Regarding Jiang Cheng’s action, Chen Xiaomeng and Zhou Rong did not do or say anything to stop him. In fact, if Jiang Cheng didn’t do that, they had their own methods to make the girl speak. The girl’s home might be old, but based on the dry chilli hanging under the eaves and the vegetables growing in the yard, there were clearly adults in her family.
The girl didn’t expect Jiang Cheng’s attitude to turn so quickly. Her eyes reddened for real this time. Just as she was about to cry, she heard Jiang Cheng say slowly, “If you dare to cry, I’ll have this aunty ruin all the vegetables in your family’s yard.” Hearing that, the girl didn’t dare to cry. For her, this threat was far more effective than beating her up. After all, her family relied on those vegetables to survive. From when she had her memory, her life was accompanied by hunger.
“No.” The girl’s eyes blurred with tears, but she didn’t dare to let them fail. Her small face scrunched up. “Mom… planted those. Please… don’t destroy them.”
Jiang Cheng placed the girl back on the ground. She wanted to run, but she knew that while she could run, the vegetables at her home couldn’t. So, she dropped that idea.
“How about we discuss this?” Jiang Cheng bent down to look into the girl’s eyes. “For each question that you answer, I’ll give you half a steamed bun.”
“Okay.” The girl stared at him and replied timidly.
“Are you and your mother the only members of your family?”
“And grandma.” The girl pressed her lips. “But grandma is very sick. Mom has to go up the mountains to pick herbs for her.”
Jiang Cheng took out half the steamed bun from before. He shoved it back into the girl’s pocket. The girl instantly said, “Hong Hong hasn’t seen father before. However, mom said that father has left for the big city. When Hong Hong is older, father will be back and buy many steamed buns for Hong Hong.” The girl’s eyes glowed, but the other’s eyes dimmed. The steamed bun was probably the limit of this girl’s imagination. Plus, everyone knew that she wouldn’t wait until the day her father came back home. Her father… had probably been killed by Zhao Xiangmei already.
“Are your mother and grandmother at home?” Jiang Cheng asked.
The girl nodded. It was then that Zhou Rong suddenly realised the sun had mostly set. Night would soon come.
Jiang Cheng pulled out another bun and handed it to the girl. “We’re going back now.” He added, “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow afternoon. Same old rules. Half a bun for one question answered.”
“But…” The girl stared at the whole bun and asked Jiang Cheng, “Why did you give me an extra half?”
“Consider it the down payment.” Jiang Cheng turned and ran back to their courtyard. Just as the sun fully set, the three entered the yard. A black pot was placed on the old wooden table. There were also a few sets of chopsticks and bowls.
“Mr. Yi.” Lee Lu greeted them warmly, “Come and eat. The soup is still hot. The village head just had people send it over.” Zhou Rong scanned the place. Only Lee Lu sat around the fire.
“Where are Bei Qian and the rest?”
“Elder Bei and Jiang Zhongyi said they wanted to take a walk around this courtyard.” Then, Lee Lu’s eyes widened as it dawned on her. “Did you not see them when you came back?”
Naturally, they didn’t…
“When did they leave?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“About… 15 minutes ago.” Lee Lu’s face paled as she understood the severity of the situation, “They left before they had the chance to eat.”
Chen Xiaomeng turned to reopen the gate. Lee Lu looked out. The sky was already fully dark. Darkness hid a lot of dangers. Something must have happened to them since they hadn’t returned after so long. However, based on what Lee Lu said, they left 15 minutes ago. In other words, they would have seen the sky darkening when they left. They wouldn’t have gone far.
They should have been delayed by an abrupt incident… Or, something had stopped them from coming back.
The only thing that could grab their attention so… that was nearby. At the same time, a flash crossed the three’s eyes. A building appeared in their heads. It was right inside this courtyard. The abandoned and sealed largest building.
“Miss Dragon Lady,” Zhou Rong told Chen Xiaomeng rapidly, “I’ll have to trouble you to stay to accompany Miss Lee. Mr. Yi and I will go take a look.” This time, Chen Xiaomeng didn’t insist on following them. She agreed easily.
Lee Lu nodded apologetically. Her injury made her a burden.
Zhou Rong pulled open the door and was about to leave. “Mr. Yi, we better hurry…”
However, Jiang Cheng didn’t even move. He stared at Lee Lu and Chen Xiaomeng. Then, he said, “Why don’t I stay? I’m better at taking care of people.” He paused. “After all, I’m a doctor.”
Chen Xiaomeng scoffed and exposed him. “Please show some respect to the occupation of doctor. They will not accept you as one of them.” Just as Jiang Cheng was about to argue with Chen Xiaomeng, the group heard a loud sound.
It was very dull, like something heavy landing on the ground from an elevation. It didn’t… sound far away. The three immediately ran over. Even though Lee Lu was also curious, she knew that she would only drag them down, so she stayed.
A few seconds later, there was a scream. The scream was hoarse and deep. The screamer should be old. The three knew that it was Bei Qian. Everyone wondered what could have happened to make the reliable senior scream .
Jiang Cheng rushed into his house to grab the oil lamp on the table. Then, he rushed towards the scream. Zhou Rong followed him. After some thought, Chen Xiaomeng also followed.
Their hypothesis was correct. The two went to the abandoned building in the yard. The scream came from there.
The light from the oil lamp barely did anything to chase away the darkness. They slowly slunk forward. Nervousness festered in the air. Jiang Cheng suddenly paused. He took a deep breath, and his eyes sharpened.
However, the thing that worried him even more was Bei Qian. His scream only lasted for a quick moment before disappearing completely.
The surroundings became deathly quiet.