"Ayu? Xiaoxiao, open the door, I'm back!"

A familiar voice came from through a thin wooden door.

Hua Li's tense heart relaxed in just a moment, and then an overwhelming wave of grievances that had been suppressed for two days came to her mind.

My sister is back...

After a while, clear footsteps were heard from inside. Hua Shi also heard a sound from the courtyard gate, as if something was blocking the door and was then moved away by someone.

“Dang—”

The wooden door was opened from the inside.

"Wow, wow, wow... it's really my sister who's back!"

No one was seen, and Hua Li's choked voice came from the door frame.

"…What's wrong?"

Hua Shi was stunned for a moment, then quickly stuffed everything in his hand into Xie Mingchi's hands and walked quickly into the door.

After hearing Hua Shi's familiar voice, Hua Li could no longer suppress her feelings of grievance. She sobbed and wiped away the tears with her hands.

Hua Xiao, standing in front of the well, spat out the water in her mouth, wiped the wet water marks on her face, and turned her head to look towards the gate of the courtyard.

There were no lights on in the yard, and the light was dim, making the view gray. Even if you stood close, you could only vaguely see the outline of a person's figure, which was blurry.

Hua Shi didn't understand what was going on. Hua Li cried so hard that she couldn't say a word.

I saw a low figure standing by the well, "Xiaoxiao?"

"I am here."

Hua Xiao's voice was a little choked.

Hua Shi patted Hua Li who was still sobbing, and walked into the house in the dark. After a while, he came out holding a lit oil lamp.

The dark courtyard was illuminated, and Hua Shi could see clearly that something was visibly wrong with Hua Xiao and Hua Li.

Hua Li covered her tearful eyes with her hands and wiped them away. She cried too much and was having trouble breathing, so she took deep breaths.

Hua Xiao leaned sideways and tilted his head to look at her, tears seemed to be flashing in his dark eyes.

There was no sign of Hua Yu and Hua Ying.

"Where's my second brother?"

“Wuwuwu…”

When Hua Li heard Hua Shi mention her second brother, she cried even more sadly.

Hua Xiao couldn't help sobbing and said, "My second brother is missing. He hasn't come back for two days. We don't know where he went..."

Hua Shixin choked, calmed himself, and asked, "Gone? How could it be gone?"

Hua Xiao rubbed his eyes, recalling what had happened in the past two days, and whispered, "I only know that it was Li Shou who called my second brother into the mountains, but last night when it got dark, only Li Shou and his friends came back, but my second brother didn't. I went to Li Shou's house to ask why my second brother didn't come back, and they said that my second brother fell off a cliff and couldn't come back..."

At the end, Hua Xiao's voice was choked with sobs. After swallowing through her dry throat, she continued, "I didn't believe what they said. I wanted to find someone to go into the mountains to look for my second brother, but Li Shou and the others stopped us. Whenever Hua Li and I went out, they would throw stones to stop us...and my second brother never came back."

Hua Xiao rubbed her red eyes, and the grievances she had been suppressing showed through her pupils.

Hua Shi's brows furrowed deeper as he listened, and his gaze suddenly paused, "Xiao Xiao, what's wrong with your face?"

She stepped forward and lifted Hua Xiao's face with her hand. In the dim light, she could clearly see that half of her face was swollen and the corner of her lip seemed to be broken.

Hua Xiao drooped her eyelids, which trembled slightly. She lowered her head, as if she was a little afraid to speak.

"Were they also beaten by Li Shou's group?"

When Hua Shi asked this question, the anger in his eyes almost overflowed.

Hua Xiao didn't say anything, and kept his head down without raising it. This action just confirmed what Hua Shiwen said.

"Bring the flowers and bamboo here!"

Song and Zhu, who were standing outside the gate of the courtyard, seemed to have noticed what had happened in the courtyard. They did not come in immediately with anything, but stood outside the door and observed carefully.

Hearing Hua Shi's shout, Hua Zhu sighed softly, holding the medicine jar, and ran in.

The barefoot doctor said that this medicine can stop bleeding and reduce swelling. He dug some of the flowers and applied the black medicine on the swollen face.

Hua Xiao gritted her teeth as the medicine was applied to the wound, causing a stinging sensation. Her facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

"Sister, what should we do now? My second brother is missing..."

Hua Li had stopped sobbing, and after calming down, she looked at Hua Shiwen helplessly and anxiously.

Li Shou's group said that his second brother was dead, but he didn't believe it at all. As long as he didn't see his second brother's body, he must still be alive. He was just... just trapped in the mountains, lost, and might not have found his way back...

Now my elder sister is back. She used to go into the mountains often and is familiar with the roads there. She will definitely be able to find my second brother!

This thought flashed through Hua Li's mind in an instant, and he looked at Hua Shi with hope in his eyes.

Hua Shi glanced at the messy yard and didn't see Xiaobai and Shiyi.

There was a dog and a fox at home, so no outsider could break in no matter what. Those people named Li Shou probably didn't break into the house...

"Where are Xiaobai and Eleven?"

Hua Li wiped her tears, her face dazed for a moment, as if she had just realized that the dog and the fox were missing. Recalling the past, she said, "Xiaobai and the others went into the mountains to hunt. After my second brother disappeared, I haven't seen them for several days."

Flower frowned.

I hope those two didn't run into the mountains to look for Hua Yu. According to Hua Li, they have been gone for almost two days.

Shiyiyuan was a wild beast of the mountains and forests, and was very familiar with the mountain paths. If he had followed the scent to find Huayu, after so much time had passed, he should have found her by now. As for why he hadn't returned in such a long time, he must have encountered some trouble in the mountains...

Hua Shi raised his eyes to look at the dark sky. The crescent moon that was originally hanging in the sky was covered by the dense dark clouds at some point.

"Ashi, I'll go call the villagers to look for it together..." Xie Mingchi stood not too far away, but he heard the conversation between the three siblings clearly.

When Jianhua looked up at the sky, he guessed what she was planning, that she was going into the mountains to look for someone.

The forest in Linhai Mountain is large and the terrain is complex. Whenever someone goes into the mountain and disappears, the villagers will be gathered together. With the strength of numbers, they can go look for the person together.

Hua Shi shook his head and said, "No need. I'll just take Xiao Hei with me. Ming Chi, you come with me into the mountains."

As she spoke, she walked forward and picked up the black cat that was swaying on the ground. She turned to Hua Xiao and Hua Li behind her and said, "You stay home and wait for me to come back."

Hua Shi came out of the yard with the cat in her arms and Xie Mingchi in her arms, and saw Song Zhu and the other man standing outside the door frame, at a loss, as if they were afraid to go into the yard.

When they saw Hua Shi and the other person come out, Hua Song and Hua Zhu gave them an uneasy look.

"You two move the things in and wait for me in the yard."

Hua Shi casually gave a word of advice and took Xie Mingchi to the direction of Lin Haishan without stopping.

The sky was dark, and with the dim light of the oil lamp in my hand, I could see the road under my feet clearly, heading all the way into the mountains...

…