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The group of men watched as the wolf remained seated, thinking it was scared. They cautiously approached Ah Da, each holding a club in hand.
None of them noticed that Xin’er, standing by the door, was watching them with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
The nine men slowly circled Ah Da, each of them with a stick in hand. They moved inch by inch towards him.
After exchanging glances, they all swung their sticks towards Ah Da’s head at the same time.
Just as one of them was about to strike Ah Da’s head, suddenly his arm was struck with pain.
A branch pierced through his arm. The club fell from his hand, and his arm was impaled by the branch. He felt the sharp pain as the branch passed through, and the stick flew toward Li San’s face.
Li San watched as the branch stuck firmly into the wooden door. The branch quivered for a moment before blood began dripping from it. Li San swallowed nervously, almost feeling like the branch would have pierced his face.
He turned to see one of his men, clutching his arm and screaming in agony.
Li San’s heart raced, and he felt a surge of fear.
The group took a few steps back in shock. Li San shouted, “Who did that?!”
One of the men finally noticed Xin’er standing by the door, watching them with a strange smile.
Xin’er was holding a branch in her hand, playing with it as she smiled, revealing her white teeth. She waved the branch at them and said,
“You guys, are you trying to eat my Ah Da?”
“That’s not allowed, you know? Ah Da can’t be eaten. If you try to eat him, I’ll kill you all.”
The group of men looked at the young girl in bewilderment. One of them, bolder than the rest, scoffed and said,
“What are we afraid of? She’s just a little girl. What can she do?”
“We outnumber her.”
“She must have done this while we weren’t paying attention.”
The group murmured among themselves, and then Li San stepped forward.
“Little sister, is it just you here?”
“Don’t worry, we’re not bad people.”
“You said this wolf is called Ah Da? We didn’t know he was your wolf. If we had, we wouldn’t have tried to kill him.”
“Little sister, where are your family? Did you get separated from them?”
“You don’t have to be afraid. We won’t hurt you or Ah Da.”
Xin’er couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, thinking, Do I really look that easy to deceive?
Pretending to be troubled, she responded,
“I don’t have a family… I’m all alone.”
The men exchanged glances, and their expressions grew even more eager. They looked at Xin’er with greedy, lecherous eyes.
Li San spoke up,
“Little sister, why don’t you come with us? We can keep you company, and don’t worry, we have food.”
Xin’er tilted her head and looked at them.
“But you guys don’t look like good people. You’re all too ugly. I’m afraid if I see you, I’ll lose my appetite and throw up. What should I do?”
The men were furious upon hearing this. Their faces twisted in anger, as they hated being called ugly.
One of them replied,
“How about this, little sister? We’ll all wear masks so you don’t have to see our faces. Then you’ll be able to eat.”
“Being outside alone is dangerous. We can protect you.”
“But even with masks, you’re still ugly. I can still see your eyes.”
Li San, now enraged, snapped,
“Little girl, we’re letting you off because you’re young. Don’t get too greedy.”
After saying that, the men exchanged looks and slowly started closing in on Xin’er.
Soon, there were screams and cries for mercy. Ah Da just sat there, licking his paw and watching the chaos unfold.
Poor things, he thought.
As Xin’er walked out the door, she could see the bodies of the men sprawled out in a pool of blood.
One by one, they lay there, lifeless. Li San, barely able to keep his eyes open, looked at Xin’er one last time before his life slipped away.
Xin’er patted Ah Da’s head and said,
“Let’s go. They wasted our time. These people were so annoying.”