"Right here!" A commotion suddenly erupted outside the inn's wooden door, startling the group inside who were brewing medicine.

"Oh no! That's Doctor Wang and Master Wang's voices! They must have found us!" Xiao Tao exclaimed anxiously.

"We absolutely cannot let them take the young lady back!"

Bang! The wooden door was kicked open violently, and the waiter ran in, shouting and looking distressed.

“If you’re looking for someone, I’ll show you the way. Why damage our inn’s wooden door? Those guests are right here; they can’t possibly run away…”

The waiter pointed inside, then stared wide-eyed as if he'd seen a ghost, because the room was completely empty.

Not to mention the child who had caught a cold and was running a fever, even the medicine pot he had just brought over to brew the medicine had disappeared.

"That's not right. I just heard noises inside, and there's still the medicine box in the room. How did it suddenly disappear?"

The waiter muttered to himself.

"Damn it, my daughter must have been taken away by that thief again!" Old Master Huai was furious.

“Master Huai, should we report this to the authorities? With their help, they can definitely find your daughter,” sighed Doctor Wang beside him.

"No, we absolutely cannot report this to the authorities! I will send someone to look for it myself. Doctor Wang, you should go back now!" Master Huai hurriedly ran away.

This puzzled Doctor Wang and the other guests. Why didn't the Huai family report their daughter missing to the authorities? Did they think that family scandals should not be aired in public? But is saving face more important than their daughter's life?

…

Inside a warm courtyard, Zhongheng put Xiaotao and Huaichan down.

The instant those people burst in, he had already left with the two people inside and all their belongings.

There was no way around it; he was just too fast. In the blink of an eye, he had brought several people into the mansion.

"Second Brother, you've arrived." Zhong Yan carried the charcoal brazier to a well-ventilated area. "I rented this house from a couple. They've already left Qingcheng, so no one will find out."

"Luckily we had a backup plan, otherwise Xiao Chan would have definitely caught a cold again if we had run out like this." Zhong Heng gently placed the little girl on the bed. When he saw the little girl open her eyes, he quickly pulled Xiao Tao over.

"You comfort Xiao Chan first, and my sister and I will think of a solution carefully."

"Second brother, what are you thinking? That person called Master Liu is definitely not ordinary. We definitely can't handle him." When Zhong Yan heard Xiao Tao's description, she subconsciously recalled the descriptions of demons and evil spirits.

She felt that Master Liu was very likely connected to evil spirits.

Perhaps the evil spirit lurking in the shadows had long coveted Xiao Chan's destiny, and its arrival at the Huai family now suggests it came prepared.

"Don't be afraid, we have the protection of the Mountain Goddess's wooden carving, nothing will happen," Zhongheng patted his sister's shoulder to comfort her.

Zhong Yan sighed inwardly, hoping so. She had a strong feeling that the guy hiding in the shadows was not someone to be trifled with.

…

The next day, Zhong Yan pushed open the courtyard gate and saw the world covered in white. The heavy snow had not stopped and seemed to be getting worse.

Children were playing outside, some riding on their fathers' shoulders, holding small wooden swords and poking around awkwardly.

Holding an oil-paper umbrella, she walked outside step by step and bought some food from a nearby stall.

The wind was biting cold outside, and the once bustling streets were unusually deserted. The merchants who were doing business all instinctively hunched their shoulders and warmed their hands by the stove.

"This snow is really heavy, and I don't know when it will stop. If it continues like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to do business."

"Yes, I remember Qingcheng has never had such heavy snow in previous years. Do you think it's because there have been a few murders in our county this year that the snow is so heavy?"

"I think it's possible. Maybe this is God speaking out for those who have been wronged."

Walking on the snow, Zhong Yan listened to everything they said and seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems a lot has happened in Qingcheng. Could it be related to that evil spirit?

As Zhong Yan pondered this, she walked to a steamed bun shop.

This steamed bun shop had more customers, so she was able to get more information from there.

However, even ordinary people know very little about this. From what she has pieced together, she only knows that a few families in Qingcheng were completely wiped out. It is said that even the chickens, ducks, and geese in the families were killed. She doesn't know if it was a revenge killing or to destroy evidence.

"Sir, your two baskets of steamed buns!" the waiter called out, pulling Zhong Yan back to reality.

"Wrap these up for me, I'll take them home to eat." Zhong Yan took the two oil paper packages, but when she turned around, she saw a thinly dressed boy squatting on the steps, his expression unusually numb.

She thought for a moment, then walked up to the child.

The boy's hair was completely covered by snowflakes, and after a night of heavy snow, it was now frozen solid.

"Have a hot bun." Zhong Yan squatted down and stuffed two buns into the little guy's mouth.

“Sir, you are truly kind-hearted. This little fellow is indeed quite pitiful. I heard that his whole family was murdered, and he only managed to escape by sheer luck.”

"How can there be such despicable thieves in Qingcheng? They've killed several families in succession. Now everyone in Qingcheng is living in fear, and even the officials don't dare to go out on business!"

"If my family hadn't been so desperate for money, I wouldn't even have wanted to keep this steamed bun shop open. You didn't see what happened back then; it was blood everywhere, it was terrifying!"

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