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

Late at night, the lights in the main room of the Gu family's house were dimly lit, creating a frighteningly oppressive atmosphere.

Su Xiulan sat motionless on the threshold of the main room.

Her voice was hoarse and she couldn't make a sound. Her tears had dried up, leaving only two tear streaks on her face that felt tight and painful from the wind.

She was still holding that bowl of cold steamed egg custard in her hand.

She refused to put it down and kept holding it.

Gu Jianguo squatted against the courtyard wall, rolling one cigarette after another, his fingers trembling violently.

The tobacco was scattered all over the ground, and it took a long time to roll it into a single cigarette.

His temples turned a large white overnight.

Su Xiulan hadn't noticed it when she left home in the morning, but now, with the light shining from inside the house, it was dazzlingly white.

She opened her mouth as if to call him inside to rest, but only a few breaths escaped her throat.

Gu Xiaoan huddled in the corner of the yard, hugging her knees, burying her face in her arms, biting her lips until they bled.

He gripped the bamboo whistle tightly in his hand, his fingers turning white.

He blew it all day.

My lips are swollen, but Xiao Hei hasn't come back.

Gu Da'an was even more worrying. He hadn't come down from the roof since the afternoon, standing at the highest point looking in all directions.

They didn't come down even after it got dark.

Su Xiulan told him to come down, but he didn't move. Gu Jianguo yelled at him, but he still didn't move. He just stood there on the roof ridge without saying a word.

The wind blew through his thin clothes, and he remained motionless.

"Brother Jianguo, Sister-in-law Xiulan."

Li Dashan's voice came from outside the courtyard gate, heavy and resonant.

He and several villagers had just returned from searching the ditch to the west; their trousers were covered in mud, and one of their shoes was missing.

"The western area has been searched, but nothing was found."

No.

No again.

Su Xiulan swayed, and the bowl in her hand finally slipped and shattered on the threshold with a crash.

Steamed egg custard spilled all over the floor, its golden color mixed with shards of porcelain.

"My darling..."

She bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the bowl from the ground, and cut her hand. She didn't even feel the blood beading out.

She unconsciously clutched the shards, blood dripping from between her fingers.

"Sister-in-law!" Li Dashan's wife rushed over and snatched the shards from her hand. "What are you doing!"

Su Xiulan didn't react, she just knelt there with her hands on the ground, tears falling again.

She thought she had cried all her tears away, but she was surprised to find there was still more.

"It's all my fault. There were so many people in the yard and I couldn't keep an eye on her. What kind of mother am I..."

Gu Jianguo crumpled the unrolled tobacco shreds and stood up, walked over to Su Xiulan, and pulled her up from the ground.

He didn't speak.

Because he didn't know what to say.

He couldn't utter a single word of comfort.

Gu Jianping stood outside the courtyard gate with his head down, his face full of guilt. He had come to help search all day, and his legs were about to give out, but he hadn't found anything.

"Third brother, should we call the police?"

"I've reported it." Gu Jianguo's voice was hoarse. "Captain Gao has already called the county. There are limited people in the town, and the city police won't be able to get here until tomorrow morning at the earliest."

Tomorrow morning.

Who knows what will happen to Nuannuan tomorrow morning?

The moment the thought crossed Gu Jianguo's mind, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, which made him bend over and cough twice.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was extremely oppressive.

The villagers who were helping didn't dare to breathe loudly; they all hung their heads, unsure whether to stand or walk.

Just then.

Squeak.

A thin, high-pitched voice came from the darkness outside the courtyard gate.

Everyone froze.

Squeak, squeak squeak.

The sound grew more urgent and closer.

A dusty, muddy creature squeezed through the crack in the gate. It was covered in mud, its fur matted, and its short legs dug as it rushed straight into the yard.

"A rat?" Li Dashan instinctively raised his foot to stomp on it.

"Don't move!"

Su Xiulan suddenly let out a scream, so loud that it startled everyone.

She abruptly shook off the person supporting her and lunged forward, collapsing directly to the ground.

The little mouse stopped in front of Su Xiulan, raised its head and squeaked twice at her, then bit her trouser leg and pulled it out with all its might.

The little body used all its strength to dig marks in the mud.

Su Xiulan's hands were trembling, and her whole body was shaking.

She recognized the mouse.

Nuannuan raised it.

She had seen it several times at home; Nuannuan secretly fed it corn kernels and even named it Little Grey.

"It's Little Grey Wolf!"

Su Xiulan's voice cracked and split, sounding extremely unpleasant, but she didn't care at all.

"It's Warm's mouse! Warm sent it back to us!"

Gu Jianguo was startled and rushed over in three steps, squatted down, and stared intently at the little mouse that was tugging at Su Xiulan's trouser leg.

Little Grey opened its mouth and squeaked twice more, then turned around, ran two steps toward the courtyard gate, stopped, and looked back at them.

Run two steps, stop, and look back.

"Dad! It's leading the way!"

Gu Xiaoan was the first to react, jumping up from the ground, her voice cracking.

"Keep up with it! Hurry up with it!"

Without saying a word, Gu Jianguo turned around, grabbed a wood-chopping knife from the kitchen, and rushed out of the courtyard.

Su Xiulan followed closely behind, running barefoot outside without even having time to put on shoes.

"Wait for me!" Gu Xiaoan grabbed the flashlight from the corner of the wall and ran out.

Gu Da'an finally moved on the roof. He slid down the ladder and silently followed the person in front of him as soon as his feet touched the ground.

"Keep up! Hurry!" Li Dashan shouted at the villagers behind him.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, half the village was alarmed.

The men got up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and picked up carrying poles, shovels, and hoes, while the women lit torches and held oil lamps.

Gao Yuan, accompanied by two soldiers, rushed over from the village committee.

The light of the torches spread in the darkness, and more and more torches gathered together, forming a continuous line on the dirt road.

At the very front was a gray rat the size of a fist.

It ran incredibly fast, its dusty figure flashing in the firelight. It would stop every now and then to wait for the people behind it to catch up, and then it would take off again.

Behind them was a dense, dark crowd.

There were dozens of people, but not a single one spoke.

Only the sound of footsteps could be heard.

The hurried, heavy, and chaotic footsteps made a squelching sound as they trod on the muddy dirt road.

There was also heavy breathing.

Su Xiulan ran ahead, closely following Little Gray. Her bare feet stepped on the gravel, and the soles of her feet were scratched and hurt.

She remained completely silent.

Gu Jianguo stood beside her, holding a machete in one hand and protecting his wife with the other, afraid she would fall.

His heart was pounding so hard that his ears were ringing.

Nuannuan is waiting for him.

His daughter is waiting for him to come and rescue her.

Little Grey turned onto a narrower side road, with dark cornfields on both sides, the corn stalks rustling in the wind.

"They're heading east," Li Dashan called from behind. "I feel like this road leads to Niulan Village."

Niulan Village. Gu Jianguo suddenly stopped in his tracks. Nuannuan used to be from Niulan Village.

How could he have forgotten that!

That old lady and Nuannuan's troublesome aunt came over more than once, trying to get Nuannuan to go there, using a combination of trickery, deception, and shamelessness.

I thought they had given up, but I never expected...

Su Xiulan also realized what was happening and gritted her teeth to recover even faster.

"I knew that old man wouldn't give up!"

Su Xiulan's voice was hoarse, and she gritted her teeth.

The villagers who had come along were also in an uproar when they heard this.

"It's actually Nuannuan's biological grandmother?"

"How could that family have the nerve to tie up a child? I remember they used to neglect the child, treating him like an animal, not feeding him, and constantly beating and scolding him. That heartless aunt even pushed the child off a cliff to feed the wolves."

"They're a bunch of heartless people!"

"We absolutely have to get them back today!"

Everyone was furious, and their footsteps quickened.

The torches whistled in the wind, forming a continuous line of light that moved forward into the night.

Little Grey also sped up, darting across a patch of wasteland, over a low slope, and finally disappearing into a crack in a fence.

It stopped.

It crouched at the base of the fence and squeaked twice at the crowd behind it.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

The torchlight illuminated the scene before them: a dilapidated courtyard with half of the fence collapsed and weeds growing rampant inside.

In the very center stood a low mud-brick house with a sparse thatched roof.

The door was tightly closed, and the windows were covered with yellowed paper, letting in a little dim light.

right here.

Nuannuan is inside.

As Su Xiulan looked at the door, most of her strength suddenly vanished, and her legs went weak, almost causing her to collapse.

Gu Xiaoan reacted quickly and caught her from behind.

"Mom, we found it! We found it!"

Gu Xiaoan's voice was trembling, and the flashlight beam was swaying violently.

Gu Jianguo didn't move.

He stood in front of the courtyard, his hand gripping the machete, veins bulging, knuckles cracking.

For a whole day and night, he didn't close his eyes or eat a single bite, and he ran all over the surrounding area.

His daughter, the daughter he cherished and doted on, was locked up in this dilapidated house that was worse than a pigsty.

Gu Jianguo lifted his foot and put all his strength into that kick.

The broken wooden door was kicked open and shattered, the door panel flying a long way and crashing into the table inside, shattering dishes all over the floor.

"The Lin family! Hand over my daughter!"