"Alas!" the village chief sighed. "We originally thought that since you all had moved away, this matter would no longer concern you. But you just had to come back at this time."
"Little girl, do you still remember Li Qiang?" The village chief leaned forward, his voice lowering, glancing around as if sharing a secret.
Huo Rou nodded. She certainly remembered him; Shen Feng had smelled something on him, and she had sent him away.
"He's out?" Huo Rou pondered. Since the village chief mentioned him and warned them to be careful, this seemed likely. But it shouldn't be so soon...
The village chief shook his head. "No."
"He didn't get out. After inhaling that stuff, how could he possibly be released so quickly?"
The village chief spoke of Li Qiang with disdain. He couldn't believe such a thing could happen in his territory. Fortunately, Li Qiang had been away for years, so the authorities hadn't held him accountable.
"But..." the village chief looked at Huo Rou. "I heard that during his interrogation, he confessed some information, helping the police get a basic understanding of the gang."
Qin Ningyi, having listened for a while, finally understood the situation. These sounded like good developments. He looked at the village chief, "Isn't that great?"
This was considered a meritorious service.
The village chief slapped his thigh. "Ah, it is indeed good news, but..."
He glanced around again and took another step closer to Huo Rou. "Little girl, you haven't told anyone about your return, have you?"
Huo Rou nodded. They had returned specifically to gather herbs and would leave soon. Naturally, they hadn't alerted anyone around.
The village chief's expression relaxed slightly. "Then you'd best stay indoors and don't tell anyone you're back."
An An frowned, wanting to ask what was happening, as he had planned to meet his little friends.
Before he could ask, the village chief continued, "Because Li Qiang confessed that the gang was wiped out, but a few people escaped!"
The village chief's expression was extremely serious. "The authorities have informed us that they might come to the village to retaliate against Li Qiang's family, and those who apprehended Li Qiang could also be targeted."
"The police are already covertly protecting Li Qiang's family. But since you haven't been home, we couldn't contact you, so no arrangements were made."
Huo Rou heard this and smiled calmly. "It's alright, we'll be leaving soon."
Upon hearing the village chief's words, Qin Ningyi's gaze fell on a spot not far outside the door. He had left a few men there to await Huo Rou's news. Fortunately, they hadn't left; in case of necessity, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
The village chief gave a few more instructions before urging Huo Rou to quickly close the door and go inside. He then hurried away himself.
"Oh, Mom, so An An can't go play with Sister Xiao Fang anymore?"
An An was an understanding child. Hearing the village chief's repeated warnings, he grasped the seriousness of the situation. However, not being able to see his old friends on this trip was somewhat disappointing.
"Be good. Dad will bring you back to play next time." Qin Ningyi closed the door and soothed An An's emotions. He then took out his phone and called his subordinates.
"Young Master Qin, we did hear some rumors today." Qin Ningyi's subordinate replied affirmatively upon hearing about the matter. "That gang has been hiding in Yizhou."
Speaking of their hiding place, Gu Yan's subordinate sighed with emotion. "These people have been living under the eyes of the military region for a long time. If it weren't for this informant's tip, they wouldn't have been found so quickly."
"Did you track anyone down?"
The subordinate sighed softly. "No. We only heard some news. Coming here to seek revenge without a second thought is something these people are capable of."
Huo Rou looked at Qin Ningyi's serious expression, especially how his brow was almost furrowed into a mountain range. She couldn't help but reach out and stroke his forehead.
She mouthed to Qin Ningyi, "Don't worry."
Huo Rou wasn't afraid of retaliation from these desperate individuals. She could even use herself as bait to round them all up.
However, when a person has a weakness, they gain an extra layer of concern.
Huo Rou looked at An An and likely understood the reason for Qin Ningyi's expression. She gently said to An An, "There will be opportunities later."
As Qin Ningyi listened to his subordinate's report and Huo Rou's words, he finally felt at ease.
It was good that his A Rou knew to act discreetly.
What he feared most was Huo Rou planning to use a ploy to capture the gang. With the enemy in the dark, he didn't want her to put herself in danger.
Huo Rou returned inside and started the machine for automatic harvesting. An An was taken to the kitchen by Qin Ningyi.
The harvesting was completed before lunch. Their group had planned to leave after the afternoon meal, but during dinner, Qin Ningyi's phone rang.
"Luo Chen?"
Qin Ningyi glanced at the caller ID and answered the phone.