Chapter 161: Father (Siege, Oppression, Tragedy - Please choose to purchase or skip at your discretion)

In extreme hunger, the mind can think of nothing but an overwhelming craving for food.

Shen San devours his food ravenously, heedless of scalding himself.

The three brothers in the shelter exchange a glance and smile, while Wang Mei Niang shrinks back into a corner of the bed, burying her head between her knees and curling up into a ball.

Shen San barely notices Wang Mei Niang, a child from his village, focused solely on the bowl of meat soup in front of him, until another man from her household returns, carrying a bundle.

Having finished the large bowl of soup and meat, Shen San finally feels the long-missed sense of fullness and comfort in his stomach.

Once the food is gone, Shen San's attention shifts from his singular focus on hunger and meat, and he notices the man with the bundle.

The man squints at Shen San and inquires about his brothers' behavior. After hearing a few meaningful comments from his siblings, he laughs and then, in front of Shen San, unwraps the bundle.

……

Shen San rushes out of the shelter, leans against someone's wall, and vomits until he feels faint.

As he stumbles home in the pitch-dark night, the surroundings are far from quiet, filled with the moans of those suffering from extreme hunger.

Sweet Ya's cries, like a kitten's, can be heard: "Mom, I'm so hungry... I want a dirt cake."

Shen Tie also speaks up, "Mom, I’m hungry too."

Mrs. Li's voice is weak but gentle as she soothes them: "Hold on, you won’t feel hungry if you sleep. Don’t eat too much dirt cake, too much can bloat you to death. Be good, close your eyes and sleep. Ah, once we win, we can go to the mountains for wild vegetables and catch a chicken. Mom will make you chicken soup, ah."

However, this does little to soothe the frantic hunger of the children. Sweet Ya, being only three, knows only her hunger, gnawing and desperate, crying without the strength to make much sound, whimpering like a kitten.

Initially silent, Shen Tie also starts to cry, “When will we win? I'm so hungry.”

Shen San returned to his shelter, his soul in tatters. The cries of his children and the soothing words of his wife could not penetrate his mind, consumed by the ghastly scene he had witnessed and the haunting laughter of those four brothers.

His stomach churned, and he was trapped in a state of intense fear, a fear he dared not share with anyone, unable to burden others with it. He curled up in his sleeping spot, trembling yet fearful that Shen Jin, who was comforting Shen Tie beside him, would notice.

Shen San's worries were unfounded; no one had the spare energy to notice anything, as battling hunger already consumed all their willpower and strength.

……

At the dilapidated Xu family house in the west of the city, the old servant Xu Shu finally returned home, almost running due to his hurried pace.

The courtyard door was still locked from the outside. His hands shaking, he struggled several times to fit the key into the lock. Once inside, he bolted both the upper and lower door bars before hurrying to unlock the main house.

The Xu family, busy in the tunnel, only heard his arrival and paused their work to greet him. Carrying an oil lamp, they hadn't reached the tunnel entrance when Xu Shu entered.

The dim warmth of the oil lamp did little to dispel the stark paleness of Xu Shu's face.

A sense of alarm struck Xu Zhanggui, who scrutinized Xu Shu under the lamp. Noticing no injuries, he felt a slight relief, "Uncle Xu, what happened? Were you assigned to the city walls?"

Xu Shu shook his head: "No, no."

"What's wrong, Uncle Xu?"

Xu Shu clutched Xu Zhanggui's arm tightly, causing him pain and surprise. It was then that Xu Zhanggui noticed Xu Shu's unusually heavy breathing.

"Uncle Xu?"

Before Xu Zhanggui could finish, Xu Shu gripped his arm firmly, "Ah Lang, we must hurry. People in the city are resorting to cannibalism, eating the flesh of the dead."

As Xu Shu recounted what he had witnessed, Wei Lingzhen behind Xu Zhanggui started retching against the tunnel wall.

Xu Shu's assigned task was to transport the injured and, naturally, included carrying the dead.

Just before returning home today, his last task involved a man who had been conscripted to guard the city. The man lingered at a pile of bodies meant for cremation before leaving.

Sensing something amiss, Xu Shu approached the pile after the man left and discovered a soldier who had just died on the city walls. A terrible intuition led him to lift the soldier's tunic...

Xu Shu gasped heavily, "It's not just one. More than one, more than one family is eating human flesh. We must leave quickly. We can't stay here any longer. Hurry with the tunnel."

……

The next morning, a soldier in the army discovered that the bodies of those who died defending the city had been gruesomely mutilated. The perpetrator caught at the scene was executed on the spot by the commanding officer, his head severed and rolling far away. Then, the dismembered corpses were displayed in the east market, and a public announcement was made with the beating of drums, followed by a punishment of mutilation.

One of the four brothers from Wang Mei Niang's husband's family, conscripted as a militia, witnessed this horrific scene upon his shift change, his expression etched with disgust and horror.

That day, Shen San remained cooped up in his own hut.

With no one coming to conscript him, he wasn't in a hurry to flee.

But soon, the sound of gongs from outside startled him into panic, fleeing even before understanding the announcement.

Li Shi and Shen Jin and Shen Yin peeked out to see. As the gong-beating soldiers approached and their message became clear, Li Shi's world collapsed, a buzzing in her ears, her teeth chattering uncontrollably, her face ghostly pale.

Clutching her clothes and gasping for air, a painful tension stretched from her ears to the back of her head, as if about to snap. Instead of cradling her head, she embraced Shen Jin and Shen Yin trembling beside her, retreating with the children, trying to gather the smaller Shen Yin and Shen Tian.

They had abandoned their chances in the mountains to seek refuge in the city, fearing being prey for others, but now, that very fear manifested within the city walls first.

Overhearing the soldier's announcement, Shen Jin was petrified, unable to articulate his questions, his teeth clamped shut, while Shen Yin already broke into tears: "Mother, mother..."

Li Shi held her children, trembling herself: "Shen Jin, Shen Yin, hold on to Shen Tie and Shen Tian, never leave the hut, not even a step, the people in the city have gone mad with hunger."

She gasped anxiously, then let go of the children to rummage through their belongings.

A kitchen knife, axe, sickle, scythe, scissors - holding the axe herself, she handed the kitchen knife to Shen Jin and distributed the others among her children: "Hold these at all times. If anyone tries to take you, scream, and fight back with knives and axes, understand?"

Handing the smallest pair of scissors to Shen Tian, she realized the child was too young to handle it and, with tear-filled eyes, took it back into her own hands.

Outside, there was a commotion. Someone had gone to the eastern market to see and soon spread the word: the person cutting human flesh lived near the county school, and even the specific village and family were identified.

The area around the county school was in turmoil, and neighbors in the hutong looked at each other suspiciously, fearing who might become the next ghoul. The distrust among them intensified.

That day, Li Shi dared not step out of her hut, nor stray from her children. As for Shen San, who would flee at any noise, she had completely given up on him.

……

Li Shi had no expectations from Shen San, but Shen San still relied on her.

He had nothing to eat, managing only one meal a day, which was just a thin pancake the size of a child's palm. Though he had eaten well the previous night, he likely vomited everything up, including the dirt he ate during the day.

Today, he hadn’t eaten anything at all.

He was truly hungry.

When the gong sounds ceased, Shen San sneaked back to the hut. Li Shi, on edge, only relaxed when she saw the entrant was Shen San.

Unaware of the tension, Shen San asked Li Shi, “They aren’t conscripting soldiers, are they?”

Li Shi had no inclination to engage with him.

Aware that Li Shi disapproved of his refusal to work as a laborer, but indifferent, Shen San urged, “Hurry and make something to eat, I’m starving.”

Who wasn’t hungry?

Shen Jin and Shen Yin, perhaps shocked by what they heard in the morning, were distracted and didn’t feel particularly hungry. However, Shen Tie and Shen Tian were already famished and lethargic. Yet, at the mention of food, both kids slowly opened their eyes, looking towards Li Shi in anticipation.

Li Shi had planned to cook at noon, but now she dared not wait.

Eating too much soil could cause swelling and death, but not eating at all could also lead to starvation. With a heavy heart, she turned to prepare the meal.

Today’s meal mainly consisted of finely ground straw from the hut construction, with as little mud as possible.

Shen San received only a tiny piece, but what was given to the children was even smaller, especially to Shen Tie and Shen Tian who couldn’t control their hunger. They were each given a piece no larger than three or four coins put together.

“Don’t eat too quickly. Eat slowly, take a tiny bite and save the rest for when you’re hungry again.”

But these words were practically ignored. If it weren’t for Li Shi and Shen Jin’s quick reactions to grab the bits of bread from Shen Tie and Shen Tian’s hands, the children would have gobbled it up in one bite.

Shen San, consumed by hunger, didn’t care about the children. He finished his small piece, barely larger than a toddler’s palm, in a few bites, but it barely satisfied a fraction of his hunger.

His stomach felt like an insatiable void.

Uncontrollably, Shen San remembered the bowl of meat soup he had the previous night.

Despite his stomach discomfort and slight churning, what overwhelmed him more was the hunger and a budding, desperate craving...

……

Hunger made every moment agonizingly long, eroding the willpower until it collapsed.

By the time Shen San realized it, he was already out of the hut, out of the county school area, and heading towards the direction where Wang Mei Niang’s family lived, driven by familiar routes and a deep-seated hunger.

Yes, halfway through his walk, Shen San realized what he was doing, but his feet seemed to move on their own, beyond his control.

The scene was eerily similar to yesterday – the same clay pot, the same aroma of meat.

Shen San found himself outside Wang Mei Niang's husband's hut once again.

The brothers, who were somewhat approachable yesterday, were cold today. Seeing Shen San, their faces grew colder and one mocked, “Came for another taste, huh? We entertained you yesterday, and now you’re back for more?”

Swallowing hard, Shen San forced a smile, “Nephew, I’m so hungry. Could you spare just a bit of soup?”

The eldest brother, Wang Mei Niang's husband, stared at Shen San for a while, then suddenly laughed and nodded, “Sure, you can even have some meat.”

Shen San’s eyes lit up, and he quickly entered the hut, only to be grabbed and pinned to the ground, his arms twisted behind him.

Caught off guard, Shen San yelled out as the eldest brother stuffed a rag in his mouth and menacingly held a kitchen knife against his arm, sneering, “You think our meat comes free? Want some meat, huh? I’ll slice a piece off you right now – nice and thin, it’ll cook up quickly.”

The younger brothers’ eyes gleamed at this.

They put down their bowls and crowded around.

They began sizing up which part of Shen San’s body would taste best.

Shen San, terrified and unfamiliar with such horror, struggled and muffled cries escaped from him. The rag in his mouth, hastily inserted, wasn't tight and he managed to spit it out, begging for mercy, alternating between pleading not to be eaten and asking for forgiveness, while calling out to Wang Mei Niang for help.

Wang Mei Niang, however, was lifeless, not reacting to Shen San’s pleas. She barely fluttered her eyelashes, remaining motionless and not even glancing in Shen San’s direction.

Shen San’s sleeve was already rolled up by the third brother, whose rough hands even pinched Shen San’s upper and lower arms.

After the inspection, he expressed his disdain, “So skinny, almost like a skeleton; might as well use the bones for firewood.”

Shen San, terrified to his core, was sweating profusely in just a few moments, as the brothers began to lift his shirt.

Desperate, he pleaded, “No, no, I really won’t eat it, I swear.”

Wang Mei Niang's husband then turned to her, still huddled in a corner, and inquired, “He's your neighbor, right? At his age, he must have children, doesn’t he?”

Wang Mei Niang, who had been as still as a dead log, shivered violently and shook her head vehemently.

Her husband chuckled and tossed the knife aside. Releasing Shen San, he straightened Shen San’s clothes, patting him down and jested, “Why starve yourself? Or prefer eating dirt until you burst? That’s no way to live.”

He nodded at his brothers, “Go on, serve him a bowl. Pick out a couple of good pieces of meat.”

Shen San tried to lean back, putting as much distance between himself and Wang Mei Niang's husband as possible, his breathing heavy and rapid.

A bowl of meat soup was handed to Wang Mei Niang's husband. He wafted it under Shen San’s nose, the steam hitting his face before thrusting the bowl into his trembling hands, “Eat up, savor it. This meal’s on you for two days. Remember to bring us some good meat tomorrow.”

Shen San’s hands shook uncontrollably, but the man just laughed, patting his face and warning, “Hold it steady. This isn’t easy to come by. If you spill it, don’t blame me for getting harsh.”

……

The night fell silent once more.

Shen San was escorted back by two men, Wang Mei Niang's husband and their younger brother.

The closer they got to Shen San’s hut, the more violently his legs shook.

Stopping at the entrance to his hut, he swallowed hard, “This is where I live.”

The brothers didn’t leave, with the elder nodding, “Go ahead, we’ll watch you enter.”

The younger one added a reminder, “Don’t forget tomorrow. If you don’t bring it, we’ll come looking for you,” his gaze lingering ominously on Shen San.

Shen San’s breathing grew heavier again.

……

In their hut, the cries of hunger had ceased for the day.

Li Shi, in tears, was cooking a soup made from three crushed soybeans, feeding it to Shen Tie and Tian Ya along with Shen Jin.

Standing at the entrance, Shen San glimpsed the feeble figures of the younger two, illuminated by the faint light from the stone stove. Little Tian Ya could barely keep her eyes open, prompting the brothers’ words to echo in his mind.

“Why worry so much? You might starve tonight anyway. If not today, what about tomorrow or the day after? Death is inevitable. If it means you, as a father, can survive, then these years weren’t in vain.”

“There are far more bandits outside than soldiers in the city. Have we really won? When the city falls, only the strong can flee.”

“Children? If you survive, you can always have more.”

……

Frozen, he just stood there, unable to move a step.

Li Shi and Shen Jin focused all their attention on Shen Tie and Tian Ya, but only Shen Yin noticed Shen San, calling out weakly with tearful eyes, “Dad.”