Chapter 67

At the beginning, Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua still scolded a few times, but when they saw their child's exhausted and sweaty appearance, they didn't say anything more. Each time, they would leave a portion of the food warm for Zhao Jin to eat when he returned home.

Not only did he come home later, but many other habits had also changed. Since the day of the tracking incident, Zhao Jin always carried a spear and a short knife with him. Previously, he used to leave these weapons at his second uncle Zhao Zhenxing's house, but now he never parted with them.

By March, the weather in Xuzhou had finally become less cold, and the kang (a type of bed) didn't need to be heated as much at night. Feeling tired during the day and without the heat at night, Zhao Jin slept very deeply and comfortably.

It was already the twelfth of March, and he hadn't seen Mu Shulan for nearly a month. If he didn't see her by the fifteenth, he would have to inquire about her. Unconsciously, the little girl had become a part of Zhao Jin's life. With this thought, Zhao Jin slowly fell asleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Zhao Jin was awakened by a knocking at the door. The surroundings were quiet, and it was pitch black outside the window. The knocking was particularly jarring.

After Zhao Jin regained his senses, his first reaction was to reach for the knife under his pillow. The knocking outside became more urgent, and the dogs around began to bark loudly. Zhao Jin hurriedly put on his clothes and walked out of the house with the knife.

When he stepped out of the house, he saw a figure and instinctively shrank back. Then he realized it was his father, Zhao Zhentang, who already had a knife in his hand.

"What are you doing out here? Go back inside!" Zhao Zhentang scolded.

Zhao Jin shook his head and said softly, "I can help too."

Zhao Zhentang was taken aback and lowered his voice, "It should be nothing serious. Follow me, and be careful."

It was indeed strange for someone to bang on the door in the middle of the night without shouting. Xuzhou was becoming increasingly unstable, and there had been several major cases of burglars breaking into homes at night, committing murders and thefts. The Zhao family had no relatives in Xuzhou, so there was no one who would visit them.

The father and son carefully opened the door and walked out with their knives. Zhao Jin noticed that his parents were very calm about the situation, and his mother had remained composed and hadn't come out.

In the courtyard, Zhao Jin put the knife back in his waist and picked up the spear. The weather had warmed up a bit, and the family's monkey had moved from inside the house to the outside. The monkey was unusually quiet and only made a small sound when the Zhao family came out.

The knocking continued, and the dogs in the neighborhood were barking wildly. Zhao Jin suddenly noticed that the force of the knocking wasn't very strong. If it weren't for the night, the sound wouldn't have been so noticeable. There was already movement in the neighboring courtyard, and the Zhao family's servant, Zhao San, had also gotten up, holding a stick.

The moonlight was quite bright, and the three men gathered together, each with a weapon. Zhao Zhentang called out to each other and carefully walked to the back of the door, asking in a low voice, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Uncle Zhao, it's me, Xiao Lan. Let me in quickly!" The three men in the courtyard were stunned. They had been so prepared, but they hadn't expected it to be Mu Shulan.

A girl they hadn't seen for nearly a month had come to the Zhao family in the middle of the night, which was indeed strange.

Zhao Zhentang didn't put down his knife and turned to have Zhao San remove the door bolt. Zhao Jin, who was eager to open the door, didn't dare to relax when he saw his father being so cautious.

The courtyard door opened, and outside was only Mu Shulan. Although the moonlight was dim, it was still clear that the girl was dressed very lightly and had a terrified expression on her face.

Mu Shulan stumbled in, and the first person she saw was Zhao Jin. She ran towards him, and Zhao Jin hurriedly put the spear aside. Before he could speak, the girl had already rushed into his arms and started crying. Mu Shulan's whole body was losing control and sliding down, and Zhao Jin had to hold her tightly to keep her from falling.

"Close the door and tell your wife to start a fire," Zhao Zhentang said in a low voice after looking around outside the courtyard door.

Inside the house, He Cuihua heard Mu Shulan's voice and lit the lamp. After a few comforting words, Zhao Jin noticed that Mu Shulan was wearing only a thin dress. He quickly took off his cotton jacket and put it on her, urging the little girl to go inside quickly.

It was cold at night, and Mu Shulan had run over in a thin dress, suffering a lot. Inside the house, under the lamp, it was clear that the girl's face was blue from the cold, and she was shivering uncontrollably. He Cuihua, feeling sorry for her, gave her a few pieces of clothing to wrap herself in and had Zhao San's wife start a fire and boil water.

But Mu Shulan's state was more like she had seen something terrifying and was on the verge of breaking down. He Cuihua and Zhao Zhentang exchanged glances and gently asked, "Xiao Lan, don't be afraid here. What happened?"

Mu Shulan didn't answer He Cuihua's question. He Cuihua hugged the girl and lowered her voice, "Xiao Lan, don't be afraid. Tell Auntie what happened."

The girl's trembling suddenly stopped, but her face turned pale. She stammered for a long time before finally bursting into tears and sobbing, "My father, my father was killed."

Mr. Mu was dead? And he was killed? Zhao Jin clearly remembered the imposing figure of Mr. Mu surrounded by people. Not to mention anything else, the men who escorted the girl had martial skills. With so many people at his disposal, how could he have been killed?

Zhao Jin's mind raced, and he also noticed that his parents were equally shocked by the news.

When people are emotionally tense, they often go to extremes, but once they start crying, it's not a big problem. On the other side, Zhao San's wife brought over a bowl of hot soup, and the little girl finally managed to speak coherently after drinking it.

After Mu Shulan returned home, her father, Mr. Mu, didn't let her go out, saying it was dangerous outside and she could only go out when it was safe.

Mr. Mu arranged for Mu Shulan to live in a separate courtyard, which, although separate, was adjacent to his own residence. The walls were designed in such a way that any sound from Mr. Mu's room could be heard clearly.

After moving into the courtyard, Mr. Mu made several agreements with the girl. She was not to leave the courtyard without his permission, her food and clothing would be provided by others, and she had to sleep in her outer clothes.

What puzzled Mu Shulan was that her father also told her to be more alert when sleeping. If anything went wrong, she should immediately run out of the door, ignoring everything, and seek help at the Zhao family's house.

Hearing this, Mu Shulan was already a bit scared, but she wasn't a capricious young lady. Seeing her father's serious expression, she obediently agreed.

The little girl was still shaken and spoke in a jumbled manner, but the three members of the Zhao family listened with serious faces.

Previously, Mu Shulan had run to the Zhao family's house because there was always arguing at home. This time, the noise at home was getting louder and louder, and it was only at night that it was particularly loud.

"... Originally, there were always many guests and uncles visiting our house every day, but it has become increasingly quiet, and the arguments only happen at night. In the past few days, my father has been personally delivering the food..."

Could the Mu family really be a gang? Zhao Jin was full of doubts.

In the past two days, no one had come to argue, and Mu Shulan finally slept a bit more peacefully at night. Tonight, she didn't hear anyone coming to her father's side, but she heard the door of his room moving in the middle of the night.

Then Mu Shulan heard someone talking to her father. Unlike the previous days when they would start arguing, this time both of them were very calm. Listening to them, Mu Shulan almost fell asleep.

"... Just then, I heard my father's scream. I... I know my father can endure pain, but he shouted so loudly, it must have been to let me hear..."

The Zhao family already knew what happened next: the little girl ran to the Zhao family.

After finishing her story, Mu Shulan seemed to have lost all her strength and just cried. He Cuihua comforted her continuously, while Zhao Zhentang walked back and forth a few steps, frowning and muttering to himself, "Mr. Mu Shengran is dead. What is this all about?"

Zhao Zhentang stopped and said, "Xiao Jin, take your weapons and come with me."

"Master, are you going out so late?" He Cuihua immediately looked up and said.

Zhao Zhentang picked up the ghost-head knife by his side and said in a low voice, "If there were people following, they would have already rushed in. Close the door and blow out the lamp. Don't open the door unless I call."

He Cuihua's face darkened, and she complained, "Who said that? Getting involved in these matters will bring trouble."