Once the sound of the bell completely disappeared, it felt as if the air that had been drained returned again.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, sweat pouring out.

Li Zhiyuan: "It's safe now."

"Xiao Yuan?" Run Sheng immediately checked on the boy's condition.

"I'm fine, not a big deal." Li Zhiyuan felt sticky on his face, and a bit dizzy.

Luckily, he had rested enough on the train, and had been conserving his energy along the way, so his current state, while bad, wasn't the worst.

If he were completely exhausted and pushed to the limit, he might just make time to learn "The Moon Reflected on the Erquan Spring."

Tan Wenbin crawled up using both his hands and feet, took the water bottle and towel from Run Sheng, and started wiping the bloodstains off Xiao Yuan's face.

Run Sheng picked up the Yellow River Shovel, stood up, facing the woman, and remained vigilant.

The woman put away the white cloth and offerings, and ate the bloodstained cookie.

After tidying up, the woman held the child, shouldered her bag, stood up, and looked over.

She tilted her body slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but after seeing the boy wiping blood off his face past Run Sheng's obstruction, her eyes widened:

"You actually looked at it!"

Li Zhiyuan heard her but didn't rush to react, continuing to let Binbin wipe him.

The woman, with her child in her left arm, pulled out a short, sleek black axe from the swaddling cloth with her right hand, and said to Run Sheng:

"He's been hooked, now he must be killed!"

Run Sheng raised the Yellow River Shovel, his clothes puffing up as he prepared to fight.

He didn't even consider what the woman had said.

"Pssh..."

Tan Wenbin opened a can of drink, but due to previous shaking, the drink spilled out of the can. He waited for a moment before handing it to Xiao Yuan.

Li Zhiyuan took the drink, drank several gulps, and then stood up again.

The woman, seeing the boy's action, grew more puzzled, but she still put away the axe, tucking it back into the swaddling cloth.

"You weren't hooked after all."

Li Zhiyuan said, "You're not one of the Wang Family."

If she were from the Wang Family, why didn't she command those Wang Family members to run together just now? Clearly, she could have saved them, but she chose not to.

The woman shook her head: "It's better for you not to know my identity."

Li Zhiyuan inexplicably felt that these words sounded familiar.

The woman continued: "When you're out, don't invite baseless trouble. This place isn't safe recently. You should go."

Tan Wenbin licked his lips, feeling that this woman had stolen his usual lines.

Li Zhiyuan asked: "Are you going to Meiling Town, Taohua Village?"

The woman began to walk up the slope, speaking without looking back: "That's not a good place, not fun, and you'll lose your life."

Li Zhiyuan: "Then why are you going?"

Woman: "I have no choice, unlike you."

"What if I also have no choice?"

"Heh, it's hard to persuade a determined person, do as you please."

Tan Wenbin whispered: "This woman's tone is really arrogant."

Li Zhiyuan was non-committal, and after Run Sheng packed the offering table, the three of them climbed up the slope to the small path.

By this time, the woman had returned, back into the courtyard.

She kicked open the house door and went inside.

Soon, the old couple were dragged and kicked by her, driven from the house into the courtyard.

Especially the old lady, who now had a distinct shoe print on her face.

Originally, everything was fine until the old lady shouted, "There are still five people not on the way," nearly triggering another round of mutation.

No wonder the woman was angry; for the five people, excluding the trio of boys, the old lady even counted her own baby in the swaddling cloth as one.

A mother can't stand the idea of anyone harming her child.

The old couple were crying and screaming, seemingly confused, repeatedly pleading and crying out in pain.

Li Zhiyuan said to Tan Wenbin and Run Sheng: "Let's check the house thoroughly."

Tan Wenbin went first, while Run Sheng hesitated, reluctant to leave Xiao Yuan alone in the courtyard with this woman.

When the woman pulled out the small axe earlier, the fierce aura she emitted was enough to make Run Sheng feel a pain in his core, she was definitely a master.

"She won't harm us right now, Brother Runsheng, go inside and search thoroughly."

"Alright." Run Sheng chose to heed Xiao Yuan's advice but still glared at the woman when passing by her.

The woman kicked the old couple again, knocking them to the ground, then looked provocatively at Li Zhiyuan, taking several steps toward him deliberately.

Li Zhiyuan stood there, unmoving.

Finally, it was the woman who stopped, asking: "This isn't like you. Earlier on the train, when I was feeding the child, you were suspicious and watched me closely. So why trust me now?"

"Mutual."

The woman was not one of the Wang Family, this could now be confirmed.

She pinched the child to make it cry, actually giving him a very subtle warning.

Why subtle?

Because she was lazy to say it outright, she wanted to see the Wang Family perish. As for whether the three of them would die, she didn't care much. If they understood the hint, they'd flee; if not, they'd end up as corpses together.

Perhaps her reason for making the child cry was to repay their favor of letting Run Sheng set up the tent and sleeping bags for her.

This mentality felt very familiar to Li Zhiyuan.

And the reason he had Run Sheng set up the tent and sleeping bags wasn't purely out of goodwill; he simply couldn't identify the woman's flaw but still couldn't fully trust her, so he decided to both hold on and let go, applying a different kind of pressure.

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