Looking back now, that feeling of discomfort I had when I first entered the village was really strange!
It's like... a pack of hungry wolves eyeing a pile of fat meat!
This incredible thought flashed through his mind in an instant and wouldn't leave! Qin Qing was so shocked that he froze on the spot.
Suddenly, slow footsteps echoed from inside the house…
Qin Qing suddenly snapped back to reality, pressed her body tightly against the wall, her mind highly tense, her eyes fixed on the doorway beside her.
In the stillness of the night, only the light footsteps grew closer!
"Squeak..."
The door opened!
A pair of withered old hands reached out and slowly opened the door. The candlestick in their hands reflected the hunched body on the floor, and the old man turned away to hide the expression on his face…
Qin Qing's face turned pale, and she subconsciously held her breath. Her heart was pounding faster and faster. Fortunately, the night was too dark, and the gray linen clothes she was wearing were roughly the same color as the walls. The old man held a candlestick in his hand, casting her shadow in the darkness. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see Qin Qing's figure at all.
The old man closed the door with one hand and walked straight to the small mud house on the right. The sound of his footsteps grew fainter and fainter, as if he were drifting through the darkness, which was very eerie!
Qin Qing stood frozen, watching as the old man stood at the window of the earthen house where Zhang He slept, the light reflecting the scene inside!
Clearly, when the old man went to their room earlier, it was too dark to see clearly, so he went to get a candlestick. But for some reason, he chose to go to Zhang He's room first this time.
Even though she was standing quite far away, she could still clearly see Zhang He lying on the bed inside the small mud house. Just as she was considering whether to quietly approach, she heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the door…
Seeing a large group of people approaching, she quickly looked around, searching for cover! In the empty courtyard, a pile of bamboo baskets suddenly appeared in front of her. Without thinking, she rushed over and managed to hide herself just before the gate opened.
Through the holes in the bamboo basket, Qin Qing stared in disbelief at the scene before her.
More than a dozen people walked in from outside, carrying torches and with gloomy faces! Two of them were supporting Shaoyao, who had fainted for some unknown reason, and were talking quietly to the people next to them.
The old woman emerged from the crowd, a sinister smile playing on her lips in the firelight. Her face, as withered as tree bark, looked even more terrifying! In the darkness, she resembled a demon crawling out of hell, sending shivers down one's spine.
Qin Qing was taken aback. If the old woman was here, then who was the hunched old man who had just come out of the house carrying a candlestick?
Just as she was feeling nervous and surprised, the old woman suddenly spoke up!
"It's almost time..."
The old woman muttered to herself, and upon hearing this, the person beside her strode into the house, while another group went directly to Qin Qing's room...
Seeing this, she subconsciously glanced worriedly at the large tree on the inside of the courtyard. The carriage was quietly sitting in place, without any abnormality. It seemed that Qin Zifeng had listened to her and hid nearby with Xiao Muxing.
"Clang..."
Hearing the sound, Qin Qing quickly turned her head to look, but inadvertently tugged at the bamboo basket, the slight noise instantly attracting the old woman's attention...
Suddenly, those cloudy, yellowish, old eyes turned sharply and stared intently at her location!
Qin Qing turned pale with fright, a chilling, suffocating feeling washing over her...
The old woman seemed to realize something was wrong and started to walk over. This action made Qin Qing even more nervous. She bit her lip, not daring to make a sound, slowly adjusted her breathing, and looked around again, thinking about how to fight back without being caught.
After all, the dozen or so people from before had gone into the house, leaving only the old woman and one other woman in the yard, so she still had a chance of winning.
Just then, a wail suddenly came from Zhang He's house, instantly startling the entire night. The old woman looked up sharply, her face contorted in pain, and the path beneath her feet suddenly changed direction.
Seeing this, Qin Qing breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then became worried again. Seeing that no one was in the courtyard, she quickly crawled out of the bamboo basket and ran straight to the big tree, untying the carriage reins as she whispered.
"You two go first, we'll be there shortly!"
After saying that, he saw the two little ones sitting in the carriage. Ignoring their surprised and suspicious expressions, he pushed the horse towards the door.
This series of movements inevitably made some noise, but fortunately the horse was quite docile, its gait was very steady, and it didn't neigh...
Qin Qing was surprised to notice this. He wondered what kind of horse it was. It was not only very intelligent but also very patient. It had traveled for many days without any problems and seemed to be in very good physical condition.
She never asked Qianbaiwan what kind of horse it was. Ever since she borrowed it when she rescued Zhang He from Huamanlou, she had never returned it to Qianbaiwan.
Now it seems this horse is quite unusual...
Horse: How ignorant! Haven't you ever seen an Akhal-Teke horse? I'm worth a fortune!! Even though I'm just a cart puller now…
After the carriage left the courtyard, Qin Qing quickly ran back and saw a group of people surrounding the old woman, all of them looking anxious and agitated.
He was still saying something like "disappeared," or "ran away"...
They must have already discovered that everyone in their house is missing!
At the same time, Qin Qing also spotted Zhang He crouching in the corner, looking terrified and flustered, with Xiao Muyue in her arms, also terrified.
The sudden appearance of this group of people clearly startled Zhang He and frightened Xiao Muyue.
At this moment, Qin Qing suddenly noticed something, and her entire expression changed! Zhang He, hiding in the corner, was disheveled, her hair loose, and she looked terrified. This wasn't just because of the group of people who had suddenly appeared; it seemed…
Thinking of a certain possibility, and recalling the old man who had walked in with a hunched back and a lamp, Qin Qing suddenly became somewhat angry.
Damn old man! He actually thought... Luckily, it seems nothing serious happened; he was probably disturbed by the old woman's people.
"Old woman, the person has run away... what should we do?"
The old woman chuckled softly upon hearing this, a hint of coldness flashing in her cloudy eyes.
"What are you afraid of? Where could they run to so late at night? There's only one village within a hundred miles of us. With no food or water, how far could they go? I saw it during the day; there wasn't a single thing to eat on their cart!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang He, who was on the ground, paused in his panicked state and looked around, but did not find any familiar figures. When he recalled what the person had just said about the person running away, his face turned pale, and he was lost in thought.
Just as the group was getting anxious, an old, wrinkled, lewd hand reached out from the corner and went straight for Zhang He's buttocks, scaring her into screaming again!
"ah!"
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