Since Aunt Qing left Qingfeng Town with Qin Feng and Han Ningshuang, and the eavesdropping device's range is only 500 meters, they can no longer rely on it to track the three. The best solution is to split up. Although splitting up is unsafe, there are only two of them now, and they can't just abandon a lead.
Ye Qi offered, "I have a teleportation card and I can run fast. I'll go and track Aunt Qing and the others. You stay in Qingfeng Town and continue to monitor Ren Yuan and the two children. What do you think?"
Shao Qingge asked worriedly, "What if you encounter danger while traveling alone?"
Ye Qi laughed and said, "Don't worry, I have a lot of control cards, and I also have the Bug King card that you gave me. If all else fails, I can transform into the Bug King. The Bug King is impervious to swords and spears, and can regenerate even if its limbs are cut off."
These ominous words made Shao Qingge frown, and she immediately interrupted him in a deep voice: "Don't talk nonsense. The Insect King isn't invincible either; its weakness is its fear of fire. If we're separated, I won't be able to help you in time if anything happens..."
Ye Qi looked up into Shao Qingge's eyes and said earnestly, "But if we let Aunt Qing lead us astray, we won't get the right answer and we won't be able to leave this locked room. Don't worry, I can take care of myself." He paused, then added, "I'm more worried about you, CEO Shao. Those Rich and Willful, Throwing a Fortune cards in your hand are no match for my musical cards if you run into trouble."
Meeting the boy's earnest gaze, Shao Qingge's heart softened. He gently pressed his shoulder and said, "You're right, we can't just let a lead slip away. Okay, let's split up and stay in touch using Telepathic Connection. No matter what happens, your safety comes first, understand?"
Ye Qi nodded solemnly: "You too."
The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Qi mouthed "Take care" to him before disappearing in a flash.
Aunt Qing's horse was clearly not full and wasn't running very fast. Ye Qi caught up with them in no time.
Shao Qingge stayed at Ren Yuan's place, patiently observing. The two maintained contact via Telepathic Connection, both to confirm each other's safety and to discuss countermeasures.
After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qi's voice suddenly echoed in Shao Qingge's mind: " Aunt Qing has brought the two children to Yue Prefecture, but the situation here is not much better than in Qingfeng Town. Many people have died from famine, and there are corpses all along the way. Aunt Qing did not enter the city, but settled the two children in a dilapidated temple outside the city. No one lives in this dilapidated temple."
Shao Qingge asked in confusion: "A dilapidated temple?"
Ye Qi said, "There is a dry well in the dilapidated temple, and the dry food she hid in it is inside."
Shao Qingge understood: "I see. Ren Yuan has encountered some problems. Qi Ran has a high fever, is unconscious, and has started to develop red spots on his body. Xiao Yun has been taking care of him the whole time."
"A persistent high fever?" Ye Qi paused, "Could it be an infection in his severed finger wound?"
"That's possible. He also has a lot of red spots on his face, so he probably has chickenpox, the same disease as Han Ningshuang." Shao Qingge had chickenpox when he was a child. He remembers that his whole body was covered with red spots, which were incredibly itchy. His parents forbade him to go out, and he suffered at home for a week before recovering quickly.
According to the doctor, people who have had this disease develop antibodies and acquire lifelong immunity, so they will not get the same disease again. Shao Qingge was young at the time, and after recovering, he didn't pay much attention to it. Now, seeing the red spots on Qi Ran's body, he remembered this experience from his youth.
Ye Qi pondered for a moment and said, "So, the old lady lied to those people by saying that the children had smallpox, which is highly contagious, in order to get them to send the children away. In fact, these children only had chickenpox?"
Shao Qingge nodded: "Yes, I had chickenpox when I was a child, so I know about this disease. Both smallpox and chickenpox cause spots on the skin, but the mortality rate is very different. Smallpox had been eradicated in our time, but in ancient times, smallpox was the most terrible and deadly infectious disease. It would be very difficult to survive if you got smallpox, right?"
Ye Qi thought that if Professor Xiao were here, he would have a more professional explanation for these diseases. He and Shao Qingge were both laymen, only knowing the basics. Shao Qingge's analysis made a lot of sense. Ye Qi thought for a moment and said, "There will probably be more things to happen next. The death of the grandmother planted seeds of hatred in their hearts, but the murderer twenty years later used methods involving'soul-snatching sorcery.' How did the children learn these sorceries?"
Shao Qingge said, "That's right, that's the key. Let's continue to follow up."
Nothing happened for the rest of the day. At night, Qi Ran finally woke up. Zhou Xiaoyun gave him water. Qi Ran was so itchy all over that he kept scratching. Ren Yuan immediately stopped him: " A-Ran, don't scratch. You'll get a scar if you scratch it."
Qi Ran, pale-faced, looked up and asked, " Uncle Ren, will I survive?"
Ren Yuan gently patted his head: "You definitely can."
Qi Ran stared blankly at the sweet potatoes on the ground, murmuring softly, "My parents died when I was five. They left me no money, no food, and I wandered the streets begging with a broken bowl... I remember it was winter, and I was only wearing a tattered short jacket, my hands and feet numb with cold. That night, it snowed heavily, and I thought I was going to freeze to death..."
Zhou Xiaoyun choked up as she asked, "Did your mother-in-law save you?"
Qi Ran's lips curled slightly as she said, "It was Grandma and Ning Shuang. When I groggily woke up, I saw a little girl in red drape a cotton robe over me and slip a steaming hot bun into my hand. I've been like this for three days..."
Having not eaten anything, I thought I was dreaming of immortals, and devoured the steamed bun in two bites. My mother-in-law squatted down, looked at me, and said, "Poor child, come back with me. I can't let you eat well, but at least you won't be hungry and cold."
Ren Yuan sat to the side, saying nothing.
Zhou Xiaoyun started sobbing, while Qi Ran recounted her mother-in-law's story in fits and starts.
The old woman's surname was Sun. She was an outsider who came to Qingfeng Town with her husband to do business, and they also had a five-year-old son. The family was living a happy life until an illness caused her child to die, and her husband also accidentally fell off a cliff and died while out. She survived on her own, making a living by making toys and also adopting many orphans from the town.
Ren Yuan was her first adopted child, the same age as her child who died young. She treated Ren Yuan as her own son and passed on her rattle drum making skills to him. Her second adopted child was Aunt Qing. Then came Han Ningshuang, Qin Feng, Qi Ran, and the youngest, Zhou Xiaoyun.
For these children, their grandmother was their savior and their only family in the world.
Qi Ran took out a rattle drum from her bosom, choking back tears, and said, "This was a gift from my grandmother for my ninth birthday. There was no famine back then. My grandmother told me that she would teach me how to make rattle drums. I never expected..."
Ren Yuan sighed softly, pressed his shoulder and said, " A-Ran, don't be sad. Grandma in heaven wouldn't want you to be so heartbroken. You're sick right now, so focus on getting better first... Grandma would definitely want you all to live well."
Qi Ran hastily wiped away his tears, nodded, and said, "I will live. I didn't freeze to death when I was five, and I won't starve to death now." A determined glint flashed in the little boy's eyes, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "When I grow up, I will definitely take revenge on these people!"
Zhou Xiaoyun said earnestly, "Ran-ge, let's avenge Grandma together!"
Children's words shouldn't be taken too seriously. They may be filled with hatred today because of their grandmother's death, but it's hard to say who will be the one to do it when they grow up.
Ye Qi suddenly thought to himself, "The children all seem to care a lot about their grandmother. Could they be working together?"
After careful consideration, Shao Qingge also thought this was highly likely. He said, "Currently, Qi Ran, Zhou Xiaoyun, Qin Feng, and Han Ningshuang are in two groups, one in Qingfeng Town and the other in Yue Prefecture. It's uncertain whether they will meet again in this chaotic world. I remember that Qin Feng returned to Qingfeng Town many years later and immediately became the town mayor. Also, he has never been married?"
Ye Qi said, "Yes! I remember that the waiter said that Qin Feng's doorstep was almost worn down by matchmakers, but he politely declined all of them, saying that he was already engaged and was waiting for his sweetheart... Could it be that the sweetheart he was talking about was Han Ningshuang, who grew up with him?"
Shao Qingge nodded and said, "I think so too. If the person he's waiting for is Han Ningshuang, it means they were separated later, and that's why Qin Feng has been waiting for her. Since they were separated, is it possible that Han Ningshuang also learned that kind of soul-snatching evil magic?"
Ye Qi said with a headache, "We can't just follow them for more than ten years and wait for them to grow up, can we?"
Shao Qingge was silent for a moment, then said, "We must find the murderer as soon as possible, otherwise we will starve to death in this famine world. Because this time we did not stockpile any food in advance, and we only have a supply card."
Milk, instant noodles, mineral water, and chocolate —that's all the supplies in the supply pack. And each Secret Room World can only be used once. How many days can two adults last on this little bit of food?
Ye Qi smiled wryly and said, "In the world of famine, we really can't stay too long unless we steal food from others, but that would cut off their lifeline. With the supplies on my card, I can last three days on milk, chocolate and mineral water, and instant noodles. Can we solve the case in three days? If not, we'll have to eat tree leaves..."
Shao Qingge pressed his temples and said, "Let's do our best. Hopefully, we can find new clues within three days."
For the rest of the day, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi only drank one bottle of milk. By evening, a strong hunger pang struck. The town's food had already been looted, and Shao Qingge didn't want to steal Ren Yuan's sweet potatoes and risk endangering the potential killer, so he could only endure it.
Ye Qi, on the other hand, was familiar with the area and had already scavenged some wild grass around the dilapidated temple to prepare for food.
The next day, Ren Yuan, Aunt Qing, and the children did not behave in any unusual way.
Shao Ye and his companion ate the chocolate from the supply pack and drank half a bottle of Mineral Water.
The hunger was so intense it was impossible to ignore. His stomach was empty, and his rapidly churning digestive tract seemed to be screaming for food, his belly gurgling incessantly. Shao Qingge, a rich second-generation heir, had been pampered since childhood and could eat whatever he wanted. This was the first time he had ever experienced the feeling of hunger.
He finally understood how much suffering the people had endured during the famine. Under extreme hunger, humanity began to twist, and cannibalism, though horrifying, was a real phenomenon at the time.
He's already so miserable after only two days of hunger; how much worse must it be for the poor who haven't stockpiled food? They'd probably have to eat dirt and tree leaves.
Thinking of the corpses scattered by the roadside, Shao Qingge felt a mix of emotions.
On the third day, Shao Qingge finished the last packet of instant noodles in his supply pack. There was no hot water to cook the noodles, so he had to eat them dry.
However, nothing happened that day. Ren Yuan and Zhou Xiaoyun were taking care of the sick Qi Ran, while Aunt Qing was trying to find a way to feed the two children.
On the fourth day, the supplies in the supply packs had been eaten up, and they had to find a way to eat.
Shao Qingge looked around.
There wasn't even a leaf or weed left near Qingfeng Town. He was so hungry that he barely had the strength to walk. Ye Qi sensed his thoughts through the Telepathic Connection and suddenly had a brilliant idea. He said, "Why don't we go to Peach Blossom Spring? There are peach trees there, and a river. We can get something to eat to fill our stomachs."
Before Ye Qi left, Shao Qingge gave him a Tao Yuanming card and kept one for himself.
Upon hearing this, both of them activated Peach Blossom Spring and entered their own Peach Blossom Spring space.
Drink river water and eat peach blossoms.
Xiao Lou's Peach Blossom Spring has always been used for team teleportation. He never imagined that one day, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi would actually have to go to Peach Blossom Spring to eat peach petals to fill their stomachs...
Ye Qi said with a wry smile, " What would Professor Xiao's reaction be if he knew we were using his Peach Blossom Spring like this?"
Shao Qingge said, "If we can survive, we shouldn't worry about these details. This is a secret between us, only you and I know it."
Ye Qi nodded: "Yes, I won't tell anyone that our CEO Shao ate a lot of peach blossoms."
Shao Qingge; "..."
The two chatted idly via Telepathic Connection from a distance. Although Ye Qi was also very hungry, having Shao Qingge with him was much better than facing the Nightmare Secret Room alone in Spade 3.
Just then, I suddenly heard Shao Qingge's voice in my mind: "There's movement."
Ye Qi immediately perked up: "What's wrong?"
Shao Qingge said, " Qi Ran's fever has subsided, and he is mostly recovered. He took advantage of Ren Yuan and Zhou Xiaoyun being fast asleep late at night to sneak out by himself, sit in the corner, and read a very strange book under the moonlight."
Ye Qi was taken aback: "A book? Could it be something related to evil magic?"
Shao Qingge said, "There are some strange symbols drawn on it that I can't understand, but this book is definitely not simple."
Ye Qi nodded: "This child is not simple either."