I was also standing far away from A Wen. Sweat had silently trickled down my jaw and dripped into the mud.
"......Hey!!"
Suddenly, I heard Shitou's mother shout, pointing at a certain direction.
Immediately, a soldier ran over and grabbed the person squatting there.
"Sir, please spare our lives!!"
The one being grabbed was an old woman with white hair. Two people beside her, seemingly her descendants, were crying out miserably for mercy. "We are just famine refugees. We really don't have any money to offer you..."
"......N-No!"
The people Shitou's mother pointed at all had white hair, which was particularly conspicuous in the pre - dawn light. I quietly glanced at Granny Bai, who was calmly squatting not far away. Her hair was now as black as a raven's feathers...
Right! Granny Bai was a hedgehog spirit. She could control her appearance and age!
Sweat had broken out on Shitou's mother's forehead. Her hands holding little Shitou began to tremble.
"You bitch! This is already the fourth group of people you've misidentified! Are you making fun of our commander?"
The soldier who had gone to grab the people was obviously annoyed by Shitou's mother's random pointing. He rammed the butt of his gun into her back.
"Ouch!"
Shitou's mother staggered forward. In pain, she hugged little Shitou tightly and began to cry softly.
Little Shitou was being squeezed so tightly by his mother that he couldn't breathe. He also started to cry loudly.
The soldier seemed to want to show off in front of the man surnamed Si. He reached out to grab little Shitou's arm. "Do you think it's easy to get the reward of ten silver dollars? If you can't find the person today, I'll smash this kid to death!!"
"Sir, I was wrong!! I wasn't doing this for the money. I... I just wanted to do good for Sister Xiaohe, so I agreed to lead you to find the person."
Shitou's mother knelt down in front of the large crowd of refugees squatting on the ground, crying. "Sister Xiaohe, I know you're here! You're kind - hearted. Please come out. Otherwise, my Shitou will lose his life!!"
"......"
I took a deep breath. A Wen beside me reached out and grabbed my tightly - clenched fist.
I knew what he meant.
I wasn't going to be a naive do - gooder. She should bear the consequences of her own choices!
"Sister Xiaohe!! Granny Bai... Please have mercy on our mother - and - son! Little Shitou, quickly kowtow!"
Shitou's mother was like a crazy woman. She pressed little Shitou's head to the ground. "Aunt Xiaohe doesn't understand. Going with the military sir means a life of comfort. We just want to help her!"
[Xiaohe, don't move. Don't raise your head.]
Suddenly, Granny Bai's faint voice came into my ear. I quickly lowered my head even more. I tilted my face and secretly glanced at Granny Bai. She was still calmly squatting on the ground. Not a single change showed on her face.
[There was a cinnabar talisman planted on your forehead by that man. Although I've already treated you with acupuncture to remove it, you still can't be careless...]
Granny Bai's voice directly appeared in my mind. I simply hugged my head with both hands and curled up into a ball between my knees.
"Forget it!"
I suddenly heard the cold voice of the man surnamed Si. "Since the person isn't here, set up the machine guns!"
The soldier who had rammed Shitou's mother with the gun butt immediately responded. "Damn it! You go over there too!"
He pushed Shitou's mother and little Shitou into the crowd of refugees.
There was a rattling sound of firearms. The soldiers had already raised their guns.
"Du Xinghe, I don't know if you're here..."
The man surnamed Si rode his horse, the hooves clattering on the muddy ground. "There are one or two hundred people here. Although lives are cheap in these chaotic times, if you like to watch the scene of blood flowing like a river, I can make them perform it for you!"
"Waaah..."
As little Shitou was pinched by his mother and cried loudly, all the other children among the refugees also began to wail.
"Quickly beg Aunt Xiaohe to save us..."
Shitou's mother's plea was mixed in.
"Aunt Xiaohe... Waaaa!!"
"Save us..."
...
The innocent cries rang out in chorus. Not just little Shitou, but all the children, big and small, among the refugees were shouting.
I let out a soft sigh and stood up from the ground.
"Miss!!"
A Wen still wanted to grab my hand, but then I saw a huge black shadow charging towards us.
I only saw the rising sun leaping up from the horizon behind that shadow. My vision instantly turned white. Then, a huge force grabbed my arm and dragged me onto the horse's back!
"Du Xinghe, do you think you can escape from my grasp?!"
The cold sneer of that bastard surnamed Si rang in my ear. "You've been on the run for so long. My patience is almost worn out!"
"Why are you grabbing me?!"
I was too lazy to struggle. "You've already massacred Duyang Town. Just kill me too! Why go through all this trouble?!"
"Du Xinghe, you're wrong!"
That bastard surnamed Si slightly narrowed his eyes and reached out to hold my chin. "It was you who massacred Duyang Town... Although I sealed your senses with cinnabar, I shouldn't have erased your memory, right?"
"Nonsense!"
My jaw was being pinched so painfully that I reached out to grab his neck. "How could I possibly have the ability to kill everyone in the whole town? It was all you gun - wielding bandits who killed and looted, and now you're framing me!!!"
The man surnamed Si had a very strong neck. I could feel the blood vessels throbbing under my cold fingers.
I couldn't help but swallow... I hadn't had a chance to eat since I went to save little Shitou last night, and after running away for so long, my stomach was growling with hunger.
I... I really wanted to bite this bastard to death!
A thought suddenly rose in my mind, but then the words of that white wolf echoed in my ear.
If you try to bite someone again, it will be the end of "you"!
I couldn't help but shiver.
That bastard surnamed Si also seemed to be surprised that I would resist and grab his neck.
He let out a cold laugh and actually lowered his head and bit down on my neck.
"Ahhh!!!"
I was almost scared to death. His slightly cold lips were pressed against my skin. I could feel his teeth biting into my flesh. The painful and itchy feeling made my heart contract. I struggled and screamed in his arms. I stopped grabbing his neck and started to push his chest desperately, trying to break free.
"Help! Help..."
I didn't even dare to scream too loudly, because the harder I struggled, the tighter he seemed to suck.
Finally, I was tortured by that painful, itchy and uncomfortable feeling to the point of tears. My heart felt as if it had been trampled on by an elephant and was almost about to stop beating...
I didn't know how long it took, but finally that bastard left my neck.
I quickly covered my neck. Fortunately, there was no broken skin or blood!
"......You! You bastard! Why are you biting me?!!"
I reached out to wipe the tears on my face and slapped him across the face!