Three bites will kill you, making you human baozi

  At night, through the broken roof, Bai Xincheng couldn't sleep.

  Within two years, every half month, she would have insomnia once, not that she couldn't sleep herself, but the sounds outside her house made her unable to fall asleep.

  Every half month, there would be the sound of wheels rolling by her courtyard gate, circling around her dilapidated earth-shack house and gradually disappearing behind it.

  She initially thought it was just villagers taking goods to the city at night. But as time went on, she felt more and more suspicious. The terrain of Maoshan Village is treacherous, even during the day, one has to be extra careful when going down the mountain, or they might fall off a cliff or get trapped in the marsh. Isn't going down the mountain at this late hour just asking for death?

  Moreover, those voices passed by the gate of her house without any reserve, and Bai Xinzhi also knew that it was definitely because the passersby knew she was deaf and couldn't hear, so they didn't worry about disturbing her at all.

  Knowing this, she had never gone out to take a look. Because some bad intuition in her heart told her that curiosity might kill her...

  She got up from the ground and cautiously crawled into the inner room. A few strands of moonlight shone through the broken holes in the roof, and by the light, she saw a man sitting on the bed with an unclear expression, but he looked exceptionally focused.

  "Shh..." Seeing the man turn his face towards her, she raised her index finger to cover her mouth, lowering her voice to its lowest level, "If you don't want to die, be quiet, whatever you do, don't make a sound, got it?"

  Yesterday, the village head led outsiders to openly search the village, thinking that the person they needed to catch was him. If he was found in his own home, it's likely that not only would he be in trouble, but she would also be implicated.

  Before she can grasp the opportunity to leave Maoshan Village, no matter how abnormal the village chief is and what secrets Maoshan Village hides, she cannot draw attention from others and must continue to keep a low profile!

  She still understands the principle of self-preservation...

  In the dimly lit room, the moonlight shone on the man's profile, as clean and transparent as white jade. However, his eyes were deep and still like a pool of water, giving off an eerie chill that made one feel cold.

  Bai Xin had long been accustomed to the dim light, her gaze tightly fixed on the man's thin lips pursed into a straight line, afraid that he would make a sound.

  Fortunately, this man was still obedient. Until the sound of wheels disappeared from the back of the house, he didn't make a sound, and even his breathing was lighter than hers.

  She stood up and patted the dirt off her knees, ready to head back to the main house, but as she turned around, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone.

  "Sit down!" The man almost barked out the order.

  Bai Xin's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily as she shook off his hand. "Big brother, can you be more polite? Hasn't anyone taught you the saying 'when under someone else's roof, one must lower their head'? Although my roof may be dilapidated, it still counts as a home. If you continue to treat your benefactor like this, be careful that I might just bite you to death and make a human meat bun out of you! You should know, I haven't eaten meat in two years, and only started eating again this morning after having dog meat."

  The man's expression was gloomy, and she faintly felt a strange chill surrounding her. However, these things didn't intimidate her at all. This man had a leg injury and was half-disabled, and his internal strength had been severely damaged; if they were to fight, she was 90% sure she could kill him!

  Just as she straightened her chest and turned around proudly—

  "Why are you pretending to be deaf?" The man spoke again, but this time his voice was noticeably softer and lower.

  "What's it to you?" Bai Xincheng furrowed her brow, ready to lift her foot, but suddenly stopped and turned around. In the dim light, her disdainful gaze met the man's deep, frightening black eyes. She opened her mouth and said: "If you want to live, then keep this secret for me. Remember, I'm your lifesaver, and I hate it when people repay kindness with ingratitude... But on second thought, although I don't know why the village head wants to catch you, I do know that you don't dare show your face, so naturally you won't reveal the secret. Besides, I've been deaf and mute for twenty years, who would believe me is a normal person? Hehe~~~"

  When it came to the proud part, Bai Xinzhen couldn't help but burst out laughing triumphantly.

  The man fell silent for a moment, his eyes dark and cold, then suddenly asked: "Do you know what they are doing?"

  Bai Xin shook his head decisively and chuckled, "I don't know. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Didn't I just say that? I detest people who repay kindness with malice. Whatever the village elder does, I won't pry. All I know is that they've been kind to me. So if you want to know the answer, go ask them yourself. Don't try to use me as a starting point."

  The man was slightly stunned, seemingly not expecting that the woman who spoke and acted extremely abnormally in front of him would see through his thoughts.

  "Since they have been kind to you, why don't you hand me over to them?"

  At this, Bai Xincheng raised an eyebrow and said: "I like saving people, I like making people owe me a favor, is that a good reason?"

  The man subtly twitched the corner of his mouth. His gloomy gaze swept back and forth over her rustic, shabby appearance, but it was unclear whether he could see clearly or not.

  "How can I repay you?"

  The white-hearted man smiled with a painted smile. A clever man, indeed!

  "Don't worry, I won't do anything bad, so I won't cheat you. I just want to ask for your help, it's just a small favor for you." She raised one of her little thumbs in front of the man and shook it back and forth, regardless of whether he could see clearly or not.

  "Let's talk about it."

  "Just take me with you when you leave Maoshan Village."

  The man looked slightly surprised, his eyes cold and complex as he stared at her: "You can leave by yourself!"

  Upon hearing this, Bai Xin let out a sigh and sat down on a low stool in the corner of the wall, seemingly helplessly explaining: "I've tried, but I couldn't get out... The several roads leading to Mao Shan Village are not only treacherous, but also secretly guarded by people who are watching the villagers coming and going. Presumably, the injury on your body is from this, and as a deaf and mute person like me, recklessly running out would only arouse suspicion."

  "Why do you want to go out?"

  Bai Xin glanced at him with a hint of disdain: "I think you look like a human, but why are you as stupid as a pig? This place may be nice, but if I had to spend my whole life not speaking and dying here, would you be willing?"

  In the darkness, the sound of cracking knuckles echoed through.

  "Aren't you saying they owe you a favor? You still leave despite owing them a favor?"

  Bai Xinzhi stood up from the stool and walked towards him, staring at him: "Foolish pig, kindness is one thing, but not leaving is another. Can't I be ruined for the rest of my life just because of kindness and not leaving? If I stay here all my life, not only will I have no freedom, but I'll also have to pretend to be deaf and dumb forever! Besides, if I leave, I can save some food for the villagers, so they won't have to worry about me starving to death."

  The man remained silent for a long time before saying softly, "Nonsense!"

  "Never mind, I'm too lazy to talk to you more. Don't worry about my sister's business, just say whether you'll help or not?"

  The man's gaze remained as still as dead water, his expression unreadable, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking. Just when Bai Xincheng lost her patience and was about to confront him and throw him out, the man responded in a low voice.

  "Uh-huh."

  Upon hearing this, Bai Xin's face lit up with a smile: "This is what you promised, okay? Don't worry, once I leave, I'll keep my distance from you. From now on, neither of us owes the other anything, and we can go our separate ways. Since that's settled, I'll let you stay here for now, eat well, drink well, and take care of you until your injuries heal."

  Under the dim light, the man's thin lips twitched again.

  The next morning

  When Bai Xincheng handed the two carrots to the man, he saw the man's face turn black as he stared at her, pointing at the two carrots and coldly asking: "Is this what you call good food and drink?"

  Bai Xin got a headache. Why does this man love to nitpick so much?

  She took a bite of the carrot in her hand, shrugged and explained: "Some things you just have to make do with, I swear, these are the best things I can come up with."

  The man gritted his teeth: "Why didn't you cook it?"

  "Big brother, cooking doesn't just need water, it also needs firewood. As long as we fill our bellies and won't starve to death, what's the difference between raw and cooked? Why bother with all the fuss of chopping wood and boiling water?"

  The man's straight body swayed slightly, and his cold face suddenly looked like it had fallen into a cesspit. "......?!"

  Digression

  I'll try to adjust the update time in two days, and strive to post in the morning. Thank you for your collection! How was everyone's Double Festival?