Aunt Chen said urgently, "We descendants of the Hui Hui Clan have two particularly important moments in our lives. The first is the first transformation before adulthood. At that time, she was still young, and we were still in the South District, so it didn't matter. Yingying stayed in bed at home for a month before she returned to normal."
"The second time is the first transformation after adulthood. This is the most important stage of development, and it takes a year to return to normal!"
Xia Chujian's lips twitched slightly: "Yingying won't be able to transform back into a human form for a year?"
Aunt Chen's tears fell as she nodded silently and sobbed.
The three of them were discussing nervously by the flower bed in the residential area.
At this moment, another Inner City Maglev Train arrived, and many people got off the train.
Xia Yuanfang also stepped off this train.
When she got off the train, she habitually looked around, and immediately saw Xia Chujian standing with her back to her.
She was too familiar with Xia Chujian. Even if it was just a back view, she could recognize her at a glance.
Aunt Chen and Zhu Yingying were standing in the dark, so Xia Yuanfang didn't see them at first glance.
Xia Yuanfang called out, "Chujian?"
Xia Chujian looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Xia Yuanfang who had returned. She hurried over and said, "Aunt! You're back!"
Xia Yuanfang was carrying a cloth bag containing some vegetables and fruits she had bought from the supermarket on the way.
These things were very expensive in winter, and they couldn't afford them before.
But now that they had money, they had to improve their diet first.
Although the Advanced Nutrient Solution was top-notch in nutrition, the taste was still unsatisfactory.
Xia Chujian took the cloth bag from Xia Yuanfang's hand: "Oh? It's so heavy? What good things did Aunt buy?"
"Nothing good, just some greenhouse-grown vegetables, mainly leafy greens, and some melons and fruits," Xia Yuanfang said softly.
After taking two steps forward, Xia Yuanfang saw Aunt Chen and Zhu Yingying.
Zhu Yingying's furry cat face hadn't had time to be concealed.
Aunt Chen was also taken aback when she saw Xia Yuanfang. She quickly stepped forward to block Zhu Yingying, and said with a forced smile, "Researcher Xia, are you better? Are you discharged from the hospital?"
Aunt Chen knew that Xia Yuanfang was a researcher at a large research institution in Mulan City before she was hospitalized for illness, so the people in the building respectfully called her "Researcher Xia."
She didn't even know when Xia Yuanfang was discharged from the hospital.
Xia Yuanfang nodded with a smile: "Hello, Aunt Chen. Yes, thanks to Chujian, I'm better, but I'm still a little weak. I've been sick for three years and need to recuperate."
"Yes, yes, yes! That's good! That's good!" Aunt Chen was still a little incredulous.
Because the people in their building knew that Xia Yuanfang was hospitalized because she had a Genetic Disease.
In the Beichen Empire, everyone knew that Genetic Disease was a terminal illness, so how could it be cured? But Aunt Chen didn't look at Xia Yuanfang too much.
How people recovered was their own business, so why should she inquire?
Aunt Chen naturally changed the subject and said, "Chujian, I still have some Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat. I'll send you two pieces later. That stuff is very nourishing! It's good for your aunt's health."
Xia Chujian didn't expect Aunt Chen to have Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat!
She immediately perked up, "Okay, okay! Thank you, Aunt Chen! I won't stand on ceremony!"
Xia Yuanfang originally wanted to decline, but seeing that Xia Chujian had agreed without saying a word, she smiled gently, took a crystal-clear Green Yi Fruit from the cloth bag, stepped forward, and handed it to Zhu Yingying, saying, "This is a fresh Green Yi Fruit, for Yingying to eat."
The fruit was as big as a human head, looked like a small watermelon, and exuded an enticing fragrance.
Zhu Yingying's eyes almost stood up.
That fragrance, so good!
It was the favorite fruit of them Hui Hui descendants! Zhu Yingying couldn't help but take the Green Yi Fruit.
Xia Yuanfang's posture was so natural, as if the person standing in front of her was not a Pig-head Humanoids with a cat's head, but the normal Zhu Yingying from before.
Aunt Chen's eyes darkened slightly. She looked at the smiling Xia Yuanfang, and then at Xia Chujian, who was burying her head in the cloth bag, and said with a forced smile, "Then I won't delay you. I'll send you the Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat later. Chujian's cooking skills are very good, she can cook for her aunt."
As she spoke, she wanted to pull her coat up to cover Zhu Yingying's cat head.
Xia Yuanfang said, "Aunt Chen, you don't have to do this. I knew it a long time ago. If I wanted to report you, I wouldn't have waited until today."
Aunt Chen's body stiffened, and she hugged her daughter tightly, not knowing how to respond.
Xia Yuanfang then looked at Xia Chujian, her expression slightly displeased, and said, "What are you doing here so late? Why aren't you home?"
Xia Chujian was trying to figure out how to fool Xia Yuanfang, stammering and unable to speak.
Unexpectedly, the well-behaved Zhu Yingying said softly, "Aunt Xia, it's my fault. I was the one who called Chujian over."
Xia Yuanfang's stern gaze turned to Xia Chujian.
Xia Chujian had no choice but to confess.
She showed Zhu Yingying's message to Xia Yuanfang, saying, "Aunt, Yingying said someone wanted to harm me and told me not to go over. I didn't know what happened, so I rushed out, wanting to take the Inner City Maglev Train to see. But at the entrance, before I could get on the train, I ran into Yingying..."
Xia Yuanfang wasn't so easily fooled: "...Where were you going?"
Xia Chujian's voice was as soft as a mosquito's: "...A Private Club."
"What Private Club?" Xia Yuanfang's expression darkened, a bad feeling rising in her heart.
Zhu Yingying said timidly, "It's a Private Club called 'Feather'."
"Is it the Private Club next to the East District Third Library?" Xia Yuanfang seemed to know the place.
Xia Chujian immediately thought that Xia Yuanfang had been checking information near the Third Library today, and she became even more nervous.
Could it be such a coincidence?
But Xia Yuanfang said, "I was watching the news in the car and learned that there was a fire in a Private Club by the sea in the East District today. It's said that several people were burned to death. I heard on the news that it didn't seem to be a natural fire, but arson. Also, someone had a gun and injured four people there. That Private Club seemed to be called 'Feather'."
Zhu Yingying looked blank: "I didn't know there was a fire... I just..."
She pursed her lips, but under Xia Yuanfang's seemingly all-knowing gaze, she finally told the whole story.
When she said that she had been cornered in a small room by five men who were about to assault her, Aunt Chen's emotions almost collapsed.
Xia Chujian quickly helped Aunt Chen, anxiously saying to Zhu Yingying, "Get to the point! Get to the point! Did those bad guys succeed?"
Zhu Yingying shook her head: "No... I just transformed, and then... attacked them... Later, I was knocked unconscious, and when I woke up, I was back here."
"Knocked unconscious? Who knocked you unconscious?" Xia Yuanfang frowned and asked.
"I don't know. I think it was the Holy Church Bodhisattva showing its power." Zhu Yingying put her hands together and prayed devoutly towards the location of the Mulan City Holy Church Branch.
Xia Chujian felt that Zhu Yingying still hadn't gotten to the point, so she had to step in herself and say, "Aunt, Yingying can't transform back into human form for the time being. What should we do?"
"Can't transform back? How can she not transform back?" Xia Yuanfang looked at Aunt Chen in confusion.
Aunt Chen wiped the tears from her face and said in a deep voice, "Unfortunately, Yingying is just entering the 'development' stage after adulthood, and it will take a year for her to transform back into human form."
Xia Yuanfang and Xia Chujian exchanged glances, both understanding that if Zhu Yingying couldn't transform back into human form, she couldn't continue to appear in the North District, and of course, she couldn't go to school in the North District either.
Aunt Chen said, "I'll take her back to the South District. It doesn't matter if she doesn't go to school!"
Thinking of the "Fen Tai Ni" that Zhu Yingying said had harmed her, who was her classmate, Aunt Chen was filled with disgust for this school.
But Xia Yuanfang grabbed Aunt Chen's arm and said calmly, "That's not enough."
"How is it not enough?"
"...Think about the Private Club incident. I think Yingying may have gotten involved in a major case. Although we know she's the victim, those people won't believe her in court."
Aunt Chen was immediately filled with despair.
She hadn't thought of this at all.
Xia Yuanfang said in a low voice, "According to the Beichen Empire law, humans only need to pay a fine for harming Humanoids. But if Humanoids harm humans, they are all executed."
Xia Chujian heard this law for the first time and couldn't help but scoff, saying, "This law is so hypocritical. I've seen Humanoids harm humans, and even kill humans, but I haven't seen the Punishment Department arrest those Humanoids."
She wasn't talking about the time in the Exotic Beast Forest when those Humanoids, driven by Feng Qianzhan, launched a fierce attack on their team.
She was thinking of the Humanoids driven by that Deputy Director Fan, who tried to assault her. Although she killed them in self-defense, Fan Chengcai himself was from the Punishment Department!
Thinking about it this way, this bitch was simply knowingly breaking the law!
If she had known this law earlier, she wouldn't have been so panicked at the time.
"It's not strange. There are people who break the law everywhere." Xia Yuanfang put her hand to her lips and coughed softly twice, saying, "I have a way, I don't know if Sister Chen is willing to listen?"
"Researcher Xia! I'll listen to whatever you say! You're smarter than us! You'll definitely think of a good solution! I don't want Yingying to be executed... I don't want to..." Overcome with grief, she couldn't control her emotions and transformed into a large cat's head.
However, her cat head wasn't as cute and adorable as Zhu Yingying's; it looked more like a tiger, even with tiger stripes on its fur.
Xia Yuanfang looked at Xia Chujian and said, "Chujian, don't you have a place to stay in the Exotic Beast Forest outside Mulan City?"
Xia Chujian: "..."
Aunt is thinking of the Pig-head Humanoid San Zong's place?
That place wasn't a bad option, but if they were really going to live there, Xia Chujian had to go with them. Otherwise, San Zong and Small Dog would definitely not let anyone else in, not even Humanoids.
Those two were particularly stubborn.
Xia Chujian's eyes flickered slightly, and she said with a smile, "Yes, if Aunt Chen can take me and Yingying through Mulan City's checkpoints, without anyone noticing, I can take you there."
Xia Yuanfang frowned, "You have to go too? Can't you just tell Aunt Chen the location?"
"That place is very hidden, and I left a Humanoid to guard it. He's a Humanoid slave, so..."
When Aunt Chen heard that Xia Chujian was sheltering a Humanoid slave outside the city, she felt even more relieved.
If Xia Chujian was even taking in Humanoid slaves, she definitely wouldn't betray them.
Aunt Chen waved her hand and said, "No need! No need! We can't cause you any more trouble! I appreciate Researcher Xia's kindness. I'll handle this. I'll take Yingying to the Exotic Beast Forest and come back next year. I know that place well!"
Xia Chujian thought, You definitely know it well, otherwise how would you bring back so much Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat?
"No," Xia Yuanfang firmly objected, "Sister Chen, unless you want to hide in the Exotic Beast Forest with Yingying for the rest of your life, don't do that."
"Why?" Aunt Chen and Zhu Yingying asked in unison.
Two big cat heads, four innocent, amber-like eyes, made Xia Chujian feel sorry for them.
Xia Yuanfang remained calm and composed, saying in a low voice, "Yingying can go to the Exotic Beast Forest, but Sister Chen must come back. Not only must you come back, but you must also search for your daughter everywhere, because your daughter—is missing."
She said the last sentence word by word, with absolute determination.
Aunt Chen stared at Xia Yuanfang, gradually understanding, "You mean..."
"Yes, in the Private Club case, your daughter is a victim, so she can only be missing," Xia Yuanfang said tactfully.
Xia Chujian had already understood.
This was to prevent Zhu Yingying from being discovered in connection with the case.
If Aunt Chen and Zhu Yingying disappeared together, everyone would guess that the mother and daughter had "fled to escape punishment."
But if only Zhu Yingying disappeared, and Aunt Chen continued to "search for her daughter" everywhere, the reasonable conclusion would be that Zhu Yingying died in the fire, and there would be no trouble for the time being.
As for when Yingying's "development" was over, that would be a year later.
Xia Chujian thought that a year later, the Special Security Bureau big shot would definitely no longer be on Guiyuan Star, and it would be much easier to resolve.
But for now, they had to take it one step at a time and solve the immediate problem first.
Xia Yuanfang said, "Yingying was taken to that Private Club by her classmate, so when the case is investigated tomorrow, as soon as her classmate says so, Yingying will definitely be questioned. In her current state, she certainly can't be taken away by the Punishment Department. So..."
Xia Chujian's eyes flickered slightly, thinking, Fen Tai Ni has already been killed by me, who would know that Zhu Yingying was also at that club?
But then, she remembered the last four men who went to the private room, whose legs she had broken...
What if these people were Fen Tai Ni's accomplices? Even if they weren't accomplices, judging from the situation at the time, they knew what was happening in that private room.
So, she had been too soft-hearted and should have killed these people together to eliminate future troubles!
While Xia Chujian was seething with anger, Xia Yuanfang didn't know the whole story.
She was only deducing from the clues she knew that to extricate Zhu Yingying, the expedient measure was to make Zhu Yingying "disappear" alone.
Aunt Chen wasn't stupid either.
She was just clouded by concern.
Now that she had calmed down, she already had a plan in mind.
She turned to look at Xia Chujian and said, "Chujian, Aunt Chen can indeed take you and Yingying out of the city together, without going through the checkpoints."
Second update at one o'clock in the afternoon.
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