When night fell, Yao Meilin had become calmer. Shao Chen accompanied her until his legs numb but he didn't protest. It had been a long time since he felt concerned about someone.
"I'm sorry," Shao Chen said, feeling guilty without knowing why.
Yao Meilin smiled. She started to feel that Shao Chen's innocence was cute so she pinched her son's cheek.
Shao Chen rubbed his cheek, which was still sore but didn't protest at all. Gloom filled his face.
"Ah … Shao Chen," Yao Meilin called, catching Shao Chen's attention.
"What happened to you before you came into this body?" Yao Meilin was interested in getting to know this child more deeply. In that way, maybe, she could accept this fact and this new soul better.
"I…?" Shao Chen started to dig into his memory, which was very short-term. Fortunately, the incident was shocking enough to make a deep impression on him. It only took him a few small attempts to recall the event.
"I was stabbed to death."
Yao Meilin was so shocked that she covered her mouth with both hands.
"Are you okay?"
Shao Chen nodded. "I thought I died but now I'm here."
Yao Meilin thought hard. "Ah Sheng was just confirmed dead and a few minutes later, you came. Is it possible…." An idea popped up in her brain. But this idea was too ridiculous and imaginative that she could not say it out loud.
"What?" Shao Chen was curious about the continuation of her words.
Yao Meilin liked to fantasize a lot but she will always be teased as a crazy girl if she told her fantasy to others. So, she was a bit scared to tell someone about her ridiculous idea. But….
'If it is Shao Chen….' Maybe this man would take her idea seriously like her husband.
"I think, maybe, your soul had transferred to my son's body after you die like … ergh … what is it call? Hmm … reborn? Yeah! Reborn! You are reborn into my son's body!" Her eyes beamed excitedly.
Although she was sad because she lost her own child, what had happened to Shao Chen, if her idea was right, was something amazing! She had never thought she would be able to witness this strange event herself.
Shao Chen looked at her in confusion. "I do not really understand but … so my soul moved into this body?"
Yao Meilin nodded.
"I see." Shao Chen was stupid so he couldn't think of another reason. He could only accept the idea.
"Do you think this idea make sense?" Yao Meilin started to doubt herself.
Shao Chen was also confused so he replied, "Maybe," casually.
The room became quiet. Shao Chen wanted to say something to break the silence when he just realized that he didn't know the woman's name.
"Um … aunt's name…?"
"I'm Yao Meilin. Don't call me aunt! Even though you are not my son, you are in my son's body so call me mother."
Shao Chen nodded then started to mutter Yao Meilin's name repeatedly.
"Ah … You have to remember your father's name too. He is Yao Tengfei."
Shao Chen didn't like his father but he nodded obediently and started to mutter the name reluctantly a few times as well.
Yao Meilin became excited. She felt like she was teaching a five-year-old kid which made her missed the old time when Yao Yusheng was still a small kid.
She was about to say something to Shao Chen when Yao Tengfei entered the room with a pale face.
"This is bad!"
Hearing that, Yao Meilin immediately turned pale too. She knew what was it about.
"What happened to those documents?" she asked. Only those documents were the most important and secretive things in their humble place.
Shao Chen looked at them in confusion but he remained silent. He was not smart enough to help someone in solving their problems so he didn't bother to ask.
"Lost! I have searched every corner of the house but the documents were nowhere!" Yao Tengfei exclaimed anxiously.
He ran to his room and came back with some pieces of clothes. He arranged them on a big cloth and folded the cloth into a bag then handed the bag over to his wife.
"Go! I don't know who will come to hunt us because of the documents," he exclaimed in a gasping breath, worrying about the safety of his loved one.
Yao Meilin shook her head. "No way! I'm not leaving!"
"Don't be so stubborn! Just take Ah Sheng and go!" Yao Tengfei immediately pushed her away. It was not the time to have an argument.
"KYAAA!!!" A girl's scream suddenly echoed, shocked the entire people in the house.
"THE EMPEROR WANTED THE DEATH OF YAO FAMILY!"
Hearing that, the Yao family members' hearts seemed to stop at once.
Shao Chen also heard those words and became alert. He immediately pulled Yao Meilin's arm as he was so comfortable with her that he didn't want her to be in danger.
Yao Tengfei took his wife's hand and handed her a small box that stored an important document in it. "Go!"
"No! I don't want to go, My Husband!" Yao Meilin still insisted to stay but Shao Chen managed to pull her away.
While running, they could hear the painful screams from all over the place, getting closer and closer, which made Shao Chen sped up.
However, Yao Meilin pulled Shao Chen's hand towards a room and hid there.
"We have to go! Mother will die!" Shao Chen exclaimed in a hurry.
Yao Meilin shook her head. "I'm not going. But you have to go, my son! Forget about Yao Family and Yao Yusheng and live as Shao Chen from now on!" she ordered.
Shao Chen wanted to refuse but Yao Meilin had pulled his hand and put the box that Yao Tengfei gave her to him.
"Shao Chen, remember this. Never show this box and what is in it to anyone! Hide it well!"
Shao Chen nodded then started to mutter the words over and over again so he could remember. He put the box inside his long sleeve pocket.
Yao Meilin continued, "Then, go to the emperor—"
"Hyaaa!!!" A scream sounded close enough from them and interrupted Yao Meilin's words.
She knew the killer would discover them in seconds. Yao Meilin pushed Shao Chen away in a hurry. Shao Chen still insisted to stay but his mother pinched him then pushed him roughly.
"Go! Get out from the backdoor!" She urged, giving him a push again. Her tears started to pour down her face.
Shao Chen also cried unconsciously. With no other choice, he ran away without looking back again. Scream after scream continued to echo made his tears even heavier.
He kept running while repeating his mother's words. Run and kept running as long as the path continues.
Meanwhile, the killers who had killed all of the Yao family members began checking each of the corpses' identity.
When they finally got to the last corpse, they could not find one person who was on their list and immediately ran to report it to their commander.
The commander was standing and waiting outside the residence with a big, sly smile. He was sure that everything would run smoothly without a trace because Yao's residence was very remote and the distance between this residence and the other was quite far. So, no one would be able to realize their action immediately. That was why they could kill the Yaos freely without silencing their screams.
However, when one of his subordinates shouted his name, a bad feeling started to fill him.
"Commander Dai!" the subordinate exclaimed in a hurry.
"What is wrong?" Dai Junjie frowned.
"There is one missing!"
Dai Junjie raised his eyebrows. He sighed silently. 'What a pain!'
"Who is that?"
"Their son, Yao Yusheng."
Dai Junjie nodded. "No problem. I'll check it later. Quickly clean the corpses and their blood from the house!"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Commander Dai!" another subordinate called him again.
Annoyed, Dai Junjie glared at him. "What else?!"
"The document you are looking for was nowhere!" he reported and this time Dai Junjie was really furious.
"You have searched all the corners?!" he asked with knife-sharp eyes. If he could kill with just a glance, all of the subordinates would be dead now.
They nodded while trembling.
Dai Junjie's clenched his hands tightly and vented his anger by punching one of his subordinates. "God damn it! It must be in their son's hand! you, hurry and find him!" he ordered and his subordinates immediately carried out his order.
No one dared to slack off because their lives would be at stake.
Dai Junjie ordered the remaining subordinates to continue cleaning the residence while he went back to the palace to give a report.
*****
"What did you say? They had run away?" Emperor Guang asked to confirm what had he heard.
Dai Junjie nodded. "When we arrived, the residence was empty," he said, full of regret.
The emperor sighed. When finally he had a clue that might lead him towards solving this problem. This really frustrated him.
"You can go!" he said, rubbing his temples.
Dai Junjie withdrew from the room. After walking quite a distance, he summoned some more subordinates to search for Yao Yusheng.
'I have to get that document!' he thought while clenching his fists. Once again, he vented his emotions by punching a nearby tree trunk.