Xiao He looked at Zhang Rui. “I don’t know.”

Zhang Rui finally felt a little more balanced.

The three of them walked in the direction Tian Jiao indicated. Zhang Rui held Erbao, who was tired of crying, and coaxed him to sleep. Erbao had just come down from the cave and was frightened. Although he didn’t fall asleep, he lay listlessly against Zhang Rui, quiet and still.

Zhang Rui patted his back and asked Tian Jiao, “Jiaojiao, what is your original form? Are you also grass?”

Tian Jiao pinched his arm. “Dad! I am a human! A real human!”

Zhang Rui didn’t believe it. He stroked her head lovingly and said gently, “It’s okay, just tell me. Dad won’t laugh at you.”

It must be because her original form was too low-level that she was embarrassed to say it. The little girl had always had a strong sense of self-esteem.

He reassured her that as a parent, he wouldn’t despise his daughter’s original form, even if it was grass like earlier; it didn’t matter.

But why did he accept so quickly that Tian Jiao was a monster?

…

Tian Jiao was almost exasperated. While she was still arguing with Zhang Rui, she spotted a big pit and heard the sound of people arguing at the bottom. The volume of their quarrel suddenly diminished as they approached the large pit.

“It’s obviously your fault. If you hadn’t run this way, would I have fallen in?”

“If you hadn’t held me back, would I have fallen here?”

“Go away, you psychopath! If it weren’t for you…”

The two blamed each other, their voices growing louder.

Tian Jiao ran over first to take a look and exclaimed in surprise, “You are here?”

At the bottom of the pit sat two people, hurling insults at each other, as if they were about to fight over their disagreement but didn’t.

They looked aggressive, as though they would attack anyone who got too close. However, there was a distance between the two, preventing them from making contact.

This pit was also quite large. It had likely been used to hunt large animals. If someone stood at the bottom, there would be no way to climb out—like a teapot with two small spouts and a big one in the middle.

With this shape, there was no place to ascend.

The ground in the middle was deep and moist, leaving the two men covered in mud.

Tian Jiao’s voice startled the arguing pair. They looked up immediately. Ding Yushu felt as if she had seen a savior. “Jiaojiao, save me! Hurry up and tell the adults that I’m here!”

Tian Jiao smiled. “Where’s Erbao?”

Zhang Rui was about to approach but stopped, silently taking a few steps back to continue coaxing Erbao, who had fallen quiet.

Ding Yushu’s eyes flickered; she didn’t know whether she felt disappointed or relieved. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know. I didn’t bring Erbao out. He tricked me into coming here.”

Tian Jiao frowned. “Someone saw you take Erbao away. Don’t deny it. Tell me where Erbao is, or you can stay at the bottom of this pit.”

Ding Yushu didn’t dare say anything, knowing the consequences were obvious. She decided to remain silent, a grim expression on her face as she contemplated how to clear her name.

They hadn’t found Erbao, and it was clear he was missing now; otherwise, the child’s cries would have attracted attention.

At this moment, the man next to her shouted, “She took the child away and put him in a cave. If you rescue me, I will take you to find him!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Ding Yushu’s face turned pale as she rushed toward the man. “Shut up! Don’t accuse me!”

Both had been bitten by snakes on their legs, making them numb, but their upper bodies could still move. As they wrestled, the man used his strength and subdued Ding Yushu quickly. His voice was loud and panicked as he pleaded, “I’m not lying! Save me, and I’ll take you to find your second child. I know where he is!”

Tian Jiao nodded. “Okay.”

Ding Yushu immediately regretted it, her sharp voice cutting through the air. “No! He doesn’t know; he is lying! Don’t believe him. I really didn’t bring Erbao here…”

Tian Jiao scoffed and turned away.

There was no one around the big pit anymore.

****

Twenty minutes later, a group of people arrived, but Zhang Rui and Erbao were still missing.

Among them were the team leader and the village chief, the highest-ranking officials here, along with others from Lanshan Village.

Everyone looked serious. When they approached, they saw that Ding Yushu and a man had fallen here, just as Tian Jiao had said.

Zhai Xingwang spoke in a deep voice, “Do you really know where Erbao is?”

The man hurriedly replied, “I know, I know!”

Zhai Xingwang was surprised to see the man’s face and exclaimed, “Zhai Zhong! Why is it you?”

Shame flashed across Zhai Zhong’s face. But with no choice, he said, “I followed her here; take me up quickly!”

Zhai Xingwang’s expression grew even uglier. Zhai Zhong was from his village, and he was not a hardworking person. He was known to be a gangster who never contributed to work. Zhai Xingwang had never complained about this before.

But now, this person was involved in a troubling situation.

They all came here for the unknown child. Now that Zhai Zhong was found with Ding Yushu, everyone understood what was happening.

Tian Jiao pointed at Zhai Zhong. “He said that if we rescue him, he will help us find Erbao.”

Zhai Zhong looked at the people in the pit, his eyes shining. He smiled and said, “Little girl, I never said that. I just fell into the same hole as your second aunt. Don’t say that. What is Erbao? How would I know? Captain, please bring me up.”

Tian Jiao was shocked and glared at him, not expecting this.

Then she looked around and realized that he might still be rescued, even if he didn’t know anything about Erbao.

Zhai Xingwang’s face grew darker. Though there was no evidence, it was hard to ignore that Zhai Zhong was here with Ding Yushu.

Everyone could see this.

He said sternly, “I’m telling you, tell the truth quickly, or no one will come to rescue you!”

Zhai Xingwang felt lucky that Zhai Zhong’s wife was not with him.

Zhai Zhong replied with a bitter expression, “I really don’t know. If you don’t believe me, ask her. We are just… you know.” He winked, suggesting a mutual understanding. “I really don’t know what Erbao is.”

Ding Yushu, who had been desperate, suddenly brightened up and nodded frantically. “Yes, Captain! I really have never seen Erbao. He just asked me to come here today…”

Zhai Xingwang didn’t know how to respond.

Some villagers shouted, “Who else could it be if not you? Someone saw Ding Yushu take Erbao away. Now he is gone, and you two are here!”

“That’s right! You think we are fools. If you don’t tell us, we won’t save you. Your Zhai family doesn’t care about this place!”

However, some people were skeptical. “Are they really unaware? They look like they came here for a secret meeting.”

Tian Jiao’s expression darkened. Xiao He shook his head and whispered in her ear, “Forget it; let’s deal with it later.”

Tian Jiao bit her lip, shocked at how foolish these two were. She would rather let the laws of this world handle them than take action herself.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. “Hurry and send some poisonous snakes…”

As soon as she thought that, she saw a black snake emerge from a power source at the bottom of the pit.

The snake was slender, about one meter long.

Almost everyone who lived in the countryside recognized it. “Ah! It’s a soil snake!”

“It’s poisonous; get away!”

“Help!” Zhai Zhong and Ding Yushu screamed together. Their legs were still numb from the snake bites, and they couldn’t run away.

Zhai Zhong, panicking, shouted, “Hurry and rescue us! I’ll tell you everything. We took Erbao away; he is in a nearby cave! We can only find Erbao after we get out; I swear!!”

“Help!” Ding Yushu stopped arguing with him and panicked, staring at the snake.

The villagers above, armed with tools, were not very scared, but none of them jumped down to help.

Some who lacked tools quickly regretted coming here.

It was still dangerous in Lanshan.

The soil snake was venomous. A bite could mean losing half your life or bankruptcy.

Tian Jiao watched coldly. As Zhai Xingwang prepared to throw down a rope, she asked, “Captain, doesn’t this prove that he and Ding Yushu took Erbao?”

Zhai Xingwang quickly nodded. “Of course! We have many witnesses. Don’t worry.”

After saying that, he threw down the prepared hemp rope.

Zhai Zhong quickly tied the rope around himself. Ding Yushu was very anxious and panicked. When she saw Zhai Zhong ignoring her, she grabbed the rope: “Give it to me! I’ll go first!”

“You’re the one who made me fall. Let go and let me go up!”

“You jerk!”

The two began to argue again, and at that moment, the black snake at the bottom of the pit was gone.

Zhai Xingwang was so angry that he laughed. He tossed the rope aside and tied the other end to a nearby tree. He put his hands on his hips and said roughly: “Okay, you two climb up yourselves. When you get up, we can leave.”

After that, he turned and walked away.

“Hey! What should we do?” Ding Yushu shouted in a panic.

She had been making noise for so long without drinking any water, and her voice became hoarse.

Zhai Xingwang snorted coldly: “The snake is gone. You can climb up slowly by yourself.”

Ding Yushu and Zhai Zhong finally noticed that the black snake had disappeared from the yellowish soil at the bottom of the pit. They both sighed in relief.

Only then did they realize that the black snake was gone.

****

On the hillside of Lanshan.

The air felt damp, and the smell of decaying branches and leaves filled the air.

This place, usually empty, was now filled with people.

More than twenty people were gathered in Lanshan, talking and watching the two people in the big pit.

More people kept arriving after hearing the news.

When Zhang Zhi, Zhang Dong, Li Mizhen, and others arrived, Ding Yushu and Zhai Zhong were just climbing out of the pit. As soon as they stood up, they saw Li Mizhen rushing over with a fierce look. She hit Ding Yushu with a stick she had picked up: “Ding Yushu, I’m going to fight you!”

“Ah—” Ding Yushu screamed and fell down again.

She landed hard, and it hurt so much that her face turned pale: “Are you crazy—”

Li Mizhen panted and coldly said: “I am crazy. Ding Yushu, how can you be so heartless? This is your son! You even brought him here. What are you doing?”