Just as Huo Xiaolong, carrying a small bag, was about to rush forward to sprinkle poison on the faces of the people in front of him, a pair of strong hands pulled her into their arms. The little girl spun around in mid-air, bewildered, before settling into the man's embrace.

"Wow, you can really run fast, kid! Even your uncle can't catch you!"

Not only can she run, she's also a bit fierce. Scarface didn't say this out loud, because the little girl is easily embarrassed, and if she cried, she'd be hard to comfort!

"You've taken after your father quite a bit; you're ruthless and don't talk much."

Scarface said breathlessly, his ribs were sore from chasing him, not to mention his henchmen who were leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

"Uncle Scarface, look at them!"

Huo Xiaolong angrily complained, his face puffed up like a pufferfish as he stared at the man.

"You guys aren't from the border town, are you? The brokerage firm in Pingyang County doesn't take in kids of unknown origin. Let them go."

"Release him? If Pingyang County won't take him, is there no one outside the pass? I'm taking this kid with me today!"

"Who do you think you are? Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Here are a few arrogant guys for you to deal with!"

The thugs behind Scarface swarmed forward. After all, it was near the border, and most of the people in the border town were tall and strong. Even though there were more outsiders, they were no match for them.

"You human traffickers are the most heartless of all. Aren't you afraid of going to hell after you die?"

Scarface walked up to them and kicked one of them, saying...

Although they weren't exactly good people, the kind of thugs and hooligans, even thieves have their code of honor, and they wouldn't do anything so immoral.

"Waaaaah"

The little girl, left in the corner, was terrified by the scene before her. Huo Xiaolong slid off Scarface and walked up to her, saying...

Where are you from?

The little girl didn't say anything, she just kept wiping away her tears.

"Don't cry, I'll take you home?"

"How about I take you to the government office? We can report it to the authorities."

She remained silent. Huo Xiaolong looked at Scarface and said...

"Uncle, let's take it to the authorities. I heard there's a reward for it now."

"I've heard about it too. Let's take them to the authorities first, and then I'll help you negotiate a price when we get back."

"Okay," the little dumpling nodded vigorously.

The matter of Magistrate Huang had a huge impact on this small county. Pingyang County was already close to the border town, and everyone in this precarious place was living a difficult life.

The county magistrate was their god, and the county assistant was an incredibly powerful official in their eyes. Yet, such an important position had been compromised in this way. The very next day, Wang Zheng immediately ordered a crackdown on human traffickers; any brokerage firm or brothel that dared to do business with them was to be shut down immediately!

Another kidnapper was caught and brought to the government office, with a reward of ten taels of silver. Mother Cen gave this money. Ten taels! What does that mean? It's about what a family spends in a year. If it were in the village, it would be a huge sum of money.

So now almost all the child traffickers around Pingyang County have been caught. If someone hears that someone's child has been abducted, everyone in the surrounding area will go out to look for them. Are they looking for a child? They're looking for walking ten taels of silver!

Just as Scarface and his brothers were stuffing several human traffickers into sacks, Liu Xu staggered and found Huo Xiaolong.

"You silly child! Running around again!" The girl slapped her bottom, pretending to be angry.

"Brother Cuifang is with me! I know," the little dumpling pouted, gesturing for Liuxu to look up.

Miao Cuifang used her calves to push off and fell from the roof.

"He runs pretty fast; he could practice his light-footed skills later."

"What happened?"

Liu Xu looked at the place that was exactly the same as the crime scene and asked, "I didn't even glance at it, and such a big thing happened?"

"It's alright, she spotted the kidnappers and came to rescue them," Miao Cuifang said, pointing to the girl beside her.

Liu Xu felt that Huo Xiaolong must have a bad relationship with kidnappers, otherwise what family's child would encounter one twice at the age of four?

"Young lady, whose family are you from? Shall we take you to the county government office to wait for your family?"

After rescuing her, we need to take her home; otherwise, it's not safe for her to be outside in this cold weather.

Scarface and his group had already packed up the human traffickers and were just waiting for Liu Xu and the others to set off for the county government.

The little girl was still sitting on the ground crying, so Liu Xu thought of picking her up and said it wasn't far, so she would carry her there.

But as soon as I touched the little girl, she cried even harder, managing to utter a few words intermittently.

"I don't want... I don't want you to hold me."

"Then you go by yourself!"

Huo Xiaolong was displeased. "My sister hugged you, and you don't appreciate it! You don't even want to go with her anymore!"

The little girl wiped away her tears, looked at Huo Xiaolong pitifully, and then reached out her hand to him, saying...

Let's walk together.

The little dumpling grasped her outstretched hand, sniffed the snot that had frozen from its nose, and said...

"Let's go, do you want to blow your nose?"

She took a piece of paper out of her purse, blew her nose hard, crumpled it up and threw it away. Then she took another piece out of her purse and asked the little girl...

She made this paper a while ago; her toilet habits are really inconsiderate. Following the pulping and papermaking process, aside from the final drying step being a bit troublesome due to the cold weather in the border town, everything else was pretty good. Huo Xiaolong adjusted the proportions, turning the stiff pulp into softer paper suitable for toilet use. However, because of the cold weather, this paper couldn't be mass-produced; each batch could only produce enough for one room, barely enough for the people in the brothel to use themselves.

"Thanks"

The little girl reached out and took the tissue, mimicking her actions by blowing her eyes and wiping away her tears as well.

"What's your name?" Huo Xiaolong asked.

Cheng Xiangxiang

"The scent of agarwood?"

My goodness, that's quite a filial name.

"Procedure!"

"Aww, Cheng Xiangxiang!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!