A number of children, both big and small, had gathered in the Xu family's courtyard. These were children who had gone to the stream early in the morning but had returned empty-handed.

"Xu Mao, where did your family catch such a big fish yesterday? Take us to see it!"

"Yes, it broadens our horizons too."

Xu Mao, Xu Wen, and Xu Wu were surrounded by the crowd. At first, they were very proud and said that they would take them to catch fish, but then it didn't work out.

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"No, if I take you there, you'll catch all the fish, and what will we eat?" Xu Mao's eyes darted around, and he made up an excuse to brush it off.

They weren't there yesterday, so they don't know how the fish was caught, but they've already made the boast, and they can't go back on their word.

They were all friends who played together, and they all said that these brothers were very stingy. They were about to leave when Fu Man'er came out of the house with her short legs.

"There are no more fish." She could already hear these people talking from inside the house.

"What? There are no fish left, Fu Man'er? Are you just like your brother, stingy and not telling us where the fish are?" The person who said this was Wang Erdan.

He was filled with regret and refused to let Wang Erni go out with him today, all because of his troublesome younger sister. Otherwise, his family would have been able to eat fish and meat yesterday.

"There really aren't any left." Fu Man'er said earnestly, but no one believed her. They all rushed out and, unwilling to give up, ran towards the stream again.

The adults of the Xu family were all out busy with other things, and Xu Yi went for a stroll in the back mountain. Under the care of her three older brothers, Fu Man'er drank a bowl of fish soup, ate a pancake, and went out to play with them despite her pregnant belly.

Now that the children have all gone to the stream, Xu Mao and his friends, having nothing else to do, simply strolled over as well. These three are not as composed as Xu Yi.

Seeing that Fu Man'er was walking slowly, he picked her up and ran. She was so full that she almost threw up from the jostling. Finally, she struggled to get down and let the three Xu brothers go play first. She then strolled along slowly with her little steps.

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Last night, she overheard her parents whispering about making money. She also wanted to help her family earn money, but how could she do that? As her soul drifted around, she saw many things.

But at the time, she was so focused on drooling over the delicious food that she never imagined she would face this situation herself.

Oh, Fu Man'er, with her little hands behind her back and her brows furrowed in worry, didn't notice a person walking out from the intersection ahead.

"Ouch." The person in front wasn't looking where they were going, and the two bumped into each other. Fortunately, neither of them was walking fast, and Fu Man'er covered her head and took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Fu Man'er apologized quickly. The girl she bumped into was a little girl who was a bit taller than her.

The little girl glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the foot of the mountain.

Fu Man'er didn't know what it meant either. She wanted to follow and ask, but the other person walked fast and left Fu Man'er far behind in the blink of an eye.

The children by the stream, unable to find any fish, had started playing wildly in the water. Fu Man'er wanted to join them, but her second aunt's admonitions kept echoing in her ears. If she got her clothes wet, her second aunt would get angry again.

Just as she was in a dilemma, a strange smell suddenly came to her nose. Was it fragrant? When she followed the smell, she found that the smell had stopped.

The scent appeared and disappeared intermittently. Fu Man'er focused intently on smelling it again and unknowingly walked towards the deepest part of the stream, where there was a cliff, covered by many tree branches, and no one usually went there.

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Xu Yi heard a commotion down below while he was on the mountain. He saw his younger brother playing by the stream and thought that Fu Man'er should be there too, so he went over.

But when he went over to look, Xu Yi grabbed his younger brother, who was thrashing about the most. "Xu Mao, where's your sister?"

"She's playing over there." He had just seen his sister squatting down and picking up pebbles. "Right there."

He pointed and was completely dumbfounded. "Where's Man'er? She was just here a moment ago!"

Xu Yi really wanted to slap him. "Has anyone seen our Man'er?" he shouted, and the people playing around looked up.

Many people shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen it. Someone whispered, "It looks like they went inside."

It refers to the very end of the stream, the cliff.

Xu Yi lifted his leg and walked inside. His three younger brothers, no longer caring about playing, quickly followed. Wang Erdan, who was always close to them, hesitated for a moment and then followed as well.

The Xu brothers might be sneaking off to catch fish; he has to follow them and not let them get away with it.

Fu Man'er found it increasingly difficult to walk further in. The small stones were covered in moss, and she could easily slip and fall. She walked unsteadily, but the fragrance kept urging her to go further in.

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"Huh?" Fu Man'er vaguely saw a person under the tree in front of her. Wasn't this the girl she bumped into earlier?

She slipped and slid as she walked over, asking, "Sister, what are you doing here?"

The girl seemed startled, dropping what she was holding – a rope.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Fu Man'er asked again when the girl didn't answer.

Seeing that she still didn't speak, Fu Man'er simply squatted down. She was tired after walking for so long.

Why doesn't this older sister speak? Is she unable to speak?

Fu Man'er's small face was filled with great confusion, her eyes were very clear. The girl only glanced at her before turning her head away, picking up the hemp rope that had fallen to the ground, and walking back.

Oh dear, she hasn't rested enough yet, why did she leave?

She had gone through a lot of trouble to get in, but when she saw that older woman, she was curious and hesitated whether to follow her.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, several rocks fell from the cliff and shattered into pieces.

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Although there was some distance between them, Fu Man'er was still too scared to move because stones were still falling from above.

Fu Man'er craned her neck high, and the cliff seemed endless. The rocks falling from above looked tiny, but as she approached the ground, she realized how big they were.

"Step back." A hoarse voice came. The girl had returned at some point and reached out to pull Fu Man'er back a little. The broken stones flew quite far and landed in front of them.

"It can talk?" Fu Man'er glanced at her sideways, wanting to speak to her again.

Suddenly, a loud "bang" made Fu Man'er's ears go numb.

At the same time, Xu Yi and the others who had rushed over also heard the sound and anxiously called out, "Man'er, Man'er, where are you?"

"Sister, sister."

Fu Man'er heard their voices, but she was stunned by the scene before her.