew how long. It was as if she had just come back to her senses at the sound of his voice.

"Stay out," she said, her voice trembling with a hint of unidentifiable weeping.

After a tremulous pause, she finally managed to stand up, bending forward slightly. She took one step, then another, but each seemed an immense struggle.

Shen Jin sensed something was amiss and rushed over.

Realizing he had already entered, Li Shi could only say, "Don't look at the bed."

With great effort, she fished out what appeared to be over twenty yellow beans from her clothes and handed them to Shen Jin. Then, placing her hand on his shoulder for support, she said, "Come, you two need to find another hiding place. This isn't safe anymore."

You?

Shen Jin felt that something was amiss. Before he could inquire, Li, who was leaning on him, suddenly lost her strength, stumbled, and then slid downward.

Shen Jin let out a startled cry, the soybeans in his hand scattering across the ground as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Mother, Mother."

He was too young to even support his mother properly. It wasn't until Li sat on the ground that Shen Jin, under the moonlight, noticed a pair of scissors piercing through her abdomen. Not just that—there were horrifying patches of red on her clothes.

"Mother, Mother..." Shen Jin's hands trembled in fear as he desperately tried to pull her along. "We need to go to the clinic."

Li held onto him, shaking her head. After catching her breath, she said, "It's no use. I'm useless; I don't have the strength."

At this point, she looked at Shen Jin and then towards the entrance of the shed, tears streaming down her face. "What will you do?"

She had been wrong. She should have let Little Jin run away back then, hide in the underground shelter—at least one of them would have survived.

Author's Note:

The chapter title "Don't Look at the Bed" should be self-explanatory, right? Some parts can't be written out.