Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Wang Chao hurriedly followed in the footsteps of Qiuju Niu, but her speed was simply too fast for him to keep up. At that moment, Wang Chao understood what Qiuju Niu was afraid of; she feared that the boy's lower body inside that transparent glass jar belonged to her grandson, Zhang Wenhua.
This was a very real possibility, considering the sheer number of jars at the village chief's house—there had to be at least a dozen children involved.
Driven by desperation to save her grandson, Qiuju Niu unleashed all her potential, proving to Wang Chao that people could be pushed to their limits. However, as a human trafficker, if Qiuju Niu had thought about the feelings of other grandmothers while abducting their children, perhaps she would not have resorted to such actions.
What goes around comes around; the "Criminal Consultant" who had been lurking behind the scenes finally made Qiuju Niu taste the bitter fruit of her own making.
Wang Chao was already forty years old, having gained weight in middle age. He knew there was no chance he would ever join such a task force in his lifetime. If it weren't for Jiang He—who appeared beside him like an enigma—his life would have remained quite ordinary.
But watching Qiuju Niu's figure gradually fade into the distance, Wang Chao realized he should step back; he was no longer suited for frontline work. Perhaps it was time for him to sit in an office and pass this position on to someone younger.
He recalled Old Shao's words: if he couldn't catch up with Qiuju Niu, he should return immediately. As he watched Qiuju Niu dash into the village, he knew he should turn back. Yet Wang Chao felt reluctant; he wanted one last chance. Once Qiuju Niu returned to the village, he would be exposed.
At that moment, Wang Chao could not foresee that halfway up the mountain, Jiang He had already discerned Luo Yu's intentions. Even if they caught up with Qiuju Niu, they would still be exposed once Luo Yu returned.
Qiuju Niu had reached the village. Wang Chao glanced back and saw a hint of dawn breaking in the distance; it wouldn't be long before it was fully light.
By now, Qiuju Niu had entered the village. The villagers had just spent the night searching for her and were now exhausted, having gone home to sleep.
The village was eerily silent, with only the sound of two people running echoing through the stillness.
"What are you doing? If we get exposed now, we won't be able to leave!" Wang Chao whispered from behind, careful not to wake the villagers.
Without uttering a word, Qiuju Niu continued to sprint forward. They had already passed several villagers' doorsteps without stopping. Wang Chao realized that Qiuju Niu was heading straight for Village Chief Li Sanhan's house. Sure enough, when they reached the chief's door, Qiuju Niu accelerated and crashed right into it.
She did not slow down; instead, she charged at the heavy iron door with full force. The door was tightly shut and bolted from within. Even with her weight of over seventy kilograms, there was no way she could break down a solid iron door with sheer physical strength.
With a loud crash, the iron door trembled violently, its reverberations echoing continuously.
Qiuju Niu was knocked down by the recoil, rolling on the ground a few times. Fortunately, her tough skin and flesh meant that aside from some large bruises on her arm, she seemed to be fine. Behind her, Wang Chao had caught up and pounced directly onto Qiuju Niu.
Wang Chao pressed down hard on Qiuju Niu, whispering in her ear, "If we want to save your grandson, don’t say anything reckless. After we lose contact for three days, Guan Deng will send people to look for us. Today is exactly the third day. Once a large group of police arrives, these people won’t be able to escape."
"Who the hell is looking for death?" A furious shout erupted from the village chief's house; it was the voice of the village chief's wife, Wang Daifeng. Her shrill voice was almost louder than the earlier crash. "Who’s making noise at my house in the middle of the night?"
As Qiuju Niu tried to say something, Wang Chao firmly covered her mouth. He continued to whisper in her ear, "Think carefully. If something has already happened, you can’t change it. But what if your grandson Zhang Wenhua is actually fine? If you act like this, you’ll end up dead yourself, and your grandson won’t be saved either."
Just as he finished speaking, the door of the village chief's house swung open, and a woman stepped out—it was Wang Daifeng.
As she walked outside, she shouted, "I want to see what’s going on! Even if it’s a wolf, I’ll skin it alive!"
When Wang Daifeng saw who was in front of her, she paused for a moment before saying, "Qiuju Niu? I thought you were missing! And this guy—what’s his name again? Wang Chao, right? What are you two doing? This isn’t how you handle things, haha!"
Seeing their position, Wang Daifeng couldn’t help but tease them.
Wang Chao shot a glare at Qiuju Niu before standing up. "Sorry to trouble the villagers tonight. But Qiuju Niu has been found; it seems something has disturbed her spirit. When we found her, she was wandering around in the mountains and talking nonsense. My apologies for causing you trouble; I’ll take her back now."
Wang Daifeng wrapped herself in a coat and simply watched the two.
Qiuju Niu also stood up, trembling all over. Wang Chao understood that this was a sign of her exhaustion; she had pushed herself with anger to get here and now had no strength left. He supported her but subtly signaled for her not to say anything reckless.
After hearing the loud noise, other villagers began to wake up one by one and opened their doors to see what was happening.
If Qiuju Niu said something inappropriate, they would definitely be unable to escape and might even implicate others. Jiang He and the others knew nothing about what was going on; if they returned to the village now, it would be like walking into a trap. Wang Chao silently hoped that Old Shao would relay the message to everyone else—even if he got caught or even died…
Qiuju Niu stood silently, staring intently at Wang Daifeng, who was also looking back at her.
If looks could kill, Wang Daifeng would have been shattered into pieces right then and there.
"Fuck, look at her eyes, they're all red, as if I've killed her father. It really seems like her soul has been taken. You should take her to the High Taoist; maybe he has a way."
Wang Chao nodded and pulled Qiuju Niu towards Er Dan's house. After resting for a moment, Wang Chao could use the excuse of taking Qiuju Niu to find the High Taoist to meet up with everyone.
"Let's go!" Wang Chao urged, dragging Qiuju Niu along.
"Just find him," Wang Daifeng yawned, turning back to close the door while calling out, "Alright, disperse! There's nothing to see here."
A heavy weight lifted from Wang Chao's heart. He sighed in relief and continued walking with Qiuju Niu. She was trembling all over, completely exhausted; even walking back to Er Dan's house seemed like a monumental task. However, to the villagers, her expression truly looked like someone who had lost their soul.
But it was none of their business; the villagers had no interest in the fate of an outsider and began closing their doors and returning inside.
Wang Chao finally helped Qiuju Niu into Er Dan's house. Through a gap in the door, he could see Er Dan still sleeping soundly inside.
This scene gave Wang Chao a strange feeling. So much had happened in the village overnight—Qiuju Niu's disappearance, Jiang He being attacked by Evil Dog, and bones found in the forest—yet Er Dan remained blissfully unaware of all these significant events.
But perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing. At his age, being able to lie down and fall asleep seemed like a luxury many people longed for.
Wang Chao helped Qiuju Niu into the house. As he poured her a glass of water, he said, "It's good that you can see the bigger picture. After you rest for a bit, we'll go find Old Shao and discuss what to do next."
Qiuju Niu nodded, her eyes still red. After a moment, she fiercely declared, "If my grandson is fine, that's one thing. But if they touch even a hair on Wenhua, I swear I'll bite those bastards to death with my last breath."
"If you could think about how those children are someone's grandsons when you're selling them off, you wouldn't do such things," Wang Chao placed a cup of water in front of Qiuju Niu.
Qiuju Niu seemed ready to retort but struggled to find words. In the end, she could only pick up the cup and stare blankly at the water tank in the corner.
"In front of the High Taoist, it seems like you had something else to say. Where exactly did you go all night? Why did you suddenly appear there?" Wang Chao asked as he took a scoop of water and drank before turning back to Qiuju Niu.
Qiuju Niu abruptly set her cup down and said, "I really didn't finish my story. The reason I was gone for so long is that I encountered that female ghost!"
"You encountered a female ghost?" Wang Chao couldn't believe his ears. "In person?"
Qiuju Niu nodded. "After you all left, I heard the ghost's singing again. I don't know why, but I felt compelled to go outside. Following the sound, I found a female ghost standing in the cornfield at the edge of the village. She even waved for me to come with her. I was so scared that I couldn't move."
"Were you taken by the ghost?" Wang Chao asked.
Qiuju Niu shook her head. "No, it wasn't really a ghost at all. That ghost was just a person in disguise."
"A ghost in disguise?" Wang Chao thought this must be an important clue.
Qiuju Niu held her cup tightly. "That's right. She is a person named Song Xiangmei, originally a bride who was trafficked here. She escaped six months ago, but she didn't know how to get down the mountain, so she could only haunt the village nearby. She knew we came from outside and hoped we could take her away from the village."
"You stayed together the whole time?" Wang Chao asked again.
Qiuju Niu nodded. "Yes, she told me many secrets about the village and mentioned that the High Taoist isn't a good person either. She wanted me to warn you all to avoid him at all costs!"
"This is bad!" Wang Chao grabbed Qiuju Niu's arm tightly. "We need to tell Old Shao and the others about this immediately."
Comment 0 Comment Count