There was a musty smell in the cave, mixed with a faint trace of blood.

Xu Jinhong's heart was pounding in his chest.

With a rag stuffed in his mouth, he couldn't make a sound, only able to sob as he stared at the tall figure in the darkness, who seemed like the Grim Reaper himself, filling him with immense fear.

"Clang"

The sound of metal clashing together was unusually loud in the silent mountains.

Xu Jinhong had already been severely punished, and his body was covered in wounds. His forehead was a bloody mess, and the blood had probably congealed after a while.

Xu Jinhong felt a panic in his heart, as if his heart was being squeezed by two hands. It didn't crush him, but with just a little more force, it would rot his heart and liver.

The man moved and walked over.

Xu Jinhong's eyes were wide open, filled with fear. He made "woo-woo" sounds as his bound feet struggled incessantly.

Unfortunately, the rope was tied very securely and firmly, without the slightest sign of loosening.

The axe clattered down in front of Xu Jinhong, startling him so much that a scream escaped his throat, only to be swallowed back down by the rag. He felt a heat rising between his legs.

The smell of urine instantly overpowered the stench of blood.

"You're bleeding."

The man's voice was deep and menacing, sounding as terrifying as the roar of a wild beast in the quiet forest.

"Mmm." Xu Jinhong kept nodding, trying to make the other party feel his obedience, but the other party stood there lazily and did not come over to take the rag from his mouth.

The man kicked the axe: "Wild animals in the mountains have a keen sense of smell. If you keep bleeding like this, they'll all find you."

Help!

Xu Jinhong was sobbing uncontrollably, making constant "sobbing" sounds. As if sensing his fear, the man said, "Do you want to live?"

"Waaaaah."

Xu Jinhong nodded, his whole body struggling violently, indicating that he wanted to live.

The man took two steps over and ripped the gag out of Xu Jinhong's mouth. As soon as the gag was removed, Xu Jinhong cried out, "Help! Someone help me! Waaah!"

The rough, hard sole of the shoe stomped hard on his mouth, grinding it repeatedly, silencing his cries for help.

Xu Jinhong begged for mercy: "I...I won't scream, spare...spare my life."

The man stood back up and rubbed the soles of his shoes on the ground.

Xu Jinhong shuddered, his mouth burning, almost fainting from the pain. He then said coldly to the man, "Disappear from Lu County."

disappear?

Xu Jinhong was stunned for a moment. At this point, he dared not resist. He could only nod repeatedly, crying with tears streaming down his face: "Yes, yes, yes, I... I will disappear and never, ever appear again."

The man, hidden in the darkness, finally hummed in response: "I can spare your life."

Xu Jinhong was overjoyed, but then he saw the man pick up the axe from the ground and walk towards him.

"Spare me! You...you said you wouldn't kill me! You...ah!"

Li Xian remained expressionless as he deftly brought down his axe.

Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the mountains.

His voice was like that of a mountain demon, and his eyes were cold and ruthless.

"Next time, I'll chop off your head."

...

The atmosphere at the Xu family has been a bit strange these past two days. Ever since Xu Nuo mentioned the ten-day deadline, Xu Guihua and the others have not only stopped making a scene, but have become even more attentive than usual, as if they want to change Xu Jin'an's mind in this way.

On the third day, the Xu family, which had been quiet for several days, started to stir.

The noise outside was a bit loud. Xu Nuo put down her pen and listened carefully. For some reason, Xu Guihua's voice was anxious and even a little sobbing.

The sound grew louder and louder, showing no signs of stopping.

Xu Nuo frowned, stood up, and opened the door.

Guo Ailian, dressed in a drab gray cloth, her hair haphazardly tied back, was pulling Xu Guihua, who was about to leave, and whispered, "Mother, let's wait a little longer. Perhaps Jin Hong will be back soon."

Xu Guihua looked anxious, her heart pounding.

Xu Jinhong had been gone for two or three days before, but never before had he made Xu Guihua so uneasy. She felt that this time Xu Jinhong's absence was unusual, and exclaimed, "What are we waiting for? Jinhong has been gone for a whole day and night and hasn't come back yet. Something must have happened."

Guo Ailian grimaced and pursed her lips. She didn't think Xu Jinhong was in trouble. That good-for-nothing was probably gambling in some remote corner again.

Guo Ailian thought this way because Xu Jinhong was a gambler, and Xu Guihua had given him ten yuan before he left home yesterday.

With money, how could Xu Jinhong not gamble?

Guo Ailian muttered to herself, "Jin Hongxing probably went gambling somewhere."

Xu Guihua glared at her and said fiercely, "Your husband hasn't come back for a whole day and night, aren't you worried at all?"

Guo Ailian hurriedly said, "No, Mother, I'm just anxious too. But Jin Hong used to be like this too."

This time it's been a bit too long; they went out yesterday at noon and haven't come back.

Guo Ailian was also worried that something might happen to him, so she thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go look for him?"

That's more like it. Xu Guihua shook off her hand and walked straight out, with Guo Ailian following behind her.

Seeing that the two had left, Xu Nuo didn't say anything, closed the door, and went to read her book.

What does Xu Jinhong's death have to do with her?

But before things had calmed down for long, a loud crying broke out outside.

Xu Guihua cried her heart out: "Jin Hong, my child, wake up!"

"Cousin, something's happened, cousin."

Xu Yunyun pounded on the door repeatedly, forcing Xu Nuo to open it.

She frowned when she saw the scene outside.

A bloodstain had spread across the once clean floor, and Xu Jinhong lay unconscious on the ground, covered in blood.

Xu Guihua searched him thoroughly and found him covered in wounds. She called out to him repeatedly but he didn't wake up. Thinking Xu Jinhong was dead, she wailed, "My son, Jinhong, my son, you died so tragically..."

Xu Nuo glanced at the rise and fall of his chest and said to Xu Guihua, "He's not dead."

Xu Guihua choked: "Not dead?"

She leaned down to listen to his breathing, and sure enough, there was a very faint breath. Overjoyed, she cried out, "Jin Hong, Jin Hong, my son, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Nuo went back into the house, scooped a little water from the bucket where she had soaked the flowers and herbs last night, and went out to hand it to Guo Ailian: "Feed him this and ask him what happened."

Xu Nuo didn't want to save him out of pity, but rather because she couldn't let Xu Jinhong die at home. Although he didn't seem to be in any serious condition, if Xu Jinhong didn't wake up, Xu Guihua and the others would definitely be crying and wailing at her door.

Guo Ailian was stunned by Xu Nuo's certainty and without saying a word fed the water to Xu Jinhong. This herbal water was diluted with a bucket of tap water, so its effect was negligible, only slowly opening Xu Jinhong's eyes from his deep coma.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he cried out in fear, "Spare me, spare me, go back to Baici Village, go back to Baici Village right now."

Xu Guihua asked tearfully, "Jin Hong, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Jinhong's gaze froze, seemingly in disbelief, as he stared intently at Xu Guihua: "Back to Baici Village, back..."

"What did you say? Why go back to Baici Village?" Xu Guihua didn't know why he was talking about this after waking up. She patted Xu Jinhong's hand to comfort him, but unexpectedly touched something wet.

Xu Jinhong trembled and whimpered, "It hurts."

Xu Guihua felt a chill run down her spine. She looked down and screamed.

All that could be seen on Xu Jinhong's hand was a pool of blood; where there should have been five fingers, only three remained.

The other two only had two bloody holes left.

The bleeding hadn't stopped yet; blood was slowly seeping out.

"ah!"

Xu Guihua screamed and fainted.

Xu Nuo frowned and took a step back in fear.

Guo Ailian burst into tears, crying, "What happened? This hand..."

Xu Jinhong did not answer. His eyes were dull and gray, like those of a frightened animal. He only muttered, "Go back to Baici Village, disappear, go back to Baici Village."

Xu Yunyun stood to the side, wanting to reach out and touch it, but when she heard "back to Baici Village" she paused, she swallowed hard and looked at Xu Jinhong with surprise: "Dad, what did you say?"

Xu Jinhong was still saying, "Back to Baici Village."

Although Guo Ailian usually looked down on Xu Jinhong, they were husband and wife after all, and seeing him in such a half-dead state, she couldn't bear it.

Trembling, she wanted to touch him, but was afraid of touching his serious injuries. Her rough, sallow hand remained there, motionless for a long time.

It was Xu Yunyun who reached out first to help Xu Jin'an, who was lying on the ground like a rag doll, to his feet. Guo Ailian then seemed to wake up from a dream and together they helped him lean against the sofa leg.

Guo Ailian choked up, but Xu Yunyun didn't cry.

"Mom, should Dad take his hand to the hospital?"

"Go, go."

Xu Guihua had slowly regained consciousness and was about to get up to take Xu Jinhong to the hospital when Xu Jinhong, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly shouted, "No, no, go to Baici Village, Baici Village."

His voice was almost hoarse, and combined with the bloodstains all over his body, it was truly a tragic sight.

Xu Guihua felt a sharp pain in her heart. She carefully supported Xu Jin'an and gently advised, "Jin Hong, listen to your mother, we need to go to the hospital."

"No, I won't go, I won't go to the hospital."

Xu Jinhong continued to resist. For some unknown reason, his face, which was usually unreadable, twisted in pain as he struggled violently: "I won't go. Disappear. Disappear."

Xu Guihua was afraid that the more he moved, the worse his injury would become, so she quickly pressed him down and said, "Okay, okay, we won't go. We'll bandage your hand at home. We won't go."

It took Xu Guihua and Guo Ailian more than ten minutes to bandage Xu Jinhong's severed finger. Perhaps the herbal water they had just given him had an effect, because the white cloth soon stopped bleeding.

Because Xu Jiangjiang was sleeping in the room, and Xu Jin'an was covered in injuries, he would cry out in pain whenever he was moved, so Xu Guihua stayed in place to clean him up.

Guo Ailian asked Xu Yunyun to fetch water and use a towel to wash Xu Jinhong's face. After the bloodstains were washed away, she discovered that half of his head and face, and even his mouth, were covered in blood and gore.

Upon seeing this, Xu Guihua's vision went black again, and she staggered. Fortunately, Xu Yunyun steadied her.

Seeing Xu Yunyun standing there idly, Xu Guihua vented all her anger and heartache on her. She reached out and pinched Xu Yunyun hard twice, her eyes red as she scolded, "Useless thing, you let your father get hurt like this. Go and clean your father's body."

Xu Yunyun's eyes, which had been dry all along, began to well up with tears. She knelt down and silently wiped Xu Jinhong's body.

Xu Nuo's gaze fell on Xu Yunyun with a hint of sympathy, but she said nothing. Seeing Xu Guihua about to take off Xu Jinhong's pants, she turned and went back to her room, closing the door behind her.

She sat back down at her desk, picked up her pen but couldn't bring herself to write.

There was always a strange feeling in my heart.

How did Xu Jinhong end up like this after just one trip? Not only is he covered in injuries, but two of his fingers have also been chopped off.

The strangest thing is that Xu Jinhong actually took the initiative to say that he wanted to go back to Baici Village.

The atmosphere at home was strange, and she couldn't stand it any longer. It just so happened that today was the day she was supposed to deliver herbal tea to the Su family.

Su Zhao has already gone to Shanghai, so now Xu Nuo delivers everything directly to the Su family.

She tidied up, packed the herbal tea in a small cloth bag, and went out. Xu Guihua and Guo Ailian were still busy when she left. Xu Jinhong had regained consciousness, and Xu Nuo heard him say, "Mother, we have to go back to Baici Village. We have to go back right away, or I will die."

Xu Guihua angrily said, "Who did this to you? I'll fight them to the death! Son, let's go call the police. Jin An is a leader, he'll definitely find a way to catch the person who harmed you, we..."

"Go back, go back to Baici Village, go back immediately."

Xu Jinhong became lost in his own world again, his eyes staring blankly as he kept making noises.

Xu Nuo gently closed the door.

Su Zhao's family lived in the military family compound, which was quite far from Xu Nuo's family. It would take her about half an hour to walk there.

There were no buses or taxis at that time, and Xu Nuo couldn't ride her tall and heavy Hongqi brand bicycle, so she could only walk there carrying a cloth bag of herbal tea.

The long street was lined with uniform military green uniforms, which, although somewhat monotonous, had a distinct flavor and character of the era. Xu Nuo stared at the crowd, watching with great interest, when suddenly a small commotion arose from the crowd not far away.

Xu Nuo glanced over and saw a tall, slender figure moving incredibly fast, flashing past in the crowd.

Four or five men in police uniforms followed closely behind.

Xu Nuo stopped in her tracks.

Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and there was some uncertainty in her eyes.

That figure just now...

He looks a bit like Li Xian.

She chased after it in that direction, following it all the way to the back gate of the fertilizer plant. There were only a few pedestrians out, and she didn't see anyone else.

Xu Nu blinked her big eyes, staring at her dusty shoes, thinking she must be seeing things. Li Xian must be working on the mountain at this time.

She lingered around the fertilizer plant for a while, carrying herbal tea, but hearing no sound, she had no choice but to head towards Su Zhao's house.

She was somewhat distracted along the way, walking with her head down, and almost bumped into the telephone pole lying across the street corner.

Luckily, someone pulled me out of there.

"Comrade, are you alright?"

Xu Nuo looked up and saw a young man pushing a bicycle standing in front of her, looking at her with concern.

"I...I'm fine, thank you." She quickly shook her head and thanked him politely, her voice as sweet as honey, making even the usually carefree Nie Wenkai blush. He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "It's nothing. You must be Comrade Xu Nuo?"

"Huh?" Xu Nuo's round eyes looked at him with a puzzled expression: "You know me?"

Nie Wenkai thought she looked exactly like the Ragdoll cat his aunt in the capital city kept—both noble and adorable, with eyes like the stars in the sky, and incredibly cute when she was surprised.

He straightened up and introduced himself solemnly.

"Hello, Comrade Xu Nuo. I've met you before. I'm Su Zhao's cousin, and my name is Nie Wenkai."