Around six o'clock, Zhao Nana called to ask about dinner. I told her it would be the same as in the main building, whatever there was to eat. After nightfall, the demons would go hunting again. I felt their appetites were immense; they needed three meals a day, and couldn't miss a single one. If we had to move the base later, I'd have to consider that too, ensuring it wasn't too far from the mountains.
After dinner, the demons made an excuse about going to the mountains to watch the night view and dispersed. I had dinner with Yao Yao, Bing Bing, Chen Lu, and the beautiful instructor.
During the meal, I noticed Zheng Bing Bing was in low spirits and asked her what was wrong. Bing Bing shook her head, saying it was nothing. With an outsider present, I didn't press the matter.
After dinner, I knocked on Bing Bing's door and asked what was going on.
Bing Bing's eyes welled up with tears. "My dad left me a message on QQ. Shabiya found our home and said I'm suspected of criminal activity and they want to arrest me. They told my dad to contact me and trick me into going home, or they'd shut down our family's shop."
"How did you reply?" I asked, frowning.
Bing Bing honestly gave me the chat screenshots. She had only briefly logged into QQ and then canceled the account. Shabiya probably wouldn't have guessed that she and her father would use such a "primitive" method of communication.
Bing Bing told her dad she was out of town and couldn't come back for the time being.
Her dad said her mother was very worried, her old high blood pressure condition had flared up, and she was in the hospital, her condition not optimistic.
Bing Bing said she would come back as soon as things settled down.
I sighed, feeling like I had dragged Bing Bing into this. Although she insisted on coming to Juhua Mountain with me, I still bore an inescapable responsibility towards her.
"How about I go back?" Bing Bing seemed to waver, whispering, "I want to see my mom. Then I'll turn myself in. They probably won't keep me for years... Brother Chengfeng, don't worry, I definitely won't reveal anything about you all being here!"
I patted her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, don't worry. How about this, I'll go discuss it with Yao Yao and the others."
"...Discuss what? Are you going to... silence me?" Zheng Bing Bing asked nervously.
I flicked her nose. "Don't be silly! We'll brainstorm and see if there's a way to achieve both goals – you can see your mother, and we can all get out of this unscathed."
"We?" Bing Bing blinked. "You're going back with me?"
"Of course," I said with certainty. "Within our team, your problem is everyone's problem."
"Okay!" Bing Bing looked at me gratefully and nodded heavily.
Back in Yao Yao's room, I told her about the situation. I thought Yao Yao wouldn't care much about a "stranger," but to my surprise, she felt the same way I did and wanted to escort Bing Bing to Fucheng. Moreover, her plan was more comprehensive than mine; she even intended to help Bing Bing's mother recover from her illness.
"You know medicine?" I asked.
"Don't forget, I'm a Shaman," Yao Yao said with a smile.
Alright, a witch doctor Shaman. They exist in Warcraft games, considered the "traditional Chinese medicine" of some northern ethnic minorities. She might actually know how to heal.
"But don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart to help your little sister," Yao Yao added.
"Are there other motives?" I asked.
Yao Yao put on a new white cotton sock, wiggled her toes, and then suddenly swept a leg towards my arm. I knew the power of her kicks and instinctively wanted to dodge, but as an ordinary human, my reaction speed was too slow. I couldn't move at all. Fortunately, Yao Yao stopped her foot just in time, only lightly brushing my arm with the top of her foot before retracting it. Otherwise, my radius bone would have been broken without a doubt.
"We can't always hide from Shabiya," Yao Yao said slowly. "Now that I've removed my mask and my power has recovered, coupled with the assistance of those eight demons, we can definitely fight Shabiya head-on. We'll fight until they submit, until they acknowledge our identity!"
"Just the nine of you against all of Shabiya in Yanxia?" I frowned. That seemed too unreliable. Shabiya not only had many internal experts but, crucially, had guns and millions of patrol officers as support. If this force were in any other region of the world, it could conquer nations in minutes. Our team only had nine people, and with me and Bing Bing, that's eleven. We could play soccer, but fight? How could we possibly contend with them?