Chapter 94 : Cruel Fate!!!

Mei Terumi carried a small bamboo basket on her back as she gathered fallen branches near the village. She hummed a cheerful tune and bounced around, full of energy.

Despite her grandmother's warnings not to go out alone, Mei Terumi, known for her spirited nature since childhood, only half-listened.

Her grandmother's legs often hurt in winter, and their house was cold, so Mei couldn't bear to see her suffer. To ease her grandmother's burden, she often sneaked into the mountains under the guise of playing, collecting branches to help keep them warm.

Her bamboo basket soon filled up with branches. "Alright, that should do!" Mei wiped sweat from her face, glanced at the darkening sky, and flashed a mischievous smile, revealing her sharp canine teeth. "Time to head back, or Grandma will worry again!"

Struggling through the thick snow with her slender frame and the oversized bamboo basket, Mei paused suddenly. Her eyes widened with joy as she spotted something. "Oh! It's a rabbit!"

There, in front of a tree, lay a plump rabbit, easily weighing ten pounds, unconscious. It seemed to have knocked itself out colliding with the tree trunk while fleeing.

"Oh my goodness! Look at this chubby rabbit!" Mei Terumi struggled through the snow, carrying a bamboo basket on her back. 

She tied the rabbit's legs with a rope and blushed. With a strong pull, she held it up to her eyes and examined it carefully. "Wow, this is great! Grandma will be so proud if she sees this!"

You see, they often don't have enough to eat, especially meat.

Now, out of nowhere, they've caught a big fat rabbit, enough for both grandma and Mei to enjoy, with some leftovers too.

"Grandma hasn't been feeling well lately. Hmm. The rabbit's legs are quite big. Let's give them to grandma!"

Mei's mouth watered. Happily, she grabbed the rabbit, planning to take it home to grandma to help her recover. "I'll have a little bite~ Save the rest for grandma, hehe." The unexpected catch made the little girl feel much better.

She picked up the bamboo basket again, took a deep breath, and tightly hugged the rabbit to prevent it from escaping as she headed towards the village.

Humming a cheerful tune, she trudged through the thick snow.

Soon, the village came into view.

"Grandma, grandma, I'm back!"

Mei was exhausted and sweating, but filled with joy. She proudly held up the fat rabbit and called out to her grandma, "Look, grandma, look what I brought back!"

But strangely, the entire village was silent, with no one responding.

"Grandma?"

Mei was puzzled and walked slowly into the village.

Suddenly, a bright red color flashed in the snow, piercing her heart like a sharp knife.

In the crimson snow lay her familiar neighbors, once kind and gentle grandparents, now brutally taken. Their gray eyes stared in fear, their faces contorted in agony, as if trying to convey something.

"Grandma!"

Mei's eyes widened, her face draining of color.

A dreadful feeling engulfed her instantly, fear gripping her heart like an invisible hand.

Bang!

The bamboo basket fell to the ground.

Even the chubby rabbit was thrown to the ground.

Terumi Mei panicked and sprinted toward the village, shouting as she ran, "Grandma! Grandma! I'm back! Where are you? It's Terumi Mei!"

Her voice echoed through the eerily quiet village, but there was no answer except for the echoing.

Finally, Terumi Mei reached the familiar house, exhausted and panting. Step by step, she approached the house, still calling out unconsciously, "Grandma, Terumi Mei is back. Please don't scare me, okay?"

Silence.

Snow and wind howled, the cold biting into her.

Inside the house, not a sound. The unsettling silence weighed heavy on Mei Terumi's heart.

She moved mechanically, like a stiff puppet, until she reached the door. Her large, dark eyes filled with unease. Summoning her courage, she pushed open the wooden door with a forceful shove.

Blood!

Blood!

The entire room was splattered with blood. It covered the floor, walls, bed, table, and even dripped from the ceiling, bright red and oozing along the cracks.

A nauseating, sharp scent of blood assaulted her senses.

"Grandma?"

But when Mei Terumi saw the scene in the center of the room, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks, her small face drained of color, gripped by fear.

There, hanging in the middle of the room, was a person.

Kunai pierced the palms, soles, shoulder blades, and other parts of the woman's body. Her entire form was covered in wounds, barely any unharmed flesh left. The cuts intersected, some revealing bone. The brutality was unbearable.

"Grandma--!"

Mei Terumi recognized the blood-covered face despite it all.

The person tortured and hung in the room was her grandma.

Thud!

Mei Terumi collapsed to the ground, forehead hitting the floor.

But she barely felt the pain. With all her strength, she crawled over and embraced the elderly figure hanging there. Tears streamed down her face, grief overwhelming her instantly.

"No, no. Grandma, don't leave Mei Terumi. Please, don't leave me!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Mei Terumi screamed loudly, clutching the old man tightly. "Grandma, grandma, please don't die. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Please."

"God, please don't take grandma away from me, okay? I'm all alone now."

Despair, powerlessness, and fear overwhelmed her like never before.

When people are sad, they often look up.

They turn to gods and Buddhas, hoping for relief from their pain.

But no matter how much she pleaded, there was no answer.

"Grandma. Grandma."

Mei Terumi was in such agony that she began banging her head against the ground. "Is there anyone who can help me save my grandma? I can't bear to lose her!"

"Good granddaughter."

In that moment, the old woman, nearly at death's door, summoned strength from somewhere. "Don't cry."

"Grandma?"

Mei Terumi felt as though all the gods and Buddhas in the sky had heard her prayers. "Grandma, please hold on. I'll find medicine! I'll get a doctor!"

With her last ounce of strength, the old woman grabbed her arm. "Run, my dear granddaughter. Don't look back, don't stop. Those people, those ninjas, are after you. Run!"

The old woman had endured until then so that her beloved granddaughter could escape faster, without looking back.

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