As Shen Liannuo rushed into the living room, her taut heartstrings relaxed slightly upon seeing the Meng Tianhua couple and their two children safe and sound.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her pale face, Meng Tianhua's heart skipped a beat, and he asked nervously.
They were well aware of the current situation, which was as precarious as a pile of eggs. They had to remain vigilant at all times and could not afford to slack off in the slightest.
"Yiyiyaya..."
The little one, Yihang, nestled in Meng Tianhua's arms, saw Shen Liannuo walk in. He stretched out his tender, chubby little hand and waved at her in the air, making the cutest, most adorable sounds.
Seeing Meng Tianhua's question, Du Juan also inexplicably became nervous and glanced around worriedly. "Did something happen?"
"Uh..."
Shen Liannuo was taken aback. Before she could speak, Lu Yanming, who had followed her in, smiled and said calmly and composedly, "Liannuo and I were just playing around. Everything's fine."
The gunshots had indeed been loud just now, but Lu Yanming was also worried about startling the Meng Tianhua couple.
After all, the elderly couple had always lived in the countryside and had never experienced such a situation.
The Meng Tianhua couple glanced at Lu Yanming, and then their gaze fell back on Shen Liannuo, their eyes seeking confirmation. It seemed only her words were enough to gain their trust.
"Uncle and Aunt, tonight will be very dangerous, but don't worry, we will do our best to protect you." Shen Liannuo finally chose to tell the truth and walked up to them. "Jingwei told me that Xishanju has a basement. You should go to the basement with me first. It's the safest place inside."
Meng Jingwei had indeed given Shen Liannuo instructions about this earlier.
However, she also mentioned that arranging for them to enter the underground secret room was a last resort. If absolutely necessary, they should try to avoid making arrangements for them to go down.
After all, it was an underground secret room. If it could be kept hidden, it should be.
It was a place that could save their lives at a crucial moment. Exposing it carelessly was equivalent to revealing their final trump card.
"This..."
Du Juan, holding Yiyi tightly in her arms, looked at Meng Tianhua with worried eyes and nodded. "Okay, Miss Liannuo, we'll follow your arrangement."
"Alright, you lead the way. We'll go down now." Meng Tianhua let out a long sigh, his aged face etched with helplessness.
As a father, he couldn't protect his children and instead had to rely on them for protection. He felt truly ashamed.
"Yes, come with me."
Shen Liannuo nodded and led the way.
Lu Yanming's brow furrowed slightly. He walked over to Shen Liannuo in three quick steps and whispered, "Jingwei's father is not in good health. What you said might easily frighten them."
His concern was understandable.
Shen Liannuo turned her head and gave him a cold glance without speaking.
Her look seemed to say: It's a helpless situation. If there were any other options, why would I do this?
He led them through the first-floor living room to the study at the east end of the first floor.
The spacious study had over a dozen rows of bookshelves lined up, holding thousands of books. To the left, against the wall, were display cabinets filled with various antiques and curios.
Shen Liannuo looked at the rare treasures and then walked up to a porcelain vase with a design of two dragons playing with a pearl. She reached out and pressed the pearl on the relief of the two dragons playing with a pearl.
As she pressed it, the display cabinet moved forward sixty centimeters from the wall, resembling a protruding door that people could enter from either side.
"Oh my, the entrance is here." Du Juan marveled at such a mysterious and sophisticated mechanism.
"Stop the nonsense, let's go in quickly." Meng Tianhua, holding the child, prepared to enter but then asked worriedly, "We haven't taken the baby's formula yet."