“Meng Meng, come on. It’s dark and slippery. Walk with me. Ouch!” Zheng Jiayi had barely finished speaking when she slipped and fell.

Yin Meng stepped forward, first extending a hand to help her up, then with a “snap,” turned on her waterproof high-beam flashlight.

“Meng Meng, you’re always so thoughtful,” Zheng Jiayi said with a smile, patting her pants.

Yin Meng looked at her with a hint of helplessness. This was a cheerful, kind, strong, and sensible girl, and quite good-looking too. On the way there, she was either chattering away or giggling, tiring Yin Meng’s ears, but Yin Meng didn’t find it annoying.

In Yin Meng’s life so far, she had previously looked after a coffin shop. After coming to Nantong, although she had companions, she never had a truly close best friend. Zheng Jiayi, however, fit this role perfectly. Yin Meng felt she would likely spend a lot of time with her in the future. Of course, that was provided she could leave this place alive.

Xiao Yuan had analyzed that Fatty Wu was too slick and worldly; such a person found it difficult to make true friends quickly. Furthermore, as a counselor, he had nothing substantial to offer in exchange for favors with “Engineer Luo’s student.” Therefore, Fatty Wu’s storyline lacked a character with triggering potential. Tan Wenbin mentioned Fatty Wu’s attractive partner, so Xiao Yuan took the opportunity to predict and supplement her image.

Yin Meng found that Xiao Yuan’s guesses were almost entirely accurate. However, Yin Meng didn’t consider this a stroke of genius from Xiao Yuan; the young man’s intelligence manifested in many ways, and this was just one of them. Yin Meng roughly grasped the idea: Xiao Yuan was using a reverse-engineering approach to “create” an image that would impress their team. Tan Wenbin would fall for this, and so would she.

“Meng Meng, my uncle’s house is just ahead, very close, right? He lives at the head of the town, hehe.” Perhaps Yin Meng’s performance in the hospital ward had given the girl a great sense of security, making her feel very relaxed now. She believed that once they returned to her hometown and found the root cause, her parents’ illness could be completely cured.

“Knock, knock, knock.” Zheng Jiayi began knocking on the door.

“Creak…” As soon as it was knocked, the door opened, as if someone had been standing behind it the entire time. Zheng Jiayi shivered in fright and recoiled a few steps down the stairs. Yin Meng shone her flashlight upwards, revealing a woman wearing a yellowed, ill-fitting white shirt.

“Aunt, it’s me, Jiayi.”

“Oh, Jiayi…” The woman raised her hand to shield her eyes from the light. Yin Meng turned off the flashlight.

“Come in, Jiayi.” The woman turned and walked inside. She was wearing plastic slippers, which made a shuffling sound as she walked.

The house was pitch black. The woman led them into the main hall. There was a large table in the hall, but it was cluttered with various items. Further inside was the kitchen, where a smaller table and chairs were set up; the family usually ate there. The large table in the hall was only used when many guests were being entertained. Wooden stairs ran up along one wall, leading to bedrooms upstairs. The woman took out a match, and with a “click,” lit a candle. A faint, flickering light appeared in the hall, which paradoxically cast her face into deeper shadow.

“Jiayi, where are your parents?”

“My parents didn’t come. I came back alone this time, Aunt. I’d like to stay at your house for a few days.”

“Alright, you can stay.” On the way there, Yin Meng had instructed Zheng Jiayi that the root cause of her parents’ illness needed to be investigated slowly, without rushing. Zheng Jiayi didn’t quite understand, but she chose to follow the advice of the professional Chinese medicine practitioner.

The woman moved the candle towards Yin Meng and asked, “Who is she?”

“She’s my friend, Meng Meng. She came with me.”

Yin Meng nodded and said, “Hello, Auntie.”

“Hello,” the woman replied, then moved the candle back. “Jiayi, have you eaten?”

“We ate on the way and aren’t hungry now, Aunt. You should go up and rest.”

“I’ll take you upstairs.” The woman carried the candle and ascended the stairs. Zheng Jiayi and Yin Meng followed behind. The wooden stairs creaked constantly. Several steps felt noticeably loose when stepped on, indicating they hadn’t been maintained in a long time.

Upon reaching the second floor, as they passed the master bedroom, a man’s voice came from inside: “Who’s here?”

Aunt: “Jiayi’s here.”

“Did your father and his family come?”

“No, they didn’t.”

Zheng Jiayi called out, “Uncle, I brought a friend back to stay at home for a few days to relax.”

“Alright. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, we have.”

“Hmm, get some rest early.” The voice from inside the room ceased.

Yin Meng pricked up her ears and listened carefully. When the voice had come out earlier, it had seemed to be right next to the bedroom door. Now, she didn’t hear any movement of the person walking from the door towards the bed. Was it because he wasn’t wearing shoes, and was barefoot? But on this floor, even barefoot steps should have made a sound. Yin Meng felt only suspicion, but couldn’t be certain. It was a pity; she wished she had Xiao Yuan’s keen hearing.

The woman continued to carry the candle, leading them further inside. Midway, as they passed another bedroom, a voice again came from right next to the door: “Is that Jiayi, my younger cousin?”

“Yes, Brother Daqiang, it’s me.” The conversation ended, seeming to exist only for the sake of conversation.

The woman led them to the guest room, pushed open the door, and placed the candle on the table inside: “The electrical wiring in the house is burnt out, and we haven’t had time to fix it. Use the candle if you need to get up at night.”

“Okay, Aunt.”

“Get some rest early.” The woman walked out.

After putting down her backpack, Yin Meng slowly retreated to the room’s doorway. From this angle, with the sparse moonlight, she could make out the blurry figure of the woman walking towards the master bedroom door. Just as she was about to open the door, the woman’s body suddenly twisted, and she turned to look back at them, the moonlight catching a slight glint in her eyes. Yin Meng shifted her gaze and reached out to close the door. The moment she closed her door, she heard the sound of a door opening and closing from that direction.

Yin Meng looked at Zheng Jiayi and asked, “Is your aunt always like this?”

“Yes, as far as I remember, it’s always been like this at my uncle’s house. My parents got the same treatment when they came.”

“Your uncle’s family has only one son?”

“Yes, that’s Brother Daqiang. He’s five years older than me.”

“He’s not married?”

“No. Meng Meng, you sit for a bit. I’ll go downstairs and get some water. We can just wash up and go to sleep. Sorry, it’s too late now and conditions are limited, so we can’t shower tonight.”

“You stay here, I’ll go get the water.”

“Let me go instead. If there’s no water in the thermoses by the stove, we’ll have to get well water from the courtyard.”

“I’ve lived in the countryside longer than you. You stay put, don’t move.”

“Take the candle.”

“No need, I have my flashlight.”

Yin Meng opened the door and walked out. As she passed Zheng Daqiang’s bedroom door, she paused slightly but heard no movement. There was also no sound from the couple’s bedroom.

Walking down the stairs, Yin Meng first went to the kitchen. In the alcove below the counter, there were four thermoses, two red and two green. Normally, rural families would boil water according to their daily needs: freshly boiled water for drinking, and lukewarm water from the next day for washing. Yin Meng lifted the thermoses. The first three were empty. The last one was full and heavy, but a little too heavy. She pulled out the stopper, and a squeaking sound came from inside. Many rats scurried out, and Yin Meng immediately put the stopper back. As for the rats that had already escaped, they were now nowhere to be seen.

Yin Meng tilted the thermos. There was no damage at the bottom, which proved that the rats inside had been intentionally trapped. Why would someone trap rats? The stove had long been cold. Yin Meng, with a testing attitude, lifted the small lid between the two large pots. There was water inside, but it was also cold.

She picked up a large plastic basin and walked to the well in the courtyard. She tossed the tin bucket in, and as she pulled it up after it was submerged, she seemed to hear a sound from upstairs. The layout of the second-floor rooms was such that the couple’s bedroom and Zheng Daqiang’s bedroom faced the sun, meaning they overlooked the courtyard. The guest room where she and Zheng Jiayi were staying was on the shaded side. This meant that behind the two second-floor windows she could see, were the rooms of the couple and their son.

Without a change in expression, Yin Meng drew up the first bucket of water and poured it into the basin. As she dropped the tin bucket in again, Yin Meng turned on her flashlight and shone it towards the second-floor windows. Behind the right window, two figures were illuminated. Behind the left window, there was one figure. When the flashlight beam swung back to illuminate them again, all three figures were gone. But Yin Meng was certain she hadn’t imagined it. Earlier, when she was drawing water, Zheng Daqiang and his parents had each been standing behind their respective room windows, pressed tightly against them.

If it were in the past, she wouldn’t have stayed in a house like this. If Xiao Yuan were leading the team here, given his personality, he might have directly ordered her and Run Sheng to rush upstairs, apprehend all three, and find out what was going on. But now, she couldn’t act that way, because her task this time was to follow through on this lead, so she couldn’t make any overly drastic moves.

After drawing water, Yin Meng carried the basin and went back upstairs to the second floor. Here, there was also a staircase leading to the third floor, which was likely an attic. She didn’t go up to look but returned to her room. Pushing open the door, she saw Zheng Jiayi sitting by the bed, nodding off with her eyes closed. After traveling for so long, she was both tired and sleepy.

“Oh, you’re back,” Zheng Jiayi said, getting up and walking over.

“Just sit there and wash up.” Yin Meng took out several bottles of mineral water and a towel from her hiking backpack.

“Meng Meng, do you like hiking? Your backpack seems to have a lot of stuff.”

“Yes.”

“It looks very heavy. What else do you have inside?”

“Some books and some tools.” Mainly corpse retrieval tools.

The two girls quickly washed up and lay down on the bed, Zheng Jiayi on the inside and Yin Meng on the outside. The room had a slightly musty smell, as did the bedding, but it was just about usable.

“Meng Meng, where are you from?”

“Sichuan.”

“Is Chengdu fun?”

“My home is closer to Chongqing.”

“No wonder your skin is so good—so fair and smooth.” Zheng Jiayi reached out and stroked Yin Meng’s arm. “I’m so envious.”

“You’re not bad yourself.”

“Much worse than you. By the way, do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Why don’t you find one?”

“Haven’t planned on it yet.” Yin Meng turned to Zheng Jiayi and asked, “Do you like your boyfriend?”

“Of course! He’s really nice, chubby, and so cute.”

“Alright.”

“And he’s very ambitious. Staying on at the university is a very rare opportunity, and he managed to get it. He also said he’d continue to work hard in the future. Both of us come from ordinary families in Jinling. I love small animals and children, and I do many things that others might consider meaningless. He’s willing to watch me do these things; he’s very tolerant of me. I plan to marry him because in a family, if there’s someone like me, the other person has to work harder and be more diligent.”

“Heh.”

“Meng Meng, why are you laughing?”

“You’ve thought it all through very clearly.”

“What about you? What kind of man do you like?”

“Haven’t thought about that.”

“Well, who do you usually spend time with? Are there any potential connections?”

“Let’s stop talking and sleep. We’ll be quite busy tomorrow. We need to go see your family’s ancestral grave, and also… inspect this house to try and find the root cause of your parents’ illness sooner.” Besides that, Yin Meng also planned to ask about Xue Liangliang’s home once it was daylight; Xiao Yuan and Run Sheng should have already arrived.

As soon as Zheng Jiayi said she’d sleep, she was asleep, nestled against Yin Meng like a kitten. Yin Meng also closed her eyes. But before long, her eyes opened again. She had a strange prickly sensation that she couldn’t quite describe, but it was uncomfortable. Lying on the bed, her gaze roamed around the room, finally settling on the door. Wooden houses were prone to cracking, and without regular maintenance, the gaps everywhere would grow larger and larger. The gap between the room door and the adjacent wall was quite wide. Maintaining a steady breath, Yin Meng reached for the flashlight beside her.

“Click!” The flashlight turned on, its beam directed at the door. Two reflective orbs appeared, then quickly vanished. This meant that someone had just been standing at the doorway, leaning sideways to peer through the crack into the room, spying!

“Seriously, Brother Hu, do you actually know where her house is?” The car could only be parked on the main street; it couldn’t enter the narrow alleys on either side. After getting out of the car, the two ducked into an alley, walked for a bit, then came out again. Alright, the first time, Tan Wenbin thought Hu Yiwei had simply taken a wrong turn, which was normal, given it was pitch black. But the second, third, and fourth times… he had been following Hu Yiwei through so many alleys for almost two hours, and they still hadn’t found the home of Hu Yiwei’s ex-wife, Zeng Miaomiao!

Hu Yiwei said apologetically, “Actually, I’ve only been to her house once in all these years.”

“Only once?”

“Her parents passed away early. She had a grandmother and an older sister. Her sister was married, but her husband died not long after the wedding. She worked part-time during university to support herself, so she had a hard life. When we had our wedding banquet, none of her relatives came. In the first year of our marriage, during the holidays, my parents urged me, saying it wasn’t proper not to visit her family. That’s when I went back with her to her hometown, this place. Her grandmother wasn’t much of a talker, and her sister was quite distant. We only stayed here for one night and left the next day. After that, we never returned. Every time I brought it up, she refused.”

“So, it never occurred to you that if she wasn’t close to her family, why would she suddenly quit her job in Jinling, move back home, and get married through a blind date?”

“Now I find it strange, but at the time, my mind was in turmoil. I really couldn’t think that far; I was consumed by the shock and despair of being abandoned by her.”

“Brother Hu, you need to clear your head. Really, life is long, and when you look back, none of this will seem like a big deal.”

“Thank you, brother. Luckily, you’re here with me right now.”

“Brother Hu, you should keep looking for her house.”

“How about we just tough it out in the car for the night and then ask for directions once it’s light and people are on the street?”

“We’re already here, let’s keep looking. We’ve been at it for so long, let’s just check the remaining areas.”

“I’m just worried about tiring you out, brother.”

“It’s fine, it’s nothing.” Tan Wenbin wasn’t afraid of being tired; he was afraid of falling behind schedule. After dawn, he still needed to find Xue Liangliang’s house and locate Brother Xiao Yuan. If he hadn’t found the target location by the time they had their meeting, his performance would look very bad.

Finally, as they entered another alley, Hu Yiwei exclaimed excitedly, “Found it! This is the house!”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, this is it. See that chipped step? I was alone outside smoking awkwardly that time we came back together, and I kept kicking it with my shoe.”

“You really are quite foresightful.”

“So now…”

“Knock on the door.”

“But it’s so late, they should all be asleep.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to come directly and find her? Don’t chicken out now.”

“Okay, I won’t chicken out.” Hu Yiwei took a deep breath and reached out to knock. As soon as he touched it, the door swung open on its own; it wasn’t even latched.

“This…”

“Go in,” Tan Wenbin urged, giving Hu Yiwei a push.

After walking inside, Hu Yiwei called out, “Miaomiao, Zeng Miaomiao, Miaomiao!”

A moment later, a room door on the first floor opened, and a woman wearing a white tank top and a long robe over her shoulders emerged. She was tall, slightly plump, and appeared to be around thirty-five years old. She was definitely not Zeng Miaomiao, but Zeng Miaomiao’s older sister.

“Yiwei?”

“It’s me, Sister Yin. I’m here to see Miaomiao. Is she home?” Zeng Miaomiao’s sister was named Zeng Yinyin.

“Miaomiao is already asleep.”

“Sister Yin, please wake Miaomiao up for me. There are some things I want to clarify with her.”

“You’re already divorced.”

“I know we’re divorced, but I still need to clarify some things, or I won’t be able to rest.”

“Just leave. Miaomiao doesn’t want to see you.”

“Sister Yin, please, let me see Miaomiao! Miaomiao! Miaomiao! Miaomiao!”

At that moment, the old woman’s scolding voice came from the second floor: “What’s all this senseless shouting? Don’t disturb the neighbors. Stay here for now, and talk about whatever it is after dawn. If you shout again, this old woman will call the neighbors and chase you out!”

Hu Yiwei looked at Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin could see that he had chickened out again.

“Alright then, let’s stay for now and talk tomorrow.” Tan Wenbin felt he had achieved his initial goal, so there was no need to rush.

“Okay, alright,” Hu Yiwei quickly nodded in agreement.

Zeng Yinyin pointed to the room across the hall on the first floor: “Sleep in that room. There’s a bed, but you’re not allowed upstairs.”

“Okay.” Zeng Yinyin walked back to her room.

Hu Yiwei and Tan Wenbin walked to the door of that room. Pushing it open, they found it quite clean. It had an old-fashioned bed with a mosquito net, large enough for two men to squeeze into.

“Binbin, let’s sleep. You’ve really worked hard today, coming all this way for my sake. When we get back to Jinling, I’ll treat you to a good meal.”

“Among brothers, we don’t talk like that. I’m going to rinse my feet by the well.”

“I’ll come too.” The two then walked out of the room and headed to the well in the courtyard. The house’s courtyard and first-floor hall were both very small because two rooms had been added on the first floor, taking up space. Tan Wenbin bent down to lift the well cover, only to find it had been welded shut with sheet metal. The well was completely unusable.

“Brother Hu, go check the kitchen. See if there are any thermoses or anything.”

“Isn’t that inappropriate…”

“What’s inappropriate about it? An ex-husband is still a brother, isn’t he?”

“I…”

“Alright, alright, go back to the room. I’ll go look. Two grown men traveling all day—if we don’t wash our feet, we’ll stink ourselves to death in our sleep.” Hu Yiwei nodded and returned to the room.

Tan Wenbin, on the other hand, walked through the hall to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he was startled by a black coffin placed there. “Whoa!” The kitchen housed an earthen stove, where offerings were made to the Kitchen God. Even if a normal family needed to keep a coffin, they wouldn’t place it here. Tan Wenbin observed it briefly, noting that the coffin was old, had no nails, and showed clear scratches where the lid met the body, yet there was no dust. This meant the coffin lid was frequently opened. He sniffed, detecting no scent of decay. He also saw some rice husks on the coffin floor, which suggested the family was using it as a grain storage bin.

However, Tan Wenbin didn’t open the coffin to investigate further on his own. Because, according to Brother Xiao Yuan’s reverse-engineering logic combined with his own situation, it was impossible for him to truly become friends with someone like Hu Yiwei, at least not in a short time. Therefore, the only person who could “trigger” him was likely Fan Shulin. And the prerequisite for Fan Shulin to “trigger” him was that the original Hu Yiwei would have had an accident here a month later. The problem might not be in this house, but there was a high probability of a problem occurring in this house.

Carrying a thermos, Tan Wenbin walked back. As he passed the staircase leading upwards, he looked up. To his surprise, there was a door where the stairs met the second floor, and it was currently closed. What a strange design. The grandmother and the divorced granddaughter slept on the second floor, while the older granddaughter slept alone downstairs, with a door in between. Never mind, he’d report it to Brother Xiao Yuan tomorrow.

Tan Wenbin returned to the room and latched the door. The water in the thermos was warm. After washing their feet, they lay down on the bed to sleep. Hu Yiwei, having driven all day, fell asleep first and began grinding his teeth. Tan Wenbin wasn’t bothered by the noise. After all, when he used to sleep on the first floor of Grandpa Li’s house with Run Sheng, they would compete every night to see whose snoring was louder. Gradually, Tan Wenbin also fell asleep.

As Tan Wenbin slept, his eyes began to itch, as if layers upon layers of sticky spiderwebs were clinging to them. He raised his hand and started scratching. Just then, footsteps could be heard from outside. Tan Wenbin immediately lowered his hands and remained still. The footsteps approached. What surprised Tan Wenbin was that the person had been outside just a moment ago but was now almost at the bedside, even though the room door was closed and he had latched it. Could he be experiencing “spirit walking” again? Wasn’t it supposed to happen at least a month later? Was something already going wrong?

Tan Wenbin felt a bit flustered. Recently, everyone had undergone special training, but unlike the other two, his training was primarily verbal. If there were a physical undead entity, he could pick up his Yellow River shovel and fight it. But for this inexplicable stuff, he truly had no solution. He had read about some clumsy methods in books, but those required setting up an altar, which wasn’t practical. Therefore, he could only resort again to the life-saving technique Brother Xiao Yuan had taught him for encountering malevolent spirits, silently repeating in his mind: “I can’t see you, I can’t see you…”

Soon, there was movement at the foot of the bed, as if someone had climbed onto it. Tan Wenbin felt a chill spread from his right foot, moving upwards to his calf, then his thigh, abdomen, and chest… If it reached his neck next, Tan Wenbin would definitely open his eyes and stop pretending. He still had a demon-breaking talisman in his pocket; he’d fight to the death if he had to! But the entity didn’t touch his neck; instead, it placed its hand on his right shoulder. His right shoulder felt icy cold. The entity seemed to want him to get up. But he just wouldn’t get up, continuing to “sleep.”

However, while he remained still, Hu Yiwei, lying beside him, moved. From the sound, Tan Wenbin could tell that Hu Yiwei sat up, got out of bed, and walked out barefoot, without shoes. “Click…” The sound of the latch being opened.

“Huh?” Next, Tan Wenbin’s consciousness became dizzy, and his entire being experienced the illusion of “rapidly floating upwards.” He suddenly opened his eyes. It was as if he had just had a dream. The prickly sensation around his eyes disappeared. He turned his head to look, and Hu Yiwei was gone. He quickly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and went to the room’s doorway. The latch was open, and the door was merely ajar. “Hiss…”

After some thought, Tan Wenbin decided he should still sneak out to see what was happening. He was here to follow clues and needed to uncover information to report to Brother Xiao Yuan. He couldn’t just keep his head down; necessary risks had to be taken. He gently pulled the door open a little wider, then carefully stepped out. Arriving in the main hall, he found nothing unusual.

Tan Wenbin thought of the coffin in the kitchen. But just as he was about to tiptoe back to the kitchen to look, he heard muffled sounds coming from Zeng Yinyin’s room. Tan Wenbin tiptoed, step by step, to Zeng Yinyin’s door. As he got closer, the sounds from inside became clearer: rhythmic grunts between a man and a woman. There were no lights on inside the room, but the night was clear, so there was plenty of moonlight streaming through the window, providing some visibility in the room. Tan Wenbin pressed his eye to the crack in the door and peered inside. From this position, he could just see the bed in the room. Two bodies were intertwined, engaged in the most primal activity.

But such a thing couldn’t be accomplished by one person alone. The woman was likely Zeng Yinyin, so could the man be… Hu Yiwei? Of course, he knew Hu Yiwei wasn’t so enraged as to take revenge on his sister-in-law. Clearly, some “unclean thing” had entered the room and “called” Hu Yiwei out. And it was highly likely that the “unclean thing” had originally intended to call him. If he couldn’t “spirit walk” and resist, wouldn’t that mean the man on the bed would have been him?

At this point, the rhythm in the room intensified. The gasps of the man and woman, mixed with some muffled words, grew louder. As the man and woman called out each other’s names, their voices were interspersed with profanities typically heard from street thugs during a fight. Like two duelists, after probing and then fierce battle, they had reached the critical, bayonet-to-flesh moment. Moreover, both parties were speaking the same dialect. Hu Yiwei had only been here once, and for most of that time, he had been outside wrestling with the steps. How could he have learned the local dialect?

“Ah!”

“Ah!” Two simultaneous finishing sounds came from inside the room.

Tan Wenbin quietly left, walking back. As soon as he entered his room and closed the door, he heard the sound of the door across the hall opening. Tan Wenbin immediately got into bed, pretending to be asleep. The prickly sensation around his eyes returned, as if something sticky was clinging to them again. This indicated another “spirit walking” episode was about to begin. The sound of the door being pushed open reached him, followed by the sound of the latch being secured. Then, Tan Wenbin sensed someone lying down beside him. Immediately after, fading footsteps could be heard.

But Tan Wenbin didn’t open his eyes, remaining still. He counted silently, calculating the time: one minute, five minutes, ten minutes… half an hour. Just as Tan Wenbin thought he could open his eyes and check on Hu Yiwei, footsteps echoed in the room again. In an instant, a chill ran down his spine. Damn it, that “unclean thing” hadn’t left yet! After the fright, his mind became even clearer. That’s right, if the “unclean thing” had left, his “spirit walking” state would end. As long as he was still in that state, it meant the “unclean thing” was still nearby. Tan Wenbin continued to hold on. The problem was that his “spirit walking” couldn’t be sustained for too long, and it took a heavy toll on him. Initially, he could consciously pretend to be asleep, but soon, due to severe mental exhaustion, he truly passed out.

When he woke up, it was already broad daylight. Sunlight streamed in through the windows and cracks in the room, bringing a great sense of security.

“Ugh… my head hurts so much.” Tan Wenbin sat up, rubbing his forehead. He finally understood how terrifying it must have been when Brother Xiao Yuan had pushed himself to the point of blindness. He was only at the beginning, yet he was already in such pain. Hu Yiwei was still asleep, lying beside him. Tan Wenbin looked down at him and saw that Hu Yiwei’s eyes were dark, with severe under-eye bags, and his lips were pale. He looked utterly drained. When he lowered his gaze further, Tan Wenbin’s eyes widened in alarm: Hu Yiwei’s crotch was stained crimson! He quickly pushed Hu Yiwei. After a few pushes, Hu Yiwei turned over, continuing to grind his teeth while mumbling in his sleep:

“Miaomiao, Miaomiao, hehe, you’re so good, my Miaomiao…” Tan Wenbin sighed in relief. It seemed he was just exhausted, but not in life-threatening danger. “Miaomiao, I love you, don’t leave me, don’t leave me…” Tan Wenbin shook his head. He was practically drained dry, yet still having a lustful dream.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside. Tan Wenbin immediately rolled out of bed and went to his hiking backpack, unzipping one side. The handle of his Yellow River shovel was there. The door was pushed open. Zeng Yinyin stood at the doorway. She glanced at Hu Yiwei lying on the bed, then looked at Tan Wenbin standing there, and asked:

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“No, not hungry.”

“But I’ve already made breakfast. You should still come and eat.”