Chapter 7: See Through

After Da Kai mentioned it, I also felt something was off; this person seemed to be deliberately concealing something. Moreover, when answering Fourth Master’s questions, he appeared quite apprehensive. I did not respond to Da Kai but began to contemplate whether our line of work could safely return to Shandong, and I started to worry about everyone’s safety. Seeing that everyone was busy with their own matters, I approached Fourth Master. Before I could say anything, Fourth Master quickly told me, "After midnight tonight, sneak outside the building." He then turned and called Da Kai over.

Not long after, night fell. Afu prepared some local delicacies for us, but Fourth Master declined, citing that he was not accustomed to the food and was concerned it would delay our journey the next day. We ate some compressed biscuits that we had brought with us. Strangely, we did not see Afu's son, Qingshan, during the meal. After dinner, everyone chatted for a while before preparing to rest. Only the dried chicken sat there, seemingly lost in thought. I approached him to strike up a conversation, but he remained silent. It was odd that we did not see Afu's son, Qingshan, during the meal. After dinner, everyone chatted for a while before preparing to rest. Only the dried chicken sat there, seemingly lost in thought. I approached him to strike up a conversation, but he remained silent. After several days of travel, everyone was tired and did not chat for long before falling asleep. We were arranged in a relatively large room in the corner. Afu said this was usually where he slept, but because there were too many of us, he gave it up and moved to another room. Before sleeping, I wondered why the dried chicken had been so quiet; could it be that the young man was mute? Were mutes allowed to join the army?