The Hand of Confession – Chapter 414
by Little PandaEpilogue: The Final Instance
Park
Eyes staring like bronze bells~1
Only after leaving the alley did Shen Maomao realize there were many people wandering around on the road.
Even with the moonlight for illumination, she still couldn’t make out their specific features or confirm if they were the same as the man who had broken into Lou Jingmo’s home.
Puck flew above her head, using the advantage of his wings to observe the positions of the figures and point out an escape route for Shen Maomao. She led Lou Jingmo, carefully weaving around all the strange dark shadows as they ran quickly in one direction.
The current Lou Jingmo had no one else to depend on but her, so she could only hold tightly to her hand, her face pale as she was led away in their escape.
At this thought, a secret thrill rose in Shen Maomao’s heart.
That feeling… is it like a daughter-in-law for many years finally becoming the mother-in-law?
Finally, the day had come. She was no longer the little girl who could only go around hugging a big thigh.2 Now, she could be Lou Jingmo’s support, protect her properly, and become the big thigh for Lou Jingmo to hug.
In the dead of night, the temperature was a bit low, but after running for so long, Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo surprisingly didn’t feel cold.
After running for a while, the two had left the pitch-black alley and arrived at a roadside with streetlights.
The road only had two lanes, flanked by dirt paths packed down by foot traffic. There were no vehicles on the road, and traffic lights were a rare sight.
But for the area where Lou Jingmo lived, this was the only main road.
The empty road seemed to bring a sense of security. Lou Jingmo finally realized how unceremoniously she’d been dragged along the whole way and immediately shook off Shen Maomao’s hand. Her small face was slightly flushed under the streetlight, but she maintained a stern expression and said, “Thank you for saving me, but none of this would have happened if it weren’t for you.”
Such a good kid, Shen Maomao thought. Too bad she has a mouth. She finally understood how the adult Lou Jingmo felt when she exasperated her to death.
Lou Jingmo didn’t understand and gave her a puzzled look.
Because she was just so cute, Shen Maomao chose to forgive her. “It’s fine. Are you willing to believe me now?”
Lou Jingmo pressed her lips together. Although she didn’t say it out loud, she was clearly not as guarded against Shen Maomao as before.
Her right hand unconsciously picked at the seam of her pants as she asked, “So, what do we do now that we’ve run out?” She was obviously treating Shen Maomao as her backbone.3
Shen Maomao said, “More things might happen later tonight. Although it’d be safer if you weren’t with me, I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving you out here alone, so you’ll have to stick with me and face the danger. I can’t guarantee much, but I’m good at running. I can definitely keep you alive until tomorrow morning.”
Lou Jingmo said without expression, “Okay.”
Shen Maomao tentatively held out her hand. “Shall we?”
Lou Jingmo hesitated. From her expression, she didn’t seem to like holding hands with others.
Puck flew up behind Lou Jingmo and blew a puff of air on the skin inside her collar.
Lou Jingmo shivered and immediately offered her hand. “Let’s go, then!”
Puck flew back to perch on Shen Maomao’s head, saying smugly, “I want to eat spicy hot pot!”
Eat! Shen Maomao thought. You can eat until you burst for all I care!
Puck got the answer he wanted from her gaze and decided to push his luck. “Then can you let me have a bite of the coin?!”
The smile on Shen Maomao’s face vanished instantly.
Puck: “…” Got it. I know how to crawl away.
The two walked aimlessly along the main road. To ease Lou Jingmo’s tension, Shen Maomao chatted with her off and on. Lou Jingmo didn’t respond most of the time, but occasionally she would mercifully grant her an “Mm,” which delighted Shen Maomao every time.
As they walked, the road ahead suddenly came to an end.
At the end of the road was a public park. The gate was unlocked, and there was no one guarding it nearby. It was like a silent invitation.
Shen Maomao found it strange that a park would be built in this location, but Lou Jingmo, beside her, had stopped in her tracks, refusing to take another step forward.
Shen Maomao turned back to look at her.
Lou Jingmo said, “There wasn’t a park here before.”
“Before,” to be precise, meant the day before yesterday.
Lou Jingmo did not like going home.
Neither the monster born from her longing nor that disgusting man could stir in her any desire to return. For her, it wasn’t so much a home as it was just a place to live. Sooner or later, she would break free from it and obtain the freedom she wanted.
So, unless it was completely dark, she wouldn’t go back.
Most of the time, she would evade the security guard’s search, hide at school until dark, then climb over the main gate and walk home slowly.
Of course, there were times when she was discovered by the guard and had to leave the school. For instance, the day before yesterday, she had stayed in this park until eight at night.
But this park wasn’t here at all… It wasn’t even in this direction, not even nearby…
Shen Maomao wasn’t curious, nor did she like to court death,4 so she immediately turned around and said to Lou Jingmo, “It’s fine. Let’s go another way.”
Five minutes later, they were staring at the same park again. They understood that this probably wouldn’t end peacefully.
Lou Jingmo asked, “Should we go in?”
Shen Maomao stared into the pitch-black interior of the park. “No. We’re not going in. We’ll stay right here!”
Lou Jingmo looked puzzled.
Shen Maomao took off her school uniform jacket, placed it against the wall as a cushion, and plopped down at the entrance. “We’ll just wait here. Everything will be fine once the sun comes up.”
Lou Jingmo was surprised. “Huh?”
Shen Maomao patted the spot beside her. “Come on. It’s such an obvious trap. We’re not falling for it.”
Lou Jingmo sat down beside her, half-believing. “This will work?”
Shen Maomao looked completely confident. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Lou Jingmo stopped doubting and sat obediently beside her.
The two sat shoulder to shoulder, huddled closely together.
The ground was a bit chilly. Shen Maomao didn’t have any extra clothes to cover up with, and her jacket was under her butt. After a while, she started to shiver.
Lou Jingmo, who had her eyes closed and the back of her head resting against the wall, clearly felt her trembling. She opened her eyes, took off her own school uniform jacket, and draped it over both of them.
Shen Maomao froze, her eyes welling up as she looked at her. My wife knows how to dote on me!
Lou Jingmo turned her head away uncomfortably. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”
Shen Maomao’s heart softened. “Okay, you sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
Lou Jingmo gave her a complicated look before finally closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall.
Shen Maomao watched her with adoration, like a mother looking at her daughter who’d scored perfectly on a test. She gently nudged her head to lean closer.
Shen Maomao raised a hand and gently rested Lou Jingmo’s head on her own shoulder.
Lou Jingmo’s body stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed again as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The desolate cry of a night owl echoed over the park. Lou Jingmo frowned but didn’t wake up.
Shen Maomao could sense some kind of terrifying presence inside the park, and it was slowly approaching them.
She pulled out her dagger and shot Puck a look.
The drowsy little spirit had no choice but to get to work, flapping his little wings and flying inside.
A moment later, he flew back out. “There’s a big guy in there! But it looks like it can’t get out.”
Shen Maomao relaxed. She carefully opened her backpack to let him crawl back in, then remained vigilant, guarding them through the night.
Time passed, second by second. Just as Shen Maomao saw a sliver of white light appear on the distant horizon and was about to let her guard down, she suddenly noticed several figures in the distance.
The sky hadn’t fully brightened yet, and the surroundings were still dim, so she couldn’t even tell when the dark shadows had appeared. Their movements were slow, but there were many of them, and they were gradually closing in, forming an encirclement that blocked all her escape routes.
Oh, wait… maybe the park behind them was still an option.
This was simply a case of Sima Zhao’s heart being known to all passersby.5
Having learned her lesson from the overturned cart in front6 that was Police Officer Bai, Shen Maomao didn’t act rashly. She let Puck out of her backpack and asked in a low voice, “Do you smell anything up ahead?”
Puck flew over and came back. “It’s all those big eyes out there!”
Shen Maomao cursed, “Grass,”7 and stood up, dagger in hand.
There were a lot of them. Killing them all would be exhausting for Shen Maomao, but she could try to knock them all out to stall for time until dawn.
She told Puck to watch over Lou Jingmo while she walked forward several steps to meet the dark shadows.
As she got closer, she finally saw what the shadows looked like. Countless pairs of bronze bell-like eyes stared at her without blinking, letting out strange “hehe” laughs that caused her serious mental pollution.8
A dagger wasn’t advantageous in a group fight like this. Shen Maomao thought for a moment, then broke a branch off a nearby tree, keeping the thicker end and gripping it in her hand.
Can’t let them get any closer.
If they get any closer, they’ll wake up my wife.
Instead of retreating, she advanced, using a speed-enhancing item to charge toward these big-eyed cuties.
The item made her as fast as lightning. She was only twelve or thirteen, already small and agile, and now that agility was pushed to its limit, allowing her to move through the monster horde as if entering an unmanned territory.9 Everywhere she passed, a swath of them fell, the enemies collapsing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Lou Jingmo, leaning against the corner of the wall, had opened her eyes at some point. She stared without blinking as Shen Maomao killed in all four directions10 up ahead.
Puck thought she was scared, so he flew up to her and said, “You have to believe in Maomao. She’s really strong right now, so don’t be afraid. I’m here with you. It’d be even better if you could get Maomao to let me have a bite of that coin, though slurp slurp.”
Lou Jingmo couldn’t hear him, but she lowered her gaze and bowed her head.
Puck couldn’t see her face anymore, but he felt that something was strangely off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He could only sniff hard at the air but didn’t detect anything unusual.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it…
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 眼睛瞪得像铜铃 | Pinyin: yǎnjīng dèng de xiàng tóng líng | Context / Meaning: A descriptive phrase, likely from the “Black Cat Detective” theme song, used to describe the wide, unblinking eyes of the monsters.
- Hanzi: 抱大腿 | Pinyin: bào dàtuǐ | Context / Meaning: Slang for clinging to a powerful person for support or benefits.
- Hanzi: 主心骨 | Pinyin: zhǔxīngǔ | Context / Meaning: A term for the person who is the core support or decision-maker in a group.
- Hanzi: 作死 | Pinyin: zuòsǐ | Context / Meaning: A slang term for doing something stupidly dangerous or reckless.
- Hanzi: 司马昭之心——路人皆知 | Pinyin: Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn—lùrén jiē zhī | Context / Meaning: A famous historical idiom meaning an evil intention is perfectly obvious to everyone.
- Hanzi: 前车之鉴 | Pinyin: qiánchēzhījiàn | Context / Meaning: An idiom for learning from someone else’s prior failure.
- Hanzi: 草 | Pinyin: cǎo | Context / Meaning: A common curse word, a homophonic euphemism for 操 (cāo), similar to “fuck” or “shit.”
- Hanzi: 精神污染 | Pinyin: jīngshén wūrǎn | Context / Meaning: A term for something that is psychologically disturbing.
- Hanzi: 如入无人之境 | Pinyin: rú rù wúrén zhī jìng | Context / Meaning: An idiom describing moving through an enemy force with no resistance.
- Hanzi: 大杀四方 | Pinyin: dà shā sìfāng | Context / Meaning: An idiom for completely dominating a battle and defeating enemies all around.
0 Comments