Chen Lian’s smile was uglier than a grimace. He greeted her awkwardly, "Aunt."

"Oh, you poor child, what happened to you? You’re so lethargic, you look like you haven’t eaten in days. Go on inside and sit with your uncle. Auntie will make you something to eat."

In truth, Chen Lian’s condition was more than just simple lethargy. The boy looked as if something had frightened him out of his wits. His face was wan and dull, the skin beneath his eyes was dark and swollen, his pupils were dilated, and his expression was vacant. It was clear he’d had a terrible scare.

’When Qing’er was little, she’d look just like this whenever she got a fright, and she’d wail all night long. Li’an looks even worse now than Qing’er did back then.’

Xu Su Ying hurried off to cook.

They still had some flatbreads at home, which she had originally planned to serve with some simple soup for breakfast the next morning. Now, she could only heat them up to give the boy something to tide him over.

As she bustled about, Xu Su Ying strained her ears to listen for any sounds from the main room.

Faint, rustling sounds came from the room, but their voices were too low for Xu Su Ying to make out what they were saying. She could only speed up her work, quickly finish the food, and head for the main hall in large strides.

She had been very quick, but by the time she arrived, the two of them had already finished talking.

Xu Su Ying shot Chen Song a look. He gestured for her to be patient.

He pulled over the bowl of noodle soup and shoved the flatbread into Chen Lian’s hands. "You must be starving. Hurry up and eat."

Chen Lian was indeed starving. He hadn’t eaten all day. On top of that, he had traveled a long way the day before, suffered a terrible fright, and done a lot of work. Right now, he was hungry enough to eat a whole cow.

Chen Lian wolfed down the food, polishing everything off in moments.

He clearly wasn’t satisfied and even started licking his fingers.

Seeing this, Xu Su Ying said, "If you’re still hungry, Auntie can make you something more."

Chen Lian said, "No need, Auntie. It’s so late already; if I eat too much, I won’t be able to sleep. It’s getting late, should I head back now?"

Chen Song stood up and led him outside. "Come on, Uncle will walk you home."

Chen Song hadn’t returned yet, but De’an came over.

"I heard Li’an’s voice. What’s he doing here so late?"

"He’s already gone. What are you doing up?"

"I came to keep you company. Mom, tell me, why did Li’an come to our house so late at night?"

"How should I know? I’m waiting for your dad to clear things up for me, too."

The mother and child decided to wait for Chen Song together.

The night grew late, and they grew sleepier and sleepier, yawning one after another.

Just as they were about to doze off, Chen Song finally returned.

The two of them immediately shot to their feet. "What did you find out?"

"Dad, what did Li’an come here for?"

Chen Song didn’t beat around the bush, nor did he intend to hide anything from the mother and child. In just a few words, he relayed everything he had gotten out of Li’an.

This included, but was not limited to, the fact that Li’an felt yesterday’s events were like a premonition, as if he’d been granted a glimpse into the future. At the same time, it felt like an illusion, a mirage.

After all, he could swear that in all his life, his parents and grandparents had never once been to Sang Village.

But yesterday, not only did they go, but it was as if they had a sixth sense and could predict the future. They knew a "carriage accident" would happen there, and they were even planning to scavenge the scene.

As for why they ended up so badly injured while scavenging, Li’an didn’t know.

According to him, he had been terrified by his own earlier suspicions, afraid he was trapped in an elaborately designed illusion. In his panic, he slammed his head against the ox-cart and passed out.

There was still a large, dark bruise on the boy’s forehead, just a hair’s breadth from his temple, which was enough to prove that Li’an wasn’t lying.

So, that raised a few questions.

Where exactly did the old madam and the others learn about this "carriage accident"?

Was this accident truly an accident, or was it man-made?

Furthermore, toward the end of his story, Li’an’s words became vague. He was clearly hiding something, or covering for someone.

’Who could he be covering for?’

After thinking it over and over, the only person Chen Song could think of was Mrs. Li.

Mrs. Li happened to be away from home these past few days. If the old madam and the others could know about the accident, why couldn’t Mrs. Li?

Connecting this with the third brother’s adamant refusal to report the incident to the authorities today, Chen Song came to a bold conclusion.

"I suspect the ’bandits’ who showed up at the end weren’t real bandits at all. I think it was Mrs. Li and her brothers." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As for whether Mrs. Li and her brothers showed up first, or if it was the old madam’s group, that was beside the point for now. Just by adding Mrs. Li into the mix, everything that couldn’t be explained suddenly seemed to have an answer.