As she spoke, she reached out and hugged Shen Qingtang's arm, her sensible little face making one's heart ache.

In a secluded and unfamiliar courtyard, Pei Nian'an was tightly bound to a chair with her hands and feet.

Her body was covered in whip marks and scratches, her small body curled up in a ball, trembling in pain.

An ugly woman walked over carrying a whip.

Her eyes were filled with malice as she looked at him, and she raised her hand and lashed him with the whip again: "What are you crying for? If you cry again, I'll drain all the blood from your body!" As she spoke, she picked up a small knife.

He made a small cut on Pei Nian'an's arm and collected the blood into a nearby container.

Pei Nian'an was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face.

Subconsciously, I called out to the person I depend on most: "Auntie... please stop hitting me..."

Instead of getting angry, the woman laughed, reached out and pinched his chin with such force that she almost crushed his bones: "Who are you calling 'Auntie'? You little bastard, how dare you talk to me like that?"

Pei Nian'an was being choked until she couldn't breathe.

His mind was filled with memories of Shen Qingtang's kindness to him.

His aunt would make him sweet snacks, protect him from behind, and gently call him "Nian'an".

He thought to himself silently.

I will never call anyone "Auntie" again. I only have one Auntie.

The woman saw his delicate little face.

The hatred in his eyes intensified.

She hates good-looking kids the most.

She pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair, its tip icy cold, and slowly brought it close to Pei Nian'an's face, her smile wicked and manic: "Such a beautiful face is a waste to keep, it's better to scratch it."

"What are you going to do?!" Pei Nian'an trembled with fear and burst into tears.

He was only three years old, with long eyelashes and a round face. When he cried, he looked cute and pitiful.

But this appearance did not soften the woman's heart.

This only made her more insane.

The silver hairpin was getting closer and closer to his face... The woman was about to slash Pei Nian'an's face with the silver hairpin.

Pei Nian'an suddenly mustered all her strength and bit her hand hard.

The woman screamed in pain and slapped Pei Nian'an across the face, causing his lip to swell instantly and bleed.

Pei Nian'an leaned weakly against the chair, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls. Her voice was weak but filled with longing: "Auntie...please come quickly...I can't wait any longer..."

His cries grew fainter and fainter, his face as pale as paper, yet he still silently hoped for Shen Qingtang to appear.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingtang and Pei Wuwang were searching everywhere for Pei Nian'an's whereabouts.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

She clutched her chest, coughed up a mouthful of blood, her vision went black, and she swayed.

I almost fell to the ground.

Pei Wuwang reacted quickly, stepping forward to hug her, his eyes filled with anxiety and worry: "How are you? Where does it hurt?"

Shen Qingtang leaned against him, looking into Pei Wuwang's concerned eyes, and felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The moment their eyes met.

A scene suddenly flashed through her mind: a secluded house deep in an alley in the neighboring county town to the east of the city.

Shen Qingtang suddenly grabbed Pei Wuwang's arm, her voice urgent: "I know where Nian'an is! He's in the old house in the county next to the east of the city. Let's go find him!"

Pei Nian'an was already on the verge of death from the bloodletting. Just as the woman raised her knife to stab him in the chest, a gunshot rang out. Shen Qingtang arrived just in time and shot the woman in the arm.

He fired another shot, hitting her in the leg.

The woman screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in agony, writhing in pain.