“The station master saw her in rags, heavily pregnant, and too guilty to meet anyone’s eyes. He remembered the public notices in the city and wanted to hand her over to the authorities. The woman started crying and shouting, ‘I was just too hungry!’ and ‘I don’t want to hurt any of you!’ and then ran for the door. The constables rushed up to stop her, but then a meter-tall creature leaped out of the basket on her back. It killed the station master, the constables, and even the stablehands. It just so happened that two of our patrol brothers were resting at the post station. They came out when they heard the commotion, but even they couldn’t beat the thing. One died on the spot, the other was badly wounded. Still, they managed to knock the creature out of the station. At least a dozen travelers on the road saw it with their own eyes.”1

“And after that?”0

“The witnesses all bolted on the spot. By the time more constables arrived, the woman and that aberrant creature were long gone.”0

“That pregnant lady and that aberrant creature managed to slip out of Panlong City?” He Lingchuan frowned in thought. “I guess when the city started that big sweep of pregnant women, she knew she couldn’t stay, so she ran early.”0

But it had to be noted that it was bitterly cold out on the outskirts....0