Chapter 34

As he approached the balcony, Xiaoqing's body trembled even more, and eventually, she climbed down from his wrist and hid back in bed.

Xu Mo’s heart was filled with unease and confusion, leaving him no time to tend to her. He took three steps as if they were two, walked to the edge of the balcony, picked up a stick, pushed open the window, and poked his head out to look.

Just one glance, and he was startled.

On the railing of Qin Ruolan’s balcony, a black eagle had perched. Its head was stretched forward, and it was looking into the room through the window. Inside, the baby, startled, cried even louder.

The black eagle, hearing the window open, turned its head and looked at Xu Mo. When Xu Mo’s eyes met its sharp gaze, he felt a chill in his heart and couldn’t help but think: Could this eagle be the one I saw on Beishan?

Since that strange experience, he had become as skittish as a frightened bird, assuming every eagle he saw was the one from Beishan.

It was night then, and he only caught a fleeting glimpse, so he wasn’t clear on what the eagle looked like. Besides, to humans, eagles all look similar unless they are of different species. Even if he saw one during the day, a quick glance wouldn’t allow him to distinguish one from another afterward.

This eagle, however, was somewhat special. It seemed to be a mutated variety of a sparrowhawk, much larger than a regular sparrowhawk, and its entire body was covered in black, shiny feathers without a single杂毛.

Such a distinctive appearance should, in theory, leave a deep impression after just one sighting. Unfortunately, when Xu Mo saw the eagle on Beishan, it was at night, and he didn’t get a clear look at it. Therefore, he couldn’t tell if this eagle was the same one.

The eagle, however, remained calm, unafraid even as it met Xu Mo’s gaze. Without waiting for Xu Mo to drive it away, it spread its wings and flew off into the sky.

As the eagle left, the baby’s crying gradually subsided and eventually calmed down.

At this point, Xu Mo finally realized that the baby’s night crying and Xiaoqing’s agitation last night were probably not omens of disaster but were caused by this eagle.

This realization only increased his unease. If this eagle was indeed the one he saw on Beishan, and he couldn’t recognize it, it didn’t mean the eagle couldn’t recognize him.

If it returned, with its intelligence, it would surely find a way to tell that man surnamed Zhao where he lived and bring him to capture him.

This would put him in grave danger.

The eagle’s presence here was likely to find him. He wondered how Liu Qian was doing and whether he had been caught. But given Liu Qian’s experience, he probably anticipated this and had already left the city.

Xu Mo’s mind became restless and anxious. What should he do?

The best option now was to move, but when he checked his wallet, he realized he didn’t even have enough money to move.

No matter what, he couldn’t stay here. If his guess was correct and this eagle was the one from Beishan, it would bring that man surnamed Zhao tonight.

Even if his guess was wrong and it wasn’t the same eagle, he couldn’t take the risk. If he couldn’t move, he would stay outside for a few days to observe the situation.

He found a backpack, packed some valuables, put Xiaoqing in a bamboo tube, and placed it in the backpack. He then made some arrangements in the house and hurriedly left.

He didn’t dare stay nearby, so he took a random bus to a school area and found a nearby internet cafe to hide in. He didn’t have much money left and couldn’t afford to go online, so he found an empty seat and sat down, and no one bothered him.

At night, he spent a few dollars for an all-night stay, didn’t go online, and slept on the seat.

The next morning, he left the internet cafe and wandered around outside all day. By nightfall, he still didn’t dare return and spent another night in the internet cafe. The third day was the same.

It wasn’t until the fourth day, near evening, that he cautiously returned to his residence. He thought that if anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now.

He didn’t dare go directly back. He circled the neighborhood a few times, observed the surroundings, and stood behind a building to look at his room from a distance. The window he had left closed was still closed, showing no signs of disturbance.

He didn’t let his guard down and stood behind the building for a while before cautiously approaching his building. He stopped at the bottom of the building for a while before opening the outer door and walking up the stairs.

He walked quietly to his front door but didn’t rush in. He first pressed his ear to the door to listen. Hearing no sounds, he then checked the door crack.

Before leaving, he had slipped a piece of paper into the door crack. If anyone had opened the door while he was away, the paper would have fallen to the ground.

By checking this, he could determine if anyone had been in his house.

He learned this trick from a movie. He thought that even if that man surnamed Zhao had been here, he wouldn’t have noticed such details in a hurry.

To avoid arousing suspicion, he had deliberately made the room messy and scattered some waste paper on the floor. This way, if that man surnamed Zhao saw the paper, he would assume it had always been there and wouldn’t think anything of it.

But when he checked the door crack, he was surprised to find the paper still there, showing no signs of disturbance.

When he opened the door and carefully inspected the room, his suspicions grew. The room didn’t look like anyone had been inside.

He couldn’t believe it and took out his phone to compare some photos he had taken before leaving. He had deliberately made the room very messy and chaotic, so even if he tried again, he couldn’t recreate it exactly. This way, even if that man surnamed Zhao had bypassed the paper in the door crack and entered through the window, he would have left some clues if he had searched the room.

But after comparing the photos with the room, he found no suspicious signs.

Still uneasy, he went to the balcony to check the window. Before leaving, he had taken a spider web from a corner, pulled out two strands of spider silk, and attached them to the window and the wall. If anyone had opened the window, even slightly, the silk would have broken, leaving a clue.

The silk was so fine that it was almost invisible unless you looked closely. But when he checked, the silk was still intact.

Xu Mo’s expression changed, and he felt even more puzzled. He thought: Strange! Could it be that that man surnamed Zhao never came here? If this eagle was the one from Beishan, how could it not recognize me? Could it be that this eagle isn’t the one from Beishan, and I’m just being overly suspicious?

He couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Feeling slightly relieved, he pushed open the window and looked outside. He checked the sky and saw no sign of the black eagle, then looked at the ground and other buildings, seeing no suspicious people.

He put his things down, went out of his room, and knocked on Qin Ruolan’s door, asking her a few probing questions. She confirmed that no one had been looking for him in the past few days, and he finally felt at ease.

“It seems I was just being overly suspicious. That eagle wasn’t the one from Beishan,” Xu Mo thought as he returned to his room.

Despite this, he still didn’t sleep well that night. Qin Ruolan’s son, who had been scared that day, didn’t improve and continued to cry at night. Xiaoqing also seemed to have a psychological shadow and wandered around the room all night.

Nothing happened that night.

The next noon, Xu Mo received a phone call.

He looked at the number, which was unfamiliar, and after a moment’s hesitation, answered.

“Hello! Hi!”

“Hello!” A gentle female voice, timid and familiar, but Xu Mo couldn’t immediately place where he had heard it before.

“Who is this?” Xu Mo asked, puzzled.

“Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Luo Ci, Luo Shi’s sister.” The woman apologized and then continued, “A few days ago, I received a call from you. You seemed to be a friend of my sister, right?”

Luo Shi’s sister!

Xu Mo was startled and immediately thought: Why is she calling me? Could it be that something really happened to Luo Shi?

He didn’t have time to think more and admitted, “Yes, that’s right. What happened to your sister?”

Luo Ci’s voice was sad and mournful. “My sister had an accident and went missing.”

Xu Mo’s heart sank. Could it be that the old man in the bamboo forest and his group had lured Luo Shi into the mountains and captured her?

He urgently asked, “How long has your sister been missing? Did she leave any clues?”

“I don’t know. She disappeared a few days ago, and I’m not even sure if she’s missing.” Luo Ci’s voice was tinged with tears. She paused and then asked, “She left home the day you called me. Do you know where she went?”

Her voice was gentle, and now that she was asking for help, she spoke even more politely.

Xu Mo said, “She mentioned ‘deep mountains,’ but I’m not sure where exactly.”

“Deep mountains?” Luo Ci repeated, then asked, “Huai City is surrounded by mountains. Which direction is this ‘deep mountain’? Is it in Huai City?”

Her concern made her voice more urgent.