CHAPTER 343: CHAPTER 322: YOU ARE A MURDERER (PART 2)

The woman desperately hoped that God would hear her prayers and bless her children with the water and food they needed. She had no husband, and those who saw her always shook their heads, not knowing where she came from, just as you’d notice that the neighbors change every time you open your eyes, so no one would have much suspicion toward such unfamiliar faces.

Every day, the woman would walk down this street with her children, begging passersby for food or water for them. This only happened when the children were crying, and she would just watch them swallow the meager food with a satisfied smile.

She was a pitiful woman, a silent woman, who had a beautiful smile, but never cared for the sympathetic glances cast her way. In the slums, everyone lived a life of poverty and scarcity, struggling to get by day to day, with no time to spare for such a pitiable woman.

Perhaps from walking too much, the baby in her arms began to struggle; he was hungry, searching with his hands for his mother’s milk. Sadly, the woman had long run dry. She was soothing her baby when the older child, understanding the situation, ran to a neighbor’s door to ask for a cup of water, which she handed to her mother. Watching her brother suck the water into his mouth, she pursed her lips, "Mama, save me some, please!"

The woman took the cup from her infant’s mouth and handed it to the girl. Her trembling hands tilted before the girl could catch it, and she fell to the ground. The cup broke, spilling its contents onto the soil, where it was quickly absorbed.

Still tightly holding her child, the woman perhaps sensed her impending doom, cradling the baby close to her chest to prevent her body from crushing him. The girl stared wide-eyed at her motionless mother on the ground, bursting into tears as if realizing something; the baby cried with her.

The crowd gathered around could only shake their heads once more, as such scenes happened almost daily. They were powerless, barely able to look after themselves, let alone others.

"Make way!" A shadow fell over the girl, blocking the sun: "She’s not dead yet, give her some fresh air." A man lifted the baby and handed him to the girl, turning the woman over, "Get me a basin of hot water!"

Someone stepped into a nearby house, unapologetically grabbed a basin, filled it with hot water, and returned, dropping a towel into it.

The towel softened upon heating; the water, mixed with sand and silt, was slowly dripped onto the woman’s head, creeping into her scalp from the hair roots. Her bloodless lips, cracked and bleeding, and cyanotic skin showed severe anemia and malnutrition. His hands moved to her abdomen, gently probing, and he frowned deeply; there was more to it, a goose egg-sized hard lump was palpable in her abdomen.

The man picked up the woman and entered the nearest home, ignoring the householder’s protests. He found a table, clearing it swiftly, and tore open the woman’s clothes. In a Middle Eastern society such as this, such actions were sacrilege, sparking more dissent and suspicion directed at this unknown man.

The man standing beside him handed the owner a wad of cash, "Buy some food for the kids, and keep the rest for the room rental."

The man inside inserted thin, long needles at several points on the woman’s body, then moved his hands to her abdomen, kneading the lump. Its surface was smooth, without any pronounced protrusions, but its large area indicated the necessity of radiotherapy before any surgical removal.

For such a diagnosis, the man was reasonably satisfied. After twisting the needles in several places, he exited the house.

"Brother!"

"She needs surgery; there’s a tumor in her abdomen. The specifics will have to be determined at a hospital," the man said, lifting his head to see the crowd gathered outside the door, "I am a doctor," he offered as explanation.

"Mama!" A little girl, holding a baby in her arms with a plastic bag in hand, waited, her eyes gazing hopefully inside.

"Even if she wakes now, it won’t be long before she’s in the same state again," Xiao Lin stated solemnly.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Where do you live?" Xiao Lin squatted, gently stroking the girl’s hair, "Your mother will be fine, she’ll wake up soon."

"In the big courtyard at the end of this road," she replied.

"Will you show me?" Xiao Lin asked softly.

"But Mama..."

"We’ll come back for Mama; let her rest a bit now." Xiao Lin held the girl’s hand, giving Hua Qingyi a nod to wait there.

The courtyard the girl mentioned was really just a wall enclosing several low brick houses, forming a small courtyard, something akin to a tenement yard, housing a mix of people. The girl led him to a mat, "We live here."

Only bitterness could describe the scene: food was not the only scarcity. A proper home was nonexistent, and seeking medical care was out of the question.

"Will Mama really wake up?" The girl clung to Xiao Lin’s hand, her cold fingers stirring his heart. The baby was already asleep on the mat, and many people, numb to everything but their own struggles.

"She will! She will." Xiao Lin said firmly.

"Brother!" Hua Qingyi appeared at the courtyard entrance supporting a woman: "I didn’t dare move the needle you inserted, but this woman is very stubborn and insists on..."

The woman relaxed completely after seeing the girl, pulled out the needle from her body, then picked up the girl and rubbed her face against hers.

"Brother, we can’t interfere in this! We can’t do anything about it." Hua Qingyi was right, but...

At this moment, the woman tore open the plastic bag, put the food in her mouth, chewed it, and then fed it into the baby’s mouth, but it was spit out.

"It’s useless to do it like this, he’s still too young." Xiao Lin stopped the woman’s action, he could understand her intention, but he couldn’t comprehend her approach.

"Get away, you murderer!" It was the first time the woman spoke, but no one expected her words to be so explosive.

"You..."

"Do you know me?" Xiao Lin squatted down, getting close to her: "Have you seen my face?"

For Xiao Lin, this was quite curious, in the Middle East, it was really rare for someone to recognize him.

The woman no longer paid attention to Xiao Lin, holding the child to herself, staring into the distance. The woman had always been stubborn, her temperament was not as lowly as that of typical Middle Eastern women, which made Xiao Lin begin to doubt her true identity.

"Find them a place to stay, settle them in and then come find us."

"Brother..." Hua Qingyi was almost jumping with anxiety.

"I will take care of this matter." With no other purpose, just a gut feeling telling him he must do it, he decided to act out of compassion. Problems solvable with money are not really problems, moreover, this woman was a mystery. He had every reason to clear it up.

"Got it!" Hua Qingyi knew he couldn’t argue with Xiao Lin; whatever he decided, he could only comply.

"You need a different environment!" Not allowing any refusal from the woman, Xiao Lin laid out his plan unceremoniously: "The person earlier will handle everything, if you care for your child, I hope you can accept it."

"Murderer!" The woman had no more words, not even looking at Xiao Lin, such indifference was not deliberate but genuine hatred towards him.

"I have killed many!" Facing such an accusation, Xiao Lin laughed it off: "Perhaps among those I’ve killed were your relatives, but I firmly believe I only killed those who deserved it, if your kin was among them, I can only regretfully say, he deserved to die."

These words seemed to touch a nerve with the woman, she pounced on Xiao Lin like a madwoman, opened her mouth and bit his neck, her legs wrapping around him, wishing to tear a piece of flesh from him and chew it up.

Hiss! Xiao Lin let out a low groan of pain, forcibly pulling the woman off him, taking some of his flesh with her. Damn it, bleeding incessantly lately. Covering the wound, Xiao Lin couldn’t help cursing.

"You have no other path to take, it’s the clearest to you!" Xiao Lin pointed at the woman, with the sun behind him obscuring his face from view, the woman said nothing: "If you don’t want your child to end up on the street as prey for human traffickers, refuse me at your peril."

The woman chewed the raw meat in her mouth, the taste of blood frightening the child beside her, the girl hugged her brother tightly, eyes filled with fear staring at her mother. In her young heart, her mother was always smiling; even if she cried sometimes, she would always smile at her. But now, the image of her mother became so blurred in her heart.

"Mom!" The girl called softly: "It was this uncle who saved you." Though she didn’t understand why her mother was acting this way, the girl still believed in the man before her.

"No, he’s the one who killed your father, remember this face, always remember this man." The woman roared somewhat hysterically, her trembling finger pointing at Xiao Lin, her shrill voice echoing, countless images flashed through her mind, yet none matched the narrative.

Suddenly, someone appeared in his mind, unable to resist saying: "Was the leader of the Middle Eastern cult back then related to you?"

"It’s you righteous ones who caused so many to lose their loved ones, so many women to lose their lifelines, forcing us to wander the streets."

The woman’s accusation struck Xiao Lin quite directly, he never thought about such things, to him, it was about eliminating those who should be, never considering whether those people had families or children. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)