Chapter 48: Young Hero

“Where did the braised pork come from?”

“Crap, is it too late to go now?”

“I don’t get it. Why didn’t they share if they had so many supplies?”

“Aren’t they sharing right now? It’s your own fault for not coming. Just starve.”

Lu Dongnuan watched as the group chat devolved into a mess of envy, regret, and wailing.

She put away her phone and knocked on the door.

“Hello, I’m Lu Dongnuan. Little Li Wenwen, your grandmother sent me to pick you up.”

The door did not open.

Lu Dongnuan pressed her ear against the door and listened carefully. 

It was very quiet inside.

She remembered the note on the list: Li Shige, twelve years old. 

Parents work out of town, lives with her grandmother.

‘She seems like a refined little girl.’

She knelt down and lifted the slightly worn doormat. 

A brass key lay there, covered in a layer of dust.

She inserted the key into the lock. 

A crisp “click” echoed through the silent hallway as she turned it.

Lu Dongnuan did not push the door open immediately. 

Instead, she stepped to the side and gently cracked it open.

A faint, stale scent—a mix of dust and an indescribable heaviness—drifted out.

The curtains in the living room were drawn, leaving the space in dim light. 

The furniture was arranged neatly—perhaps even too neatly. 

No toys were scattered on the floor, no snack wrappers were in sight, and the water cup on the coffee table was perfectly aligned.

“Little one?” Lu Dongnuan called out again in a low voice. 

She stepped slowly into the house and pulled the door shut behind her, though she did not close it all the way.

This was a professional habit; she always left herself an escape route.

She quickly scanned the living room, her gaze finally landing on the closed bedroom door. 

It was the only door shut in the apartment. 

She lightened her footsteps as she approached and placed her hand on the handle.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

The curtains in the bedroom were also drawn, making it even darker than the living room. 

By the light filtering in from the hallway, she saw a small lump under the covers on the bed. 

Her heart eased slightly as she approached the bedside.

“Little one, don’t be afraid. I am…”

Her words came to a sudden halt.

There was no one under the quilt.

The lump was merely a crude shape made from several pillows and a pile of clothes.

Doubt flared in Lu Dongnuan’s mind.

Just as she retreated to the bedroom doorway, she caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows near the corner leading to the kitchen.

Her attention was diverted.

Almost simultaneously, the wardrobe door behind her was slammed open from the inside! 

The wooden rails let out a piercing screech.

Lu Dongnuan only had time to stumble half a step forward before a sharp, cold, and forceful pain stabbed deep into her upper-right lower back!

“Ugh — !”

She bit back a short cry of pain. 

It wasn’t the strength of an adult, and the placement was awkwardly off—missing her kidneys and spine—but it was deep and painful enough.

The blade seemed to be stuck between her muscles and some tough fabric.

She could even feel the small hand gripping the knife trembling violently, followed by suppressed, animal-like whimpers and gasps.

There was no time to think. 

Lu Dongnuan’s left hand shot backward, accurately pinning a thin, cold wrist. 

At the same time, she used her forward-leaning momentum to spin to the right, slamming her right elbow backward!

“Thud!”

A muffled sound was followed by a child’s cry of pain. 

The force behind her loosened. 

The fruit knife remained stuck in her back, swaying with her movements and sending jolts of tearing pain through her.

Lu Dongnuan turned fully and finally saw her attacker.

It was a thin, small girl with messy hair and a deathly pale face. 

Her lips were devoid of color, and her large eyes were filled with extreme fear, despair, and a hint of manic ferocity.

Lu Dongnuan’s elbow had knocked her to the floor. 

She was now scrambling backward in terror, her eyes fixed on the bright knife handle protruding from Lu Dongnuan’s back, then shifting to Lu Dongnuan’s face, which was twitching slightly from the pain.

Lu Dongnuan pulled the knife out. 

Seeing the blood on it, her eyes turned a deep, crimson red.

“You…” Lu Dongnuan’s voice squeezed through her teeth. 

All her forced gentleness had vanished, replaced by a rasp tight with agony, “You stabbed me?”

Misfortune truly came in waves. 

She had been ambushed at the very first house just because there was a child. 

She didn’t even want to think about the rest of the trip.

Seeing that Lu Dongnuan appeared unharmed, the girl trembled violently. 

The madness in her eyes vanished, replaced by pure terror and a massive sense of overwhelming helplessness.

She looked into Lu Dongnuan’s eyes—which were calm to a terrifying degree—and then at the knife. 

Her lips quivered as tears began to flow silently, yet she didn’t even dare to make a sound as she cried.

“Fine. You’ve got guts, little brat. Stabbing someone at such a young age.” Lu Dongnuan’s lips curled, but there was no hint of a smile, only cold fury.

She weighed the fruit knife in her hand. 

The tip was still dripping blood. 

Having a strong self-healing ability didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, nor did it mean she could calmly forgive being stabbed.

Several thoughts flashed through her mind. 

Should she leave this terrified brat here to fend for herself? 

Or would it be simpler to lie and say the girl had been dragged away by Zombies or had jumped off the building? 

That would be enough of an explanation.

As Lu Dongnuan weighed the bloody knife, debating whether to leave the nuisance or settle it more permanently, Li Shige suddenly stood up on her own.

The tear stains on the girl’s face were still wet, and her body was still shivering, but a flame had ignited in her eyes that were just full of terror moments ago.

She straightened her thin back and spoke in an oddly deliberate, theatrical tone that was entirely out of place for her age and the situation. 

Clenching her teeth, she said: “My strike hath failed, and I am in a place of certain death! Thou mayest take my life, yet I only lament for my grandmother — when she returns, she shall… shall…” 

She stammered for a moment, as if trying to recall a difficult phrase. 

“She shall find her child’s life is no more!”

She practically shouted the last half of the sentence, her voice cracking before she quickly stifled it. 

All that remained were her reddened eyes and her chest heaving violently.

Lu Dongnuan was stunned.

‘What… What was going on? Had she watched too many historical dramas? Or had she been scared into insanity and started babbling nonsense?’

She looked at the girl—dressed in filthy pajamas, hair looking like a bird’s nest, yet trying her best to imitate the “brave hero facing death” from some play.

Lu Dongnuan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably, and she let out a frustrated laugh.

Why was she even bothering to get angry at this little idiot?

“A person must have integrity and be fearless in the face of danger…” Before she could finish, her tears welled up again, “Take my life!”

“Fine. You’ve got guts. Prepare for the execution.”

Lu Dongnuan lunged forward with the knife.

However, Li Shige dodged nimbly.

“Halt! You’re actually going to do it!”

“You told me to take your life. It would be disrespectful not to.”

“Hey! I’ve shown such backbone! Shouldn’t you admire me, feel a sense of respect, and take me under your wing so I can follow you and live a good life from now on?”

Li Shige stood with her hands on her hips, shouting with righteous indignation. 

Although her voice was still raspy from crying, her logic was somehow consistent.

Lu Dongnuan didn’t respond, merely watching her quietly. 

The wound on her back had long since healed. 

She made her decision.

‘I’ll let Lin Mo handle it…’