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nTranslator: Yuzu

n“Boy Ma, don’t blame Uncle. Uncle’s wife is pregnant, and this is my only child! If we don’t eat anything, my child will starve to death!” The man’s cheeks were sunken, his eyes were completely black underneath, and his limbs were even thinner. He held an axe in his hand used for chopping wood and stared at Ma Chenggong with undisguised greed.

nThe boy knelt on the ground, with a face filled with fear and a trembling body. His two hands kept tensing, “I beg you, Uncle! I have a brother to look after. Have you forgotten how my father died? My father drowned to save your daughter-in-law! I’m begging you! You can’t take back what you’ve been given!”

nThe man’s originally greedy eyes flashed because of these words. There were a few hesitations, and even the hand holding the axe loosened.

nBefore the boy was relieved, something came to the man’s mind, and his eyes became ruthless, “I’m sorry to your whole family, I will repay you in the next life as a cow or a dog! Now, I’ve run out of options!”

nThe boy almost fainted. His frightened eyes moved as if he had an idea. Immediately, he nodded off a few times and hurriedly said, “I, I have another way, there’s someone else but me! Why does it have to be me? For example, the little beggar who lives at the end of the village, Xiao Chen! He could be the one too!”

nWhen the man heard this, he was a little moved.

nSeeing that there was still hope, the boy immediately shouted, “I, I’ll call out Xiao Chen! You let me go! I can help you get Xiao Chen!!!”

nMa Chenggong woke up with a jolt, his eyes wide open, and he gasped for air. He was still drowning in the nightmare he just had.

n“Brother, what happened to you?” Ma Hang slept next to him and was awakened by the sudden movement.

nMa Chenggong turned his head and met Ma Hang’s eyes.

nMa Hang was a bit affected by his gaze. His lips trembled, and he asked, “What, what’s wrong?”

nMa Chenggong withdrew his complicated eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to go to calm his emotions, “Nothing.”

nXiao Chen was staring at Tan Jun’s face without moving.

nHis fingers were touching something in the air, his movements were light, and his eyes were full of tenderness, “So this is what you’ll look like when you grow up.”

nTan Jun didn’t say anything and looked at him with complicated eyes. His eyes swept back and forth over his body several times. “Have you not been taking care of yourself?”

nXiao Chen froze and blinked. His eyes dodged a bit, and he laughed lightly, “It’s fine.”

nTan Jun frowned and sternly said, “You haven’t eaten since this afternoon! It’s late at night, and you still haven’t eaten!” The man paused. His jaw was a little tight, and his eyes were closed. He took a deep breath, pushed his temper down, and softly said, “Do as you’re told, and go get something to eat!”

nTan Jun dropped his eyes.

nHunger was really hard to bear. The stomach was empty, and the hunger was so extreme that it would start to twitch. The body would become weak, and the longing for food would magnify by thousands. To fill this need, one could do a lot of depraved things. Even though he no longer needed to eat, the feeling was deeply imprinted in his memory.

nTan Jun’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of this.

nXiao Chen smiled and looked innocent, “I’ll eat, don’t be angry.”

nTan Jun was coaxed out of his temper and wrapped his arms around Xiao Chen, who couldn’t touch him but could actually feel the other man’s warmth.

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n“Don’t be afraid. I will find you.”

n“Good, good, you believe in me. There will be no one else but you. I will never live in the world if you leave.”

n“….”

n“Baby, are you asleep?”

n“….”

nTan Jun’s brain throbbed, and images flashed through his head.

nHe could vaguely see two people.

nA man in a black suit was holding someone with a blank expression, and he could even clearly feel that the man’s hands were trembling a bit.

nBut strangely enough, he could neither see the man’s face nor the face of the person in his arms.

nThe other seemed to be asleep, lying quietly in the man’s arms. The blanket covered his legs, and he was so well-behaved that it made Tan Jun feel a little flustered.

nThe eyes of the man who was holding the person began to change. His eyes that were originally lowered slowly lifted and looked in Tan Jun’s direction. His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to identify something, and then his gaze became sharp.

nIt was at this moment that a sentence appeared in Tan Jun’s mind.

n‘He must be protected!’

nTan Jun fiercely opened his eyes, his elbows trembling slightly, and released Xiao Chen.

nUnder Xiao Chen’s astonished gaze, his body became clearer, even condensing into solidity at a pitiful speed.

nXiao Chen opened his mouth, and his eyes remained on Tan Jun’s body. He tentatively touched the other man’s face, his fingers trembling a little.

nBefore he could attach his hand, Tan Jun directly grabbed his hand and gently placed it on the left side of his face. His head was slightly tilted, and he looked at him with a smile.

n“I was the one who didn’t protect you.”

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nJin Hong was in shock and had barely closed her eyes the entire night. She looked a bit haggard.

nThe atmosphere in the whole room was a bit stuffy.

n“By the way, I don’t even know your names?” The boy who had been sitting the whole time silently suddenly made a sound.

nThe boy was the youngest of the seven and looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. He stood over 1.8 meters tall and had a very healthy and sunny look, but he still had that youthful look about him.

n“My name is Huang Ke,” The boy’s eyes were bright, and one could tell that he hadn’t been exposed to much of the darkness of society, “My father used to be from this village, but he passed away this year…” Speaking of this, his eyes darkened for a moment. Still, he quickly adjusted them again and said. “I came back because I received an invitation letter from the village and suddenly wanted to see where my dad used to live.”

nJin Hong looked tired, and her voice was a bit weak, “My name is Jin Hong.”

nHu Bing nodded and signaled, “I’m Hu Bing.”

nMa Hang hadn’t rested too well, and his body was a bit worn out, but he managed to pull out a smile, “I’m Ma Hang, and this is my brother, Ma Chenggong.” He pointed to his brother next to him, “I came back with him.”

nXiao Chen raised his eyes and made eye contact with Ma Chenggong, who had been stealing glances at him, the latter clearly panicked and looked away.

nXiao Chen quietly stared at Ma Chenggong and indifferently said, “My name is Xiao Chen.”

nAs soon as Ma Chenggong heard this, he shuddered, and his eyes darted as if he was trying his best to hide his inner panic.

nDamn it, before being reborn, Xiao Chen was the first to die. He died without the six of them even knowing his name!

nIf he really was Xiao Chen, then it all made sense!

nHe chose Xiao Chen to save himself! Then, Xiao Chen had killed Tan Jun to stay alive.

nNo wonder Tan Jun hated him so much! The first target of Tan Jun’s revenge was Xiao Chen!

nWait, then why was it that the first one to die this time was Zhang Xiaoxian and not Xiao Chen?

nBefore Ma Chenggong could think about it, Hu Bing, who stood at the side, seemed to have remembered something and gazed towards Ma Chenggong, “You know that woman from yesterday, don’t you? You even knew her name!”

nMa Chenggong blinked. Obviously, Hu Bing was almost ten years younger than him, but at this point, he was a bit weaker in momentum. He nodded his head a bit nervously, “Yes.”

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nHu Bing looked around at everyone and said, “All of us are descendants of this village, but I have no memory of this place. My family and I left this village sixteen years ago when there was a famine in this village!”

nHe paused, keeping his eyes firmly on Ma Chenggong, and added, “So I guess that all of you here actually moved away from this village sixteen years ago. If my guess is valid, then using the time calculation, those who still have memories of this village should be three out of the seven of us!” He narrowed his eyes seriously, “That woman from yesterday, you,” Here he paused and looked up at Xiao Chen, “and him.”

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nThe author has something to say:

nAll the characters have made an appearance!

nXiao Chen, Jin Hong, Zhang Xiaoxian (dead), Ma Chenggong, Ma Hang, Hu Bing, and Huang Ke.

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