“Glulu...”

Jiang Cheng's stomach growled, awakening the hunger Chen Xiaomeng had been trying to suppress. Besides some porridge in the morning, they hadn't eaten all day.

The village chief and the others seemed to have forgotten about them. After all, they were just tools to be used as shields, not some kind of experts.

Wasting food on them wasn't worth it.

Just as Chen Xiaomeng was about to rest, waiting for night to take action, she saw Jiang Cheng go to his sleeping spot, rummage around in the bedding, and produce two very large sweet potatoes.

Chen Xiaomeng's eyes widened in surprise.

"Good thing I hid two last time," Jiang Cheng said, holding a sweet potato in each hand, looking satisfied.

He carefully placed the sweet potatoes near the stove and added a few more pieces of broken charcoal, then squinted his eyes and warmed himself by the fire. The warm fire made his body feel pleasantly warm.

Chen Xiaomeng swallowed and came to sit beside him.

Neither of them worried about a surprise attack from the villagers.

It was night, and they would be hiding. Besides, this was the Qian family's mansion, where ghosts had already killed countless people.

The fire was strong, and soon the sweet potatoes were roasted until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

Chen Xiaomeng didn't wait for Jiang Cheng to offer. She wrapped her hand in a cloth and picked the sweet potato that looked tastier. Jiang Cheng was a step too slow.

Both of them were clearly starving. Chen Xiaomeng was more reserved, eating the flesh on the skin of the sweet potato very cleanly, while Jiang Cheng ate even the skin.

After finishing his own, he eyed the remaining half of the sweet potato in Chen Xiaomeng's hand. Sudan Novel Network

When she noticed, she stuffed the rest of the sweet potato into her mouth, chewing with puffed cheeks, looking at Jiang Cheng with a victorious expression, as if to say, *you can give up now*.

Fortunately, the village chief and the others had left half a jar of water last time; otherwise, they would have to worry about being thirsty.

"When do we move?"

Chen Xiaomeng, full and leaning against the wall, found even Jiang Cheng's face less annoying.

"Wait a little longer, until everyone in the village is asleep." Jiang Cheng poked the charcoal in the stove with a wooden stick, loosening it so it would burn better.

In this era, there were no cell phones, let alone the internet. The lack of nightlife was unimaginable to modern people, so after tossing and turning in bed at night, they could only go to sleep obediently.

The black sky was like an iron pot overturned on the ground. Looking at it for too long made one feel suffocated.

The village under the night was as quiet as death.

They had been in the village for so long, but they had never heard a rooster crow or a dog bark.

This remote mountain village called Xiaoshijian seemed to have only a group of people living in fear, clinging to life.

Estimating that the time was right, Jiang Cheng woke Chen Xiaomeng, who he didn't know was pretending to be asleep or actually sleeping. After checking their belongings, they pushed open the door.

Leaving the Qian family's mansion, they quietly appeared outside Honghong's courtyard, following the path they had taken in the afternoon.

They walked very carefully along the way, without alarming anyone or making any noise.

Chen Xiaomeng seemed to have experience in tracking and counter-tracking. When they reached Honghong's yard, she nodded to Jiang Cheng very seriously, indicating that no one was following them.

The courtyard door was made of wood, and the surface was very rough. Opening or closing it would make a scraping sound, so they decided to climb over the wall.

It was called a courtyard wall, but it was just a row of low fences.

Chen Xiaomeng took a running start, grabbed the fence, and jumped over. Her figure flashed in the air, very neatly, landing almost silently.

When she looked back at Jiang Cheng, she found that he had found a broken part of the fence and wriggled in, his face almost touching the ground.

But when he realized Chen Xiaomeng was watching him, he immediately seemed like a different person. He stood up, patted the dirt off his body, and pretended to straighten his back, as if he had jumped in as well.

They tiptoed to the door of the room, where there was another wooden door. Light shone through the crack in the door.

The two leaned closer to the crack and peeked inside.

The space inside the house was not large, and the layout was very simple. There was only a low wooden table placed on the kang (a heated brick bed). A kerosene lamp was on the table, and a woman who looked to be around 30 years old was sitting cross-legged on the kang, mending clothes in the dim light.

There was also a large bamboo sieve on the kang, containing a pair of large black iron scissors, as well as needles, thread, and scraps of cloth.

Perhaps because of the cold, the woman was partially wrapped in a quilt.

In the center of the room was a stove for heating, but the area around the stove was clean, indicating that it had not been used for a long time.

Everything in this room indicated the family's poverty.

The woman should be Honghong's mother.

They didn't see Honghong or the grandmother Honghong had mentioned for the time being, but it was so late, they should have gone to bed. Besides, there was more than one room in this yard; they might be next door.

Chen Xiaomeng's hand was on the door, and her eyes changed slightly. She was ready to rush in.

Suddenly, she felt a finger poke her.

Turning her head, it was indeed Jiang Cheng's cheeky face.

He pointed to the room, then pointed to himself, mouthing the words to Chen Xiaomeng without making a sound, "Let me go in first."

"Why?" Chen Xiaomeng signaled with her eyes.

Jiang Cheng licked his lips, blushed, leaned in, and whispered, "Breaking into a widow's house at night is my first time, it feels kind of exciting."

Chen Xiaomeng: "..."

Even in the dark, Chen Xiaomeng could see the excitement on Jiang Cheng's face.

The next second, Jiang Cheng exerted force with his wrist, instantly pushed open the door, and before the woman mending clothes could react, he rushed forward and grabbed her throat.

The great force even pulled the woman's whole body backward, crashing into the cabinet behind her.

Because of the cushion of the quilt, the sound was similar to the muffled thud of a *Xinhua Dictionary* falling on the ground.

After Chen Xiaomeng came in, she immediately turned around and closed the door.

Jiang Cheng didn't intend to let go. He looked down at the woman's face, which was gradually turning blue from suffocation. His cold face was expressionless.

The woman was terrified, her body trembling non-stop. She had lost the strength to resist or think. All she could do was widen her horrified eyes.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," Jiang Cheng's voice was even and cold. "If it's true, nod your head. If it's not, shake your head. Any extra movements or attempts to call for help, and I'll stab you to death, and then stab your daughter Honghong to death." He raised his chin, his face flickering in the dancing flames. "Understand?"

The woman was stunned for a moment, then nodded frantically.