Ye Chong left the cave.

After he walked away, the atmosphere in the cave eased slightly, but these people still sat with drooping heads and dejected spirits — even though they clearly had a hostage.

Everyone picked up the crackers and water Ye Chong had distributed, eating and drinking in silence.

Hu Dashan looked at the water in his hands, then rose and walked to Tan Xiao’s side, wanting to give him some water to drink.

Tian Li beside him couldn’t help but warn, “Hey, can you not cause trouble? If he comes back and sees this, he’ll probably use it as an excuse to give us more grief.”

Xiao Qi quietly stood up, pulled Hu Dashan aside, and shook his head at him.

Hu Dashan was also wary of the White Glove. After weighing things over, he sat back down and cast a guilty glance toward Tan Xiao in the corner.

Tan Xiao lay on the ground gasping, his body covered in bloodstains. When they’d dragged him out of the trap, several places on his body had been pierced through — even without being tied up, he probably wouldn’t have been able to move now.

Hu Dashan turned his head away, unable to bear looking any longer.

Tian Li drained his water in a few gulps, crushed the empty bottle flat, and closed his eyes in defeat. “What terrible luck… how did we end up with a king like this.”

The muscular man heard him complaining and, thinking of his own situation, said helplessly, “What do we do… today I ran away early with Han Lu and angered him. Now the elephant is gone too. Tomorrow he definitely won’t let me off — what do we do…”

Tian Li gave him a tired glare. “What else can you do? You’re a mouse — of course you have to eliminate their elephant!”

“But… but what if the other guy is a bear?” The expression of terrified anxiety was completely at odds with the man’s imposing physique. The muscular man clutched his own hair, voice low. “Right now everything is speculation. That man called Shen Mo might be the elephant, but he could also be the bear, couldn’t he? If… if he’s the bear…”

He was so anxious he couldn’t get the words out anymore.

The girl with the ponytail beside him buried her head in her knees, letting out soft, muffled sobs.

Tian Li grew increasingly irritated and let out a heavy sigh.

Tan Xiao lay weakly on the ground, watching this scene, thinking to himself — truly remarkable things happen the longer you live. Every single person in this cave wore the expression of someone who’d lost both parents, as if they were in a worse state than him, the actual hostage.

Completely incomprehensible.

He tried to move. His whole body ached. The several holes that had been pierced through him were still seeping blood.

Tan Xiao stopped moving. He wasn’t about to bleed to death.

Time passed — he wasn’t sure how long. The people in the cave gradually trickled out, leaving only Tian Li and the muscular man to keep watch through the night.

Tan Xiao fell into a groggy sleep.

More time passed — he couldn’t tell how much. He felt something cool and wet slide across his lips and opened his eyes to find Hu Dashan feeding him water.

Rage surged through Tan Xiao at once. He spat out a mouthful of water and said, “What damn nerve you have coming back here…”

“Shh!…” Hu Dashan nervously clamped a hand over his mouth, gesturing for him to look to the side.

Tan Xiao turned and saw that the night watch had changed — it was now Hu Dashan and the ponytail girl, though that girl had already fallen asleep leaning against the stone wall.

“That’s their level of night-watch quality?” Tan Xiao was utterly contemptuous. “Sleeping that soundly — she wouldn’t even know if dogs dug up her house!”

“You little punk, who are you calling a dog!” Hu Dashan slapped Tan Xiao on the forehead!

Tan Xiao immediately cried out in pain!

Hu Dashan was so frightened his face changed color, hurriedly clamping his hand over Tan Xiao’s mouth again, anxiously looking toward the girl.

The sleeping girl only furrowed her brow slightly without waking.

Hu Dashan let out a breath of relief, released his hand, and grumbled at Tan Xiao: “What are you yelling for? Not satisfied until you’ve drawn everyone over here?”

“You hit me and see if you yell!” Tan Xiao glared. “I’m covered in wounds!”

Hu Dashan didn’t want to argue with him. Frowning, he held the mineral water back up to his lips. “Drink some water first. Eat something.”

Tan Xiao drank two mouthfuls and said, “If you’re still any kind of man, untie me right now. Don’t think you can win me over with these small favors — I’m telling you, Brother Xiao doesn’t fall for that sort of thing~”

—