The little fox ran ahead, as he couldn't sense the Fatty's location, so he couldn't run in front at first. Ye Tiancheng could only follow behind the little fox.
However, the little fox was clearly terrified and too anxious to care about anything else. Ye Tiancheng, on the other hand, couldn't afford to disregard everything. He still had to look out for the little fox. Thus, he could only chase closely after the little fox while constantly observing their surroundings, to prevent any untoward incidents from happening that he couldn't react to in time to save the little fox.
Suddenly, Ye Tiancheng felt a distinct glow of fire not too far ahead. Such a situation indicated that there were definitely people ahead. However, the little fox continued to run recklessly, and it was impossible to determine whether the people at the source of the fire were friend or foe.
Ye Tiancheng, in his anxiety, quickly accelerated his pace, taking two steps at a time, and finally caught up to the little fox. He then covered the little fox's mouth with one hand and wrapped his arm around the little fox's waist, lifting the little fox up and dodging into the shadows.
After being lifted by Ye Tiancheng, the little fox struggled desperately uncontrollably for a few moments. It wasn't until he came to his senses and realized that the person holding him was Ye Tiancheng that he gradually calmed down.
However, before Ye Tiancheng and the little fox could exchange a word or clarify the situation, they heard the sound of footsteps. Ye Tiancheng immediately held the little fox tighter, held his breath, and hid. The little fox also heard the commotion and cooperated by staying in Ye Tiancheng's arms without moving.
In fact, Ye Tiancheng was holding the little fox by the waist, lifting him with one hand while covering his mouth with the other. Such a posture was undoubtedly extremely uncomfortable, but in the current situation, neither Ye Tiancheng nor the little fox could afford to care about it.
Listening carefully to the footsteps, it was clear that more than one person was approaching. If they were discovered at this moment, they had no idea what would happen.
Fortunately, the corner Ye Tiancheng had chosen to hide in during his haste was quite concealed. Thus, the approaching people left empty-handed. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox only heard two people talking.
"How strange, I thought I heard something just now, like the sound of someone running. Why is there nothing?"
Another person replied with a laugh, "What are you thinking? I told you you were hearing things and mistook it. Why would anyone be running around the village at this time instead of attending the victory bonfire banquet, unless Zhao Dazhuang brought the sheep back."
"Perhaps I am indeed being overly sensitive. If there's nothing, there's nothing. I probably really misheard. Zhao Dazhuang shouldn't be back that quickly. Otherwise, the others who returned would have said something."
As they spoke, after finding nothing, the two men returned. Ye Tiancheng held the little fox and only relaxed slightly after confirming that the two men had truly left. He adjusted his hold on the little fox, not putting him down, but changing to a cradle-like embrace.
"Little fox, don't rush. Your current state is not right. Running like this is too dangerous. You point the way, and I'll carry you. This way is safer. We must find Fatty safely."
The little fox nestled obediently in Ye Tiancheng's arms and covered his mouth with one hand, nodding silently in agreement with Ye Tiancheng's suggestion.
Ye Tiancheng pursed his lips slightly. He understood the little fox's irrational state very well. If it weren't for the little fox, he himself, in the same emotional state as the little fox, would likely have lost all reason long ago.
The path the little fox indicated required them to pass by the bonfire banquet. However, this bonfire banquet and the villagers attending it were clearly not an illusion this time. Ye Tiancheng had to find a way to bypass them without alerting them.
As they had to circle around the bonfire banquet, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox could clearly see the scene of the entire bonfire banquet as they passed by.
No wonder the houses in the village were all empty when they were searching for Fatty. It seemed that all the villagers had gathered for this bonfire banquet.
Ye Tiancheng had no interest in investigating what victory the villagers were celebrating. He only wanted to find Fatty as quickly as possible by following the direction indicated by the little fox.
The villagers were gathered around the bonfire, smiling, drinking heartily, and eating meat with gusto. Laughter and joy filled the air, making it a lively scene. Ye Tiancheng, holding the little fox, walked quietly, trying his best not to disturb them.
If they accidentally alerted the villagers here, Ye Tiancheng worried that he would have to fight the entire village alone. He knew very well that without his powers, he absolutely couldn't handle it.
However, as they were walking, Ye Tiancheng suddenly heard a faint sob. He realized that the sob was coming from the little fox in his arms, as if after enduring for a long time, he could no longer control himself and let out a slight sound.
Ye Tiancheng lowered his head and saw the little fox staring intently at the bonfire scene, at the reveling villagers. The firelight reflected in his eyes, and the emotions in his eyes were indistinguishable between hatred and pain, hatred to the bone, and utter grief.
At this moment, Ye Tiancheng couldn't fully understand the little fox's feelings, but he could guess that if something had happened to Fatty, the villagers of this village would definitely be involved. It was they who had harmed Fatty. If not for the fact that they couldn't defeat them at the moment, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have avoided these people.
Ye Tiancheng gently patted the little fox in his arms. The little fox felt Ye Tiancheng stop and the gentle pats. He tightly covered his mouth without speaking, but then pointed in the direction again. By then, tears were streaming down his face.
Ye Tiancheng felt a lump in his throat, and a sourness welled up in his eyes. He remained silent and continued to walk in the direction indicated by the little fox.
No matter how unwilling they were to accept it, what could they do? If they had found this place sooner, Fatty would have been fine. But now that it had happened, they couldn't even do the basic task of collecting Fatty's remains.
The villagers' laughter and cheers were gradually left behind them. They walked further and further, completely traversing the entire village, and then reached their destination. Without the little fox needing to speak, Ye Tiancheng could see the tragic scene. In fact, he couldn't even identify which one was Fatty.
Ye Tiancheng stood in the faint light before dawn, only to see on the muddy ground, among the small mounds, a faint green glow emanating from something in the field, and in an instant, he saw the white bones scattered everywhere.
The little fox jumped down from Ye Tiancheng's arms and rushed towards a pile of fresh white bones. There were still some uncleaned bones and flesh that had not been dissolved, and the little fox, with tear-filled eyes, sobbed uncontrollably. He choked out to Ye Tiancheng, "This is Fatty Ge."
This time, Ye Tiancheng truly felt he could not stand. He could barely restrain his anger and his reason, almost wanting to turn back and kill them all. "How could this be? How could this happen?"
The little fox knelt before the pile of white bones, his whole body trembling. He had seen everything, so he understood what had happened, but he couldn't say it. The mere thought of it made his whole body tremble uncontrollably, and he could only stammer out two words, "...ate, ate."
Ye Tiancheng gasped. The little fox's words were unclear and muddled, but in an instant, as Ye Tiancheng heard those two words, he understood.
It was at this moment of mixed rage and grief, almost simultaneously, that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox heard a voice say to them, "Take Fatty, there's hope, hurry, there's a boat fifty paces ahead, quickly, no time!"
This was the first time the little fox had heard such a voice, but Ye Tiancheng was very familiar with it. He reacted immediately, took off his upper garment, and gathered all the white bones on the ground into his clothes.
The little fox didn't know if the voice was trustworthy, but he always listened to Ye Tiancheng. Seeing Ye Tiancheng act this way, even without Ye Tiancheng's instruction, he began to help. Looking at Ye Tiancheng, he started to collect the remains together. After Ye Tiancheng finished collecting, he asked the little fox, "Are you done? Is it all here?"
The little fox dared not be careless. He confirmed it meticulously, even counting in his mind as he packed. He reviewed it repeatedly in his mind and, after confirming, replied to Ye Tiancheng, "It's all here, nothing is missing!"
The voice that had previously alerted them kept urging them on. Ye Tiancheng, carrying the little fox and Fatty, ran. As expected, they saw a stranded wooden boat fifty paces away. There were oars in the boat. They placed Fatty inside the boat, and the water was not far away.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox worked together to drag the wooden boat into the water. Then, urged by the voice, they quickly got into the boat. Each holding an oar, they began to paddle. The fog on the water had not dissipated, and they didn't know where to row for the time being, but Ye Tiancheng and the little fox dared not delay.
Because not only was the voice constantly urging them to run faster, but Ye Tiancheng and the little fox themselves could also hear villagers arriving at the previous spot with another pile of white bones and immediately spotting them, then shouting and chasing after them, yelling, "Sheep! The sheep ran away! The sheep ran away!"
Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox rowed fast enough. By the time those people discovered them, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were already rowing the boat, which had moved a considerable distance from the shore. Those people could only stare helplessly.
The voice that had prompted Ye Tiancheng and the little fox to escape kept guiding them with directions, "Angle the boat a little to the left, yes, yes, a little more to the left, just a little more, okay, okay, that's the direction. Paddle straight ahead, don't deviate, keep going forward."
"And you two must absolutely not look back. No matter what happens, you must never look back. Have you heard of fairy tales? If you look back, you might get out, but Fatty won't be able to recover. Remember?"
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox held the oars on either side. The little fox didn't know whether to trust the voice, but he looked at Ye Tiancheng's expression. Ye Tiancheng's face was pale and ashen, not like a living person. He just rowed silently, and the little fox also said nothing and just rowed.