He squinted his eyes contentedly.

She ate it in small bites, and after finishing, she tilted her little face up and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Thank you, Auntie, it's so delicious!"

Looking at him, Shen Qingtang's eyes grew even more doting, and she said softly, "Eat slowly, there's plenty more."

Inside the dilapidated temple, however, the atmosphere was tense and fraught with danger. The Pei family discovered that Pei Nian'an was missing.

Pei Yurou immediately pouted and said in a shrill voice, "I think that little brat took the opportunity to escape! He must think we're a burden and doesn't want to be exiled with us!"

Pei Mingxuan chimed in, his tone full of disdain: "Exactly! He's heartless! He dared to abandon our elder brother. Our elder brother wasted all his love for him!"

Lu Jiaojiao leaned closer, her words becoming even more offensive: "What little brat! He's just a bastard, a bastard! It's good that he ran away, so he won't be an eyesore here!"

The officials were already annoyed by the escape of the Shen Minglan brothers, and upon hearing this, they became even more furious, and three of them fled.

They wouldn't be able to explain themselves when they got back. The head constable drew his sword, his face grim: "If you really escape, your Pei family won't get away with it!"

Pei Yurou's eyes darted around, and she leaned closer to the head constable, her voice laced with malice: "Head Constable, since he's escaped, why don't we... kill Pei Nian'an's father? It would be a way to give the higher-ups an explanation, so we won't all get implicated!"

Pei Mingxuan nodded in agreement: "Yes! Kill him! He's a good-for-nothing anyway, there's no point in keeping him alive!"

Old Mrs. Pei covered her eyes with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling as she pleaded, "Officers, please don't hurt Ah Jin... He's a pitiful man too, Nian An's escape has nothing to do with him..."

But her eyes darted away, while she secretly observed the officer's expression out of the corner of her eye.

She clearly hoped the officials would "not understand" her pleas and take action directly.

"Stop pretending!" Mother Shen trembled with rage, struggling to shout despite the excruciating pain from her wounds. "Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet you'd try to harm your own grandson! You're worse than an animal!"

Old Master Shen, leaning on his cane, pointed at Old Madam Pei and angrily cursed, "You vicious woman! You've disgraced the Pei family!"

"You old hag, you can't even take care of yourself and you still dare to yell!" Lu Jiaojiao shouted, jumping up and down. "Your whole family will die here sooner or later, and you're still meddling in other people's business. It's hilarious!"

Lin Peirou spoke up at the right moment, tugged at Lu Jiaojiao's sleeve, and said in a "gentle" tone: "Jiaojiao, you can't talk to your great-grandfather like that, it's so impolite."

But there was no intention to dissuade her in her eyes; instead, there was a hint of indulgence, as if she were watching a good show.

Why can't I say it?

Lu Jiaojiao shook off her hand, hands on her hips haughtily, "Who told them to meddle! Anyway, no one will help them!"

The officers were already irritable, and this argument only fueled their anger. The head constable tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he stared directly at Pei Wuwang.

On the other side, Shen Qingtang was holding Pei Nian'an's hand.

She took out a thick cloak from her storage space and wrapped it around the child, then handed him a warm meat bun.

Behind the two, Shen Qingtang dragged a cleaned black bear. She had deliberately left it behind, so that it could be used as food and also to deter those with ill intentions.

"Auntie, are we almost at the ruined temple?" Pei Nian'an asked vaguely, biting into a steamed bun.

"Soon." Shen Qingtang nodded, her sharp gaze sweeping across the front, where she could vaguely make out the outline of the dilapidated temple.

Meanwhile, Shen Minglan and Shen Mingzhao were trudging through the snow, their feet sinking deep into the ground.

After searching for most of the day without finding their sister, the two were exhausted and anxious, their strength almost completely depleted.

Suddenly, more than a dozen masked men in black, wielding sharp blades, sprang out of the dense forest ahead and charged straight at them.