An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

Xiaoman lay on the ground with her hands supporting her head, but her eyes were fixed on Jing Chunxi, with three words written all over her face and eyes: What should I do?

Jing Chunxi replied with one word: "Wait!"

Although her voice was soft, it sounded remarkably firm in the darkness, reassuring even Xiao Tianbao. Now all they could do was wait, wait for an opportunity, wait for a turnaround, and observe the situation.

For two consecutive days, their daily lives were simple and repetitive - eat and sleep, sleep and eat.

Jing Chunxi would give Tianbao and Xiaoman a row of milk slices at every meal. To stay hydrated, the three of them had to drink their sweet potato soup relentlessly. Little Tianbao initially didn't want to eat, but after Jing Chunxi's lecture, he didn't dare leave a single drop in his bowl.

Little Sweetie didn't want to follow suit, so she gave Jing Chunxi half a white steamed bun at each meal. White steamed buns were extremely precious at that time, and Xiaoman didn't get any. He only chewed one black steamed bun per meal for the three of them.

Jing Chunxi was also very curious and felt that Xiao Tianbao's cotton coat was like a treasure. If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Tianbao's belly sank an inch every time she ate a steamed bun, Jing Chunxi would have thought that the fairy aunt had also favored her.

Xiao Man couldn't help but look at Xiao Tian Bao's bulging belly with curiosity during every meal. Xiao Tian Bao obviously noticed Xiao Man's gaze and would roll his eyes at him every time, almost saying, "This is mine, don't even think about it."

Tianbao doesn't like Xiaoman very much. Although Jing Chunxi occasionally talks to Xiaoman and knows that Xiaoman is with her sister, Tianbao still ignores him and won't share a bite of steamed bun with him.

Despite not having seen her family for two days at such a young age, the little sweetie didn't cry at all. Her expression was well controlled, and she didn't even hum in her sleep. She was calmer than an adult. Her resilience surprised Xiao Man and comforted Jing Chunxi.

Although Xiao Tianbao is young, she knows that crying is useless in this situation and only by being strong can she survive.

Every morning and evening, people were thrown in, sometimes just a few, and at most eleven.

The small dark room became even darker and more crowded. The already small space was packed to the brim, and the three of them could only huddle together when sleeping.

The air was filled with a foul smell that was suffocating.

On the third night, it was completely dark and everyone lay down to sleep as usual. Jing Chunxi lay on the ground, still worried about whether he would stay here too long.

At this moment, the heavy wooden door slowly opened, and the creaking sound in the dark seemed particularly strange. Xiao Man's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked at Jing Chunxi, but Jing Chunxi had a calm expression.

This time, even the chains on the wooden fence were opened. What does this mean? We should be able to enter the tiger's den soon!

"Get up, everyone, get up, and behave yourself." Several men in black rushed in at once, late at night. Although one held an oil lamp, the light was dim, illuminating only a small area. The others were still terrified, and cries and shouts of fear echoed one after another.

"Please, don't tie me up." Someone cried and begged, his voice full of despair.

"You bad guys! Let me go." He struggled angrily, but was soon pinned to the ground by the man in black.

"I don't want to go to Japan, wuwu! No! I want my mother." The boy cried heartbreakingly, which made people feel distressed.

Besides the two brothers, Xiao Man was the one crying the loudest. He cried and struggled, shouting, "No! No!" His voice was particularly harsh in the darkness.

The other adults just sobbed softly, not daring to make any noise. They knew that resistance was futile and would only lead to more beatings.

Xiao Man's face was completely covered in dust and tears from her crying. Her true appearance, which had been revealed over the past two days, had become even more horrible. Even Jing Chunxi couldn't bear to look at it.

Xiao Tianbao was even more disgusted: "Cry, cry, cry, you only know how to cry. You are such a grown-up, it's so ugly." She glared at Xiao Man, her heart full of dissatisfaction.

Although Xiao Tianbao was young, when faced with this scene, he just hugged Jin Chunxi's arm tightly without shedding a single tear.

The final result of such a commotion was that whoever made the most noise would be tied up. Xiao Tianbao felt a little sorry when he saw Xiao Man and the two brothers being tied up.

Jing Chunxi saw Xiao Tianbao's expression and knew she was struggling. But her calm expression was too abrupt in the crowd.

She pinched Xiao Tianbao so hard that tears immediately flowed from her eyes. The little girl was finally moved and was willing to cry. But when she saw Xiao Man and the two brothers being tied up, she didn't dare to make any noise. She cried like a spoiled child: "Wuwu! Sister, wuwu! It hurts!"

Jing Chunxi hugged her and shed tears silently. After being pinched by Jing Chunxi, the little sweet baby looked at her with tears in her eyes and resentment, as if silently accusing her: "Sister, you are too much."

Jing Chunxi knew that her actions were somewhat cruel, but she had no other choice. She could only use this method to make Xiao Tianbao understand that in this situation, no accidents could happen. They had to unite and not give up easily.

Everyone's hands and feet were tied up again, their mouths gagged, and they were driven out of the small dark room. Outside was the despairing cold.

Once the oxcarts and mule carts were full, they were shipped out. The three of them remained close together, not daring to separate, fearing that if they were careless, they would be sent to different places.

After another bumpy ride and two cups of tea, they finally saw the river again. However, they landed not at the pier where they had moored when they arrived, but on a riverbank.

Before they got close, they could see three boats docked by the river. These three boats were not small ferries, nor were they the large boats they had taken when they arrived.

The middle-aged man, who loved to say strange things, had lost his cloth in his mouth. Seeing the scene ahead, he immediately turned mournful and muttered, "They must be sending us to the seaside to transfer us to a larger ship. I heard it takes several months to sail to Japan on the other side. We'll never be able to return."

These words caused the already mournful crowd of men to sob and wail, their faces utterly lost in despair. The two young men simply collapsed to the ground, the younger one weeping uncontrollably, refusing to leave. Their resistance resulted in each receiving two lashes and being forced to limp forward.

Several torches illuminated the road ahead, and after walking just over a hundred steps, the river surface became clearly visible.

This should be a tributary, not even half the size of the Minjiang River.

The three boats moored by the river were all single-story and quite spacious. Besides the boatman, each boat had someone guarding the bow and stern.

Xiaoman was pushed onto a boat. When she looked back, she saw Jing Chunxi and Xiao Tianbao were also pushed onto the same boat. She felt a little relieved.

In addition to the captain and four boatmen, there were four soldiers holding broadswords on each boat, two at the bow and two at the stern.

Yes, they were real soldiers! Other civilians might not be able to tell in the dark, but Jing Chunxi and Xiao Man were all too familiar with that uniform.

The people escorting them were actually soldiers wearing Daqing Dynasty uniforms! There wasn't a single Japanese person in sight.

At this moment, Jing Chunxi felt a chill in her heart. All this had already revealed the mystery in her mind. It was not the Japanese who harmed the people, but the prince and his gang who, under the pretext of Japanese invasion, plunged the people of Jian'an County into eternal damnation.