As the Wu Wei Jun continued their questioning, the scope of the inquiries began to change qualitatively. Xia Yanru's responses, initially calm and unhurried, started to become extremely cautious. While she maintained her usual relaxed demeanor on the surface, she was actually already planning her actions in case the talks broke down.
Fortunately, by the time the disguised interrogation concluded, Xia Yanru inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Her identity crisis was temporarily resolved, but only temporarily. She knew all of this was thanks to the inconvenient time and location for investigation, and she believed that once they left the deep mountains and returned to their unit, a series of in-depth investigations into her previous answers would commence.
It was a pity that no matter how skilled the investigators were, they wouldn't be able to find any leads from her answers. After all, most of what she said was true, but those true answers only existed in her original apocalypse timeline.
If not for the patriotic factor within her body interfering with her thoughts, Xia Yanru could have avoided this interrogation. Even though she had switched timelines, she was still a citizen of Huá Guó, and this was still Huá Guó territory. How could she stand by and watch her own country's soldiers be bullied by foreign enemies when she had the ability to intervene?
She could only blame herself for not being careful enough. If she had hidden herself well from the beginning, even if her presence was discovered, as long as her face wasn't seen, she could have slipped away quietly without any consequences. Unfortunately, she had ultimately underestimated the strength of her own allies!
Muttering in frustration to herself, Xia Yanru calmly stood up and shook hands with the Wu Wei Jun. Since suspicion had been temporarily lifted, it was time for her to head back down the mountain to the village. She needed to hurry and sort out her household registration, and most importantly, she needed to think of ways to conceal her origins.
"Comrade Xia, I apologize for taking up so much of your time. However, for the next period, we hope Comrade Xia can temporarily stay in Shishan Village and not go out. We will soon send people to Shishan Village to verify the situation." The Wu Wei Jun raised his hand in a salute. If it weren't for his duty, he would actually admire Xia Yanru. Both her demeanor and her previous combat prowess marked her as a talent worth befriending.
"It's alright, Captain Wu. It's part of your duty, and I understand. However, you mentioned not going out for a while. Is there a time limit on that?" Xia Yanru felt a flicker of displeasure. Being restricted in her personal freedom was hardly something to be happy about.
"At most half a month. You know, letting you go now is actually a violation of regulations." The Wu Wei Jun replied truthfully. According to the rules, he should have taken Xia Yanru back to the unit with him to report. However, he had a subconscious feeling that it would be best not to do so.
"Captain Wu, it's not that I'm ungrateful or being difficult. Regarding your request not to go out, regardless of the duration, I hope the restriction doesn't limit me to just Shishan Village. Many daily necessities are only available in the city." Xia Yanru stated her thoughts plainly. "Of course, I won't be excessive. Apart from essentials, I won't go anywhere else until the restriction is lifted."
The Wu Wei Jun frowned in thought. He didn't find Xia Yanru's request objectionable. It was indeed as she said; many daily necessities were only available in the city. Although some things could be obtained through others, women, especially, might need privacy for certain personal items that were difficult to entrust to others.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble Comrade Xia to cooperate with us for half a month. I will report this as soon as possible and strive to restore Comrade Xia's freedom at an early date." The Wu Wei Jun nodded. She had been quite cooperative, and merely expanding the scope of the restriction was not an unacceptable request.
Besides, although the Wu Wei Jun outwardly agreed to let Xia Yanru leave, he would actually arrange for someone to monitor her secretly. Even though Xia Yanru had appeared sincere and forthright during the interrogation, out of duty, he wouldn't fully believe her. Necessary precautions must still be taken.
"Thank you, then I'll take my leave." Xia Yanru clasped her hands in a traditional martial arts gesture and turned to leave without looking back.
As for the soldier who followed closely behind, hidden in the shadows, Xia Yanru was not surprised. With her sensitivity to spatial anomalies, she could sense anyone within the same space, no matter how well they concealed themselves.
Moreover, Xia Yanru felt that having someone follow and monitor her wasn't a bad thing. Sometimes, such constant surveillance could even serve as strong evidence in certain specific situations. Conversely, if there were no one secretly watching, she would truly consider it a bad omen.
Because someone was following and monitoring her from behind, Xia Yanru walked all the way down the mountain on foot. Such a magical ability as teleportation definitely couldn't be used openly. So, after a solid three-hour walk, she finally reached the foot of the mountain near Shishan Village.
Wiping the sweat from her face, Xia Yanru vowed to herself that in the future, she must think thrice before acting and never be careless when acting outside, otherwise, there would only be more trouble for her, unless she chose to live as a recluse in the deep mountains and old forests, completely alone.
Only after officially entering the village did Xia Yanru truly relax. She knew there weren't many places to hide her presence within the village, and she was completely free within its confines. As long as she avoided places conducive to close pursuit, she wouldn't have to worry about her secrets being exposed.
"Little Xia, you're finally back! We've been waiting for you since morning." Not long after Xia Yanru entered the village, Ying Fengshan, who had heard the news, rushed over. He had expected Xia Yanru to return at dawn, but she only appeared at noon.
"Something held me up." Xia Yanru smiled sheepishly. She had originally planned to return early, but then this unexpected situation arose. However, there was no need to tell others about the details.
Ying Fengshan said it casually and didn't seem to blame her. She hadn't specified when she would return the previous night. He had just assumed she would return early, thinking she placed great importance on the household registration.
"Well, the household registration is almost done. Now we just need you to come back to provide some additional information. After we update the village's records, the village head will need to go to the township to get a stamp for backup purposes," Ying Fengshan said.
Going to the township for backup? Xia Yanru pondered this. If her household registration was backed up at the township level, the date would certainly have to be recent, which was a significant departure from her initial plan.
Seeing that she was lowering her head in silence, Ying Fengshan mistook it for dissatisfaction with the speed of the process and quickly explained, "Actually, registering the household is not difficult. The village's direct registration also counts. However, this is a new regulation from the government. All household registrations must be backed up at the household registration office. If they are not backed up, it will be more troublesome if you want to transfer out later."
"Captain Ying, may I ask if the household registrations of everyone in our village are backed up at the township's household registration office?" Xia Yanru asked.
"No, not yet. Currently, everything is still managed by unified registration within the village. The new policy has just begun to be implemented, and collective backup at the township requires further notice and arrangements. Our township has many villages, so even queuing will take some time." Ying Fengshan shook his head. This household registration system had only been in place for a short time and had not yet been fully popularized.
The reason he mentioned taking Xia Yanru's household registration to the township for backup was that he thought it would be best for her. Little did he know that what he considered best might not be what Xia Yanru wanted.
Fortunately, Ying Fengshan's truthful answer further strengthened Xia Yanru's belief that the plan she had just conceived was indeed feasible. Given that most work relied on manual labor at this time, it was surprisingly easy to manipulate.