Xiao Qingya was utterly shocked. Does this man want to steal her congee?

Most importantly, where did he come from? Is he one of the child traffickers? His footsteps were quite light, and he definitely also had absolute control on his tone of voice.

The other children didn’t wake up because of the voice.

Because she didn’t want to be in the spotlight earlier, she had dragged herself and her uneaten congee toward the pile of grain sacks, where the light from the oil lamp had significantly become a lot dimmer.

The process had taken a lot of time since she had to drag the bowl of congee along with her, making sure it wouldn’t spill with her bound hands.

"Who...?" Her eyes went wide.

Soon, she noticed a faint metallic smell. Taken back, she studied the man’s face and noticed some bruises there. His lips were cracked, his skin smeared with some blood.

He was holding his torn shoulder, where the metallic smell of blood had come from. This man was injured.

The other hand he used to pick up Xiao Qingya’s congee was noticeably shaking. It seemed that he had some other injuries or was in some excruciating pain.

He shushed, putting the congee down, helping Xiao Qingya crawl more easily toward the other side of the stack of grain sacks. Her mood was a little complicated. As it turned out, he didn’t intend to steal her congee.

She kept her silence, maintaining her vigilance toward this stranger.

[Little Ya, don’t get too close to him.] The System wanted her to remain cautious. It hadn’t sensed this man’s presence the entire time, signalling how powerful he was.

If he were an ordinary person like the child traffickers, the System would have noticed it even with its current limited power and restricted range of sense.

Xiao Qingya obediently scooted over a little farther away.

The man noticed her little action, and he also helped her to move her forgotten congee. Xiao Qingya was a little flustered, but not long after, she was relieved when she saw him going back to his original position.

He seemed to know she was wary and somewhat fearful of him.

In every world, Xiao Qingya’s fear most often was caused by the fear of death and pain, but this time, most of her fear stemmed from her unwillingness to part with her warm family.

After all, she had lived as their family member ever since she was a baby, which made her grow more attached to them.

The moment she remembered who she was, she was a little overwhelmed and couldn’t help but see this world as another mission she couldn’t solve. The place she should leave soon.

However, the memories of the two years she spent with them made her remember the warmth, and she couldn’t help but want to stay here more than anything.

"Eat it." A hoarse voice rang in her ears.

Xiao Qingya was stunned when she could feel the wooden edge of the bowl brushed over her lips.

She could sense that this man had no ill intention. Thinking of this, she subconsciously did as she was told before she could realize what had happened.

The cold, plain congee was tasteless. It could barely fill in her empty stomach. The man was quite considerate, withdrawing once her mouth was full and let her chew the grains that hadn’t dissolved into the water.

Once she was done chewing and swallowing, he would let her eat it again.

Xiao Qingya became more curious about this person. At this moment, based on the System’s recent analysis, she was convinced that he was someone who was hiding from an enemy instead of a child trafficker.

She only ate half bowl of the congee, pushing the other half to him. "Eat..."

No matter how he tried to make her open her mouth and eat the rest, she shook her head and refused. The man was surprised, and thinking of his current state, he finally didn’t stand on ceremony and took the rest.

Among the kidnapped children, Xiao Qingya was the smallest. A few others couldn’t stand the hunger and finally ate their congee. Although it was difficult, they could eat it easily compared to Xiao Qingya’s small figure.

Even if she bent down, she still couldn’t reach the bowl.

The man had swallowed the small bowl of congee in one gulp, which was obviously not enough for an adult like him.

He continued to sit beside Xiao Qingya. "Little girl, did they kidnap you and these kids?"

Originally, he didn’t want to show himself for fear anyone might discover him. However, the moment he saw the smallest kid in the bunch dozing off with her pair of watery eyes, he couldn’t help but want to help her.

He had seen her trying to eat the congee to no avail a few times. Her small stomach also would occasionally rumble.

"Yes," Xiao Qingya answered. "You are... not with them?"

The man was startled, and then shook his head. He stared at her small fair hands, which had turned red because of the tight ropes.

Unfortunately, in his current state, it would be more dangerous for her if he were to untie it and the child traffickers found out. He had chosen this place to recuperate since he knew the owner of the grain barn wouldn’t stay there.

He just didn’t expect to run into a trafficker’s den.

Even if he wanted to bring the children out, he couldn’t do that for now. He didn’t want to get out and run into the people chasing after him who might be looking for his traces.

The System marvelled at the baby’s cleverness.

[My Little Ya is so clever. Should we use him to get us out of this place?]

However, before Xiao Qingya could say anything, there was a sudden commotion outside the door.

It was slammed open.

A figure tumbled inside, gasping amidst He Lang’s vice-like grasp. All of a sudden, the quiet place was filled with the frightened noise from the children who had just awakened.