Xiao Shu glanced at him but offered no reply. She walked straight to Li Bingyu and said, “Why didn’t you run? Fan Jia and the others are long gone.”

This question was significant. The tears in Li Bingyu’s eyes fell to the ground like beads from a broken string, dropping one after another. She sobbed wretchedly, saying, “I am useless to my Master now. A puppet with severed strings has only the fate of destruction.”

At first hearing this, Xiao Shu froze, looked over at her full brother, and her eyes filled with confusion. Li Xiaohao saw the underlying issue and walked in from outside the circle of encirclement. The zombies, without needing any command, automatically made way for him. He approached Li Bingyu, sizing her up. He saw her eyes were blurred with tears, and all trace of murderous intent had vanished from her expression. He then turned to Xiao Shu and asked, “What did you do to her?”

Xiao Shu was utterly bewildered by his question, shaking her head. “I didn’t do anything! She tried to kill me, so I sparred with her; nothing more.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Bingyu cried even harder, turned, and bolted out of the encirclement. A string of tears flew behind her in the wind, landing squarely on Xiao Shu’s face.

He gently wiped away those tears, looking inexplicably at Li Xiaohao, unsure how to explain Li Bingyu’s sudden behavior. Li Xiaohao shook his head at him. “Once a puppet’s strings are cut, it’s useless. If she leaves now, her chances are slim.”

“I still don’t understand what you two mean. What exactly is wrong with her?” Xiao Shu was somewhat helpless, unable to fathom why Li Bingyu was crying, and even more unable to fathom why Xiaohao was shaking his head and turning the accusation toward her.

Only Hou Dayong seemed to grasp the situation. In a flash or two, he scrambled onto Xiao Shu’s shoulder and whispered a few words to him. Only then did Xiao Shu understand what had happened. However, he did not give chase. He turned and said softly to Xiaohao, “You stole my lover away; I’ve always held a grudge about that. I can’t go after Li Bingyu. Even if I brought her back, it wouldn’t untie the knot in her heart. It would still lead to pain.”

Xiaohao spread his hands toward Hou Dayong helplessly. “This topic cannot be discussed; it always ends in an argument.” He then turned to Xiao Shu, “You can think whatever you want of me. However, someone wants to see you now. Will you see them or not?”

“Who?” Xiao Shu suddenly looked up, the image of Yingzi’s dazzling, flower-like smile flashing across his mind.

“Sister Xiaoyu and Xing’er,” Xiaohao said lightly, crushing Xiao Shu’s fantasy of a long-awaited reunion in its cradle.

“Sigh!” Xiao Shu sighed. “If Sister Xiaoyu wants to see me, how can I disobey? If Xing’er wants to see me, how can I disappoint him!” With that, Hou Dayong jumped back onto his shoulder, and the man and the monkey followed Xiaohao away. The horde of zombies behind them consciously lined up, following the three figures with a hop in every step, orderly and disciplined, looking exactly like a trained unit.

As they approached the sanctuary, Xiaohao snapped his fingers toward the sky and told the zombies, “Find a place to hide, each of you.” And just like that, the twenty-odd zombies dispersed, vanishing into various street corners. An uninformed person would never believe this city held so many secrets.

“Uncle!” As the three walked into the sanctuary, Xing’er called out repeatedly and threw himself into Xiao Shu’s arms. The affection was so strong that outsiders wouldn't see them as uncle and nephew, but rather as father and son.

Xiao Shu scooped Xing’er up, carefully examining the pair of eyes that rightfully belonged to Xiaoyu, and gently asked, “Are your eyes better?”