"Did anyone come to ask about us last night?"
The proprietress hesitated for a moment. "A man in a suit and a gold watch asked if there were two women staying at the hotel. I said no."
Zhang Shumin's expression became serious: "When did he leave?"
"No," the landlady's voice lowered. "He's staying in the hotel across the street. His window faces this way."
Feng Yulan's breath hitched. The man with the gold watch was right across from her! Their every move might be under his watch.
"Where is the back door?" Zhang Shumin suddenly asked.
The proprietress pointed in the direction of the kitchen and said, "Through the kitchen, there's a small courtyard with a low wall."
Five minutes later, they had climbed over the slippery courtyard wall and landed in a sewage-filled alley. Zhang Shumin led the way, walking quickly, looking back from time to time to check if they were being followed.
The town had just woken up, with wisps of smoke rising from the breakfast stalls. A few elderly men doing morning exercises looked curiously at the two strangers who were in a hurry.
"Where are we going now?" Feng Yulan asked breathlessly. Her fever had just subsided, and her legs were still weak.
Zhang Shumin stopped at a fork in the road, seemingly lost in thought. Feng Yulan noticed her gaze lingering for a few seconds on a roadside utility pole—it was covered with advertisements, but there was a brand new missing person notice, and the photo was of Zhang Shuo!
"Don't look anymore, just go this way." Zhang Shumin pulled her into a small path leading up the mountain.
"That's Zhang Shuo's photo!" Feng Yulan struggled to turn around. "It says 'A generous reward for any clues...'"
"A trap." Zhang Shumin said without turning her head. "Old Jin's usual trick."
The path grew steeper and steeper, and the trees on both sides grew denser and denser. Feng Yulan's shoes were soon covered in mud, and every step she took felt like she was stepping on lead blocks.
Zhang Shumin was surprisingly agile, stopping from time to time to wait for her but refusing to rest.
"Where are we going?" Feng Yulan asked for the third time.
This time, Zhang Shumin answered, "The place where I worked in the queues when I was young. There... there were people who would help us."
Feng Yulan was surprised to find a hint of tenderness in her mother-in-law's eyes, an expression she had never seen before.
What does that remote mountain village mean to Zhang Shumin? An old lover? An old friend? Or just a hiding place?
At noon, they rested in a pavilion halfway up the mountain. Feng Yulan wolfed down the bread the landlady had given her, while Zhang Shumin stood at the edge of the pavilion, sending a few messages on Feng Yulan's phone. Then she took out the SIM card, broke it in half, and threw it down the valley.
"Is someone following us?" Feng Yulan asked nervously.
"A precautionary measure." Zhang Shumin sat back down and explained, "Cellphone signals can be used for positioning."
Feng Yulan's heart tightened as she thought of her scheduled email. If the police were really after them, the evidence might have already been sent. Should she tell Zhang Shumin?
"Mom," she asked tentatively, "what if... I mean, what if the police find us first?"
Zhang Shumin's eyes became sharp: "Did you call the police?"
"No!" Feng Yulan quickly denied, "I'm just... worried."
Zhang Shumin stared at her for a few seconds, as if trying to judge her authenticity. "Police officers are safer than Lao Jin, but not by much."
She paused, "Zhang Shuo is involved in something so serious that it would be a crime for us to know and not report it."
Feng Yulan was silent.
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