Chapter 13

Liu Zhiyi could feel something pinching her hands and feet, and something cinched around her body.

But she couldn't see — couldn't see a thing.

"Not big," she heard the "woman" complain.

Before the words were done, Liu Zhiyi saw the produce stands in front of her move up and down, her whole body swaying with them, as if she were being hefted to gauge her weight.

The "woman" smacked her lips. "Must be a small one."

Her tone gave away neither disappointment nor pleasure.

Liu Zhiyi struggled, kicking her legs and pushing out with both arms.

The "woman": "Oh-ho, still some fight in it. Let me have a look…"

At that, Liu Zhiyi struggled harder.

The "woman": "Is this a hand?"

Liu Zhiyi's hand lifted — not by her own will; a "person" had hold of it.

Liu Zhiyi watched her own arm pulled straight, a dent appearing at the crook of her elbow — no pain, even a little ticklish, but the gooseflesh rose all over her arm.

Then the dent pressed all the way down to her palm.

The "woman": "A bit fatty."

Then her palm was turned over, the fingers spread and closed.

The "woman" gave an "mm," as if fairly satisfied.

Being pawed and pinched at will felt awful; Liu Zhiyi's body was shaking all over.

What do I do? Do something.

Liu Zhiyi's mind raced.

Liu Zhiyi: "Zhi-Zhi, Zhi-Zhi…"

She called a few times.

Since being lifted up, she'd been separated from Zhi-Zhi.

The "woman": "Ow — don't grab!"

Liu Zhiyi was hoisted up again, and felt her right foot get grabbed, it seemed.

Then a wail edged with screaming burst out.

The "woman" coaxed, "Don't cry now, and don't look at me — I'll take you to find your mama in a bit, all right?"

The crying eased all at once.

Liu Zhiyi's heart sank. Children weren't like adults; they were easily distracted — and Zhi-Zhi had wanted to find mama all along.

Liu Zhiyi: "Zhi-Zhi, I've already seen your mama, we can almost—"

Before she could finish, her ankle went tight, the scene flipped before her eyes, and she was turned upside down.

The "woman": "Fresh meat, just in time."

Hung upside down, Liu Zhiyi's head swam, but she kept calling Zhi-Zhi's name.

The "woman" offered, "Want to take a cut of meat? Make some sweet-and-sour ribs — your mom makes them so well."

Liu Zhiyi felt a poke at her ribs.

The "woman": "This cut hasn't got much in the way of ribs, but there's surely enough for a plate — why don't you wait a bit?"

"…Zhi-Zhi!" Her foot pinched and useless, Liu Zhiyi twisted at the waist and swung her body with effort toward the source of the voice; hung upside down so long, her vision was blacking out in waves.

The crying started up again, mixed with a child's mumbling.

Zhi-Zhi must have said something; Liu Zhiyi drew her hand up.

At least, having strung her up, the "woman" had only pinned her lower half and left her hands alone.

But hanging like this, her head was badly dazed, her whole weight on her feet, which hurt terribly, and her hands could get no purchase; less than a minute of struggling and she was spent.

Not enough exercise, that was the trouble.

If she got out, she'd have to step up the workouts.

Liu Zhiyi thought, finding grim humor in it.

With a shaking hand, after several tries, she managed to get the watch to her ear, but caught only the second half of what Zhi-Zhi said.

Zhi-Zhi: "…No, no…"

No? No to what?

No to killing her, or no to the ribs?

A child's tone crying "no" sounded about the same either way.

Whether from her head pooling with blood too long upside down or not, odds and ends started floating up in her mind again.

She remembered, as a child, going back to her mother's home village, where at New Year they still slaughtered the year-pig; the villagers would hang the pigs up upside down just like this…

Rather like the sorry state she was in now…

The "woman": "All right, all right — so do you still want ribs?"

Zhi-Zhi: "Yes!"

The "woman": "I'll chop you a different cut, then."

With that, the "woman" tied a rope around her leg and hung Liu Zhiyi on an iron hook.

Hung upside down long enough, uncomfortable as it still was, she'd gotten a little used to it.

Liu Zhiyi glanced side to side; there were iron hooks on either side of her, each with a big slab of meat.

She didn't dare look closely, afraid the meat might have a human shape — an extra head, or a leg, or the like.

Liu Zhiyi waited a while, and only once the pressing touch on her body was gone did she crane up to look at her ankle.

Thank goodness her body had shrunk; at her adult weight, hung like this, her foot really might not have held.

The shop's purple light fell on her calf, giving her leg the same hue as the meat hanging on either side.

Only the color at her ankle was a shade darker.

The body seemed to have a kind of protective mechanism: past a certain point of pain, the pain stopped registering.

At least for now, Liu Zhiyi could no longer feel her foot hurting.

—Bang.

Liu Zhiyi flinched at the sound and turned her head toward it, and saw a rack of ribs flung onto the chopping block.

The chopping block wasn't on her level — she hung above, the block on the table below.

Liu Zhiyi raised her arm toward the block and stood the watch face up.

The "woman" was bent over, turning the ribs.

"Zhi-Zhi, which one do you want?"

Her attention wouldn't be on her for the moment, it seemed; Liu Zhiyi looked to her foot — now was the time to find a way to undo the rope on it.

Back in school, doing toe-touches in PE, Liu Zhiyi had never once actually reached her toes.

But this time — maybe the survival instinct bursting out — after craning up and grabbing her own calf, Liu Zhiyi gave a sudden hard heave, and then came a clang.

She still hadn't caught her foot, and the rope wasn't undone, but the good news was the iron hook wasn't very sturdy — it broke.

—Bang.

She crashed onto the chopping block with an even louder sound.

Liu Zhiyi's waist struck the block, and her whole lower half went numb on the spot — but even so, she rolled off it and tumbled to the floor.

Zhi-Zhi's mama was right ahead.

She sweated nonstop from the pain, tears pouring out.

Have to run faster.

Liu Zhiyi propped herself up off the floor, but her right leg had no strength; she staggered a step and fell again.

Almost there — she could see the line where the purple light ended; just a little farther and she'd crawl out of the butcher's shop.

"Mama!"

She heard Zhi-Zhi's voice.

Liu Zhiyi paused; her hand had already passed out of the purple light's ring, and a gust of wind blew past her.

She stood the watch up.

Liu Zhiyi saw Zhi-Zhi throw herself at a figure.

The figure had a fluffy instant-noodle perm, a soft face, looking at Zhi-Zhi tenderly.

Sure enough, Zhi-Zhi's mama had the same face as her own mother.

It looked like the task could be completed.

Liu Zhiyi let out a breath and crawled a step forward — and didn't move.

The "woman": "My, my — you really can run."

Liu Zhiyi froze. Wasn't the task to help Zhi-Zhi find her mama?

She looked at the watch: the task hadn't updated.

At the same time, Liu Zhiyi heard the voices of many "people."

"Got pretty far, that one. Strong-looking leg — boss-lady, save the leg for me later."

"Share me some too — the bones. I want the tube-bones to take home for soup."

She saw what looked like black figures closing in through the light behind her, swallowing her up bit by bit.

The "woman": "No problem."

Why?

Liu Zhiyi hooked her fingers into the gaps between the tiles.

The "woman": "Oh-ho…"

She was yanked backward in a lurch, her nails dragging four bloody streaks across the tiles.

Why?

She stared hard at the watch screen, then lifted her head toward the mother and child in their embrace.

Why?

Liu Zhiyi's mind went blank, and she burst out crying.

"Mama… mama…"

—Bang.

A huge crash sounded outside the market — something had broken in.

Liu Zhiyi stared at the watch screen.

The task was complete.

[Little Zhi-Zhi (Zhizhi) found her mama.]