Once a fugitive appears in a family, the entire family will be implicated.
Even the officials like Peng Wang will be punished for their negligence in guarding.
Therefore, no one dares to be careless about this matter.
Old Lady Mo was the first to speak: "No one from the Mo family is missing."
Fang Chuanzhou also reported, "No one from the Fang family is missing."
"Official, Li Rou'er is missing..." Li Yuer shouted loudly, her tone even filled with excitement.
Li Yuer only thought about the absence of her annoying stepsister at home, and her mood instantly improved. She didn't realize the consequences her family would face in the future.
Peng Wang's face turned dark, and he ordered the officials, "Light up the torches. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, find that person for me."
"Yes." The officials responded in unison and began searching for Li Rou'er's traces with torches in hand.
Mo Jiuye whispered to He Zhiran.
"I suspect Xie Lin was taken hostage by Li Rou'er."
"Yes, when I heard Li Yuer shouting just now, I had the same suspicion."
Their speculations reached a consensus again, and they fell into silence, pondering why Li Rou'er took Xie Lin and where she might be hiding.
Not knowing what Mo Jiuye was thinking, he pulled He Zhiran to the front of Peng Wang.
"Official, my wife and I want to help find the person."
Peng Wang inexplicably trusted Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran as a couple and also believed in their character, that they wouldn't abandon their family members and escape secretly.
Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
"Alright, regardless of the outcome, you must return here before dawn."
Before they left, He Zhiran reminded, "Peng Official, please take care of my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and aunt."
"Don't worry." Peng Wang nodded, waved his hand at the two of them, urging them to leave quickly.
Mo Jiuye held He Zhiran's hand, and they first arrived at the spot where Lv had last seen Xie Lin.
Then, starting from that spot, their eyes carefully observed, not missing any trace.
At the same time, they were calculating in their minds the most advantageous escape route and direction if they were to depart from that spot.
If they were not discovered, the best direction would be where the officials rested.
The officials were outside the circle of fire, intercepting the wolf pack. When Li Rou'er escaped with Xie Lin, there was no one there, and there were tents to provide cover, making it easy to avoid the sight of others.
Passing by the officials' tents, a small path appeared ahead.
Following the path, they observed very carefully, not even missing the grass by the roadside.
After walking about a hundred meters, a fork in the road appeared ahead.
The two of them tacitly split up, with He Zhiran going left and Mo Jiuye going right. Just a few steps out, He Zhiran squatted down and picked up a piece of torn cloth.
Mo Jiuye quickly approached and asked, "Did you find something?"
He Zhiran held up the palm-sized piece of torn cloth in front of Mo Jiuye.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is Xie Lin's kerchief."
She vividly remembered that she had touched Xie Lin's head earlier today.
Because the silk kerchief was dark green, she couldn't help but find it amusing. She thought to herself that ancient people really paid attention to detail, even boys would wear a green silk kerchief on their heads.
Mo Jiuye clenched the silk kerchief in his hand.
"Let's go, let's continue the pursuit," he said.
The two of them continued along the small path, becoming more meticulous in their search...
The story goes back half an hour.
Li Rou'er watched as the government officials ran outside the circle of fire to drive away the wolves. She knew that this was her opportunity.
To be safe, she decided to observe from a place where there were many people.
As she arrived at the spot where the Xie family rested, she saw Xie Lin standing alone behind the crowd.
So she boldly approached, forcefully covered his mouth, and spirited him away unnoticed.
The escape route she chose was indeed as Mo Jiuye had anticipated—it was behind the government officials' tents.
Li Rou'er had dislocated one of her arms, making it difficult to control Xie Lin with just one hand.
Furthermore, Xie Lin kept resisting.
So she casually entered a tent, picked up a sock that one of the officials hadn't had time to put on, and stuffed it into Xie Lin's mouth.
The pungent smell made Xie Lin momentarily dazed. Taking advantage of this, she found a rope and tied up Xie Lin's hands and feet separately.
Then she carried Xie Lin and quickly ran towards the small path.
As they approached a fork in the road, it was evident that one of the paths had been walked on more frequently, indicating that it was often used by people.
At this moment, Li Rou'er feared encountering other people, so she decisively chose the path with fewer footprints.
It was precisely at that moment that Xie Lin struggled to shake loose his hairpin, causing the silk kerchief to fall to the ground, providing valuable clues to He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye.
Li Rou'er had thought that Xie Lin, being a small child, wouldn't weigh much.
However, she had overestimated her own physical strength. She hadn't run far when she started to feel exhausted.
She looked back and saw no signs of anyone chasing them, so she took Xie Lin and hid in the bushes by the roadside.
She thought that as long as they could evade capture tonight, the government officials would give up their search in their haste to continue their journey. At that point, Xie Lin, this little brat, would be of no use, and she could just send him straight to the afterlife, sparing him the suffering of being with that group of criminals...
Little did she know that as Li Rou'er crouched in the bushes lost in her own thoughts, she heard footsteps not far away.
She immediately became alert and pulled Xie Lin forcefully in front of her.
Li Rou'er found a sharp stone from somewhere and pressed it against Xie Lin's neck.
If she were discovered, she would use Xie Lin's life as leverage, which would surely give her a chance to escape.
Mo Jiuye possessed exceptional martial arts skills and heightened perceptiveness.
As he passed by the patch of bushes, he halted his steps and sharply gazed in the direction where Li Rou'er was hiding.
By now, the eastern sky had begun to show a hint of pale light.
He clearly noticed something unusual in the bushes.
It was precisely a corner of Xie Lin's clothing.
"Li Rou'er, what's the big deal about using a child as leverage?" He Zhiran mercilessly exposed Li Rou'er's intentions.
This revelation not only surprised Li Rou'er, but she also knew deep down that she couldn't hide anymore.
In order to successfully escape, she struggled to suppress the anger she felt towards He Zhiran.
"Zhiran, I know that I've done many wrong things to you these past few days. It's because I couldn't accept the fact that I was exiled. Now I realize my mistakes. Considering our sisterhood, can you forgive me?"
"It's impossible." Before He Zhiran could respond, Mo Jiuye coldly rejected Li Rou'er's plea.
In his heart, Li Rou'er's actions towards He Zhiran were simply unforgivable. He didn't care about their past sisterly bond.
For someone like her, letting her go would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, guaranteeing future troubles.
The reason Mo Jiuye preemptively answered was because he was worried that He Zhiran might soften her heart.
If these words had come from He Zhiran, Li Rou'er might have found them more acceptable.
After all, in these past few days, their conflict had escalated to the point of no return.
