"Mother, why do they keep looking at us?" Hao'er asked in a low voice. He saw that some people were looking at them and some were even following them. They were looking at them and talking quietly about them.

"You need to get used to these gazes," Feng Jiu smiled slightly. "You will encounter more of this as you grow up. In the face of their scrutiny, just be true to yourself and ignore their remarks."

"Oh," Hao'er replied, giving the crowd a glance before retracting his gaze.

"Hao'er, take it." Guan Xilin handed over a stick of candied haws he had bought from somewhere.

"Thank you, Uncle." Hao'er thanked him and reached out to take it. After taking a bite, the sweet and sour taste was delicious.

"Is it tasty?" Guan Xilin asked him with a smile.

"Tasty," Hao'er replied with a broad grin on his face.

They continued to shop on the main street, occasionally entering some curio shops to buy more precious trinkets. It was already dusk by the time they came to the west of the city.

After making reservations for a lantern boat, Qin Xin invited all of them to board. She then sat at the bow and began playing the guqin to entertain them.

Hao'er couldn't stay still in the cabin, so he went to the bow. While Qin Xin playing the guqin, the boatman pushing the boat forward from the back, and his mother and uncle talking inside the cabin, he lay on his stomach on the deck and reached out to touch the lake water.

"How cool! The water is so clear, I wonder if there are fish down there?" Hao'er said. He peered into the water curiously while his tiny hands stirred it, splashing only a few droplets.

"Little Master, you shouldn't play in the water while lying on your stomach. It's very dangerous." Qin Xin stopped playing the guqin and reminded Hao'er gently.

"I won't fall." Hao'er said, stirring the water again, and asked, "Are there fish in the lake?"

"There must be fish in the lake." Qin Xin put the guqin away and moved over to Hao'er to watch out for him in case he fell into the lake.

"It would be great if I could go into the lake to catch fish. It must be a lot of fun." He was, after all, a six-year-old child who was naturally playful.

Qin Xin smiled and was about to speak when her expression changed. She grabbed Hao'er, who was lying on the deck and moved quickly to the side.

A hand shot up from the previously calm lake surface, reaching directly for Hao'er. He would have been pulled into the lake by that hand if it hadn't been for her quick reaction to move Hao'er.

The splash broke the calm surface of the lake. Almost in that instant, twenty or so figures shot up from the depths of the lake. They aimed their swords directly at the boat and immediately launched an attack.

They seemed to be attacking Feng Jiu and others, but a closer look revealed that their real target was Hao'er.

Feng Jiu and the others flew out of the cabin. Feng Jiu's eyes turned cold when she saw the surrounding black robed men. A powerful pressure radiated outwards from her, with her at the centre. Those men in black were instantly stunned by the intensity of this pressure which made them unable to move.

But it lasted only a split second. One of the men in black suddenly let out a ferocious beast, which opened its huge jaws and charged at Qin Xin and Hao'er...

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