Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"I don't know how to judge, I just feel that he is hiding something. I'm a little scared, really a little scared." Li Xiangqian whispered, his eyes a little confused, "I can't be like before, asking nothing and doing nothing. I have to figure it out, otherwise I will always be uneasy."

"Is what you said... true?" Lin Xue's voice was trembling. She didn't expect things to develop to this point. "Should we trust your judgment, or are all your doubts? Do you really think there is something wrong with him?"

Li Xiangqian was silent for a moment, looked out the window, and murmured, "Yes, I'm not sure, but I feel something is wrong. I have to tell you, tell everyone."

Lin Xue finally turned around and sighed deeply. She felt extremely heavy. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to calm her inner fluctuations. She knew that Li Xiangqian would not lie without any reason. If he felt there was a problem, it could not be groundless.

"So what should we do next?" she asked in a low voice, "How should we respond?"

Li Xiangqian did not answer immediately, but walked silently to the window, his eyes seemed to flash with some kind of determination. He turned around, his eyes were firm: "We can't remain silent any longer. Now that the matter has been exposed, we can't do nothing. No matter what happens, we must be prepared to face all possible events."

Lin Xue listened to his voice, feeling complicated, too complicated to express in words. She knew that Li Xiangqian could no longer turn back, his determination was unshakable, and she had to walk on this uncertain road with him.

Li Xiangqian stood in the middle of the living room, feeling that the air in the room was heavy, as if it was suffocating him. Facing the gazes of his wife and children, he felt an indescribable pressure. He knew that at this moment, he could no longer hide anything and had to tell all these things, otherwise, everyone would be kept in the dark until one day, the danger hidden in the dark broke out, and they would not have time to react.

"Everyone listen to me," Li Xiangqian said in a low voice, with a hint of tension and heaviness. He took a deep breath and told himself that he could not back down. "He Yuzhu's recent behavior is really wrong. I think he may be hiding something."

Lin Xue put down her work and stared at him, her eyes filled with worry. "What do you mean? Why is he acting so strange?"

Li walked forward to the sofa. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "Today, I went to talk to him. Unexpectedly, things became more and more complicated. I began to suspect that he was not as simple as he seemed. First, he brought back a strange chicken. The chicken stared at me with its eyes, as if it was lifeless, and everything seemed so weird. You know, I am very sensitive to animals, and that chicken seemed to not belong to this world."

Lin Xue frowned slightly, obviously not expecting this to happen. "What happened to the chicken?"

Li Xiangqian's heartbeat began to speed up. He recalled how uneasy he felt when He Yuzhu brought back the chicken. At that time, he had a strong premonition in his heart: "I didn't ask him directly, for fear that he would be alerted, but the look in the chicken's eyes made me feel that something was very wrong. Its eyes were as black as a pool of dead water, as if there was no vitality. Moreover, when I saw it, He Yuzhu's expression suddenly became nervous, and he even avoided my sight. I didn't dare to ask further questions at the time, but I already had doubts in my heart."

Lin Xue tightly grasped the teacup in her hand and lowered her head to think for a while, "So what did you do next?"

"I also went to his house to see what he was hiding." Li Xiangqian's tone became heavier when he said this. "I found some signs of something wrong in his house. Some things seemed completely unreasonable. There were even some places that I felt he was deliberately hiding. The house was a mess, but I knew very well that he couldn't have been unaware that I would come in. His nervousness and the chicken's behavior made it difficult for me to calm down."

Lin Xue frowned even deeper: "Are you sure he is hiding something from us?"

Li Xiangqian slowly sat down, his eyes becoming confused. “I can’t be sure, but I have a strong feeling that there is a shadow hanging over him and us. But he never gave me a positive response. Sometimes, there was even something in his eyes that I couldn’t understand. He always avoided my questions, especially when I mentioned the chicken.”

The atmosphere became more oppressive. Li Xiangqian felt that he had released all the contradictions and anxieties by saying these words, but at the same time, he did not feel any comfort in his heart. Instead, the invisible pressure became even heavier.

"What will he do?" Lin Xue asked in a low voice, her eyes full of doubt and worry.

"I don't know," Li Xiangqian answered softly, pursing his lips. His thoughts began to become chaotic unconsciously, "But I know that we can't wait any longer. We must know the truth and can't continue to live in fear of uncertainty."

The little daughter sat quietly by the side, seemingly not understanding the conversation between her parents, but with a hint of uneasiness in her eyes, as if she also felt the tense atmosphere in the room. Li Xiangqian looked at her and couldn't help feeling guilty. This little girl didn't choose to enter this chaotic world, but had to live in this uneasy atmosphere.

"Dad, Mom, is there really something wrong with He Yuzhu?" the little daughter asked softly, with a hint of childish curiosity and fear in her voice.

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly shook, and he was stunned for a moment, his eyes dimmed. He looked at his daughter's innocent and ignorant eyes, and a burden rose in his heart. Perhaps, he did not fully understand what the man would do, but deep in his heart, he could not ignore the oppressive feeling. He finally sighed: "I am not sure, but we must be on guard. His current behavior has forced us to pay attention."

At this moment, the kitchen door was suddenly pushed open, and Li Xiangqian's mother came out with a sharp look in her eyes. "What on earth is going on that makes you so anxious? Xiangqian, tell me, what happened?"

"Mom," Li Xiangqian looked at his mother with a complicated feeling in his heart, "As I told you, there seems to be something wrong with He Yuzhu. He has been acting very abnormal recently. He brought back a strange chicken, and there seems to be something hidden in the house that we don't know about. I think he may be hiding something."