During this period, Bai Mei ate less and less. She deliberately ate less, worried that eating too much would make her belly grow too fast.
Bai Lan would wander around outside every night, looking for a chance to escape, and rest under the bed during the day.
Over time, she learned that this so-called Willow Garden was actually a back garden specifically for the Liu family.
Every night, men who come to sleep are over one meter tall; their main purpose is to reproduce.
Having witnessed so much of what happened, the once innocent Bai Lan became cold and hardened.
She had been observing for a long time. This Willow Garden was on the edge of town, and further east was a large mountain where many vicious dogs were kept.
She no longer trusted the people in this town. It was the townspeople who betrayed her in the first place. The fact that Willow Garden had been able to survive peacefully here for so many years showed that none of the townspeople were good people.
Looks like we need to find a way to get up the mountain.
"Sister, come with me tonight."
Upon hearing this, Bai Mei's face suddenly lit up: "Really?"
Bai Lan looked at her sister's sallow face and suddenly felt energetic, thinking that this decision was absolutely right.
Finally, it got dark, and the two of them kept their eyes open and waited patiently.
The night was quiet. Bai Lan held her sister's hand and skillfully strolled through the courtyards.
Bai Mei gazed greedily at her younger sister ahead. "Thank God, I've waited this long. Just hang in there a little longer."
When they arrived near the back of the mountain, the vicious dog was indeed lurking in the distance.
"Sister!" Bai Mei's heart leaped into her throat as she looked at the big dog in front of her.
Bai Lan pulled out raw meat from her bosom. She had stolen it from the kitchen beforehand and had also put a sleeping potion inside.
Because the women's meals needed to be mixed with a muscle-relaxing powder every day, this medicine was easy to find in the kitchen.
She threw the meat far away.
Several vicious dogs tentatively went over, took a bite, and began to wolf it down.
Bai Lan, holding her sister's hand, slowly walked around the vicious dog and tiptoed away. Just as they were about to reach the woods, the vicious dog suddenly began to bark wildly.
The two plunged into the woods.
The scenery flashed by quickly, and Bai Lan gripped her sister's hand tightly.
The menacing barks of the dogs, like whips, urged the two of them to keep walking.
She felt as if she could hear more and more footsteps approaching in the distance, and she didn't dare to turn around at all.
Bai Mei felt her breathing quicken and her stomach began to cramp. She knew that her health was probably not good.
Standing on the mountaintop, you can see the clear, moonlit water below.
"Sister, let's split up and run!"
"No, I don't trust you."
"Little sister, do you see the stream below? I'll run downstream, and you run upstream. Once you've succeeded, go downstream and find me."
"Sis! You haven't said exactly where to look for you yet."
"Let's go to the nearest city downstream. I'll wait for you at the city gate every day. Remember to come early." Bai Mei knew her sister wouldn't believe her if she didn't tell her the whole story.
Sure enough, when she said that, Bai Lan had a glimmer of hope and immediately believed her.
She stood there and glanced at her sister as she walked away. She then resolutely decided to walk downstream. Her stomach was hurting more and more, and she felt a warm flow coming out of her lower body.
She guessed the outcome, but didn't listen; instead, she quickened her pace.
The strong smell of blood on Bai Mei attracted the vicious dogs, and the thugs, carrying torches, followed the dogs.
She finally reached the riverbank. By then, she had bled a lot from her legs. She saw that the pursuers had reached the mountainside, where the lights were beginning to appear.
He took off one of his blood-stained shoes and placed it by the riverbank, then threw himself into the river's embrace, feeling relieved.
My dear sister! You must survive safely.
…
After recounting her experiences, Bai Lan picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and showed neither sadness nor joy.
"So, the Liu family is like a local tyrant in Jiangnan. This corner of the country is so dark. It's a good thing you came back back then, otherwise, you would probably be in grave danger."
Chu Tianling was also filled with emotion.
The Liu family has been raising so many Liu family members in Taohua Village outside Huangcheng for 15 years.
They even sent their clansmen to the palace to try and conceive royal offspring.
Is he trying to overthrow the imperial power?
Conspiracy theories flashed through his mind.
Shen Jiaojiao, having seen more of the world in modern times, guessed after hearing the story: "Bai Lan said that those who go to plant seeds at night are all short people. Could it be that the head of the Liu family is a dwarf and wants to improve his genes through children?"
Zhao Ruyue and the others had just returned from Jiangnan and were unaware of what had happened in the capital.
Moreover, he had never heard of the word "gene" before, and asked curiously, "Jiaojiao, what is gene modification?"
After Shen Jiaojiao shared her thoughts, she remained silent for a long time, lost in thought.
Combining this with the strange phenomena I'd previously discovered, the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
After thinking it through, Shen Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "I think this guess is very likely correct!"
"First of all, the villagers of Peach Blossom Village should be members of the Liu family. Their family should have dwarfism, and it's possible that their offspring, born from having children with normal people, could be normal."
"The biggest difference between dwarfs and normal people is around the age of fourteen. Normal people will grow taller at that time, while dwarfs will stop growing."
Chu Tianling seemed to understand something as well: "So the dossier said that every year, several households in Peach Blossom Village would report that their children died at that age. It's possible that those people didn't die and were taken back to Jiangnan."
Shen Jiaojiao had another idea. The virus she created before originated in Peach Blossom Village. Could it be that they were originally looking for a gene-altering drug, but ended up creating a virus instead?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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