In her old age, Wen Qian rarely visited the surrounding hunters' cabins anymore. An An, however, began to make rounds to the cabins on her own.
On an autumn day, An An delivered the dried food prepared by her mother, along with freshly washed and sun-dried bed sheets and pillowcases, to the cabins.
By the time winter officially arrived with snowfall, she would be able to stay overnight in these cabins without having to carry too many supplies on her journey.
It had been a while since her last visit. The family had been busy harvesting and processing crops at home, which took considerable time for both her and her mother.
When she finally arrived, she noticed from a distance that the third cabin was occupied.
An An had heard her mother mention before that there used to be a neighbor who liked to take advantage of others, but that person had long since gone.
She hadn't expected new people to arrive, and she wasn't sure when they had come.
Upon observation, she saw that there were three people, and they didn't appear to be recent arrivals.
An An noticed that only one of them carried a gun. She thought she might be able to take on that person, but she couldn't overcome their superior numbers. So, after a brief look that day, she headed straight back home.
Over the next week, she visited the cabin area three times, finding people there each time. This really angered her.
Even if they were temporary residents, they should have gone out to find a suitable place to live, cut trees, and dig foundations, rather than squatting in someone else's house without any intention of being self-reliant.
Without even looking, she knew that the bedding, firewood, and other household items she had left there were probably being used by them.
She had even placed these items in boxes atop wooden poles she had planted nearby to protect them from snakes, insects, and rodents. The smooth lower part of the poles could deter animals and insects, but not humans.
The mere thought of her belongings being used by others made her want to throw a grenade in there and blow them up.
Finally, one day, she approached with her gun pointed at one of them. That day, two of them had gone out armed, leaving only one person near the cabin.
The person's first reaction was to beg for mercy, voice trembling: "We're just staying here temporarily, haven't been here for long."
"I've been observing you for a while, and it looks like you're planning to stay long-term," An An replied.
Hearing this, the person realized they had been caught out, unaware that the cabin's owner had been secretly watching them for so long.
An An kicked him hard: "What? You think there's such a good thing in this world? Living in someone else's built house for free!"
The man tried to defend himself: "We thought this was an abandoned cabin. I didn't know it belonged to someone."
An An fired a shot near his feet: "Don't play dumb."
The man started begging for mercy, repeatedly saying sorry.
Apart from apologizing, he probably had nothing truthful to say. Although Wen Qian's cabin was old, the door lock was brand new.
This alone was enough to prove that this was not an abandoned cabin.
They had originally intended to build their own house, but upon seeing a ready-made one, they had abandoned that idea.
They thought that with their superior numbers, the original owner might have to swallow their anger if they returned.
Little did they know that while the cabin's owner was indeed alone, she was not to be trifled with.
As he mumbled his pleas, he was wondering when his family would return, but An An knew they wouldn't be back so soon.
The other two were currently struggling in traps set by a neighbor. Otherwise, An An wouldn't have come alone to confront this man, not knowing when the others might return – that would have been like making herself a target.
Everyone who had survived the natural disaster had been through experiences; there were few truly naive people left. So why pretend to be innocent here?
When this family first arrived, they had initially talked about rebuilding at old Liu's collapsed house.
Later, as they moved in this direction and discovered Wen Qian's small cabin, they settled in without returning to prepare materials for building their own house.
When An An discovered them, she went home and told Wen Qian. This scenario was familiar to Wen Qian; the Liu family had behaved similarly in the past.
With strangers around, one should always be on high alert.
When Wen Qian's first neighbor arrived, she didn't sleep in her own bed for a while, but in the attic instead.
She made the bed look as if someone was sleeping in it, creating the illusion of occupancy.
It was only after she became familiar with the family, finding them friendly, self-reliant, and of good character, that she felt comfortable continuing to interact with them.
If those new neighbors had been like this current batch of people, Wen Qian would have certainly dealt with them swiftly.
This was where she intended to spend her old age, so she naturally would eliminate any destabilizing factors, including bears invading her territory and ill-intentioned people.
Now that An An was facing a similar situation, and also alone, she had to retreat for now.
So Wen Qian asked her what she planned to do.
An An touched her gun. Killing them and hiding the bodies would be the simplest and most brutal solution, but she hesitated. If she let them go this time, how would she handle potential retaliation?
Wen Qian thought this aligned with An An's personality. If it were herself, although she had the courage to kill, she wouldn't make it her first choice either.
However, the risks that might come from letting them go would have to be borne by An An herself. Although An An hadn't experienced this before, she was considering the situation quite comprehensively.
So Wen Qian advised her to prioritize her own safety before considering her course of action.
When Wen Qian killed, it was usually to ensure her own safety. She wouldn't give time for last words, only explaining her motives in a soliloquy after confirming the deaths.
She instructed An An not to give them a chance to retaliate.
So this time, while it appeared that An An had come alone, Wen Qian was actually watching from afar.
The man didn't know that his two family members who had gone out were temporarily detained. The person helping was Little Jin, whom An An called Uncle.
When An An lowered her guard, the man she was holding at gunpoint suddenly snatched her gun.
The tables turned, and the man revealed a smug smile, tapping An An's face with the gun barrel.
"This is lawless territory. Never mind occupying your house," the man said with a sinister grin, "What could you do even if we took you?"
An An didn't even flinch, which puzzled the man.
Even with a gun pointed at her, An An maintained an air of nonchalance, tilting her body slightly to the side.
A gunshot rang out, and the intruder fell to the ground, eyes wide open, unaware of who had shot him from behind.
When the man had spoken with ill intent, saying this was a lawless place, An An had already signaled. If Wen Qian couldn't make the shot from a distance, An An would have taken care of it herself.
As for the gun that had been taken from them, it only had one bullet left, which An An had just fired.
The deceased probably never imagined that his own threatening words would become his death sentence.
Wen Qian thought this should be the last time she'd kill someone; she was getting too old for this.
An An pulled out a small pistol from her clothes and put two more bullets into the body on the ground, making sure the person was completely dead before dragging the corpse away.
As for the two people temporarily trapped by Uncle Little Jin, An An didn't need to trouble him or her mother anymore; she would handle it personally.
When Little Jin returned home, he was still marveling at An An's methods. Someone who usually seemed so quiet and unassuming, yet she could kill without batting an eye.
This child's emotions didn't fluctuate much; she showed neither excitement nor fear before or after killing.
An An thought, it's just killing. Even the deceased had said this was a lawless place.
So what was strange about him and his family dying here?
These people didn't die unjustly. After the natural disaster, they had always believed that being ruthless was the key to survival in this world.
They never thought there was anything wrong with stealing the fruits of others' labor.
When they finally fell under An An's gun, they at last felt the fear of death.
But what difference did it make? Even when faced with their tearful pleas for mercy, An An didn't hesitate for a moment to end their lives.
After disposing of the bodies, An An went home. Wen Qian was there, preparing something delicious for her to eat.
This was An An's first time shedding blood, so Wen Qian wanted to pay extra attention to her state of mind. To her surprise, the child was quite calm.
