After the divorce, I trained my dog, and the scumbag father and son knelt down at my door.

The courtyard wall was built very high.

It was higher than the walls of a typical rural courtyard, precisely to prevent the abducted women from having any chance to escape.

Even if they are trapped, we will trap them here to die.

Zhuo Yuchen glanced at it.

Then he went over and moved a small water tank with a lid to it.

With his feet planted on the ground, he could easily climb over the courtyard wall with his agility.

but……

Yan Niannian is no good.

So, standing on the water tank, Zhuo Yuchen squatted down.

He patted Yan Niannian on the shoulder and greeted her with a smile, "Come on, Niannian, step on my shoulder and I'll help you up."

"it is good!"

Yan Niannian stepped forward and stood on Zhuo Yuchen's shoulders.

"Hold on tight, Niannian!"

While reminding Yan Niannian, Zhuo Yuchen carefully got up.

He struggled to maintain his balance.

He was afraid that he might fall and hurt Nian Nian.

Now, the height is sufficient.

Yan Niannian gritted her teeth and climbed up the wall using both her hands and feet.

"Phew!" With a sigh of relief, Yan Niannian sat steadily on the wall.

Without the slightest hesitation, she leaned down and extended her hand to Yan Niannian, "Come here, Zhuo Yuchen!"

Zhuo Yuchen was slightly taken aback.

His eyes darted around.

A smile gradually appeared in his eyes.

As a result, my heart felt warm.

He knew that Nian Nian cared about him.

Zhuo Yuchen reached out and shook his hand.

As their fingers intertwined, Zhuo Yuchen was about to use his strength to push off the wall and climb up when a cold, eerie voice suddenly rang out, "Mom, are you leaving?"

"Don't you want me anymore?"

Zhuo Yuchen paused.

Yan Niannian paused for a moment, then frowned and looked over.

It's Xiaojun.

He was standing in the courtyard, a few steps away from the two of them.

He tilted his head, looking at them with a half-smile.

That once innocent and childlike face was now tinged with a faint shadow under the moonlight, making it look rather unsettling.

It even gave me a creepy feeling.

Yan Niannian's pupils narrowed.

A very bad premonition rose in my heart.

Before she could say anything, Xiao Jun's next words shocked Yan Niannian.

This time, Xiao Jun looked at Zhuo Yuchen and asked, "Uncle Zhuo, is that you?"

"Why did you have to take Mom away from me?!"

Perhaps out of instinctive fear of Zhuo Yuchen, he spoke in a low voice.

but……

On that seemingly sorrowful face, an unyielding twist of stubbornness still surfaced uncontrollably.

"Ok?"

Zhuo Yuchen couldn't help but be surprised.

She had disguised herself well with makeup, but she never expected that he would see through her disguise in the end.

This kid is something else.

That's quite a deep thought!

Yan Niannian and Zhuo Yuchen exchanged a serious glance.

The unexpected turn of events was completely unforeseen.

But under no circumstances should Xiaojun be allowed to shout loudly and attract the other villagers.

Thinking of this, Yan Niannian decided to calm Xiaojun down first.

"Xiaojun, it's so late, why aren't you going home to sleep yet?"

"Auntie wants to talk to your grandma about something. If your grandma comes back later and sees you still wandering around the yard so late, she'll be angry."

"is it?"

Tilting his head, Xiao Jun's smile widened.

He seemed to have noticed Yan Niannian's concerns, and slowly raised his hands to his lips, palms facing each other, making a trumpet shape.

Then, he mouthed maliciously, "Mom, I won't let you go!"

"Stay with me, stay with me for the rest of your life, and stay with me well!"

Oops!

Upon seeing this, Yan Niannian and Zhuo Yuchen were both taken aback.

But the two of them were still some distance away from him, and it was too late for them to stop him.

"Come……"

Just as Xiao Jun was about to shout, a deafening roar suddenly erupted at the critical moment.

The earth-shattering event was vividly depicted at that moment; the mountains collapsed and the ground cracked.

The entire earth trembled.

Xiao Jun shuddered and immediately fell to the ground, his face turning deathly pale.

Yan Niannian also shuddered.

She lost her balance and almost fell off the wall.

Fortunately, Zhuo Yuchen reacted quickly and caught her.

He frowned, his expression grim as he looked in the direction the sound came from—the entrance to the mountain valley.

His eyes revealed a solemn light.

Although it was already dark, mushroom-shaped plumes of smoke could still be faintly seen rising from the site of the explosion.

"What... happened?" Yan Niannian felt her head buzzing. She looked at Zhuo Yuchen in disbelief, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out these words through gritted teeth.

However, before Zhuo Yuchen could say anything, the village erupted in uproar.

"Oh my god, what's going on? Where did such a loud noise come from?"

"It was terrifying; it scared me so much that I fell right off the kang (a heated brick bed)."

"Judging by the direction, this is the entrance to our village."

"I heard from the village chief that he bought some gunpowder to use for digging a well in the spring. Could it be that the gunpowder exploded just now?"

"Let's go see what's going on!"

The villagers were terrified.

More and more people ran out of the house, some without even having time to put on their shoes.

At this moment, Yan Niannian was still sitting on the wall, making her extremely conspicuous.

Zhuo Yuchen's eyes sharpened.

He immediately reached out and hugged Yan Niannian.

They quickly picked her up and carried her down.

Then, Zhuo Yuchen sat on the ground, placed Yan Niannian in his arms, and held her close, trying to give her a sense of security.

Yan Niannian was preoccupied and did not notice Zhuo Yuchen's actions.

She merely raised her eyelids and glanced at him.

Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke.

The atmosphere became heavy as he lowered his eyes.

Yan Niannian frowned, her expression not looking too good.

A bad feeling rose in my heart.

Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, she clearly heard the keywords "village entrance" and "explosives" from the noise outside the door.

Things may have changed.

The plan has been shelved, and now we can only wait and see what happens.

Fortunately, news came soon.

"Damn it, the gunpowder really did explode, knocking down that rock on the mountaintop and blocking the road into the village."

The young man who went to gather information first has returned.

He yelled and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The villagers were dumbfounded.

You go and see, I'll look at you.

Breathing is sluggish.

The only way out has been blocked?

Are they unable to get out?

how so?

Yan Niannian was also shocked.

Her pupils dilated sharply, and her back stiffened.

My heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

The feeling of hoping for immediate fulfillment, only to watch helplessly as that hope is shattered, is like that of a drowning person.

As my body grew ice-cold, the feeling of suffocation became uncontrollable.

It kept coming.

At this moment, breathing became heavy and difficult.