Ping Zhao Lu

Wang Cheng clutched the child tightly, running like the wind towards the fork in the road. His breathing became increasingly rapid, each gasp seeming to drain all the air from his chest. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his clothes.

Wang Ruo, who was held in his arms, had a childish face filled with curiosity and excitement. He blinked his big eyes, waved his hands, and shouted, "Dad, are we playing catch with the uncles? It's so fun!"

Wang Cheng struggled to respond while running, "Yeah, so Daddy has to run faster, otherwise he'll be caught, and it won't be fun if he's caught!"

Hearing this, Wang Ruo was even more excited, clapping his hands and cheering: "Great, great! Then Daddy, run faster! The uncles are catching up!"

Wang Cheng felt bitter when he heard this, but he gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. However, the long run gradually made him exhausted, and his legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

After running for who knows how long, Wang Cheng finally gave up and stopped in a forest. He bent over, his hands on his knees, gasping for breath, as if he would faint at any moment.

Wang Cheng felt completely exhausted and powerless, and he no longer had the strength to run. At this moment, Wang Ruo suddenly pointed to a place not far away and shouted, "Dad! They're coming!"

Wang Cheng's heart suddenly tightened, and his originally weak body suddenly burst out with strength.

He stood up straight with a start, quickly put the child down, looked at Wang Ruo with a firm gaze and said, "Ruo'er, Daddy will tell you the truth. They are not playing with us, but are here to hunt down your dad. Daddy will stay behind to cover your retreat, and you quickly run into the depths of the woods, the farther the better, and don't look back! Remember?" After saying that, Wang Cheng turned around to face the approaching people, showing an attitude of fighting to the death.

Wang Ruo looked at Wang Cheng with a puzzled look in his eyes, "Why, Dad? The uncles don't look like bad people!"

Wang Cheng was extremely anxious, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He pushed Wang Ruo away with all his strength and said anxiously, "Son, hurry up! Daddy doesn't have time to explain so much to you now!" He pointed to a winding path and said, "If you run up this path, you can get out of here. Hurry up!"

Wang Ruo stood there stubbornly, refusing to move an inch. Tears welled up in his eyes as he cried out, "I won't! I won't leave! I want to be with my daddy!"

Wang Cheng was furious and anxious, shouting, "Go! Stop dawdling!"

But Wang Ruo still clung to Wang Cheng's legs tightly, crying and shaking her head, "I won't! I will never abandon Daddy and run away by myself!"

Just when the father and son were in a stalemate, Xu Zhouye and his guards hurried to the scene.

However, the father and son continued to play the "you leave and I stay" drama.

Xu Zhouye saw this scene: "..."

With all the time I had to push and shove, I could have run a little further with the child in my arms.

Wang Cheng's face turned pale when he saw Xu Zhouye and the others stop. He held Wang Ru tightly behind him in fear, his eyes wide with anger as he cursed, "Are you guys done yet? I've already fled to this damn place under a false name, and you still found me! It was that bitch Wei Fu who bullied me first! I haven't even had time to seek revenge on her yet, and you guys are actually trying to silence me!"

Xu Zhouye frowned slightly when he heard this.

Before he could even open his mouth to respond, Wang Cheng on the side was already furious and continued to curse: "Humph, I'm going to say this today. Even if I die today and become a fierce ghost in the underworld, I will never let that bitch off easily! I will curse her severely, let her suffer all the humiliation in this world, and die miserably with a heart full of resentment! And after death, she can only become a helpless ghost, suffering the painful torture of being devoured by other evil spirits..."

Xu Zhouye just stood there silently, listening quietly to Wang Cheng's angry and hateful curses.

After an unknown amount of time, when Wang Cheng finally got tired of scolding and his voice gradually stopped, Xu Zhouye took his time to walk forward.

Wang Cheng instinctively protected Wang Ruo behind him, his face filled with guilt. Tears kept falling from his eyes, dripping onto the ground beneath his feet. He trembled and said, "My child, it's all Daddy's fault. If I hadn't taken you in, you wouldn't have ended up like this..."

Little Wang Ruo was so frightened that he burst into tears. He sobbed and clutched the corner of his father's clothes with his trembling hands, crying, "Dad! I'm scared... Wuuuuu... I'm scared of blood..."

Wang Cheng's heart felt as if it was pierced by thousands of sharp blades at the same time, and the pain was unbearable. He hurriedly hugged the child tightly in his arms, trying to use his thin body to shield him from all fear and danger.

Time passed minute by minute, but strangely, the expected severe pain did not come upon them.

Wang Cheng was filled with suspicion, wondering what the other party was up to. So, he mustered up his courage and raised his head tremblingly, wanting to see what was going on.

But all they saw was Xu Zhouye, whose expression was as calm as water. He held a handkerchief as white as snow in his hand, and was passing it towards them. He said slowly, "Don't be alarmed, sir. I am not from the Wei family. On the contrary, I have a lot of grievances with Wei Fu."

Wang Cheng was dumbfounded, not knowing whether to believe it or not.

Seeing that he refused to take the handkerchief, Xu Zhouye took it back and chuckled, "If I were really from the Wei family, I would have killed you before you even entered the house. Besides, if we hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid your child would have been kidnapped by the thieves."

After hearing this, Wang Cheng's heart suddenly tightened. He quickly turned his gaze to Wang Ruo beside him and asked with a slightly trembling voice, "Ruo'er, is what this uncle said true? Did a bad guy really break into our house?"

Wang Ruo, who had been sobbing non-stop, suddenly stopped. He blinked his red and swollen eyes, nodded blankly, and said in a tearful voice, "Daddy, it's true... My uncles are so powerful! They scared all those bad guys away in no time!"

After hearing the child's words, Wang Cheng finally felt relieved and breathed a long sigh of relief. He then reached out and gently patted Wang Ruo's back, trying to comfort the frightened child.

Wang Cheng then lowered his head, lost in thought. After a moment, he slowly raised his head, staring at Xu Zhouye with a questioning yet wary look, and asked, "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

Xu Zhouye raised the corner of his mouth slightly, a faint smile blooming on his handsome face, "Of course I want you..." He paused, "to use you for my own purposes."