A Jiu quickly recovered her senses. She planned to find a doctor in Nanming City and if they still claimed she was possessed, she would have no end of trouble with Grandma.
She rolled her eyes. "Grandma, are you a ghost?"
"Mom, how did you climb up there? Be careful you don't fall," Cai Lihua also reacted.
"Come down quickly, Mom. You're so old, why are you climbing on the roof beams?"
Cai Lihua's voice came from behind.
A Jiu had already exited the wooden hut.
She couldn't stay here any longer. Those few people were clearly as she had guessed, connected to officials from above and bandits from below, a group of beasts who didn't value human lives.
Before dawn, she heated the last bowl of chicken soup for Aunt Wu to drink.
She wept uncontrollably, lifeless, only a faint whimper escaping her.
A Jiu saw how weak she was and knew traveling would be very difficult.
A Jiu stood outside and looked around. It wasn't until the sky turned faintly gray that she saw her father and Uncle Wu return.
"Their leader is no ordinary person. I'm worried that letting them go will bring endless trouble. My brother and I have suffered greatly along the way, witnessing people eating their own children."
Wu Dalei sighed and shook his head. "Most importantly, if they report to the officials, wouldn't they send people to arrest us and conscript us into the army overnight? Alas..."
"They still managed to escape. If you had told me in advance, brother, I would have killed them. It's not like I've never killed anyone before."
Meng Shaode's words were actually only half-hearted. He had his reasons for not immediately firing his second arrow.
Although the original owner of this body could be ruthless and kill without blinking, he was slowly learning, starting with hunting.
In Meng Shaode's heart, the last time was the first time he killed someone, but who knew that afterward, his legs were so scared they wouldn't obey him?
"Dad, you're back?"
"Oh, A Jiu. The sky is already light, why aren't you sleeping? I was just discussing with your Uncle Wu. We need to set off before dawn."
As he said this, Meng Shaode was also full of worries.
"You father and daughter talk. I saw that A Jiu looked pale and scared today. I'll go check on my wife and son."
Uncle Wu returned the bull-horn knife to A Jiu.
"You were scared, weren't you?" Meng Shaode placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders, gently comforting her.
A Jiu lowered her head, pursed her lips, and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Dad won't leave you anymore. I won't entrust the night watch to Xiao Yan anymore. He's too slow and doesn't know how to handle emergencies."
Meng Shaode was suspicious of Xiao Yan's actions this time. He should have stayed to protect his daughter.
It seemed that his usual kindness to his daughter might not have been true. Instead, he was greedy for his own life and pretended to be loyal to send news, but in fact, he had run away.
"Daughter, you go back to the room first..." Meng Shaode's words were interrupted as he brushed past his daughter and his gaze fell on the valley below.
When did a tree grow there? No, there seemed to be a person under that tree.
A Jiu turned her head to look. The sky was already showing the white of dawn, completely dispelling the mist of moonlight.
"Xiao Yan?" A Jiu recognized the person lying under the tree at a glance.
She hurried over. Upon arrival, she turned the person over. The two women exchanged a look.
The same question arose: "Why is it him? Didn't he run?"
"He... didn't run." Meng Shaode didn't say another word and quickly laid Xiao Yan flat on his back. He felt for his breathing and then suddenly pulled his hand back.
"Dead?" Meng Shaode's expression turned grim.
A Jiu frantically used the beginner's ear acupuncture book she was learning to feel his ear, then the carotid artery.
A Jiu couldn't snap out of it for a moment. "Dad, what happened? He's not injured."
But there was no breath.
"It's very strange, but the strange things that happened today aren't just about Xiao Yan. Your dad is numb to it all."
Meng Shaode's face showed more confusion than worry.
"Dad, are there other strange things?" A Jiu's hands didn't stop as she spoke. She didn't believe someone could die so suddenly without any injuries.
"When we caught up to those three guys, two of them were dead. Only the second-in-command escaped."
"How did they die?" A Jiu heard that her father hadn't killed them.