A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

The bowl and chopsticks in Su Xiulan's hands crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

The color drained from her face instantly, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Da'an... my Da'an..."

The woman, who usually gritted her teeth and endured no matter how hard or tiring things were, seemed to have lost her backbone at this moment. She swayed and was only able to be supported by Gu Jianguo.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

Gu Jianguo said this, but his heart sank to the bottom.

Although Da'an lives in his own world, he never runs around or leaves home without saying goodbye.

"Mommy, don't cry!"

Nuannuan, who had been sitting quietly on the small stool waiting for her meal, suddenly slid down from it.

She ran to Su Xiulan's side with her short legs, hugged her mother's leg tightly with her little hands, looked up and spoke in a childish voice that was inexplicably reassuring.

"Mommy, don't be scared, your big brother will definitely be alright!"

The little girl knew very well that her older brother must have gotten lost on his own; something must have happened.

She could see that her parents were in a panic, and she knew that she couldn't count on them right now.

Nuannuan's little brain was working quickly. She let go of Su Xiulan and ran out of the yard.

"Warm and cozy!"

Su Xiulan was startled and reached out to grab it.

"Mommy, Nuannuan won't run around. Nuannuan will go get help!"

Nuannuan turned around and called out, her small figure quickly disappearing into the night at the doorway.

She didn't run far, just to the mouse hole at the base of the outer wall of the yard.

The little girl took out a handful of corn kernels from her sewn cloth bag, which she had specially saved to feed the little mice.

She scattered corn kernels at the entrance of the hole, squatted down, and called out softly.

"Little mouse, little mouse, come out quickly! Nuannuan has something urgent!"

A rustling sound arose, and several dusty little mice peeked out of their hole, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the corn kernels.

[Squeak squeak squeak! Warm baby, what do you need?]

"My big brother is missing!"

Nuannuan's face turned red with anxiety. "Hurry and help me look for him! Search the whole village and the surrounding area! See if anyone has seen him!"

Upon hearing that it was important, the little mice forgot about eating the corn, squeaked a few times, and then ran off in different directions, disappearing into the darkness in an instant.

Nuannuan looked up again and called out to the dark night sky, "Little Blackie! Little Blackie! Come out quickly!"

"Gah—"

A hoarse reply came from the treetops not far away, and a large crow flapped its wings and landed steadily on Nuannuan's shoulder.

"Gah! Little master, I'm here! What's up?"

"Little Blackie, hurry! Fly high! Help me see where big brother is!"

Without saying a word, Xiao Hei spread its wings and soared into the sky, circling above the village.

After doing all this, Nuannuan ran back to the yard.

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan were pacing anxiously, calling out Da'an's name inside and outside the house, their voices filled with despair.

Upon seeing Nuannuan return, Su Xiulan hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"Nuan Nuan, Da An, he..."

"Mommy, don't worry." Nuannuan patted her mother's back with her little hands, comforting her like a little adult. "Nuannuan has already sent Little Mouse and Little Blackie to look for them. We'll have news soon."

Seeing his daughter's calm demeanor, Gu Jianguo felt a little more at ease.

He knew his daughter was capable, but he was still his own son!

Just then, Sister Hongxia entered the courtyard carrying a plate of dumplings.

"Xiulan, I just made some dumplings, I brought some for you to try... Oh dear, what's wrong?"

She could tell something was wrong just by looking at the atmosphere in the courtyard.

When Su Xiulan tearfully recounted what had happened, Sister Hongxia almost dropped the plate in her hand.

"Da'an is missing? That child is usually so well-behaved, how could he disappear!" She also became anxious, and after thinking for a moment, she suddenly slapped her thigh, "I remember now! Around evening, I think I saw Grandma Gu acting suspiciously at the entrance of your alley, peeking around, I don't know what she was looking at!"

Grandma Gu!

These three words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan's chaotic thoughts.

Su Xiulan suddenly stood up, her eyes red.

"It's her! It must be her! She's always disliked us; she's the one who got rid of Da'an!"

Nuannuan was also stunned.

Bad grandma?

But didn't that wicked grandma always want to sell Nuannuan for money? Why would she kidnap the older brother? He's her own grandson!

"I'm going to settle the score with her!" Su Xiulan said, and was about to rush out.

"Stop!" Gu Jianguo grabbed her, his voice hoarse but unusually calm. "Without evidence, if you go to her now, do you think she'll admit it? You'll only alert her!"

"What should we do! My Da'an..." Su Xiulan stamped her feet anxiously.

Gu Jianguo didn't say anything, he just looked up at the sky.

He could only wait, wait for news from Nuannuan.

Nuannuan knew that relying solely on Little Mouse and Little Black was too limited in scope.

She closed her eyes, her mind sinking into the space.

"Little Greenie! Little Greenie, come out quickly!"

Inside the space, the ginseng spirit, who was comfortably soaking in the spiritual spring, suddenly shuddered.

[Holy crap! Why is this human brat calling me again?! I'm taking a beauty nap!]

"Wake up! My big brother is missing! Come out and ask the big trees outside, they must have seen him!"

Upon hearing that something had happened, Xiao Lü dared not be sarcastic anymore.

【I understand! I'll go right away!】

With a thought, Nuannuan released Xiaolü from her spatial dimension.

As soon as the little ginseng landed, it darted into the soil and disappeared without a trace.

Time passed by, and every second was unbearable.

Just when Su Xiulan was about to give up, a sharp bird call came from the night sky.

Little Black swooped down and landed on the stone table in the courtyard.

【Giggle! Little master! Found it! I see it!】

[It was an old woman! And a man in black! They knocked my older brother unconscious, put him in a sack, and headed towards the back of the mountain! That old woman is the one I pooped on last time!]

It's Grandma Gu!

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan listened to Nuannuan's retelling, their hearts clenching with anxiety.

"The back mountain? Why did they take Da'an to the back mountain?!"

"Let's go! Let's find them!" Gu Jianguo grabbed a carrying pole from the corner of the wall, pulled Su Xiulan, and walked outside.

"Dad, Mom, I want to go too!" Gu Xiaoan struggled to get off the bed. His wound still hurt, but when he heard that his older brother had an accident, he couldn't stay in bed any longer.

"Don't move!" Su Xiulan shouted, turning around, tears welling up in her eyes again. "You stay home! Let Sister Hongxia watch over you!"

She turned to look at Sister Hongxia for help.

"Sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble!"

"Go ahead and don't worry! I'll take care of Xiao An!" Sister-in-law Hongxia nodded vigorously.

Gu Jianguo, with Su Xiulan in tow and Nuannuan and Da'an following behind, headed straight for Gu Lao Er's house with a menacing air.

But the old house's gate was locked, and it was dark inside; there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Mom! Open the door! Gu Jian'an! Zhang Aidi! Get out here!" Gu Jianguo pounded on the door with a carrying pole.

After a while, the lights in the room finally came on.

Zhang Aidi yawned and impatiently unlatched the door.

"It's the middle of the night, are they trying to call back a soul?! Can't a person get some sleep?!"

When she saw Gu Jianguo's family standing at the door, her heart skipped a beat, but she still pretended to be nonchalant.

"What are you doing here?"

"Where's Mom?" Gu Jianguo's voice was as cold as ice. "Tell her to come out!"

Zhang Aidi's eyes darted around, and she lied, "Mom? Mom went into the mountains this afternoon, saying she was going to collect some firewood, and she hasn't come back yet. I'm worried about her!"

Have they gone into the mountains?

This is in the same direction that Xiao Hei saw!

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan exchanged a glance, not having time to argue with Zhang Aidi any further, and turned to leave.

"Let's go to the back mountain!"

After they left, Gu Xiaoan was still worried and asked Sister Hongxia to go to the brigade leader's house to report the news.

The brigade leader was shocked. She dared to lay a hand on her own grandson. This old hag must be insane!

He immediately rang the village bell, called over a dozen strong laborers, lit torches, and followed Gu Jianguo's family into the mountains.

Zhang Aidi stood at the door, looking at the flickering flames, her legs went weak with fear.

She never expected that this matter would escalate to such a huge extent!

"Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss over a fool?" Gu Xiaoyong walked out of the house, his face full of contempt and disdain.

Zhang Aidi's lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

……

The path on the back mountain was already difficult to walk on, and the snow from a few days ago had just melted, making the ground wet and slippery, with no footprints to be found.

The torchlight flickered in the woods, illuminating only a small patch of ground.