Chapter 1 A Strange Feeling

　　You Qi squatted on the ground, his gaze slowly shifting to the lake not far away, his expression becoming very strange, as if there was something he couldn't figure out.

　　"Brother," Shi Liaozhi swallowed and said, "If you have any ideas, just say them. We can all help you figure it out."

　　Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Chen Qiang and Qin Jian also came over. The few of them gathered around the place where the sedan chair had stopped last night. Before long, Chen Qiang's expression changed.

　　Then, Qin Jian also seemed to see something.

　　He suddenly squatted down, staring intently at one spot.

　　"What... is this?"

　　"It looks like... a mark left by something passing by?"

　　Shi Liaozhi's tone was also uncertain, because the mark was too strange. It was an irregular oval shape, and it was also relatively small, not like something left by an animal like a cat or dog.

　　You Qi stood up and stepped on the ground near the mark. He looked relatively strong, and he used a lot of force, but it only left a more obvious footprint on the ground.

　　But this mark was much deeper than You Qi's.

　　An ominous premonition rose in their hearts. There was no reason for it, just a pure sense of unease.

　　"Here... here's another one!" Shi Liaozhi had good eyesight and saw another mark not far away, but it was covered by other people's footprints. Fortunately, it was deep enough to be found.

　　The few of them followed the marks all the way to the lakeside. The last mark was imprinted in the mud, with only an outline exposed.

　　"Squish."

　　You Qi blinked, and the ominous premonition in his heart seemed to come true.

　　"The mark just now started from the sedan chair... right?" You Qi's throat bobbed, and it took him a lot of effort to say it.

　　The next second, someone finally realized what kind of sharp, small mark this was.

　　And this awareness seemed to be contagious.

　　Everyone slowly turned their heads to look at the place where the sedan chair had stopped last night. Even Chen Qiang, who didn't easily express emotions, felt a chill down his spine at this moment.

　　It was the embroidered shoes worn by ancient women.

　　Because ancient women had the custom of foot binding, they were also known as "three-inch golden lotuses."

　　Looking down at the marks again, narrow at the front and wide at the back, that was exactly it.

　　"The paper figure last night also had bound feet," You Qi said. It was hard to imagine that a big, burly man could be scared like this. He said with trembling lips, "I... I saw it!"

　　A gust of wind blew across the lake, and the few of them shivered at the same time.

　　......

　　"A little to the left."

　　"Right."

　　"A little more to the right."

　　"Up."

　　"Yes, yes, like that," Jiang Cheng whispered, "Hold on, Fatty."

　　"Doctor," Fatty strained himself, his face flushed red, "Hurry up, it's not just you, there's another one!"

　　Xia Meng, who was being held up by Fatty and peeking over the wall, was obviously not as considerate as Jiang Cheng. At least the latter still knew to comfort Fatty a little, making him feel that he had made an indelible contribution to the team.

　　"He's out, he's out," Jiang Cheng said softly.

　　A light flashed in Xia Meng's eyes, and she immediately confirmed, "It's him!"

　　A thin figure in tattered clothes jumped out of the window, holding two steamed buns in his left hand and a broken bowl in his right hand, which seemed to contain some vegetables.

　　Judging from his familiar movements, this was clearly not his first offense.

　　It was the little beggar they had caught last night, who was later released by An Xuan for some reason.

　　Unexpectedly, they ran into him here.

　　They had actually caught sight of a sneaky figure from a distance on the way here, and then followed the figure all the way to this place. It looked like this should be the kitchen.

　　A pile of firewood was stacked in front of the door, and a layer of broken mat was used to cover it to prevent it from getting damp in the rain.

　　They watched for a while and found that no one came.

　　Later, Xia Meng said that since the little beggar dared to come and steal food at this time, it meant that there was no one in the kitchen at this time, or the probability of someone being there was very low.

　　"You're not... you're not going in to take a look, are you?" Fatty asked suspiciously, out of breath.

　　The wall here was more than two meters high. It was not known who designed it, but the kitchen was like a military stronghold. Fatty was suffering, carrying the doctor and Xia Meng on his shoulders.

　　After putting the two down, Fatty finally breathed a sigh of relief.

　　"What's the plan?" Jiang Cheng said, moving his neck. He felt a little stiff after holding one position for a long time.

　　"Go find that little beggar now," Xia Meng said directly, "I always feel that there's something wrong with him. Are the Huang family stupid? They just let him steal every day and haven't found out yet?"

　　Thinking of the middle-aged woman's terrifying appearance, Fatty felt that what Xia Meng said made sense.

　　"Okay," Jiang Cheng nodded. "You guys go."

　　Fatty was stunned and looked at Jiang Cheng suspiciously, "What about you?"

　　"I'll go inside and take a look." Jiang Cheng started doing stretching exercises, seemingly preparing to climb the wall, in case he strained himself.

　　Looking at the doctor's familiar and silly actions, Fatty heard a few words echoing in his ears - The Times Are Calling.

　　His emotions suddenly became agitated.

　　"What are you doing in the kitchen?" Xia Meng stared at him, as if certain he had some ulterior motive.

　　"Of course, I'm going to see if there are any clues," Jiang Cheng replied, stretching his back and squinting his eyes, "Or should I go to the toilet?"

　　"Doctor," Fatty said earnestly, a look of embarrassment on his face, "I know you're petty, but a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. I advise you to think twice," he paused, "You'd better consider the risk of getting caught if you do this."

　　The middle-aged woman's terrifying face appeared in front of him. Fatty said, "Be careful, they'll confiscate all your tools."

　　Xia Meng narrowed her eyes and chimed in, "It's not a big deal," she grinned, "Anyway, I can return them to you when we get out."

　　Jiang Cheng seemed to really think about it for a while, and then stubbornly shook his head. "No, I still have to go," he held up one finger and pointed at Xia Meng, "You better pray that I'm okay."

　　Xia Meng stared at him.

　　Fatty suddenly had a sense of excitement that something big was about to happen.

　　"Anyway, if they're confiscated, you'll be the one who suffers," Jiang Cheng said, craning his neck at Xia Meng, "Just don't cry at night."

　　Xia Meng turned around and left, pulling Fatty along.

　　Actually, Fatty didn't want to leave the doctor, but Jiang Cheng didn't even wait for him. He quickly climbed over the wall and jumped over. Fatty had no choice but to follow Xia Meng.

　　"Wang Fatty," Xia Meng pulled Fatty to a deserted place. She smiled and said, "Now it's just the two of us."

　　Fatty swallowed, "What are you going to do to me?"

　　"You just need to tell me, what exactly is Jiang Cheng's identity, what kind of work does he do, and who does he work for?" Xia Meng said, narrowing her eyes, "I won't make things difficult for you. After we get out, I can protect your safety, and you don't have to be controlled by him anymore."

　　"If you don't believe me, I can swear an oath," Xia Meng said, raising her hand solemnly.

　　Xia Meng had always been suspicious of Jiang Cheng's identity. Due to the limited time, there was no news back from the people sent to investigate his background.

　　Fatty thought for a while and replied, "Telling you is no problem, the problem is, can you believe it?"