Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

Chapter 35: I want to give the refugees a home

Lou Zigui knitted his brows as he saw Ning Xiaoyao leading a little girl by one hand while carrying a little boy with the other. "You want to take them away?"

Ning Xiaoyao was spitting with anger. "Can't I? If I can't help everyone, can't I help a little girl?"

The little girl ducked behind Ning Xiaoyao, afraid to look at Lou Zigui. Ning Xiaoyao took the girl's hand and walked forward, saying, "Don't fear, it's my house. Can't I decide who lives in it?"

Lou Zigui stood up, his expression somewhat helpless. There were millions of refugees in the world, so what was the use of saving this brother and sister pair? Ning Xiaoyao walked a few steps before having the girl carry her brother to wait for her by the street. She ran back herself.

"You have other business?" Lou Zigui asked.

Ning Xiaoyao slapped herself on the forehead. "Their grandfather's body is still in the alleyway." She'd almost forgotten. This wasn't the apocalypse where one abandoned corpses if one couldn't take care of them. Dead bodies should be buried, right?

Lou Zigui hastily reached out to pull Ning Xiaoyao back. "Don't look."

But Ning Xiaoyao already saw the situation inside the alleyway. She hadn't left for a few minutes before the old man's limbs had been hacked off his body. A large pot was already sitting atop a pile of wood, while a few men were attempting to start a fire. Ning Xiaoyao stared blankly there, before turning to look at the other alley. A fire was already burning beneath a pot there, and a tiny hand hung over its edge. The crying woman from before was sitting right by the fire, a broken bowl in her hands. Lou Zigui had planned to cover Ning Xiaoyao's eyes, but after some hesitation, he drew her into his arms instead.

"Don't look," he said in a low voice. "Don't look at them."

Eating the bodies of their own kind. Ning Xiaoyao's eyes dropped. Should she rejoice over the fact that they hadn't started killing humans for food yet? In the apocalypse, there were no other options. Both agriculture and soilless culture gave pitiful crop yields. Much of the lands had been seized by the zombies and were unsuited for cultivating crops. But what was the cause of famine in this world?

Lou Zigui half carried Ning Xiaoyao as he walked forward. He wanted Ning Xiaoyao to see the hardships of the refugees, but he never meant to scare her. The little girl saw Lou Zigui half-carrying Ning Xiaoyao past her and picked up her little brother, who was sucking on his thumb. Then she quietly followed behind them. Ning Xiaoyao heard the girl's footsteps and lightly pushed Lou Zigui's hand aside. She wanted to say some comforting words, but found that her brain had short-circuited. The words wouldn't come.

"Grandpa was eaten by them," the little girl rubbed her eyes as she spoke.

Ning Xiaoyao's hand subconsciously tightened around Lou Zigui's.

"You knew?" Lou Zigui asked.

The little girl nodded. "Those who die are eaten. Grandpa was like this too."

Ning Xiaoyao further tightened her grip on Lou Zigui, who could only lift his hand and pull her into his arms again. "Where's your mother?" he asked the little girl.

"She ran away with another man. Big brother disappeared." the little girl looked at Lou Zigui, then at Ning Xiaoyao. "Sir, I really am twelve years old. I can work. When my little brother grows up, he can work for sir as well."

This girl who was at most ten years old kept on insisting she was twelve. Undoubtedly, she feared that they'd think she was too young and weak to work. Ning Xiaoyao's eyes reddened before she walked over to hug the girl. "What's your name?"