After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 1 Xinghua Village

Jiangcheng, China; Quanwen Town; Xinghua Village.

Jiang Shu, wearing thick, large, dark-rimmed glasses and carrying a canvas bag, stood at the village entrance, silently watching the villagers who came to see her off.

A large, imposing group, their faces sallow and emaciated, their clothes patched up, looked like refugees fleeing a famine, their poverty and hardship evident in every way.

At this moment, the villagers' eyes were filled with reluctance.

Li Erniang took out a neatly folded handkerchief, unwrapped it like a nesting doll, revealing a pile of crumpled banknotes inside:
"Honey, take good care of yourself at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School. Here's a huge sum of 56.8 yuan. Buy whatever you need!"

Uncle Zhou's rough hands adjusted her glasses: "There are many bad people outside. These glasses are something I got from a temple in the mountains. They can ward off evil spirits. Never take them off in front of people..."

Uncle Shen, the village's barefoot doctor, earnestly advised: "Make sure you memorize the number of the only telephone in our village. If you are bullied outside, just call it."

Jiang Shu tentatively asked, "How about I not go to Jiangcheng?"

Village Chief Yang trembled slightly: "No way! You are the hope of the whole village! We're all waiting for you to return home in glory! Besides, this poor, desolate place can't compare to the colorful world outside!"

Butcher Tang shook the pig-slaughtering knife in his hand: "When you get into university, Grandpa will personally slaughter a pig to hold a celebration for your graduation!"

Jiang Shu's mother, Jiang Liuyun, tugged at Jiang Shu's sleeve: "The oxcart from the next village is going to the city to buy goods. Let's go, or they won't wait for us if we're late."

Jiang Shu was practically dragged away by Jiang Liuyun, turning back every few steps. Hundreds of villagers were still waiting at the village entrance, waving goodbye to her with tears in their eyes.

"Mom, are people outside just as good as people in our village?"

"Outside?" Jiang Liuyun smoothed his gray hair, his tone slightly indifferent. "There are all sorts of demons and monsters out there. The person who smiles at you one moment might send you to hell the next."

"Then why are you all hoping I'll leave?"

Jiang Liuyun turned around and looked at the endless mountain range, which seemed to be hiding countless spying eyes.

“Because,” Jiang Liuyun squinted, “there’s the taste of freedom outside.”

Village entrance.

A group of villagers craned their necks like statues, staring in the direction Jiang Shu had left, for a long time afterward…

Village Chief: "Widow Jiang's location is five miles away. At that distance, Shubao can't launch a surprise attack—we don't need to pretend anymore."

It was as if a spell had been broken. Someone ripped out a head of gray hair, revealing strands of soft, black silk...

Someone casually peeled off the withered skin, revealing a stunning second face underneath...

Someone took out a priceless blue diamond necklace from their pocket and put it on...

Old Yang took off his patched coat, revealing a Tang suit embroidered with gold thread underneath: "Old Tang, I heard you got a box of top-quality cigars a few days ago, get me one when you get back?"

Li Erniang pulled a makeup remover wipe from the patch and gently wiped her face, turning her sallow skin white: "Give me one too, I've been under a lot of pressure lately."

Hundreds of people slowly walked back.

The originally hunched, unkempt, and simple villagers gradually transformed in the afterglow of the setting sun into a fierce, noble, chilling, and eerie spectacle of demonic chaos...

On the swaying oxcart, Jiang Shu looked back at the rolling mountains and held her mother's wrinkled hand:
"Mom, don't worry, I will study hard and earn money so that the village can live a better life in the future."

Jiang Liuyun reflexively withdrew his hand, subtly smoothing the slightly deformed wrinkles on the back of his hand: "Good, the whole village is looking forward to it! The mountain road is difficult to travel, so don't return home easily if you don't make a name for yourself!"

Jiang Shu nodded: "I won't return home until I'm in glory!"

Small Theater:

One leisurely afternoon.

The villagers of Xinghua Village lazily basked in the sun and chatted.

The old village chief puffed on his cigarette, thinking to himself, "Finally, I've managed to fool Shubao out of here! All these years of pretending in front of her have been so tiring!"

Li Erniang, cracking melon seeds, asked Jiang Liuyun, "After graduating from high school, where do you plan to persuade her to go for university?"

Jiang Liuyun: "The capital city is not bad."

Li Erniang raised an eyebrow: "Her scumbag father has immense power in the capital. Aren't you afraid he'll try to take Shubao away from you? I've heard that the child his mistress had isn't his, and he's been searching for Shubao everywhere all these years."

“What are you afraid of?” Jiang Liuyun asked in a low voice. “We also have people in the capital.”

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(End of this chapter)