I was forcibly dragged out of that small cottage by A Wen.
"A Wen, I... I seem to have forgotten a lot of things!"
It was late afternoon. The pale sunlight shone down on the alleyway.
The narrow path, less than three feet wide, was flanked by high walls on both sides, with sewage flowing across the ground. A Wen and I, dressed in dirty and tattered cotton robes, rushed by, looking completely unremarkable in this desolate setting.
"Miss, it's better to forget!"
Amidst the hardships of displacement, A Wen was no longer the mischievous boy who used to crawl through dog - holes to buy sweet osmanthus cakes for me. He sighed like an adult, "In a world like this, why bother thinking so much? It's more important to find the next meal to fill our stomachs!"
"How could that be okay?!"
I rubbed my temples forcefully. My heart felt empty, like a rootless duckweed. I couldn't even remember what my parents looked like. It was only from A Wen's words just now that I vaguely recalled they had arranged a betrothal for me...
But that man was clearly a man - eating monster!!
I felt a mixture of panic and sorrow in my heart. According to that prostitute, that man was rich and had guns. Did my parents marry me off to him just to protect our family in this chaotic world?
"What's that monster's name?"
I turned back fearfully. The cottage we had fled from was already hidden among the dilapidated houses and couldn't be seen anymore. But I still remembered those blood - red eyes and his blood - thirsty expression.
"His surname is Si, Si Jiangchen."
A Wen didn't seem eager to talk more, "Anyway, Miss, it's better to stay far away from him!"
...
In a chaotic world, it's hard to survive, but at the same time, it's also easy!
A Wen and I were just like all the other displaced people who had suffered from wars and banditry. We drifted from one town to another. During the day, we begged for food in front of the mansions of the wealthy; at night, we took shelter in dilapidated temples.
A Wen had a large wound on his arm. Without proper medical treatment, it was getting more and more ulcerated. Every time I wanted to take him to a clinic, we were either driven out or couldn't afford the medicine even after getting the prescription.
Seeing A Wen starting to run a fever and lying in the dilapidated temple, unable to even drink a mouthful of water, the other displaced people living in the temple, thinking he was about to die, carried him to the mass grave outside the town.
When I came back from begging, and heard them talking about A Wen being thrown into the graveyard in a tone as if they were discarding garbage, I was so angry that I went crazy as I pleaded with them!!
I grabbed one of them and asked him to take me to find A Wen. But he said that there were wild dogs and wolves everywhere in the mass grave. A Wen was so thin that there was hardly any meat on him. Even if we went there, he was probably already eaten by the wild dogs!
I tugged at those people desperately!
A Wen was my only relative. I couldn't let him die. As long as he had a breath left, I had to bring him back!
During the struggle, those displaced people tore open my collar and discovered my chest wrapped in rags. Life was even more miserable for women among the beggars, so I had already cut my hair unevenly with a broken piece of porcelain.
After mixing with these displaced people for so long, no one had noticed that I was a woman.
This time, they found out my secret.
Countless dirty hands full of malice reached out to me. In my anger and despair, I bit one of their hands hard. Instantly, the sweet and metallic taste of blood exploded in my mind, and I lost almost all my consciousness. In a daze, I could only hear one shrill scream after another and the constantly flying blood!!
Die! All of these people should die!
They dared to harm my dearest one!!
There was still a glimmer of sanity in my mind. I had to go to the mass grave. I had to find A Wen. I had to save him!
I walked aimlessly on the wasteland outside the town. In a daze, I seemed to hear a wolf howl.
Right!! Those displaced people had said that there were many wild dogs and wolves in the mass grave... Could I find A Wen by following this sound?
Following the clear and distant wolf howls one after another, I was led into a pitch - black grove. The moonlight in the sky shone through the mottled dead branches onto a snow - white wolf.
The wolf was huge. Its fur glistened like broken silver in the moonlight. It stood on a slightly raised mound, and A Wen was lying beside its huge paw.
"Roar! Roar!!"
I lunged towards A Wen. By this time, I couldn't speak, but there was still a glimmer of sanity in my heart. I knew I couldn't let the wolf hurt A Wen.
"Alas... Demons and evil spirits emerge in a chaotic world!"
I heard an old woman's voice.
"Hehe, Granny Bai, aren't we also demons and evil spirits..."
This was the last sentence I heard.
I felt as if something had stabbed the back of my head hard, and then I lost all consciousness.
...
"Miss, wake up quickly!! You like to hear gossips, don't you? I've got big news. If you don't wake up, I won't tell you!"
I was woken up by A Wen's chatter. When I opened my eyes, I saw a beamed ceiling. A Wen's bald head was bobbing beside my pillow.
"A Wen, you weren't eaten by the wolf?"
I sat up from the bed suddenly and reached out to grab A Wen's arm.
"Ouch..."
A Wen winced in pain as I grabbed his sore shoulder. But he didn't pull away. Instead, he made a funny face at me, "Miss, I wasn't eaten by the wolf, but I'm going to be grabbed to death by you!"
I quickly let go, but still asked in surprise, "I saw, I saw a big wolf stepping on you!"
"I don't know! When I woke up, Granny Bai was giving me some very bitter medicine!"
As he said this, A Wen even wiped his mouth, as if still savoring the taste of the medicine.
"Granny Bai?!"
I vaguely remembered the voice of an old woman. "Where are we?"
"In Granny Bai's clinic!"
A Wen even took out a dark plum and stuffed it into my mouth. Immediately, a sour and sweet taste spread in my mouth.
"Granny Bai carried both of us back. Hehe, I woke up a long time ago. It's just you, Miss..."
A Wen shook his head and hesitated.
"Tell me... What's wrong with me?!"
Looking at A Wen's expression, my heart started pounding wildly for no reason.
"Hehe, what could be wrong? What could happen to a young girl like you?"
The blue - flowered tie - dyed curtain was lifted, and an amiable old woman with gray hair walked in, carrying a large sea - bowl.
"This is Granny Bai."
After all, A Wen was just a child. When someone was kind to him, he would immediately be like a clingy puppy, circling around that person.
"Little girl, who on earth have you offended?"
Granny Bai looked at me compassionately and handed over the sea - bowl. "Someone has placed a cinnabar talisman on your body. Don't you feel uncomfortable?"
"What cinnabar talisman?"
I didn't understand what Granny Bai was talking about, but I had an intuition that it was something harmful to me.
"The cinnabar talisman... It's used to exorcise evil spirits and subdue ghosts..."
Granny Bai pointed to the clear soup with two green leaves floating in the bowl and said to me, "Drink this. Then I'll give you two acupuncture treatments to break this talisman!"