The Hand of Confession – Chapter 93

Volume 4: Days of Making Mischief at School

Grandmother

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

The heavy apartment door slammed shut behind them with a “boom,” trapping those desperate, life-threatening footsteps inside the building.

Shen Maomao, afraid that her weight might cause them both to die, quickly said: “Mom, put me down, I can walk by myself.”

Mother Shen was breathing heavily, gulping in the humid air. Though Shen Maomao’s body was only six years old, she was tall for her age. Mother Shen’s arms were already aching from carrying her down from the top floor. Unable to carry her anymore, she didn’t refuse the suggestion, slightly bent down to put her on the ground, then took her hand and rushed with her into the curtain of rain.

The rain pounded down mercilessly, bringing a bone-chilling cold. Shen Maomao couldn’t even worry about Lou Jingmo’s warning that “getting caught in the rain might trigger death conditions” as she fled frantically with her mother.

Two pairs of feet, one large and one small, splashed through puddle after puddle, making “pata pata” sounds as they kicked up sheets of water.

Mother Shen kept looking back as she ran, and only slowed down after confirming Father Shen wasn’t following them. She led Shen Maomao into a building with a broken entrance door, dropping to one knee to hug her shivering daughter tightly.

“Don’t be afraid, Maomao…” she said, though her own voice was trembling with tears, her whole body shaking.

Shen Maomao was shivering from cold; her mother was trembling from panic and fear.

“Mom, why did Dad suddenly turn into a monster?” Shen Maomao asked, feigning innocence.

Mother Shen choked back a sob and reached out with her pale, cold right hand to wipe away the water streaming down her daughter’s chin: “Dad didn’t turn into a monster… he just… he’s just possessed by a monster, everything will get better after some time… it definitely will…”

Shen Maomao couldn’t bear to shatter this poor woman’s last illusion, so she changed the subject: “Mom, where are we going to sleep? I’m so cold. Can I still go to school tomorrow?”

Mother Shen sniffled, composing herself, and said with a still-trembling voice: “Mommy will take you to grandmother’s house, and when we get there, grandmother will make you some hot soup, okay?”

Shen Maomao nodded: “Then lead me, Mom. I can’t see the path clearly.”

“Okay.” Mother Shen quickly grabbed her hand and continued running with her through the heavy rain.

She gripped tightly, as if holding onto her last lifeline, making Shen Maomao wince in pain.

But Shen Maomao said nothing, allowing her mother to squeeze her wrist until it left a ring of bluish marks.

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Mother Shen was a local, and her mother’s house was about three bus stops away from their home.

It had gotten dark early today, and the buses had mysteriously stopped running ahead of schedule. Only a few taxis were still diligently working, but each one already had passengers.

Getting a taxi was already difficult in the rain, let alone in this downpour. The two walked while trying to hail a cab, and even after walking almost two stops’ worth of distance, they hadn’t managed to get one.

The rain continued to fall, with water on the ground nearly reaching Shen Maomao’s ankles.

Her hair was soaked through, clinging to her cheeks in strands, actually making her vision clearer than when it had been blocked by her slightly overgrown bangs.

Her clothes and pants were waterlogged, requiring great effort just to lift her legs; her shoes were also water-filled, making “squelch squelch” sounds with every step.

As Mother Shen led her forward, she kept asking: “Are you cold, Maomao?” Her voice was so faint it was almost drowned out by the rain.

Shen Maomao patiently answered again and again: “I’m not cold, I’m fine.”

Mother and daughter trudged along unsteadily, walking for who knows how long, until they finally saw the warm yellow light emanating from grandmother’s house.

Grandmother’s house was on the first floor, and though it wasn’t late yet, heavy curtains were already drawn. Mother Shen stepped forward to knock on the door, shouting: “Mom—open the door!”

An unsettling black silhouette appeared on the curtain, moving toward the door.

Shen Maomao stared intently at the shadow, her right foot involuntarily stepping backward.

The door opened, revealing a hunchbacked elderly person. With the light behind them, Shen Maomao couldn’t make out their features clearly, but she could see their bluish-purple lips, a cane in their hands, and their back protruding high—not like a normal hunch, but more like a large tumor that made them a head shorter than normal.

They lowered their head and coughed twice, covering their mouth: “Nan-nan… you’re back?”

Mother Shen was trembling uncontrollably.

Their voice was extremely hoarse, like a damaged audio tape. But even so, both could easily tell that it was unmistakably a woman’s voice!!

After speaking, the hunchbacked man lifted his head, revealing a completely unfamiliar face.

Just then, lightning split the sky, and Shen Maomao finally saw this person clearly—he wasn’t an elderly person at all, but a young man!

Mother Shen, on the verge of breakdown, screamed in a cracking voice: “Who are you?! Where’s my mother?!”

The man grinned, baring a row of bright red teeth, and though his tongue didn’t move, he spoke in an old woman’s voice: “Mother is right here…”

As his words fell, the large bump on his back began to undulate, like the belly of a grotesque eight-month pregnant woman, forming bulge after bulge.

With a “ripping” sound, his back’s flesh was torn open by sharp fingernails, spraying blood mist. A twisted arm emerged first, its blood-covered hand firmly gripping the man’s hair, pulling out an entire person.

This was Shen Maomao’s real grandmother, an elderly woman in her sixties with a face full of wrinkles. Blood was trapped in every crease of her skin, streaming down her face as the rain washed it away…

Mother Shen let out a scream, scooped up Shen Maomao, and ran.

Though the strange man’s back was torn open, he seemed completely unaware of it, madly chasing after them with the old woman still on his back.

Shen Maomao, lying on her mother’s shoulder, watched him run in an extremely distorted manner, making her teeth ache.

Though she was quite experienced, this kind of “guichu” [internet slang for bizarre or crazy situation] was something she’d never seen before.

Mother Shen ran frantically, turning left and right, her strength diminishing and speed slowing.

Just as they were about to be caught up to, Shen Maomao shouted at the monster behind them: “Get lost!!”

The monster naturally wouldn’t give up its prey just because of her words, and instead turned its attention to her because of her voice.

The old woman stretched out her withered arm, reaching for the now-close Shen Maomao.

Sharp nails dug into Shen Maomao’s frail shoulder, and just as Mother Shen’s strength gave out, she screamed as she was yanked away by brute force.

“Maomao!!” Mother Shen cried out in panic, immediately turning to fight for Shen Maomao.

Shen Maomao’s shoulder was in agony, the pain making her dizzy as tears mixed with rain fell down her face.

She was in pain and cold, thinking that if she was going to be taken, facing unknown horrors, she might as well die—after all, she still had a second life, and maybe upon reviving next to Lou Jingmo, she could return to her adult form.

Shen Maomao thought for just two seconds and found this plan feasible, but she was still worried about Mother Shen.

She could revive after death… but what about an NPC? Would they revive?

Mother Shen was a good mother.

She didn’t dare, nor want to gamble with her life.

It wasn’t rational, since she would eventually leave this instance, and whether NPCs lived or died shouldn’t matter much to her. As a player living day to day, surviving should be her top priority.

There was no need to waste her only trump card for an NPC; such an exchange wasn’t equivalent.

But she couldn’t help it—she had never been a rational person, whether with Ren Yue who might have betrayed her, or with Mother Shen, despite their mother-daughter relationship being only days old.

These thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Seconds later, she made her decision, looking at Mother Shen who refused to let go of her, and shouted: “Don’t worry about me! Run away yourself!”

Mother Shen’s eyes were bright red, as if she couldn’t hear Shen Maomao’s words, just calling her name mournfully as bloody tears streamed from her eyes: “Maomao—! No one can take my daughter away!”

Shen Maomao’s eyes suddenly widened.

Following her shout, several ice-blue icicles materialized around her body, piercing straight through the man and the old woman on his back.

The icicles went in white and came out red. The man froze in place, and after a few seconds, blood sprayed from his puncture wounds, covering Shen Maomao.

The two collapsed like withered flowers, their bodies quickly crumpling after their blood drained away. Their bones seemed to melt, turning into two puddles of melted human skin, softly falling to the ground.

Shen Maomao fell with the momentum, caught by Mother Shen who dove to catch her.

Mother and daughter fell to the ground together, with Shen Maomao cushioned by Mother Shen, who was cushioned by the bloodied water and the two human skins.

Shen Maomao was dazed.

Just moments ago she was ready for heroic sacrifice, how did things turn out like this?

Was this a horror world or a freaking magical era?? What kind of NPC was Mother Shen? How could she shoot ice spikes?

She wanted to learn this too, coach!!

Mother Shen hugged her, crying weakly while patting her head: “Don’t be scared, Maomao… Mommy will take you to the hospital…”

Cold rainwater seeped into Shen Maomao’s wounds, causing sharp pain. After witnessing Mother Shen kill two people in such a bizarre way, she felt no fear, instead patting Mother Shen’s head: “Don’t be afraid, Mom. I’m fine.”

Mother Shen’s hands were unusually cold. She carried Shen Maomao, stumbling forward in a chosen direction.

Blood loss and rain made Shen Maomao dizzy. She lay on Mother Shen’s shoulder, beaten mercilessly by the heavy rain, growing drowsy and about to fall asleep.

Mother Shen, afraid she might never wake up, patted her back while calling her name: “Maomao… don’t leave Mommy… don’t sleep…”

Shen Maomao’s heart melted, responding drowsily until Mother Shen found a clinic and rushed her inside.

After a terrifying night, she finally fell into a peaceful sleep, completely unconscious.

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The author has something to say:

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!!!! To celebrate, I’m giving out twenty red packets! First twenty comments! (I’m a bit poor after yesterday’s giveaway, so only twenty QWQ. I’ll give out 50 when we reach 2,000 followers)

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