"They must have been starving for a long time. Eating too much all at once would have made them bloated and they would have died. Look at their stomachs."

Ouyang Zhenyu pointed to the two children's bellies.

Everyone gasped in shock; the two children were far too thin.

He was basically skin and bones; his arms and legs looked like a skeleton supporting a head.

But now her once flat belly is round and plump, like a perfectly round watermelon.

The sight of such a large watermelon on such a thin and small body is frightening.

On the fifth day, he suddenly realized his mistake and looked at Ouyang Zhenyu with some guilt. If Xiao Jiang hadn't reminded him, he would have made a big mistake.

The village elders have also said that people who have been starving for a long time should never be allowed to eat and drink whatever they want.

That would really make you burst from overeating.

"Xiao Jiang is right, we were all wrong. This child will die from overeating if he keeps eating."

Old Six glanced at the two children's bellies and immediately shut his mouth. The condemning gazes that had been directed at Ouyang Zhenyu just moments before now turned into feelings of guilt.

"Xiao Jiang, I... I was wrong. I take back all the nonsense I just said."

Lao Liu was an honest man. He apologized while scratching his head, and his embarrassed look made Ouyang Zhenyu laugh.

“What’s this? You meant well. The children have been hungry for too long. Let them rest first, and we can ask them what happened in the village.”

To be precise, Lao Liu and Chu Wu didn't do anything wrong; it's just that they lacked common sense.

They were very kind-hearted, and if you only consider their intentions, they were genuinely kind to the two children.

The two children were disappointed that they could no longer eat, but they did not protest when facing the adults.

Instead, they sat obediently in front of Chu Wu, who was clearly the person they knew best.

With patient guidance from the fifth day of the lunar month, the children stumbled through their retelling of what had happened.

To be precise, the children were too young and could only see what had happened in their own yard.

To be precise, the two children were playing in the haystacks behind the house, which is why they escaped the disaster.

They only saw a few strangers carrying weapons.

The so-called weapons were just knives and sticks; they went into the house and took away all their parents, grandparents, and other family members.

The two children were terrified and could only hide inside the haystack.

However, this little boy named Xiaohuzi is very clever.

They were clearly very brave, hiding inside the haystack.

They also saw that there were about a dozen people, all young and strong men, and they had various weapons in their hands. The leader had a hunting rifle in his hand.

Their village chief, Uncle Liu, was injured.

His leg was limping and bleeding.

Everyone in the village was driven out of their yards, except for the two of them.

Men, women, and children—not one of them escaped; they were all taken away by these people.

They not only took them away, but also their bedding, clothes, and food.

There were several carts loaded with goods.

These people are oppressing the villagers.

They went into the back of the mountain and never came out again.

The two children were too young, and their retelling was somewhat fragmented.

Ouyang Zhenyu even touched the two children, but the information on their information panels wasn't very useful.

After settling the two children into the next room so they could rest, Ouyang Zhenyu and Chu Wu sat inside and discussed things.

"According to the two children's account, someone arrested Lao Liu and the others. They only took their clothes, pots and pans, food, and bedding."

After saying this on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, I was filled with confusion.

"This isn't right."

People usually kidnap others either for money or for revenge.

But the two children said that this group of people were strangers.

The villagers had never seen these people before. There couldn't be any grudge between them; it must be for money!

But who would be so blind as to come to the deep mountains and forests to capture Lao Liu and his men?

Old Liu and his friends are just running a small business. If their business were bigger, who would want to stay here?

They knew very well about Lao Liu's situation; Lao Liu wasn't much better off than the rest of their village.

"Yes, it's unlikely they're after money. After all, who would arrest all of the dozen or so households in the village just for money?"

Moreover, no one—men, women, young, or old—was left out.

They even took their food, bedding, and clothes; that's not normal. What family would do that for money?

Ouyang Zhenyu couldn't understand it either.

"This doesn't seem like it's about money; it seems more like it's about people?"

He nodded on the fifth day.

"Yes, but why arrest so many people just for their sake?"

Their place is in a remote area, how could anyone come to arrest them?

This isn't the feudal era, where you could just grab someone and make them a servant or slave.

I've never heard of the elderly and children needing both, or any kind of food, whether it's meat or vegetables.

It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

"Regardless of whether they were after money or people, according to the two children's descriptions, these people captured the entire village and drove them up the mountain."

Although we don't know where they went up the mountain, based on the information we have so far, they haven't been seen since.

The two children have been hiding in the woods for over a month, based on the clues from your last meeting with Lao Liu and the timeline up to this month.

It took about a month and a half in between.

What's behind this mountain?

I thought about it on the fifth day.

"Behind this mountain is a large river, and the river is very rapid."

The location is very bad.

Generally speaking, no one chooses to take this route across the mountain unless they possess extraordinary abilities.

There are many stones in the river; anyone who falls in will never survive.

Not only would a normal person not go that way, but even a daring person wouldn't have any reason to go that way.

Ouyang Zhenyu nodded.

"In other words, they went up the mountain not to cross it, but simply to get up the mountain."

He never appeared on the mountain again.

What does that prove?

"Prove what?"

"This proves that either they went to other places by detouring through the mountains, or they stayed on the mountains."

This is something that even Ouyang Zhenyu can't understand. Why would they choose to walk up the mountain for no reason?

"They should stay on the mountain. If they want to get around the mountain, there's no need to go up."

The path became even more difficult after we went up the mountain.

I am quite familiar with the surrounding geography, and Lao Liu led me around the area.

There are basically three routes to get to other places from here.

Of these three roads, one leads to the border, another to the town, and the third is a narrow, winding path that most people take on a risky journey.

"If a normal person wanted to cross a mountain, they couldn't possibly go anywhere by taking the mountain path. There's only one path on the mountain, and the only way to reach it is through the river behind the mountain."