Xiao Qingya was momentarily stunned, and soon she regained her senses. What should she do now?

Should she cry or kick up a fuss? The fact that her mental age didn’t match her physical body’s age led to some minor inconsistencies in her personality.

Sometimes, she would follow her instinct as a baby although most of the time she was as clear-headed as a fourteen-year-old.

Fortunately, soon, her instinct as a baby took over and she didn’t need to think. A few seconds later, she burst into tears due to distress. Loud sobs echoed in the room.

"Waa..."

The moment Liu Hei walked toward her, she tried to drag her small body further away from him, crying for her mother.

She was truly terrified.

Her mother and siblings were so good to her, and she didn’t want to be separated from them.

Each step Liu Hei took felt as if he was stepping on her heart, bringing a sense of deep unease. She cried even more pitifully, her tears falling like a waterfall falling on her dusty cheeks.

"You are finally awake," Liu Hei said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

His figure belonged to a man in his late thirties, and his face... it was the kind that could make a kid cry with just one look. Deep and long scars destroyed his appearance, yet his eyes remained fine.

Another footsteps followed. He Lang entered the room arrogantly and somewhat with a hint of relief. His greedy eyes which landed on Xiao Qingya made her shudder uncomfortably.

"See, this kid is fine. The person might have just administered a little bit more drug than she could take," He sneered. "You always make a fuss over a small thing."

His appearance successfully made Liu Hei stop in his tracks. He suddenly turned around. "I will prepare the food for them."

He Lang ignored him and glanced at Xiao Qingya and scolded, "Shut up, your mother isn’t here."

There was a change in his expression, and he suddenly smiled like a creep. "Don’t cry, I found you some companions." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He also exited the room, and when he came back, he brought some kids older than Xiao Qingya, dragging them one by one.

Some kids were awake with ropes tied around their limbs while the rest were still unconscious. Their eyes held deep fear, and the moment He Lang let go of them, they desperately tried to squirm away from him.

Xiao Qingya had gone quiet, because she noticed some bruises on other kids’ skin. He Lang had threatened the kids who were crying, hitting them roughly. Scared out of their wits, the kids became as quiet as quail.

[Little Ya, check if you find the kids familiar.] The System reminded her.

The kids huddled together, shaking.

It was unknown whether it was deliberate or not. He Lang had placed the other kids a bit further to Xiao Qingya’s location, and somehow he also grouped them according to their appearance.

He didn’t touch the kids with a fair and tender face, yet he treated the rest roughly. A six year-old had a huge bruise on his face and arms.

Even Xiao Qingya couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

She scanned each of their faces warily, looking pitiful and harmless. After a while, she bit her lip and fell into a deep contemplation.

[System, I don’t find a familiar face.]

The System thought for a moment.

[Little Ya, someone might have specifically targeted you.]

There was something that the System didn’t say. The culprit might have been a close neighbor or even a close relative.

The entire time, Xiao Qingya never had contact with any neighbor or outsider for them to approach her close enough to administer a drug. However, there was one relative who spent enough time with her since yesterday.

[This place should be quite far from Hejia village.] Xiao Qingya pondered, mentioning the name of the village she lived in. [They walked for quite a bit this morning.]

These kids were taken from other villages.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door creaking open, revealing Liu Hei’s figure. The kids jolted, hugging each other even more tightly.

Liu Hei’s appearance had scared them.

His eyes flickered slightly, but then he acted like he didn’t care. He was holding some small bowls in his left hand and a huge pot in the other.

He scooped one huge ladle of congee on each bowl and gave them to the kids, not caring whether they ate it or not. There was no difference in the amount of congee he gave them—he was quite fair.

Xiao Qingya glanced at the wooden bowl in front of her. The congee looked thin with more water compared to grain.

No one of the children dared to touch them. It was understandable since this food neither seemed appealing to kids nor looked safe enough.

They were still afraid the child traffickers might have something in it. On top of that, with their limbs all bound, eating it will take some effort. They would need to lick it like some kind of starving animals...

[Little Ya, are you going to eat it?] The System asked. Considering how ruthless these child traffickers were, it doubted they will give them dinner.

Currently, the little one was also hungry.

[Did they put something in it?] She asked.

Because of the points she gained recently, the System now could extend its sense to a few meters for a brief moment, enough to catch the process of congee making.

[It’s safe. You can eat it, Little Ya.] It answered after some hesitation. [We need to maintain some energy to find a method to escape from here.]

Xiao Qingya scrunched her face, and she didn’t say anything. The System didn’t force her either.

When the night came, everything was black, deepening the sense of fear towards the unknown.

He Lang returned to hang an oil lamp in the corner. He glanced at the untouched congee and kicked one until it spilled all over the ground, splashing on the nearby kid.

"What? You still want to be picky here? This is your dinner, don’t expect us to spoil you. If you don’t want to eat anything, then just starve." He snorted before he left the room, slamming the door in the process.

Xiao Qingya’s eyes once again fell on the plain congee. The System was right. She didn’t want to lose her chance to escape because she was starving and became weak.

Slowly, she began to inch her body toward the bowl of congee. It took a lot of effort, and she was worried she might flip over her only dinner.

She frowned, thinking that these child traffickers didn’t really want to feed them at all. Even until her face became flushed red, she still couldn’t get a taste of the congee.

At this moment, she knew that the other children were secretly watching her. Her position was quite close to the oil lamp. There were some hushed whispers around.

Late at night, most of the children were asleep.

"Do you need help, little one?" An adult voice belonging to a man suddenly whispered in the room.

Someone jumped in front of Xiao Qingya, revealing a pale face. He snatched her congee from the ground.