Two or Three Events in the Last Days 031
Chapter 31: Prayer
Jing Lin and the others were no slouches in a fight, and with only five opponents, the battle was almost completely one-sided. Before long, all five of Liu Erkui’s men were lying on the ground. Bruises and swollen faces counted as the lighter injuries. Liu Erkui had it the worst. Yan Fei had smashed his shoulder with a wrench, leaving him unable to lift his arm at all. His jaw had also been dislocated, making it difficult even to beg for mercy. Tears and snot covered his face.
No one felt any sympathy for him. Even before the world changed, he had thrown his weight around and acted like a local tyrant. The moment they met, he had tried to rob them and even threatened Yan Lu’s safety. If Yan Lu had been an ordinary girl, and if they had been just a little weaker today, they would have been the ones left unable to get up. Yan Lu’s fate would have been easy to imagine.
If you’re not going to fight, then don’t: but if you were going to fight, then you must strike hard enough to leave the other side thoroughly terrified.
Jing Lin picked up the batons Liu Erkui’s group had dropped and casually asked, “Are you afraid of pain yet?”
The men who had earlier boasted about being “tough and thick-skinned” nodded, like a pestle pounding garlic.
Yan Fei said coldly, “The world may be falling into chaos, but that doesn’t make it a paradise for people like you to commit evil wherever you want. Fighting? Who doesn’t know how to fight?”
Although Liu Erkui and his men were badly injured, none of them were in danger of dying. After confiscating all five batons, Yan Fei and the others gathered their things, left the street, and returned to the main road. Before long, they were gone.
Only after the group disappeared from sight beyond the grass did Liu Erkui struggle to his feet. Supporting one another, the five men stared viciously in the direction Jing Lin’s group had gone.
“We’ll remember this grudge!” Liu Erkui slurred through his injured jaw before groaning in pain as his companions helped him walk away. They had found no food, gotten beaten up, and suffered a major loss.
The five men cursed continuously as they limped away in the opposite direction from Jing Lin’s group.
Soon, the street became empty once more. If not for the bloodstains scattered across the ground, no one would have known a fight had taken place there. The wind rustled through the grass, carrying the scent of blood far into the distance.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Not long afterward, a giant centipede nearly two meters long crawled out from the grass. Its head was bright red while its back gleamed black. Its legs were thick and curved, ending in razor-sharp hooks. Two long antennae waved through the air while its huge mandibles clicked continuously. It circled the bloodstains once before leaving the street and climbing onto the main road. There, its antennae twitched even more actively. It first moved a short distance in the direction Liu Erkui and his companions had gone, then paused hesitantly. Moments later, it turned around and began pursuing the trail left by Jing Lin’s group instead.
The centipede’s enormous size made it impossible for the roadside grass to conceal it. Some residents who had locked themselves inside their homes happened to peek through their curtains and saw the giant centipede racing down the road. They immediately covered their mouths in terror.
Because they feared running into more people like Liu Erkui, who would resort to robbery without hesitation, Jing Lin’s group traveled much faster on the way back. When they finally stepped onto the village’s concrete roads, mostly free of weeds, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and finally relaxed enough to chat and joke.
Zhao Shaoqian patted Yan Fei on the shoulder. “I didn’t realize you actually knew martial arts.”
Yan Fei replied, “When I was in elementary school, some older students extorted my lunch money. After that, my father enrolled both Lu Lu and me in martial arts classes. We’ve trained for more than ten years.”
Li Feiyu and Gao Changhui looked at him with admiration. Who hadn’t dreamed of becoming a martial arts hero when they were young?
Zhao Zhiwen rubbed the bruises on his arm and felt deeply depressed. If only he knew martial arts, too. Getting beaten so badly in front of Yan Lu had been utterly embarrassing.
Many villagers were out clearing weeds from their fields. The moment they saw Jing Lin’s group return, they dropped their work and gathered around, eagerly asking about conditions outside.
None of them noticed that the giant centipede had already followed their scent all the way to the village and was now behind them. Its antennae waved excitedly with the joy of discovering prey.
Yet the moment it moved one step closer, its entire body froze. Then, even faster than it had arrived, it retreated. It emitted a faint, frightened sound, as though some overwhelming threat lurked nearby. Within moments, it fled into the grass and vanished.
Meanwhile, Ma Chunzheng suggested that everyone gather at his house so they could explain everything at once rather than repeating themselves to people who were absent.
The group divided up the confiscated batons. Yan Fei and Yan Lu voluntarily declined any share. Li Feiyu already had an iron rod, so Jing Lin gave him the sledgehammer he had received and kept a baton for himself. The remaining four batons were distributed one per person.
Afterward, Yan Fei and Yan Lu headed home first. They had spent so much time outside that their clothes were coated with dried salt stains from sweat. They planned to bathe and change before joining the others later.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
As for Jing Lin, he went straight home. The toad was no longer where he had last seen it, and he initially thought it had left. However, he found it in the backyard. He paid it no attention. There was still over half a kettle of boiled water left from the previous night, so he mixed it with well water and took a bath before heading to Zhao Zhiwen’s house.
When he arrived, Zhao Zhiwen was already shirtless while Zhou Yu applied medicinal wine to his injuries. He had taken several baton strikes, and the bruised areas were swollen and discolored, crossing over the scar from his earlier knife wound.
While enduring the pain, Zhao Zhiwen grinned at Jing Lin and boasted, “See? The marks of a real man.”
Le Le’s eyes were red, tears still clinging to his eyelashes. Jing Lin picked him up and said, “Your Uncle Zhiwen is fine.”
When Jing Lin entered, Zhou Yu and Zhao Chenghuai immediately looked him over from head to toe. Earlier, when Zhao Zhiwen had taken off his shirt, Le Le had been frightened into tears by the bruises covering his back. He had worried Jing Lin would be injured the same way and had insisted on going back to check on his uncle. Only after considerable coaxing from Zhao Chenghuai had he calmed down.
Zhou Yu said, “It’s a good thing you’re fine. Otherwise Le Le would be crying again.”
Jing Lin comforted him gently. “Our Le Le is going to be a brave little man. You can’t keep crying all the time, okay?”
Le Le reluctantly nodded. Whether he could actually do it —well, that was a matter for later.
After the medicinal wine was applied, Zhao Zhiwen put his shirt back on and grimaced. “My whole body itches and hurts at the same time. It’s an unbelievably miserable feeling.”
The family headed toward Ma Renshan’s house. Halfway there, they heard a loud clang-clang-clang ringing through the village.
Thinking something had happened, they hurried toward the sound. When they arrived, they discovered that Ma Chunzheng was holding an iron basin and using one of the newly acquired batons to bang on it.
Seeing Jing Lin and the others, he chuckled. “I was too lazy to go door to door calling everyone. This works pretty well. In the future, whenever there’s something important, we’ll just do this.”
After the group realized it was a false alarm, Zhou Yu said, “It’s great and all, but hearing it so suddenly is pretty startling.”
“It’s fine once you get used to it,” Zhao Chenghuai replied.
The entire village had heard the clanging. People who had been strolling leisurely along the roads hurried over. Once everyone had gathered, Ma Chunzheng put away the basin with satisfaction. The meeting had assembled at least half an hour faster than usual. The method worked well.
At the meeting, Ma Chunzheng spoke first. He recounted everything he had learned at Xie Shu’s house, described what they had seen on the road and in town, and explained the fight with Liu Erkui.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“Our village is surrounded by forests and mountains. There are definitely animals and plants out there that have become larger and more dangerous. I saw many of our uncles working in the fields today. Starting now, anyone who needs to go out should travel with companions. When clearing fields, neighboring families should work together. If something happens, at least there’ll be people nearby to help.”
Those who had stayed behind in the village wore the same horrified expressions that Jing Lin’s group had shown earlier at Xie Shu’s house.
“What… how did the outside world turn out like this?”
“Morning glories can eat people? That has to be a joke! The morning glories in my backyard have more flowers than before, but otherwise they look the same.”
“My Mimi has been missing for days. Could she have grown larger too? If I find her, will she still recognize me?”
Chen Xuefang suddenly burst into tears. “My poor son and daughter-in-law are still out there! What if they run into those man-eating animals and plants? And my two grandsons are still so young!”
Even Ma Rencong’s eyes reddened as he listened to his wife’s despairing sobs.
Nearby, Liu Yinghua silently wiped away tears. She had been crying almost every day recently and no longer had the strength to cry aloud.
To comfort them, Ma Chunzheng found himself contradicting some of what he had said earlier.
“Don’t lose hope. Didn’t Lan Lan just mention that the morning glories in her backyard are different from the ones in the county? These dangerous mutations might only happen in certain cases. Xie Shu’s family made it back safely, and I believe your families can too. Besides, they aren’t alone out there. They’re surrounded by fellow villagers and coworkers. They left together, so there’s no reason they’d suddenly return alone.”
After hearing this, Chen Xuefang and the others remained sad, but they became noticeably calmer.
Once Ma Chunzheng finished, Ma Renshan took over.
He had only recently returned from visiting nearby villages with a group of people. Everyone wanted to go search for missing relatives, but after careful discussion, they realized how difficult that would be.
They had no vehicles. No phones. Food and lodging would be major problems. Endless weeds blocked the roads. And even if all those obstacles were overcome, there was no guarantee they would actually find the people they were looking for.
Perhaps the moment they left, their relatives would return home.
So he told everyone that, for now, the only thing they could do was wait quietly and pray for their loved ones outside the village, hoping they would return safely.
After the meeting ended, Zhao Shaoqian announced that everyone who had accompanied him that day could come directly to his house to collect anti-itch medicine. The medicine had already been prepared.
As for everyone else in the village, they would have to trade something for it.
That’s right —trade.
Most people had no objections, but one person spoke up sourly. “We’re all from the same village. Why are you treating people differently?”
Zhao Shaoqian looked at the speaker and, remaining good-natured, simply replied,
“Of course, I’m treating people differently. This isn’t any different from paying a doctor when you’re sick. Besides, we fought other people for these herbs, and all got injured in the process. You didn’t contribute a thing and still expect to get medicine for free? Nothing in life is that cheap.”
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and revealed the bruised baton marks on his arms.
Zhao Zhiwen was even more direct. He lifted his shirt and showed everyone his back.
The man immediately flushed red with embarrassment. Though unconvinced, he merely snorted and retreated behind his mother without another word.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: One of two for the week. FYI chapters 38-47 (except 45) are almost 3times in length, I’ll probably split them into two parts.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Avid BL reader, editor, and translator with 1 story completed (CLWP) and 1 story in progress (TELD). Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
