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These words caught the interest of the crowd Now they wanted to see what the ruckus was all about Hulan shoved people aside, yet she still felt she was being pushed farther away
“Only Xiao Da can pass judgment,” the lieutenant countered “And he believes in just punishments only”
A primal howl ripped out of the woman “A mother can see evil too!”
She sank to her knees and pushed her daughter to the ground She grabbed the girl’s forearainst the cement
“Move out of my way!” Hulan screamed But in a country where people witnessed executions as entertainment, no one moved To the woman, she shouted, “Put the knife down or I’ll shoot!”
“Mama! No! Mama!” These were the first words anyone had heard from the child They floated out sweet and crisp
Tang Wenting had coed to , sister,” he consoled her “We suffer with you, but we are not extremists The river is life…”
These words did not offer solace Instead the wo the faces for understanding Then her eyes dropped to her daughter’s hand When she
raised the cleaver above her head, Hulan lifted her weapon and took careful aian to fall The little girl struggled to free her ar Hulan had ever heard before Hulan fired
Panic was instantaneous People began running every which way Hulan heard other shots being fired and hoped that bullets were only going over people’s heads She took a last few steps and reached the sad little tableau Thefroirl knelt beside herto staunch the bleeding with his palms Hulan dropped down beside them “Move!” she ordered the lieutenant He pulled his hands away, and blood squirted up, spraying the little girl’s face
“There shouldn’t be so much blood,” Hulan said to no one She tore the woman’s blouse The entry wound was in the shoulder as it should have been, but the blood was not coushed froment of the bullet had embedded itself It must have shattered when it hit the bone and either ricocheted or traveled internally to the neck, where it had shredded the carotid artery Hulan turned the woirl whiain
With all of the confusion in the square, no one came to help The blood continued to pump out from beneath Hulan’s hands until finally the woot to his feet, took two steps back, then stretched out his arm and pointed at Hulan “Mother killer,” he said in condemnation Then he widened his arms as if to embrace those who still remained on the square “Everyone! See this mother killer! She murdered one as reverent!”
All of Hulan’s senses were heightened She could feel the blood already beginning to dry on her hands and face She could hear commotion in the distance She could see in her peripheral vision the television camera and could hear the excited tones of the female reporter, who certainly had the scoop of the day Hulan was even aware of Tang Wenting as he pointed at her again and announced to the crowd, “This woman is our enemy! She has shown her true face! Xiao Da will make her pay!” But all Hulan really absorbed was the face of the little girl before her Her eyes had a look that Hulan knew all too well It was the e
David Stark woke up alone in the bed that he’d once shared with his wife He took a shower and dressed On his way out to the kitchen, he stopped as he did every day to visit the roohter’s He lit incense, said a silent prayer, and touched her photograph Then he left the room, put water on for tea, and turned on the television He liked to catch the early- broadcasts because they helped hilimpsed Hulan’s face on the screen, he sat down and for the next hour watched in horror as events in the square spiraled out of control As soon as he saw the little girl, he felt a pang of loss and grief that he was sure Hulan must have felt After thechild, David flipped off the television and went outside Hulan would deliver the girl to the proper authorities, then she would need to return to the co for her
He made his way from the back pavilion—where he had lived alone these last s that had once housed the acrobats, singers, and other perfor where Hulan’s mother and her nurse resided, to the central courtyard Hulan would have to coet to her room