Su Nian stood motionless behind the curtain.
The four people outside the iron gate were still talking, and the man knocked on the gate a few more times.
One of the women said, “Let’s go. There’s no one here.”
The other man refused to give up.
“The gate’s locked from the inside. Someone’s here.”
Su Nian did not move, but her heart was lodged in her throat.
The two men and two women began circling the house, examining it as they walked. Even though the courtyard wall was high, Su Nian could not help feeling anxious.
After making a full circle, the four of them finally gave up. Before leaving, they slapped the gate several times with loud bangs and even kicked it repeatedly.
They did not leave Shuixi Village.
Instead, they headed deeper into the village.
After wandering around for quite some time, they eventually found a relatively intact house about two hundred meters away from Su Nian’s.
Only then did Su Nian step away from the curtain and walk to the window to look in that direction.
A flashlight beam flickered a few times before disappearing.
She stared into the darkness for several seconds, then placed the machete on the table beside the door.
Xingxing sat on the bed, hugging his teddy bear, the blanket wrapped around his waist.
“Mommy, did those people leave?”
“They left. They went somewhere else.”
Xingxing nodded. Instinctively, Su Nian reached out and touched his forehead.
It wasn’t hot. She finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After nightfall, she no longer dared to keep the camping lantern on.
The blackout curtains remained tightly closed, leaving only a narrow gap in the window for ventilation.
Xingxing soon fell asleep.
Su Nian did not.
She stayed awake, listening carefully to every sound outside.
Occasionally, faint noises drifted over from the house two hundred meters away, but eventually, even those faded into silence.
The next morning, the first thing Su Nian did after opening her eyes was touch Xingxing’s forehead.
It was cool. She checked several more times before finally relaxing.
She went downstairs to prepare breakfast.
She cooked a pot of porridge and stir fried a plate of fresh vegetables.
Xingxing ate more than half a bowl of porridge along with most of the vegetables.
After breakfast, Su Nian went into the courtyard to check the well.
The water had become crystal clear, and she could see the stones and sand at the bottom.
As she crouched beside the well examining the water, voices suddenly came from outside the iron gate.
She stood up, walked quietly behind the gate, and peered outside through a narrow crack.
There were no longer just four people.
Three more young men had joined them.
They looked to be in their early twenties, dressed in outdoor jackets and carrying large backpacks.
The man who had knocked the night before walked at the front, his expression impatient as they stopped before the gate.
“This is the place.”
One of the newcomers asked, “You’re sure someone’s inside?”
“I’m sure. The gate’s locked from the inside. It couldn’t be locked if no one was here.”
The man walked up to the gate and bent down to peer through the gap.
Su Nian quietly stepped aside.
She was so close that she could hear his breathing through the metal gate.
After staring inside for several seconds, he finally stepped back.
“Someone’s been cleaning the courtyard. The grass has all been cut down. There’s definitely someone here.”
Another man threw his backpack onto the ground.
“What are we waiting for? Just break the gate down.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his leg and kicked the iron gate.
Bang!
The entire gate shuddered violently.
He kicked it again.
The iron bolt creaked under the impact.
Su Nian immediately took a table out of her storage space and wedged it firmly behind the gate. Then she dragged out an old bed and braced it across the front of the table.
The people outside kicked the gate seven or eight more times.
The gate did not budge.
“Damn it! This gate won’t give!”
The man finally stopped, panting heavily as he cursed.
“Climb over the wall,” another man suggested.
Someone outside began moving a ladder.
With a loud clang, an old ladder was propped against the wall.
Su Nian stepped back two paces and took out a steel pipe from her storage space.
One end had been sharpened into a point.
She stood in the middle of the courtyard, staring at the top of the wall.
Two hands appeared first.
Then half a head. A man climbed onto the wall and looked down.
The moment he saw Su Nian, he froze for an instant before breaking into a grin.
“It’s just one woman!”
Loud laughter erupted from the people outside.
“Stop standing there! Hurry up and get over it!”
Just as the man began climbing onto the wall, Su Nian thrust the sharpened steel pipe toward him.
The point drove straight into his shoulder.
He screamed in agony and jerked backward.
Unable to keep his grip on the wall, he slipped off the ladder and crashed to the ground.
Another man immediately climbed up.
Su Nian swung the steel pipe with all her strength.
It smashed into his face, and blood sprayed out instantly.
He cried out in pain, his head snapping sideways.
His hands slipped from the wall, and he fell as well.
Chaos broke out outside.
“My arm’s broken!”
“This bitch hits hard!”
One of the women shouted loudly, “Move somewhere else! Set the ladder farther away!”
The ladder was repositioned.
This time, it was placed near the corner of the courtyard wall, farther from where Su Nian stood.
She ran over, pulled out a long handled sickle from her storage space, and slashed at the hands gripping the top of the wall.
The man screamed and withdrew his hands.
The ladder toppled over with a loud crash outside the wall.
“That bitch has weapons!” someone shouted.
“Set the place on fire!” another voice yelled.
Su Nian heard every word.
She retreated to the doorway of the main hall, keeping her eyes fixed on the top of the wall.
No one climbed over again.
Instead, a bottle flew into the courtyard.
A strip of cloth stuffed into its mouth was smoldering.
The bottle shattered on the concrete.
Liquid splashed everywhere.
Gasoline! Flames erupted instantly, igniting the pile of cut grass nearby.
The half dried grass burned rapidly.
Tongues of fire spread along the base of the wall while thick black smoke billowed upward, making Su Nian cough repeatedly.
The flames almost reached the wooden door of the main hall.
The paint on the doorframe blistered from the heat, crackling as it burned.
Su Nian rushed forward, grabbed the bucket of water beside the well, and poured it over the flames.
The fire weakened.
She quickly drew another bucket of water and emptied it onto the blaze.
This time, the fire went out completely.
But the heat had scorched the soles of her shoes, and the sharp smell of burned rubber filled her nose.
Several drops of burning gasoline had splashed onto the back of her hand.
Blisters immediately formed over the burns, and they throbbed painfully whenever she touched them.
Another bottle flew over the wall.
This one landed on the dirt instead of the concrete.
Su Nian stamped out the flames with her foot, ran over, picked up the bottle, and hurled it back over the wall.
The bottle shattered outside.
Someone cried out in alarm.
“Are you crazy?!”
“We can’t get in. She’s armed, the wall’s too high, and that wire mesh tears up your hands.”
One of the women finally said, “Forget it. Stop wasting time.”
Their argument continued for several more minutes.
Su Nian stood in the middle of the courtyard, gripping the steel pipe tightly as she watched the top of the wall.
Blood dripped from her hand.
A shard of broken glass had sliced her from the web between her thumb and index finger all the way down toward her wrist, leaving a long gash.
Drop by drop, blood splattered onto the concrete.
“Let’s go.”
The people outside the gate finally began retreating.
Their voices gradually faded into the distance, though their curses could still be heard.
Su Nian remained where she was, waiting another ten minutes.
No one appeared at the top of the wall again.
Only then did she crouch down, gasping for breath.
The smoke had left her throat burning.
She coughed several times until tears welled up in her eyes.
She hurried upstairs.
Xingxing was curled up tightly on the bed, clutching his teddy bear.
His face was unnaturally red.
Su Nian rushed over and pressed her hand against his forehead.
It was burning hot.
She immediately took out a thermometer and tucked it beneath his arm.
Five minutes later, she checked the reading.
39.4°C.
Su Nian found some fever medicine.
Half asleep, Xingxing weakly opened his mouth, swallowed the medicine, and lay back down.
Su Nian sat beside the bed, holding his hand.
His skin was burning hot, yet there was no sweat in his palm.
His temperature could still rise.
Panic instantly gripped her.
She soaked a towel in cool water and wiped his face, neck, and arms.
Whenever the towel became warm, she rinsed it again before continuing.
An hour passed. She checked his temperature again.
39.2°C.
Another hour later.
39.3°C.
The fever was still there.
Su Nian’s hands began trembling again.
She searched frantically through her storage space.
She had plenty of fever reducing medicine, but nothing seemed to work for Xingxing.
Eventually, she found a box of children’s fever suppositories along with an anti-inflammatory medicine, but she was not sure whether it was the right treatment.
Most of the medicines she had stocked were common household medications.
She had never imagined facing such a stubborn, unrelenting fever.
Su Nian placed the various medicines beside the bed.
Xingxing had fallen asleep again, but his sleep was restless.
His brows remained tightly furrowed, his lips slightly parted, and his breathing was rapid and shallow.
She held his hand tightly. Her own hands were still shaking.
Outside the window, darkness had completely fallen.
A faint glow flickered from the direction of the village.
Someone was cooking over a fire.
They had not left. They were still in the village.
Su Nian stared at Xingxing’s flushed face.
The fever medicine was useless. Waiting any longer was not an option.
She looked out into the darkness beyond the window.
The nearest county town was a three hour drive away.
She had no idea what the roads were like.
She had no idea how many zombies were out there.
But Xingxing’s fever could not continue.
She slowly stood up, fastened the machete to her waist, and took the car keys out of her storage space.
Yet she remained where she was.
Xingxing had such a high fever that taking him onto the road could be dangerous.
But if she left him behind, those people were still somewhere in the village.
Su Nian stood beside the bed.
She could not bring herself to take even a single step.