Bai Shaofeng took away the entire six hundred yuan, leaving only a few tens of yuan in change. He then coldly said: "Don't do this kind of thing again, otherwise I really will cut you down with this knife!" Xiao Bai got angry and the consequences were severe. As soon as he made his move, he robbed the robber instead, without considering whether the robber would go on to rob even more victims after being robbed himself.

  His anger was due to Zhuo Ru, whose mood had just recovered a bit of sanity from despair and suddenly dropped to freezing point again. Although the man didn't shout out loud, Zhuo Ru saw that extremely terrified expression as if he had seen a ghost. Xiao Bai only felt Zhuo Ru's body go limp and almost faint, half-collapsing into his arms. A woman who discovers her appearance can scare away midnight bandits will not feel good about it no matter what.

  Bai Shaofeng half-carried and half-supported Zhuo Ru as they walked away, leaving the thug standing there alone in a daze. A gust of wind blew by, and he suddenly snapped out of it, realizing that his entire body was soaked with cold sweat. He muttered to himself: "It's the devil, must be the devil! I, Knife Lang, encountered two devils, a man and a woman!... It's been a long time since I last went to confession, today I must go and confess, beg God to forgive me and not let me suffer at the hands of devils again."

  The robber, Dao Lang, stumbled and staggered as he walked. He turned around two blocks and arrived at a church. The exterior wall of the church was decorated with red bricks, and the three large spires on the front were very high and majestic. On top of the middle spire stood a tall cross, and the building looked like it had been newly completed in just a few years. It was so late, but Dao Lang knew that there was still a priest "on duty" here. Perhaps because this parish had only recently been established, and it was an urgent period for developing believers, the priests here worked every day until midnight.

  Dao Lang walked through the chapel with rows of long benches and came to the confession room on the right side. The confession room was interestingly decorated, with two small houses lined up under one wall, each house had no light inside, only a chair for people to sit, and after entering and pulling up the curtain, nobody could see inside. One of the small houses' door curtains were open in the confession room, which was where the penitent sat, while the other small house's door opened behind the wall, and the pastor entered and exited from there. Sitting in the small black house, separated by a partition with holes, one could hear the person speaking on the other side but couldn't see who the person speaking was.

  The monk shook the confession bell and then walked into the small black house, pulled up the curtain and waited quietly. Not long after, a kind and solemn voice came from the opposite small black house: "My child, it's so late, what do you want to confess?"

  "Father," Dao Lang said in a trembling voice, "I met the devil today! I come to ask for God's forgiveness and not let the devil torment my soul again."

  Priest: "The devil? Everyone has a devil hidden in the shadows of their heart, all living beings are sinners, and must ask for the Lord's forgiveness with a devout heart. God will not abandon anyone, the Lord's light will illuminate your soul, guiding each person on the path to heaven... How did you meet the devil?"

  Dào Láng: "I am guilty, forced by life, today I went to rob again ——"

  The priest said, "The Lord says 'Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal.' The devil is actually hiding in your heart. You can only purify your soul with sincere repentance, and God may forgive your sins." ... "What kind of devil did you encounter? Can you tell me carefully?" The first half of the priest's words were normal, but the second half was unusual. In the confession room, he had heard all sorts of sins, his duty was only to listen and advise, not to punish or investigate, he wanted to make more people realize their original sin in front of God, and guide them towards sincere faith. But today, this priest broke the rule and started asking about the "devil"...

  As Dao Lang walked out of the church, he felt much calmer and relieved. Although his confession was not enough to make him give up robbery, when he looked back at the cross, he had a newfound respect for it, and spiritually, he gained a comforting strength.

  Dao Lang is not a local, he comes from a very far place, the westernmost Tianji Plateau. On the Tianji Plateau, Dao Lang belongs to a gang of robbers who rob passing caravans and merchants on the vast and sparsely populated highways. After each job, he has a habit of going to the local temple to pray for his sins to the Bodhisattva. But every time he turns back, he still goes to rob, and if met with resistance, he will kill people, because he needs the stolen goods to live a good life.

  Later, the gang that Dàoláng was in was defeated by a special police task force. Some were killed and others were caught. To avoid capture, Dàoláng left Tiān Jǐ Gāo and arrived at the bustling city of Wū Yóu. Here, he did not find a temple but instead discovered this church. In the church, confessing was much stronger than praying in a temple because there was also a priest who would accompany you one-on-one for private chats. You could freely talk about your sins without worrying that the other person would reveal them, and apart from being devout to God, you didn't need anything else. This approach undoubtedly made things more "humanized", and Dàoláng even became somewhat addicted to it.

  He didn't mention the knife, and went to the church to say something. Bai Shaofeng had no idea that he and Zhuang Ru had become "devils". He supported Zhuang Ru all the way back home, her body trembling slightly, warmly and softly leaning against his side, the scent emanating from her body was also very pleasant. Every man would be moved by this, but thinking of her half-terrifying face, this feeling would dissipate. Bai Shaofeng tried not to think about it, silently sending Zhuang Ru back home, he could feel her mood was very low.

  Open the anti-theft door, support Zhuo Ru in the living room sofa, Bai Shaoliu asked: "Zhuang sister, do you have alcohol and cotton balls at home? Your scalp is scratched and needs to be treated."

  Zhuang Ru's gaze seemed to be looking far ahead as she said, "Is it still necessary? My appearance is already ugly enough, even bandits can be scared away, what's the point of adding another scar?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "You can't say that, your face really doesn't look good now, but getting hurt isn't your fault. Didn't we just say to find a way to get plastic surgery? If all else fails, sell this big house and exchange it for a smaller one, it's whatever degree it can be fixed to. There will always be a way, you don't have to be so desperate every day, it won't make things better either. Think carefully, find something to do, it'll definitely be better than now."

  Zhuang Ru finally withdrew her gaze from afar and looked at Xiao Bai, with a hint of gratitude in her eyes: "Xiao Bai, just now on the street, I blinked and found that you had taken away the thug's knife. How come I didn't know you had this skill before?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "I've never met a rascal before, how did you know? Actually, I practiced martial arts for a few days, and dealing with a few small thieves shouldn't be a problem."

  Zhuang Ru: "With your skills, you won't have any trouble finding a new job. But what about me...?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "Zhuang sister, you're here again. Don't think about these things anymore, it'll only make you feel worse... Take this 3,000 yuan and use it to pay the mortgage for this month first. We can figure out other things later. Where's the medical cotton? I'll help you dress your wound. One less scar is better than one more."

  Zhuang Ru: "My medicine box is in the bottom drawer of the dresser in my bedroom... Xiaobai, why are you being so good to me? I don't have anything to give you."

  Bai Shaofeng smiled: "Was I good to you? I just happened to meet you on the road and sent you home, you were also very good to me in the past, even helping me with my ticket at the airport."

  Zhuang Ru: "These three thousand yuan, you lend it to me, do you still have money to use yourself? I heard what you said on the street, it seems like you're going to sleep on a long chair in the park."

  "Don't worry, didn't you see me rob him? I took 600 yuan from that thug, just enough for my rent this month. You said it wouldn't be a problem for me to find a job, right? Next month will have another solution."

  Zhuang Ru: "Luckily I met you, now I feel much better. Thinking about it, I still have a way out. If this house is sold at market price, it should be around 1.1 million yuan. After deducting the one-time bank loan repayment, I can still have over 600,000 yuan left, which can last for a long time. It's just a pity about my renovation."

  Bai Shaofeng: "It's not a pity, anyway. In the past six months, pork and housing prices have risen, and your house has appreciated in value. Sixty million is a huge sum for me? I'm not worried at all with my mere 600 yuan, what do you have to be desperate about?"

  Zhuang Ru: "Xiao Bai, listening to you talk is really comfortable! It's strange, it seems like you know how to make me feel better?... If you're not afraid of seeing this scary face every day, then just move in here, I have two empty rooms, pick one as you please, it's better than spending money renting a place outside."

  "Didn't you prepare to sell?"

  Zhuang Ru: "Before selling, it's still habitable! Besides, there's no need to rush. I suddenly remembered that I have some money left in Qian Zhuang, which should be enough for half a year. The house prices in this downtown area are rising rapidly recently, so if we sell too hastily, it would be a pity."

  "Are you saying there's still this amount of money in the bank? Then why didn't you withdraw it today?"

  Zhuang Ru: "It's not the money in the passbook, it's the money in a joint account. For a while, my mind has been very confused and I couldn't remember anything. Now that I've calmed down, I just thought of it. Actually, you have this money too..."

  When a person is desperate, everything in front of them seems dark and they can't see any way out, even walking down the road feels like running into a tree. But once they calm down and start thinking clearly, they'll find that there are actually many ways to solve their problems. Zhu Ruo's situation was just like this, fortunately she met Bai Shaoliu. Bai Shaoliu carefully sensed her emotions while gently guiding her back to calmness, and she really did remember something to tell Xiao Bai.

  *************************************

  Today is China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. In the early morning, I wish all friends a happy Mid-Autumn Festival! No matter where you are, because the gathering of hearts is always complete and happy!

  Tonight I will put up the offering fruit to worship the moon, this custom is hardly seen around me anymore, I wonder if fellow compatriots still retain this simple and rustic sentiment?

  Tonight, let's have these friends from all over the world appreciate the moon together under that round mysterious light.

  And one more thing, vote for this book:)