Xiao Ruoshui was originally hiding at the back of the crowd. When she saw Fan Mingyuan coming, her eyes turned red as she stood up and walked around the others to throw herself into Fan Mingyuan’s arms.
Fan Mingyuan hugged her tightly and heaved a sigh of relief.
The masked man walked back and scanned the people present again before leaving without a word.
Fan Mingyuan quickly let go of Xiao Ruoshui and asked, “Where’s Young Madam? Isn’t she with you?”
When she was suddenly asked about Shen Yijia, Xiao Ruoshui’s eyes were blank. She shook her head and said, “Jiajia and I were squeezed together by the crowd. After she brought me out, she said that she wanted to look for Brother Chen and asked me to go back by myself. We separated then.”
She tightened her grip on Fan Mingyuan’s arm and asked worriedly, “Jiajia is gone too?”
Fan Mingyuan nodded. His gaze landed on the masked man, who paused slightly as he left.
“Did you see my husband or not?” Shen Yijia looked at the girl leading the way. She frowned and stopped walking.
This was what happened two hours ago.
After bringing Xiao Ruoshui out of the crowd, she looked at the crowd in front of her and the chaos caused by the fire on the stage not far away.
She felt that Song Jingchen would easily be pushed away in a crowd since he was in a wheelchair, so she searched within the crowd again. However, she didn’t see Song Jingchen anywhere.
She was about to return to the theater to look for him when a girl blocked her way.
The girl first looked at her curiously and looked behind her.
Shen Yijia was in a hurry to find Song Jingchen and was in no mood to argue with a brat. She walked around her and was about to leave.
“Are you looking for a big brother in a wheelchair?” the girl suddenly asked.
Shen Yijia paused and frowned. “How did you know?”
After saying that, she looked at the girl and carefully sized her up. Only then did she recognize that this was the little girl she had met when she was eating wontons with her beautiful husband.
“I just saw him being pushed out of the city by a few people.” The girl pointed in a direction.
Shen Yijia looked over. She was standing on the main street facing the city gate of Anyang County, and the girl was pointing at the city gate.
Her beautiful husband had been brought out of the city? Shen Yijia subconsciously wanted to go over, but she stopped in her tracks.
She saw the dirt on the hem of the girl’s dress and asked suspiciously, “How did you know I was looking for him? And where’s your mother? Why are you here alone?”
The girl swallowed nervously. She took a step back on her short legs and suddenly burst into tears. “My- my mother was taken.”
Shen Yijia said indifferently, “Oh, then report it to the authorities.”
She was still in a hurry to find her beautiful husband. How could she have the time to find someone else’s mother?
The girl cried until she was out of breath. She choked and said, “I’m not lying to you. Big Brother was really pushed out of the city…”
“Shut up. You’re not allowed to cry.” Shen Yijia was a little impatient. This little girl did not speak the truth.
The girl was so frightened by Shen Yijia that she stopped crying. She burped and explained while sobbing, “I went out of the city with my mother and went home. I didn’t expect to be targeted by bad people. After my mother hid me, she lured the bad people away herself… I didn’t hide for long before I saw someone pushing that big brother past me…”
“I… I was afraid of being captured, so I didn’t dare to come out.”
Shen Yijia narrowed her eyes. “Then why did you look for me?”
“I want you to help me save my mother.” The girl shrank back in fear.
Shen Yijia was still suspicious of her words, but what if her beautiful husband had really been taken out of the city? This girl might be telling the truth, but it was more likely that this person was sent by someone to lure her there.
However, no matter what, there was a 50% chance of finding Song Jingchen if she followed this girl. To her, the main priority was to find him. The rest made no difference.
Of course, there was also a possibility that Song Jingchen hadn’t left the city at all.
However, she had already searched the city just now. Even though she knew that there was a trap ahead, she wasn’t willing to bet on it.
That was how things played out up to this point. They had been out of the city for a while, and the direction where the girls were led had long left the official road and become more and more remote.
The girl panted. “Just ahead. I saw those people pushing Big Brother up the mountain.”
Shen Yijia looked at the dark mountain path in front of her and her eyes darkened. She did not say anything and continued to follow the girl.
“Big Sister, here.” The girl suddenly turned around and extended her hand in front of her. “My mother said that if you’re afraid, you can eat some candy.”
Shen Yijia looked at the candy wrapped in red sugar in her hand and glanced at her. The girl became nervous before reaching out to take the candy.
She peeled off the candy wrapper in front of the girl and stuffed it into her mouth. “Let’s go. When I find my husband, I’ll help you save your mother.”
“Thank you, Big Sister. You’re so kind.” The girl grinned.
Somewhere she couldn’t see, something slipped from Shen Yijia’s hand and rolled into the weeds.
Song Jingchen left the alley and stood in front of the stage again. Thinking of the scene he had just seen, he closed his eyes, not knowing if he should be glad that Shen Yijia wasn’t inside or if he should be worried that something had happened to her.
That girl was so powerful. She might still be looking for him foolishly.
Thinking of this possibility, Song Jingchen walked along the street again. He searched everywhere, including the Vast Gathering Pavilion and even the backyard of the county office.
“Why did the city gates close just like that? Where are we going to stay tonight?”
“It seems that a kidnapper appeared in the city and many women were captured. Magistrate Fan was worried that it would be difficult to find those women after they were taken out of the city, so he ordered the city gate to be closed.”
“Damn, I should have left the city earlier. My brothers next door even asked me if I wanted to go back with them. Earlier, the city gate wasn’t closed yet.”
The complaints of the two passers-by entered Song Jingchen’s ears. He frowned and thought of a possibility, so he quickly ran towards the city gate.
On the way, he encountered a group of searching bailiffs. After some thought, he told them his guess.
When the bailiffs heard this, they went to report to the county magistrate.
Song Jingchen ignored him. He wanted someone to help him in his search because he wanted an additional guarantee. He came to a blind spot in the city wall and used his qinggong to fly up…
On the hill, Shen Yijia looked coldly at the group of ten people opposite her. The leaders were two women. One of them was the mother of the girl she had seen previously. The other looked slightly older and had a mean expression.
Both women had a small white flower on their heads.
Shen Yijia knew it meant that their families had died.
The other eight were dressed in black and looked like thugs. Two of them held torches that illuminated the empty space.
Shen Yijia could clearly see a huge pit not far away. In the pit was an uncovered coffin. White bones could be seen in the coffin.
