After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Zhuzhu felt Mei Xiangyun supporting her as she ran forward, her feet almost dangling in the air.

Deng Tuanyuan, who was a bit older and more familiar with the village roads, dashed ahead the moment Mei Xiangyun said "run," even having time to stop and look back.

Growing up has its advantages...

Whether it's a human or a demon or monster, Xu Zhuzhu felt that they were all bad things.

So, the group decided to press on without looking back and ran quickly toward the bridge leading into the village.

The candlelight is just across the stream on the other side.

The light that flashed past them along the way became increasingly bright in their eyes, and the bridge leading into the village seemed to grow shorter and shorter.

Xu Zhuzhu kept an eye on the sounds behind her.

After confirming that everyone had gotten onto the bridge and that the villagers could hear them by shouting loudly.

She quickly composed herself and looked back carefully.

It was only then that she realized that it was completely quiet behind her. There was no one chasing them, not even a single person in sight.

She nudged Mei Xiangyun: "Sister Mei, it seems that person hasn't caught up yet."

Upon hearing this, Mei Xiangyun also stopped walking.

He glanced back with some skepticism, and sure enough, he didn't see the person from before. But just to be on the safe side, he held on tightly to the three children.

Stand still, and then look carefully behind you.

Then, he let out a long sigh.

After confirming that the people who had been chasing them seemed to have stopped moving, Mei Xiangyun still held the children's hands tightly.

As luck would have it, Xu Zhuzhu saw two figures on the bridge searching for something; one was tall and thin, and the other was slightly hunched over.

"An'an! Zhuzhu!..."

It's confirmed, it's them I'm looking for.

Xu Zhuzhu knew it was her father as soon as she heard the voice.

After seeing that Xu Wenjie and Old Man Deng were on the other side of the bridge, Mei Xiangyun, who was exhausted, lowered her guard.

He shouted loudly, "Brother Xu! We're over here!"

Xu Wenjie paused, then quickly looked in the direction of the group.

Sure enough, a slender girl and several chubby boys were standing at the bridgehead.

"An'an! Zhuzhu!"

"Daddy!"

Almost at the same time, the moment Xu Wenjie ran over, his brother acted out of character.

No longer boasting of her composure, she ran towards Xu Wenjie's arms like a child, clearly genuinely frightened.

This is normal. No matter how much a five-year-old tries to act like an adult, their mind is still only that of a five-year-old. It would be strange if they weren't afraid when faced with something like this.

Xu Wenjie felt so sorry for him that he could only hug and comfort him.

Xu Zhuzhu remained calm: "Father, there's a figure chasing us. We don't know if it's a person or a ghost."

Unlike Xu An, she was staring intently at her father and brother, and spoke these words with great composure.

Mei Xiangyun, standing to the side, thought to herself, "She is indeed a bold girl."

These days, according to Sister-in-law Xu, the village had recently been plagued by wolves and the town by robbers. If an ordinary young girl encountered such a thing, she would probably be crying loudly in fear. How could she be as calm as Xu Zhuzhu?

Even though she's seen a lot in the world, she still felt a little sweaty when she thought about it.

Xu Wenjie is acting strangely. Usually, it's Xu Zhuzhu who acts coquettishly, but now it's the other way around.

Xu Zhuzhu knew what her father was thinking, but when she acted coquettishly, it was just her way of experiencing the joy of acting coquettishly with her parents. When it came to serious matters, when had she ever acted like a child?

This heart is as clear as heaven and earth...

After comforting Xu An, Xu Wenjie came over and hugged Xu Zhuzhu, gently coaxing her, "Zhuzhu, don't be afraid, Daddy's here."

At first I was a little scared, but then I thought that I had plenty of ways to escape, so I wasn't scared anymore, and I was even very curious about who that person was.

After saying this, Xu Wenjie solemnly handed the two children over to Mei Xiangyun and headed towards the bridge.

The path beside the stream leads down to the village's farmland, while on the other side lies a wild, overgrown reed bed. Peeking out, one sees nothing but the rustling of grass in the wind.

Lost in thought, he ultimately gained nothing.

Only then did Xu Zhuzhu notice the worry in her father's eyes.

From the way her father looked around aimlessly, searching for them, you could tell how anxious he was.

Indeed, before the group appeared, the bridge stretched as far as the eye could see, with reeds blocking the view. Seeing that he couldn't find anyone on this side, Xu Wenjie naturally had to look for someone else.

Xu Wenjie was still terrified. He held the two children in his arms, and his voice trembled uncontrollably, a stark contrast to his usual calm demeanor.

"Where have you been? Why aren't you home yet? Do you know how worried your father and mother were? Father has checked, there are no bad people, don't be afraid..."

"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid because I have my father."

Xu Zhuzhu grinned, patted her chest, and smiled so wide that her back teeth were showing.

Xu Wenjie patted her round head, wanting to scold her, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything reprimanding, so he just pinched her chubby cheeks.

"It won't happen again."

The two children nodded obediently.

At this moment, Old Man Deng also hurried over.

Xu Zhuzhu leaned on her father's shoulder and noticed that Uncle Deng was holding two bowls, one of which was upside down on top of the other. He was holding both of them, and it was unclear what was inside.

Why does it look so much like someone is trying to call back a soul?

Xu Zhuzhu quietly asked Deng Tuanyuan, who was standing next to her, "Grandpa Deng has this skill? Is he perhaps a Taoist priest?"

What is a Taoist priest?

Is not it?

"Look, isn't Grandpa Deng holding two bowls here to call back the soul?"

Xu Zhuzhu knew about things back in college. She had a roommate from an ethnic minority group in her dorm, and one year she invited all the students in her dorm to her house for a visit. That's when she met her by chance.

When it gets late, children don't want to go home for dinner, so they do what old man Deng did: take two bowls and turn them upside down at the bridge intersection...

It was all for peace of mind, but she couldn't remember the specifics. So, this kind of saying existed in this world too?

At this moment, Deng Tuanyuan was still holding onto that bundle of reeds. Even in the tense atmosphere just now, he held onto the reeds tightly and even brought them back with him.

To be honest, Xu Zhuzhu admired him a lot, but she also felt quite uncomfortable.

However, Deng Tuanyuan said he knew nothing about the so-called "soul calling".

At this moment, Old Man Deng pulled Deng Tuanyuan over and slammed the two bowls in his hands onto Deng Tuanyuan's head, scolding, "Where did you take your younger siblings to play? If something happens, how can you face Mr. Xu?"

It wasn't a bowl, it was a hollow wooden hammer, just rounder...

Seeing Deng Tuanyuan being beaten made her feel even more guilty.

After all, it was she who brought up the topic, and one should take responsibility for one's own actions. Xu Zhuzhu, who was not even half a person tall, stood in front of Deng Tuanyuan with great loyalty.

"Grandpa Deng, please don't hit Tuanyuan. It's not his fault. I insisted that he weave something for me, which is why I went to pick reeds."

His short body, standing in front of Deng Tuanyuan, didn't even cover his head, but his big eyes were full of stubbornness.

Old Deng had no choice but to look at Xu Wenjie.

Xu Wenjie was both annoyed and amused, but he had no choice but to give Xu Zhuzhu a good beating.

Is this something to be proud of?

Xu Zhuzhu cried out "Ouch!" and clutched her head in pain.

Seeing this, Xu An quickly spoke up, "Grandpa Deng, please don't hit Brother Tuanyuan. Father, it's all my fault. I didn't take good care of my sister. It's all my fault."

The children had gone through so much hardship together, but Mei Xiangyun herself remained silent. She always felt that none of the children were as responsible as her, so she spoke up and took the responsibility upon herself.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. I didn't take good care of my younger siblings. My sister-in-law will be very upset if she finds out."

Even the usually amiable Old Man Deng couldn't help but roll his eyes, momentarily at a loss for words, but inwardly he muttered, "Yes, yes, you're all good people..."

Hearing Mei Xiangyun's words, Xu Wenjie also came over to persuade her, "Uncle, let it go. Since the children have all returned safely, just let it go. Just scold them a couple of times."

With deep love comes great concern. Old Man Deng was also afraid that something might happen to Deng Tuanyuan, and then he would truly be the only lonely old man left in the world.

Xu Wenjie understands Uncle Deng.

Old Deng himself felt sorry for his grandson, but he was afraid that the child wouldn't learn his lesson if he wasn't disciplined. Now that everyone was saying nice things, he naturally went along with it and stopped.

After that, everyone went home.

Xu Wenjie, along with his two children and Mei Xiangyun's group, hurried home before it got completely dark.

As they passed the big locust tree in the village, an old woman came towards them in a hurry, looking left and right, and almost bumped into Xu Wenjie and his group.

Although the old woman tried her best to keep her head down, Xu Wenjie still recognized her.

Zhang Chenshi, Zhang Xiaolin's mother.