Chapter Seventy-Eight: Zhang Bai Kui is Captured

Is the owner of this footprint the person who secretly took the child away?

Qin Haifeng noticed her unusual behavior, walked over, and whispered, "What are you looking at?"

“Footprints, look at the direction of these footprints. At first, he climbed over the wall to enter Aunt Guihua’s house, then jumped off the wall with the child in his arms. But he twisted his ankle when he jumped down and fell here. Later, the footprints became darker and lighter… It’s just a bit strange. Logically speaking, if he climbed over the wall to enter, he should have come out through the main gate. So why did he have to climb over the wall to come out?”

Upon hearing this, Qin Haifeng went to Aunt Guihua's house, pushed the door back and forth, and the door made a harsh creaking sound due to lack of oil.

Lin Baozhu narrowed her eyes slightly. If it was a human trafficker, how would they know that Aunt Guihua's door would make such a loud noise?

Unless it was committed by someone you know.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, lingering on their feet. People walked and stopped intermittently, and none of the people present had injured feet.

She refocused her gaze on the footprints, then moved the rope encircling Aunt Guihua's house further outwards, so that the large footprints would be enclosed within it.

"Baozhu, have you made any discoveries?"

"Captain, have someone guard this place until the police arrive. I'll go check over there..."

After saying that, she bent down and followed the footprints eastward, but after walking less than a hundred meters, the footprints were trampled away. Lin Baozhu looked up at the edge of the village and walked quickly towards it...

She remembered what Xiaobao had told her before: Tiger Granny was a human in disguise. She had searched by the pond before and found a body bloated from being submerged in water. At the time, she thought that the human traffickers' hideout couldn't be there, but now it seemed that this might have been their clever move...

"Baozhu, where are you going? Wait for me, I'll go with you."

Qin Haifeng hurriedly followed...

Seeing this, Jiang Meng stomped her foot and chased after Qin Haifeng, reaching out to support his arm. "Brother Haifeng, you're still injured. What are you doing following her? She's just trying to show off how capable she is in front of everyone!"

Seeing this, Qin Haifeng dodged to the side, looking at the other person with displeasure: "Don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other? What are you trying to do by touching a man like me? Are you being a pervert?"

Without even giving her a joint trial, he strode towards Lin Baozhu. Seeing his brisk pace, Lin Baozhu's eyes darkened. She quickly walked up to him, stared at his backside for a moment, and pretended to be puzzled, saying, "You were having a little trouble walking yesterday, but you're all better today? If you're still feeling unwell, go home and rest."

Of course she knew he was fully recovered; the medicine made by that subordinate with wood-type supernatural abilities was renowned for its potency.

Qin Haifeng also looked puzzled: "It's strange, it was still hurting yesterday, but it's completely healed this morning."

"In that case, let's go quickly."

"good."

The two walked towards Wanghu Village as if no one else was around. Jiang Meng stamped her foot in frustration, but then she thought about how those human traffickers were ruthless killers, and how a delicate woman like her would be slaughtered if she encountered such villains. She decided not to join in the fun. With that thought, she glanced at their departing figures, a cold glint in her eyes, and turned to walk back into the village…

Along the way, Lin Baozhu explained to Qin Haifeng, "Xiao Bao told me that she and her brother were fishing in this area when they saw a man carrying a child passing by on this road. Later, I deliberately came here to look for wild duck eggs, my purpose being to investigate the whereabouts of human traffickers. I never expected to find a body in the water..."

"That corpse was likely a smokescreen used by human traffickers to mislead the police and intimidate the surrounding villagers."

Lin Baozhu looked at the path ahead. Since the corpse was found in the woods, few people had passed by here, so a lot of weeds had grown on the path.

“I suspect that the people who took the child away were from Da Ge Ba Village.”

"It's also possible they scouted the location beforehand. In any case, we need to find the child as soon as possible."

“Look here…”

Qin Haifeng suddenly squatted down and pointed to a footprint in front of him, saying, "The pattern of this footprint is the same as the one we saw at Aunt Guihua's house!"

"We're heading in the right direction, let's go..."

The two followed the footprints forward, and when they reached the foot of the mountain, the footprints became messy, and there were fresh knife wounds on the big tree next to them. In addition to these, they also found dried bloodstains on the grass leaves and turned soil.

Lin Baozhu dug it open with her bare hands, revealing dark red soil underneath.

"It seems the scene has been cleaned up."

Qin Haifeng looked up into the woods and frowned, saying, "Our guess was right; the human traffickers' hideout is most likely in these mountains. But right now there are only the two of us. What if they have too many of them..."

Lin Baozhu sneered and took out two daggers and several packets of medicine powder from her bag.

"Here are these two snake-attracting powders. You can also take this dagger; the blade is very sharp, so be careful not to hurt yourself."

Qin Haifeng glanced at her handbag with surprise and clicked his tongue in amazement: "I didn't expect you to carry these things with you."

Lin Baozhu didn't speak, but simply put the remaining powder back into her bag. She tucked the dagger into her waistband and walked into the mountains with Qin Haifeng...

The two followed the trampled tracks of grass and trees deeper into the mountains and forests. As they went further in, the scenery in front of them became more and more open. Suddenly, Qin Haifeng grabbed Lin Baozhu and darted to the side. A crossbow bolt landed where they had just been standing.

Then a man sprang out of the bushes. He had a scar on his face that ran from his brow bone to behind his ear, like a hideous centipede crawling across his face.

Lin Baozhu's pupils contracted slightly. This man...

It was none other than the wanted criminal Zhang Baikui.

Zhang Baikui, holding a crossbow, grinned menacingly: "Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving."

After saying that, he pointed the gun at Qin Haifeng and pulled the trigger of the crossbow. Upon seeing this, Qin Haifeng rolled on the spot with Lin Baozhu in his arms and hid behind a big tree...

Zhang Baikui's voice came from behind.

"You two can't escape. If you know what's good for you, come out obediently, and I won't kill you. Otherwise... don't blame my crossbow for being blind."

The two pressed themselves against the tree trunk, Lin Baozhu's eyes shining with excitement, her breathing rapid.

"Qin Haifeng, the walking thousand-dollar bill, we've run into him. We can't let him show up today no matter what. We'll split the reward money 50/50."

"Let's not talk about that now. His crossbow is very powerful. I'll go out and distract him for a bit. You throw stones at him, but remember, don't kill him. There might be a big fish behind him."

"Don't worry about me handling things. Just be careful."

Qin Haifeng rolled on the spot, and Zhang Baikui, seeing this, suddenly raised his crossbow and shot at him. In the instant Zhang Baikui twisted his body, Lin Baozhu swiftly threw a sharp-edged stone at his arm holding the crossbow...

"Pfft!"

Zhang Baikui snorted, and the crossbow in his hand fell to the ground. He turned his head fiercely, and his hand reached for his waist. Seeing this, Lin Baozhu threw another stone at him, which pierced his shoulder. Qin Haifeng then struck his leg hard from behind with a stick. Zhang Baikui staggered and fell to the ground, his body twisting and groaning like a caterpillar.

Qin Haifeng lifted him up, looked around, then pointed in one direction and said, "Take him there first, just in case he has accomplices!"

"good."

Qin Haifeng dragged Zhang Baikui toward a crevice in the mountain. As soon as they reached the crevice, Lin Baozhu took out a pill and stuffed it into his mouth without saying a word. She then used a wooden stick to gag him and raised her fist to punch him repeatedly.

Lin Baozhu was very strong. Even though she had stopped, each hammer blow felt like a thousand pounds hitting her body, and each punch felt like her body was being crushed. But when her fist left her stomach, the pain disappeared as if she were in a panic.

Under Lin Baozhu's relentless beatings, his eyes became clear.

He was a serial killer, but the woman in front of him was even more like a beast than he was.

How much strength could she possibly have? The reason I'm in so much pain must be related to the medicine she forced on me; those pills amplify pain receptors.

Lin Baozhu, tired of beating him, picked up a twig and kept stirring it in his wound. Seeing his face turn pale with pain, covered in cold sweat, and his eyes becoming unfocused, Lin Baozhu finally took pity on him and pulled the twig out of his mouth. She squatted down and stared intently at him, saying, "Early this morning, a five-year-old child went missing in our village. According to the investigation, the child was brought here. Tell me, where did you take the child?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Baikui's pupils contracted. Today, a man with a child passed by on the mountain road, and on a whim, he tied the man up and sent the unconscious child and the child to the mountains to be used as test subjects.

The boss promised him that as long as he could develop the drug, his lifespan would be extended by several decades, or even hundreds of years.

However, what is currently lacking are people with pure blood and flesh, and children, who have little contact with grains and cereals, are the people with the best chance of extracting the medicinal liquid.

Seeing his eyes darting around, Qin Haifeng stomped on his ankle. With a sharp crack, he immediately let out a scream, and Lin Baozhu quickly covered his mouth again.

"If you know what's good for you, tell us everything you know. Otherwise, we won't hesitate to kill someone and dump the body inside."

Qin Haifeng chimed in nonchalantly, "There are many wild animals in the mountains and forests, such as tigers and wolves, which are the best choices for disposing of corpses."