Huo Yuhao seemed completely dazed with fear. His eyes were vacant as he pointed haphazardly in two directions—one toward the depths of a dark alley to the south and another toward a pile of junk to the west. His voice trembled incoherently: "Seemed... seemed to be that way... the dark one... or maybe that way... where the barrels are... too fast... didn't... didn't see clearly... ugh..." As he spoke, he actually managed to squeeze out two tears. They mixed with the soot on his face, leaving two comical streaks and making him look even more pitiful and useless.
The leader curled his lip in disgust, completely losing his patience. "A total waste!" he cursed under his breath. Then he abruptly waved his hand and ordered his subordinates: "Split into two teams! One to the south! One to the west! Search thoroughly! I want those three beasts found even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"
"Yes, sir!" the guards responded in unison. They immediately rushed out in different directions, their heavy footsteps quickly fading into the distance, leaving the courtyard in a mess.
The leader gave one last knife-like look at Huo Yuhao, who was still shivering and sobbing in the corner, then glanced at the motionless curtain of the inner room (not even considering going inside to check). He let out a contemptuous snort and, without another word, turned and strode away. From beginning to end, not a single person cared about the bleeding wound on Huo Yuhao's arm, not even with an insincere greeting.
Only when the suffocating sound of footsteps had completely vanished into the distance did Huo Yuhao seem to lose all his strength. He slowly stopped his intentional trembling. He cautiously crawled to the door, poked half his head out, and nervously looked and listened. Only after confirming that no one was truly left did he let out a long, quiet breath that had been trapped in his chest. It was then he realized his back was already drenched in cold sweat, soaking his clothes.
In the inner room, Huo Yuner struggled to get out of bed, her voice filled with tears and immense worry: "Yuhao... my child... are you okay? Where are you hurt? Let Mother see..."
"Mom, I'm fine, really. It's just a scrape, nothing serious." Huo Yuhao hurried over, lifted the curtain, and gently held down his anxious mother. Looking at her pale, haggard face filled with worry, he hesitated for a moment before biting his lip and pulling out the small cloth bag stained with soot and sweat, along with the crumpled piece of paper.
Under his mother's confused gaze, his hands trembled as he opened the mouth of the small cloth bag. Suddenly, a glint of gold and silver light spilled out. Though it wasn't much, it was exceptionally dazzling in the dim, dilapidated room. Huo Yuner gasped sharply. Instinctively lowering her voice, she grabbed his wrist, her own voice trembling: "This... this... so much money? Where did it come from? Yuhao! You... you didn't do anything foolish, did you?"
Huo Yuhao's heart began to pound wildly again. He shook his head and unfolded the letter. The handwriting on the paper was crooked, like a child's, but the meaning was clear: "Righting an injustice. A little traveling money. Run south. Find a small town to settle. Don't come back."
The mother and son looked at each other by the faint light coming through the broken window, their faces filled with shock, suspicion, and disbelief. Who? Who would give them money? And leave such a letter? Telling them to run? What was going on?"
Huo Yuhao looked at his mother's deathly pale face, her eyes sunken from long-term overwork and illness. He remembered the years of humiliation, cold shoulders, hunger, and cold they had endured in this frigid mansion. He remembered the misery of his mother being bedridden with no one to care for her. He thought of those three strange yet seemingly non-malicious "monsters," and the fierce, demonic attitude of the Dukes Mansion guards who treated them like ants... Various emotions churned and collided in his small chest. His heart beat faster and faster until a mad yet incredibly powerful thought took root and could no longer be suppressed.
"Mom..." He heard his own voice, terribly dry yet carrying a firmness that surprised even himself. "Let's go! Let's leave this place! Leave the White Tiger Dukes Mansion! Let's never come back!"
He held up the money bag, his voice trembling with excitement: "This money... though I don't know who gave it, it's definitely enough for us to find a small place where no one knows us. We can rent a small house, get you proper medical care, and start our lives over! Your illness needs rest, good food, and peace of mind! Here... we will never have a good life here! Never!"
Hearing her son's words, Huo Yuner's eyes dimmed instantly, filled with complex emotions. She instinctively shook her head, her voice weak but carrying the weight of a long-held obsession: "No... Yuhao, we can't leave... let's wait a bit longer... endure a bit more... your father... he might..."
"He won't come back!" For the first time, Huo Yuhao interrupted his mother almost crudely. His eyes turned red instantly as the long-accumulated grievances and anger broke through the dam of reason. "If he really cared about us, how could he ignore us for all these years? How could he let you get this sick without even hiring a decent doctor? How could he let us live in this shack, worse than the servants, suffering from cold and hunger? Mom! Wake up! He forgot about us long ago! I'm begging you! Just this once, let's live for ourselves, okay?!"
Huo Yuner was stunned by her son's unprecedentedly intense reaction. She looked at his flushed, excited face, the glaring bloodstains mixed with soot on his arm, and heard the near-collapsing plea in his voice. Recalling the terrifying commotion outside and the guards' cold interrogation... the unrealistic hope that had sustained her for so many years finally shattered completely. She fell silent, and tears like broken strings of pearls surged out silently, sliding down her thin cheeks and dripping onto the patched quilt.
A deathly silence fell over the dilapidated shack, broken only by the mother and son's suppressed breathing and Huo Yuner's silent weeping.
After a long, long time, Huo Yuner nodded extremely slowly and heavily, as if she had exhausted all her strength. Her voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible, yet it carried a sense of desperate liberation.
"...Okay. Mother will listen to you. We'll... go. Leave this... place of sorrow."