The safest haven was the Sanctuary, yet it housed a throng of indignant, ordinary people who squabbled and fought day in and day out, as if war were the sole method for resolution. Was it truly wise to send the old woman there? Xiao Shu pondered this for a long while, reaching no conclusion, and eventually settled back onto the steps where he had been, staring wordlessly at the old woman.

After a moment, the old woman suddenly let out a cackle, pointing at Xiao Shu’s bright eyes. "I’ll bet that pair of eyes is a full size smaller than the ones in that bag."

"What?" Xiao Shu’s eyes widened in astonishment. The old woman, mistaking his surprise for argument, continued, "Even wide open, they’re still a size too small. Don’t strain yourself; your eyes are whatever size they were born as. No matter how wide you open them, they won't catch up."

It was like talking to a wall. Xiao Shu shook his head, slightly straightening his thoughts, then gripped the old woman's shoulders, looking at her with utmost seriousness. "What exactly did you say was in that bag?"

The old woman burst into a fresh fit of laughter, splattering a spray of spittle across Xiao Shu’s face. Disgusted, he dropped his hands, wiped the saliva from his face with his sleeve, said nothing more, and bolted straight toward the clinic. Looking back through the glass door now, everything seemed unchanged from when he left, save for one detail: the ice pack that had been sitting on the counter was gone without a trace.

He pushed the door open and pulled open the cold storage unit, retrieving the remaining dozen or so ice packs one by one for inspection. Each pack contained only an ice bag; nothing else was placed inside. However, some ice bags were harder, frozen solid into blocks, while others were softer, not yet fully solidified. The ice bag in the topmost pack was strangely still just water, as if it had only just been placed there. Recalling the ice pack the old woman had pointed to on the counter moments ago, Xiao Shu slapped his forehead—how foolish he had been. By stubbornly sticking to his own judgment, he had missed the very thing he shouldn't have. If his guess was correct, these ice packs were used to transport temperature-sensitive items. Connecting this to what Hua Gu, the dark-skinned man, and the doctor had said, what else could they be hiding but eyeballs?

Regret instantly consumed his entire mind. If he hadn't left, perhaps he could have seen the person coming to collect the ice packs and gleaned some clue about this string of incidents from them, maybe even persuading them to stop. If it involved Xiao Hao’s people, it was even more crucial to meet them, to inquire about Xing'er and Yingzi’s condition.

Alas! Thinking of this, he sighed. Every time, he was only a fraction of a step away from the truth!

"Help! Don't take my ring..." Just as Xiao Shu was lost in thought, a piercing, desperate shriek suddenly echoed from the plaza. He sprang up and rushed out, seeing the man in the triangular headscarf, the one who had been arguing with him earlier, wrestling violently with the old woman. It seemed he was after the five gold rings on her fingers. Xiao Shu shook his head, thinking he should have foreseen such an event. He broke into a short run to intervene. However, before he had gone five or six meters, a black shadow flashed through the grappling pair, and the triangular headscarf instantly fell, severed from its body. Looking over at the old woman beside him, she was trembling violently from shock, then suddenly knelt on the ground, bowing to heaven and earth, shouting loudly, "Heaven has finally opened its eyes and protected this old widow! Heaven has seen!"