Chen Xiaomeng and Zhou Rong had no intention of stopping Jiang Cheng. On the contrary, if Jiang Cheng didn't act, they had their own ways to make the girl talk.

Although the house the girl described was dilapidated, the dried chilies hanging under the eaves and the vegetables planted in front of the door indicated that adults lived there.

The girl didn't expect Jiang Cheng to change his face so quickly and be so fierce. Her eyes instantly turned red, and just as she was about to cry, she heard Jiang Cheng's slow voice, "If you dare to cry, this auntie will destroy all the vegetables in your garden."

Hearing this, the girl was really too scared to cry.

For her, this threat was more terrifying than being beaten, because her family depended on those vegetables to live.

From the time she could remember, hunger had been a constant part of her life.

"Don't," the girl said, her eyes blurry with tears, but she didn't dare let them fall. Her little face was twisted in a pitiful expression, "Those are planted by A-niang (mother), you... you mustn't destroy them."

Jiang Cheng put the girl back on the ground. She wanted to turn around and run home, but she could escape, while the vegetables planted in front of the door couldn't. Thinking of this, she didn't dare to run.

"Let's change the terms," Jiang Cheng bent down, looked into the girl's eyes, and said calmly, "How about I give you half a mantou (steamed bun) for every question you answer?"

"Okay." The girl stared at him and answered timidly.

"There's only you and A-niang (mother) at home, right?"

"And Grandma," the girl pursed her lips, "but Grandma is very sick and needs A-niang to go up the mountain to gather medicine to treat her."

"What about your A-ba (father)?"

The girl looked up at Jiang Cheng, her eyes seeming to flow with something.

Jiang Cheng took out the previous half mantou from his pocket and put it back into the girl's pocket. The girl immediately said, "Honghong hasn't seen A-ba (father), but A-niang (mother) said that A-ba (father) went to a big city outside. When Honghong grows up, A-ba (father) will come back and buy Honghong many, many white mantou."

There was light in the girl's eyes, but the others' eyes dimmed.

It seemed that white mantou was the limit of this girl named Honghong's imagination.

And everyone knew even more that she probably wouldn't be able to wait for her A-ba (father) to return.

Her A-ba (father)... should already be dead at the hands of Zhao Xiangmei.

"Your A-niang (mother) and Grandma," Jiang Cheng asked, "are they both at home?"

The girl nodded.

At this moment, Zhou Rong suddenly realized that, without realizing it, half of the sun had already set, and only a little bit was left exposed outside the mountain.

Night was coming.

Jiang Cheng took out another mantou from his pocket and put it in the girl's hand, "We're going back," he said, "I'll wait for you here tomorrow evening, same rules, half a mantou for a question."

"But..." The girl stared at the whole mantou in her hand, looked up at Jiang Cheng, and asked in confusion, "You gave me half an extra."

"That half is a deposit," Jiang Cheng said without looking back, turning and running towards their residence.

Just before the sun completely disappeared behind the mountain, the three finally rushed into the house. A black pot and several pairs of bowls and chopsticks were placed on the old wooden table.

"Mr. Yin," Li Lu, who was inconvenienced by her leg injury, greeted them warmly, "Come and eat, the soup is still hot, the village chief just sent someone to deliver it."

Zhou Rong's eyes swept across the empty house, where only Li Lu was sitting by the edge of the heated brick bed.

"Where are Pei Qian and Jiang Zhongyi?"

"Elder Pei and Jiang Zhongyi said they wanted to take a walk around the courtyard," as she said this, Li Lu seemed to suddenly realize something, and her pupils widened slightly, "What, didn't you see them when you came in?"

Of course not...

"When did they leave?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"About... 15 minutes ago," Li Lu also realized the seriousness of the situation, and the color drained from her face, making her look very pale, "They went out without eating."

Chen Xiaomeng turned and opened the door. Li Lu looked out through the door and found that it was completely dark.

The danger of the night here was self-evident. They hadn't returned for so long, something must have happened.

But according to Li Lu, they went out 15 minutes ago, which meant that they would naturally have noticed that it was getting dark when they went out, so they definitely wouldn't have gone far.

They must have been held back by something that happened suddenly, or rather... attracted.

Causing them not to return to the room before dark.

And what could attract the attention of the two of them nearby... A building flashed before the three people's eyes, and almost at the same time, a building appeared in their minds.

In the courtyard.

That abandoned, sealed-off, largest building.

"Miss Xiaolongnv (Little Dragon Girl)," Zhou Rong said quickly to Chen Xiaomeng, "I'll have to trouble you to stay and accompany Miss Li. Mr. Yin and I will go take a look."

This time, Chen Xiaomeng didn't insist on going with them, but readily agreed to stay.

Li Lu nodded apologetically to everyone, understanding that she was holding the team back.

Zhou Rong opened the door and said as he walked out, "Mr. Yin, we have to hurry..."

But unexpectedly, Jiang Cheng didn't move. He was just staring at Chen Xiaomeng and Li Lu, and then suddenly said, "Why don't I stay? I'm better at taking care of people," he paused, and said very formally, "I'm a doctor."

"Heh," Chen Xiaomeng sneered, and retorted without giving him any face, "Please respect the medical profession, they won't accept the existence of something like you."

Just as Jiang Cheng was shamelessly pestering Chen Xiaomeng to switch with her, the group suddenly heard a loud noise.

"Bang!"

The sound was very muffled, like something of considerable mass falling, and... not far away.

The three immediately turned and ran out. Although Li Lu was curious, she also knew that following them would not only be useless, but would also hold everyone back.

A few seconds later, there was another shrill scream.

The person screaming had a deep and slightly hoarse voice, sounding like he was old. The three immediately recognized that the screaming person was Pei Qian.

Everyone was curious about what had happened to make him scream so miserably.

Jiang Cheng returned to the room, picked up the kerosene lamp on the table, and then walked towards the location of the scream. Zhou Rong followed closely behind him, and Chen Xiaomeng thought for a moment, and finally decided to follow.

Their judgment was correct. The two had indeed gone to the abandoned building in the courtyard, and the screams also came from there.

The light was dim, barely able to dispel a little bit of the darkness. The surrounding night was as thick as ink, and they slowly wriggled forward, with an unsettling smell in the air.

Jiang Cheng stopped.

He slowly took a breath, his eyes changing.

It was indeed an unsettling smell. He actually smelled a trace of blood.

But compared to that, what made him even more uneasy was Pei Qian. His screams only lasted for a short moment, and then, they suddenly disappeared.

The surroundings were as silent as death.