A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

His cold and murderous aura shattered the warm tranquility of the room.

Zhou Yayun and Su Nianci were both startled and looked up at him at the same time.

"Zhenguo, what's wrong? What happened?" Zhou Yayun asked hurriedly, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

Lu Zhenguo's gaze swept over Su Nianci's tear-streaked face, and finally settled on his wife's anxious face.

He didn't answer immediately, but took a deep breath, as if suppressing the raging anger that was about to erupt.

He walked to the table and slammed the telegram onto it with a "thud!"

"You bastard!"

Lu Zhenguo practically spat out those two words through gritted teeth!

"They ran away!"

What?!

They ran away?!

Su Nianci's heart sank suddenly!

Zhou Yayun was also stunned: "Who ran away? It was...it was someone from Sujia Village..."

"That's right! The men I sent came up empty-handed! Those two bastards, Su Weiqiang and Wang Guixiang, seemed to have received advance warning and ran away overnight! Now nobody knows where they went!"

This news sent a chill down Su Nianci's spine.

She had barely escaped the clutches of evil, thinking that with her father Lu backing her up, those people would immediately receive the punishment they deserved.

But to her utter surprise, they actually... ran away!

"Not only that!" Lu Zhenguo's anger intensified, his hawk-like eyes flashing with a chilling light. "My people encountered tremendous resistance when they were investigating in the area! The cadres from the commune and village were all playing games, making excuses and refusing to cooperate with the investigation at all! There were even people secretly tipping off Su Weiqiang and his group!"

"boom!"

This news made Su Nianci even more terrified than the news that "Su Weiqiang ran away"!

Having spent so many years navigating the complexities of society in her past life, how could she not understand what this meant?!

This means that her uncle and aunt had protection in the local area!

It's enough to get cadres from a village and a commune to risk offending the military region and cover for them!

Who exactly is involved behind this?!

Su Nianci felt a chill creep up from her feet to the top of her head.

She originally thought that she only had to deal with two greedy and foolish relatives from the countryside.

But now it seems that what she is facing may be a huge black net that she can't even imagine!

"Outrageous! This is utterly lawless! Do they have no respect for the law?! They dare to bully even the families of martyrs! They even dare to obstruct the military's investigation!"

"The law? In their eyes, my brother's life defending the country, and the compensation he received at the cost of his life, are not worth as much as their own petty gains!"

"If I, Lu Zhenguo, cannot root out these parasites one by one, skin them alive, and tear them apart, then I am not worthy of being a soldier! I am not worthy of being a brother who defends the country!"

Little Stone was so frightened that he instinctively hid behind Su Nianci, his small body trembling.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yayun quickly stepped forward and hugged both children tightly, using her body to shield them from her husband's terrifying rage.

"Zhenguo! You've scared the child!" she said to her husband in a low voice.

Lu Zhenguo then realized that he had lost his composure.

Looking at the terrified eyes of his two children, the anger in his heart was instantly replaced by endless guilt and self-reproach.

He exhaled a long breath, trying to make his expression less frightening.

"I'm sorry... Dad, I scared you."

Zhou Yayun patted the two children's backs tenderly, then, to distract them, she forced a smile, pointed to the two brand-new sets of clothes on the bedside table, and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about those unhappy things! Look! Our little Shitou's new clothes! Come on, try them on, let Mom see if our little Shitou looks like the most dashing young man in the world!"

She pulled Little Stone out of her arms and began to help him change into the sky-blue overalls and shirt.

Little Stone was initially a little scared, but when the new, soft fabric touched his body, all his fear was replaced by a sense of novelty and joy.

He had never...never worn such nice and comfortable clothes before!

He lowered his head, his little hands constantly touching the two big pockets on his overalls, then touching the shiny button on his chest. Slowly, a shy yet satisfied smile appeared on his little face.

"Wow! It looks so good! It's so vibrant!" Zhou Yayun looked at her "masterpiece" with immense satisfaction. "Come on! Spin around and show Mom!"

The little stone obediently stood still and awkwardly spun around in a circle.

He was so happy!

He even forgot his usual caution and prudence.

Just as he was spinning around, the dragon-shaped jade pendant that he had always kept close to his body, hidden in the lining of his old clothes, snapped with a "snap" because of the large movement, and the thin red string that had been worn down to a fine point!

"Thud!"

A crisp sound.

The smooth, warm white jade pendant slipped out of his clothes and fell onto the clean wooden floor of the room.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the sudden sound.

Su Nianci's heart almost stopped beating for a moment!

Without thinking, she immediately bent down to pick it up!

But it was too late.

Zhou Yayun, who was closest, had already bent down and picked up the jade pendant before her.

"What is this?" Zhou Yayun held up the jade pendant to the light, examining it curiously. "What beautiful jade..."

As she spoke, she gently stroked the warm, smooth patterns on the jade pendant with her fingertips.

However, when she saw what was carved on the jade pendant, the smile on her face froze instantly.

That was a... dragon.

A five-clawed golden dragon, its claws outstretched, lifelike, and radiating boundless majesty!

Zhou Yayun's pupils suddenly contracted!

"This dragon... no... this carving..." she murmured to herself, a familiar feeling ingrained in her bones suddenly surging up from the depths of her heart!

She instinctively turned the jade pendant over.

When she saw the ancient, simple characters engraved on the back of the jade pendant!

"I...I've seen this somewhere before...I must have seen it somewhere before..." She stared intently at the jade pendant, as if possessed, desperately searching her memory.

Su Nianci's heart was in her throat!

Looking at Zhou Yayun, a huge, uncontrollable panic gripped her heart!

Zhou's mother...she recognizes this jade pendant?!

Is this a blessing or a curse?!

"Mom!" Su Nianci rushed forward immediately, tugging at Zhou Yayun's sleeve, and said urgently in an innocent tone, "That's Little Stone's stone! It's his favorite treasure! He can only fall asleep while holding it!"

She wanted the jade pendant back!

She had to hide this dangerous thing again immediately!

However, Zhou Yayun acted as if she hadn't heard her at all.

Her brows were furrowed tightly into a knot.

That memory was like looking through a thick fog; she could sense its presence, but she could never see its true face!

Where...where have I seen this before?!