I’m Really Scared
Chapter 163:)

Guan Shan did the math and realized that this student must have given birth to the boy in front of him when she was around thirteen or fourteen years old.

Though he knew such occurrences were possible in remote areas, witnessing it firsthand was still hard to accept.

He couldn't help but ask, "Where is his mother? That student... does she live next door?"

Li Zhiying shook her head and pointed to a hill in the distance. "She lives there."

Guan Shan looked over and saw a dense forest with a muddy path barely visible. He was even more incredulous. "Alone? Doesn't anyone in the village take care of her?"

"She's not the only one."

Li Zhiying retracted her hand and said in a low voice, "There are many others like her. After giving birth, they all live there and never return to the village."

Guan Shan was puzzled. "Why?"

Li Zhiying thought for a moment. "Maybe they don't want to come back... The people here only want them to have children."

She smiled wryly. "The reason I want to promote this place is mostly because of the feelings I had teaching here seven years ago. I wanted the children here to get a better education. But now that I'm back, I realize I might be a bit late."

"Just think about it, such a remote village, far from the government's reach, how could it possibly follow our plans... Most of the supplies donated over the years probably went to waste."

Li Zhiying sighed. "We were too naive back then."

"Mending the pen after the sheep are lost is not too late. We are here now, aren't we?"

Guan Shan comforted her and turned his gaze back to the silent, disabled boy. "And what about him? How did he end up like this..."

Considering the girl named Ah Yang, who clearly had cognitive issues, it seemed like there was an unusually high rate of disability among the children in the village.

Li Zhiying gently patted the boy's head, her expression softening. "It was an accident."

"An accident?" Guan Shan frowned. "It doesn't look like an accident to me."

Li Zhiying replied, "At least, that's what the villagers say."

Guan Shan suddenly stood up. "Wait here, boss. The friend I brought along isn't just a photographer. He's actually a medical professional. I'll have him take a look."

Li Zhiying gave him a curious look. "Your friend... is quite versatile."

Guan Shan gave a thumbs-up without changing his expression. "That's right, he's practically a jack of all trades."

Although Ah Jie and Lin Shuman weren't medical professionals, they had enough combat experience to distinguish between natural and inflicted injuries.

Guan Shan ran to fetch Ah Jie, who agreed without hesitation.

As an Esper with the ability "Revoke," Ah Jie had to learn many other battlefield skills to provide better support, including basic medical skills.

In the battlefield of Espers, everyone had to perform the work of three people.

When Guan Shan returned to the back of the house with Ah Jie, he found that Li Zhiying was gone.

His phone buzzed with a QQ message from Li Zhiying. He took it out to read it.

[Boss]: I need to go into the mountains to check on my students. Let me know if you find anything. :).

"This emoji... is quite old school and oddly comforting."

Guan Shan couldn't help but laugh at Li Zhiying's vintage emoticons.

He then thought of Xiao Shen, who loved sending cute emoticons. What was she up to now? Though they had spoken on the phone recently, he couldn't help but miss her.

Guan Shan shook his head, pulling his thoughts back. It was already late November; by mid-December, he should be back. They could spend New Year's together.

"But it's already past four. Is it safe for the boss to go into the mountains alone?"

Guan Shan sent his Shadow Clone up the mountain while asking Ah Jie to examine the boy named Ba Ping.

The boy remained mostly silent, only making vague sounds. He seemed to have language issues as well.

After a while, Ah Jie put down Ba Ping's remaining leg and said gravely, "It doesn't seem natural... Though the scars are faint, there are signs of stitching. It looks like he had surgery."

"As expected... this village has issues."

Guan Shan knew his intuition was never wrong.

He crouched down and gently asked Ba Ping, "Do you live here?"

Ba Ping nodded.

"Have your legs always been like this?"

Ba Ping nodded again.

"Your mom left. Who is your dad? Who's been taking care of you?"

Since the question was complex, Guan Shan used gestures as well.

Ba Ping opened his mouth, making an "ah" sound, then shook his head.

"What are you doing here? There's a welcoming banquet waiting for you."

A man's voice suddenly came.

Guan Shan stood up and saw Ba Jiang approaching from around the corner. He smiled and said, "We were just looking around and met this little guy. He seems to have trouble walking, so we chatted a bit."

Ba Jiang walked over, saw Ba Ping lying on the ground, and immediately picked him up. His expression turned fierce, and he raised his hand to hit the boy. "Why are you running around again!"

Then, as if he remembered something, he changed his tone, gently patting Ba Ping's back. "Do you know how dangerous that is? Be careful, or a wolf might take you away!"

Ba Ping shrank back fearfully, shaking his head and making an "ah" sound.

Ba Jiang was about to say more when he suddenly felt something tug at his foot and a force push him from behind, causing him to fall forward.

"Whoa!"

Panicking, he let go of Ba Ping, only to be caught by Guan Shan, who grabbed his collar.

Ba Jiang sighed in relief, looking up to see Guan Shan holding Ba Ping, smiling slightly. "It seems you're not too steady on your feet. I'll hold the boy. Let's head to the banquet."

Feeling uneasy about the strange forces, Ba Jiang nodded instinctively and led them to the village's largest building—the ancestral hall.

It was dusk, and the statues inside the hall were hard to see, but the outlines resembled the stone steles they had seen earlier.

Outside the hall, tables and chairs were set up, and the villagers had gathered, with Ba Dian sitting at the head of the table.

Guan Shan sat down, made some polite conversation, and said in the earphone channel, "Don't eat too much of this food. Do you have any antidotes?"

Ah Jie replied seriously, "Yes, we have four doses of the universal antidote from the team, effective against most common poisons for 24 hours."

Guan Shan: "Four doses... save one for the boss. Perfect."

During the banquet, Ba Dian and Ba Jiang kept urging them to eat and drink. Ah Jie pretended not to like the village food, while Guan Shan showed disdain, embodying the snobbish city dweller perfectly.

After the banquet, they returned to their lodgings and discreetly took the antidote.

Guan Shan lay on the wooden bed, eyes closed but not asleep.

It was already dark, but Li Zhiying hadn't returned.

Strangely, his Shadow Clone couldn't find any sign of human habitation on the mountain, not even a simple hut.

And Li Zhiying was nowhere to be found.

"Where did she go? Could she be lost in the mountains?"

Guan Shan was about to investigate personally when he heard hushed voices.

"Are they all down?"

"Yes, they wouldn't suspect I put the poison on the chopsticks and bowl rims."

"Hurry and finish this. They were sneaking around with Ba Ping behind the house earlier. They might have discovered something."

"But... aren't they from the government? If something happens, won't it alert..."

"Alert who? Once they're dead, everything can be handled. The messenger will take care of the rest."

"Creek—"

Guan Shan's door was pushed open.