Old Master Lian ultimately did not go for a walk to relax. He had only been sitting for a short while when he rubbed his temples and said he was tired. He was then helped back to his room by the caregiver to rest.

After yesterday's farce, the four of them lost interest in shopping and decided to go to a nearby teahouse instead.

Just two blocks ahead, a cacophony of voices suddenly erupted, accompanied by a man's furious roar.

"Get the hell out of my way! If you take another step, I'll kill this bitch!"

"She cheated on me with another man; killing her would be too lenient!"

Jiang Linchuan and Lian Xiao exchanged a glance, instantly realizing something was wrong, and immediately pushed through the crowd to squeeze in.

Xu Xinghe and Shen Jianqiu followed closely behind, tiptoeing to peek inside.

In the center of the circle, a man with a full beard was gripping a kitchen knife tightly, the blade pressed against the neck of the woman in front of him, the gleaming edge already drawing a thin line of blood.

The woman was barefoot, standing on the cold bluestone slab. She was only wrapped in a wrinkled bodice, her hair was disheveled and covered half her face, and she was trembling like a leaf, clearly having just been dragged out of bed.

Xu Xinghe's expression changed drastically. "Lin Chuan, save them quickly!"

No matter how great the grudge, human life should not be treated as a joke.

Jiang Linchuan nodded and then made a gesture to Lian Xiao.

Have your partner and you flank him from both sides, and take advantage of the man's inattention to quickly subdue him.

Otherwise, if you rush in directly, the other party might actually kill you in their excitement.

Lian Xiao understood and quietly took two steps back, using the crowd of onlookers as cover to move to the side.

Xu Xinghe stared intently at the field, her heart pounding in her chest, and she even slowed her breathing.

Just then.

A hand suddenly reached out from behind.

A handkerchief with a pungent smell was suddenly covered over her mouth and nose.

Xu Xinghe stared wide-eyed in terror, struggling to shout, her gaze sweeping over the crowd toward Jiang Linchuan.

But within seconds, consciousness rapidly blurred under the influence of the drug, the people in front of him gradually became double images, faded, and finally he was completely plunged into boundless darkness.

Five minutes later.

Jiang Linchuan and Lian Xiao finally found an opportunity to surround the man from the front and back, kicking him to the ground and taking the kitchen knife away.

The woman was so frightened that she covered her neck and scrambled to the side, crying uncontrollably.

Jiang Linchuan frowned and looked at the people around him. "Notify their families."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the spot where Xu Xinghe had just been standing.

It was completely empty.

He walked over quickly, "Xinghe?"

I called out several times, but there was still no response.

Jiang Linchuan looked around. The crowd had gradually dispersed, but he still couldn't see that familiar figure.

"What's wrong?" Lian Xiao quickly walked over after cleaning up the scene. Seeing Jiang Linchuan's pale face, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Xinghe is gone, and so is Chen Jianqiu." Jiang Linchuan's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, and his fingertips were icy cold.

Xu Xinghe would never leave without saying goodbye, much less suddenly depart in such a chaotic situation!

So there's only one possibility: something happened to her!

"What?!" Lian Xiao's expression changed drastically. He grabbed a bystander who hadn't gone far. "Where are the two girls who were standing here? The one in the blue cotton shirt and the one in the white shirt!"

The onlookers were startled and waved their hands repeatedly, "I don't know... It was so chaotic just now, I didn't even notice what other people were wearing."

Jiang Linchuan clenched his fists and searched back and forth along the street, asking all the nearby shops and passersby, but a whole hour passed and Xu Xinghe and Shen Jianqiu seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

"Call the police!" Jiang Linchuan's voice was terribly hoarse. "Something must have happened!"

Lian Xiao lost his usual composure and turned to run towards the parking lot. "I'll go back to the Lian family to get people. Grandpa has a lot of connections in Shanghai. He'll definitely be able to find them!"

at the same time.

An oxcart has already left the urban area of ​​Shanghai.

On the back of the cart, Xu Xinghe and Shen Jianqiu lay unconscious together, covered with blankets. Their fair faces were smeared with black paint, making them look like they were sick to anyone who didn't know them.

The man herding the cattle in front looked back, grinned, and said, "Hehe, Big Brother is really something. He knew how to stir things up so we could take advantage of the chaos. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult. Soldiers are indeed the dumbest; they always have to help out."

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go, or they'll wake up soon."

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Xinghe slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing you see is a mottled, blackened earthen wall with large patches of plaster peeling off, revealing damp mud bricks underneath.

There was no familiar soft cotton bed beneath me, only a pile of dry, prickly hay. Even the slightest movement caused me some pain.

The air was thick with the smell of mildew, mixed with the stench of earth, which made her cough twice.

She propped herself up with her numb arms and looked around in the dim light filtering through the window.

This place is only about half the size of a room, more like a woodshed.

The windows were nailed shut with thick wooden planks, allowing only a few rays of light to seep in through the gaps.

The only wooden door was tightly shut.

Shen Jianqiu lay on a pile of hay not far away, his brows furrowed, still unconscious.

Xu Xinghe did not wake her up immediately, but struggled to move to the door and pushed against the door with both hands.

The wooden door remained completely still; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open it even a crack.

It seems the door was not only locked, but there was also something blocking it from the outside.

Xu Xinghe retreated to the haystack and rested for a while before gently pushing Shen Jianqiu's shoulder. "Jianqiu, wake up."

Shen Jianqiu let out a soft moan, her eyelashes trembled, and she groggily opened her eyes.

When she took in her surroundings, she sat up abruptly, her eyes filled with terror. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

“I don’t know, but it seems like we were kidnapped.” Xu Xinghe lowered her voice. “I remember someone covered my mouth from behind, and there was a pungent smell of medicine on the handkerchief. When I woke up, I was here.”

Shen Jianqiu then remembered that she seemed to have been drugged in the same way.

"How could someone kidnap us?" Her voice trembled. At this moment, she couldn't care less about her disgust for Xu Xinghe. She grabbed the other's arm and asked, "Where are Lian Xiao and Jiang Linchuan? Have you seen them?"

"No, they were still helping out at the scene when I was unconscious. I guess it was just the two of us who were kidnapped. As for why... I don't know."

Xu Xinghe really couldn't figure out why.

She has no enemies in Shanghai.

Xu Mingli is still in the mental hospital, Xu Mingyi has been arrested, and Xu Mingxin is definitely still in prison.

Who could have attacked her?

Shen Jianqiu was also wondering if it could be his enemy.

But she had even fewer enemies. She had a cheerful personality, many friends, and almost no enemies.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by the sound of men talking.

"There's no movement inside, could they still be asleep?"

"Impossible, the effects of the medicine should have worn off long ago. Let's go in and take a look."

Xu Xinghe tensed up instantly, quietly took out a dagger from her spatial storage, and held it in her hand.

The wooden door didn't open, but a small window, no bigger than a palm, was pulled open above the door panel, and a pair of cloudy eyes peered in, scanning the two of them. "You're awake?"

"I'm awake." Xu Xinghe forced herself to remain calm, trying to make her voice sound steady. "Who are you people? What do you want with us?"

"Hehe, who we are is not important." The man grinned, his eyes filled with greed. "But what we want is what we want. Hand over the Xu family's gold bars, or neither of you will leave here!"

Xu Xinghe's heart sank.

They came for her!

It seems that his identity was exposed, which is why he was kidnapped.

After all, the Xu family, once the richest family in Shanghai, had a reputation that resounded throughout the entire city!