Chapter 50 Disappearance...
Before he could even speak, Zhou Qiang, who was sitting upright in his office, heard the knock on the door, jumped up, and beamed.
He patted Ren Qingsong on the shoulder happily, "Goodness! You haven't been idle even on your leave. On behalf of the soldiers, thank you. I already know about the gun issue; just write a report and that will be fine."
Feeling he had finished speaking, Zhou Qiang prepared to return to his seat.
As he fell, before his bottom even landed on the stool, he suddenly realized something was wrong, abruptly raised his head, and met Ren Qingsong's serious face.
"Is there anything else?"
Ren Qingsong first looked around to make sure the surroundings were safe, then quickly approached the regimental commander and pointed to the map on the table, saying:
"Commander, today Miya and I went to pick ramie and hunt in this area. Before we set off, I confirmed that there were no patrol teams assigned to this location today."
Zhou Qiang looked in the direction Ren Qingsong was pointing and nodded in agreement, "That's right, we're patrolling the south side today."
"But when I was hunting, I noticed that there were other people around here."
"What!"
Zhou Qiang's voice unconsciously rose, his body straightened, and he exuded an aura of vigilance.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken? What if there are other family compounds, people, or villagers going up the mountain?"
Ren Qingsong's expression remained unchanged under Zhou Qiang's pressure, and he recounted all the unusual things he had noticed.
After discussing it, the two decided to take a two-pronged approach.
First, we must secretly investigate everyone who visited Yuxi Valley today, whether they were villagers or others. We must find out who they are. Military security cannot tolerate even the slightest hidden danger.
Secondly, wait for those disturbed by the gunfire to appear around Ren Qingsong and Miya to gather information, and then wait for them to walk right into the trap.
If anyone is as restless as they suspect, they will naturally be thoroughly investigated.
There is no best.
After confirming the specific arrangements, both parties immediately began to take action.
Ren Qingsong seemed oblivious to everything, and walked easily towards the canteen, where he bought a full bowl of wild boar meat to take home.
At home, Miya has already processed most of the pheasants and rabbits she harvested today.
Ren Qingsong returned home, and the two worked together to finally clean up all the prey before dinner.
After the meal, Ren Qingsong recounted what he had discovered on the mountain that day, reminding Miya to be on guard and to observe whether anyone was wandering around their home or asking for information.
"Of course, your own safety is the most important thing. Everything is based on your safety."
Upon hearing this, Miya's heart clenched, and amidst her panic, she exclaimed with realization, "When I finished cutting the first row of ramie, I vaguely thought I saw someone on the opposite mountainside, but I thought I was seeing things. Now it seems there really is someone there."
"The other side panicked abnormally after hearing the gunshot. Be careful, understand?"
“I will. The ramie I brought back needs further processing, so I'll stay home and not go out for the time being.” Miya nodded emphatically, making her promise.
Ren Qingsong felt a pang of tenderness at the sight, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.
From that day on, Miya really only worked on the mountain and around her home, occasionally going to Cui Baozhu's house to study and hand in her homework, and almost never set foot in other places.
Just as she was about to forget Ren Qingsong's reminder from a few days ago and think that her third brother was too nervous and had misread it, Ren Qingsong suddenly told her some bad news.
“Miya, the people on the mountainside found out a few days ago that it’s Guan Wenyang from the military’s cultural troupe.”
Upon hearing the name, Miya jumped to her feet, exclaiming in disbelief, "What!?"
"Do you know the other person?" After saying that, Ren Qingsong realized that he had asked a stupid question. It was understandable that Miya knew the other person when they rehearsed with the art troupe.
But recalling the rumors his subordinates had told him when this person was mentioned, he felt as if his heart was being squeezed, making it hard to breathe.
"Miya, could it be that you..."
Ren Qingsong really wanted to ask Miya if she liked Guan Wenyang like other girls, but he realized he had no right to ask, so he kept his words stuck in his throat.
Miya really wanted to tell what she knew, but remembering her friend's request to keep the secret, she could only bring her mouth closer.
In an instant, the room fell into dead silence.
The two exchanged a glance, neither willing to speak, and each got up and left.
Although Miya wasn't sure whether Guan Wenyang had any problems—that would require Third Brother to find out—as Cui Baozhu's friend and student, she felt it was necessary to give him a heads-up.
She thought about it all night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
I felt like I hadn't dozed off for long when a halo appeared on the horizon. I turned over to check the alarm clock; it was only six o'clock.
Miya thought that even if Cui Baozhu had classes, she wouldn't get up until after seven o'clock, let alone on her days off. Feeling restless, she finished making breakfast and ran to Cui's house.
She arrived at the Cui family home and happened to meet Commander Cui as he was leaving. She quickly greeted him, "Commander Cui."
"Hmm," Commander Cui nodded in acknowledgment and strode forward.
At this point, he hadn't noticed anything strange.
Miya hurried to her doorstep, determined to tell Baozhu about Guan Wenyang, even at the risk of leaking information.
Her unexpected appearance at the Cui family home immediately puzzled Cui Baozhu's mother, Xu Qingyan. "Miya, why did you come back by yourself? How could Baozhu trouble you if she forgot something?"
"Trouble me?" Miya's mind went blank, and she repeated it subconsciously.
Xu Qingyan looked at Miya's suddenly pale face and had a bad feeling, but she still smiled stiffly and said what her daughter had said when she left.
"Baozhu said she made a promise with you that, since it rained last night, we would go up the mountain to pick mushrooms."
"No...no! We didn't talk about this at all yesterday."
Miya hurriedly told the truth, her mind already beginning to fill with bad thoughts.
Xu Qingyan's face turned deathly pale, her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the sofa. "I didn't make plans with you, and I left early this morning..."
Helpless, Miya could only tell him about Cui Baozhu and Guan Wenyang's secret relationship and the top-secret information that Ren Qingsong had just told her last night.
The situation was critical, and she couldn't worry about anything else.
Just as they were about to leave the family compound, Commander Cui, sensing something was wrong, overheard everything at the door.
He immediately made arrangements and sent guards to the cultural troupe's dormitory to check on the situation.
If Guan Wenyang is here, things will be fine; if he's not, he'll have to make a decision.
Hearing her husband's command, Xu Qingyan felt her heart sink into an abyss. She clung tightly to her husband's hand and wept bitterly.
Miya stood aside, blaming herself and constantly questioning herself.
If she had told Aunt Xu earlier that Baozhu and Guan Wenyang were secretly dating, would this situation have been avoided?
Things did not develop as everyone had imagined; bad news kept coming.
The people from the performing arts troupe said that Guan Wenyang didn't go back yesterday, and they didn't know where he was.
Everything was pointing in a direction no one wanted: Guan Wenyang had taken Cui Baozhu hostage and fled with her.
The unit immediately made arrangements, sending a team to search in the direction Guan Wenyang might have fled.
Miya felt so guilty about Cui Baozhu's unknown fate that she couldn't eat or sleep. Knowing that her third brother was going to lead a search team, she immediately signed up.
"No way!" Ren Qingsong refused without even thinking. "This deep mountain forest isn't a place for a young girl like you. You stay home and wait for news."
"I can do it, I can endure hardship," Miya thought, now only focused on finding the pearl, nothing could stop her.
“If I hadn’t helped cover it up, Baozhu definitely wouldn’t have gotten into trouble. I bear some responsibility for Baozhu’s disappearance, and I know Baozhu well. We once discussed what to do if someone were abducted by human traffickers when we were discussing articles.”
Miya was worried that her third brother wouldn't believe her, so she found the first draft they had discussed before and said, "Third brother, look."
Ren Qingsong glanced at it briefly, his eyes filled with concern for Miya's current poor condition.
He knew that Miya felt very guilty, but it wasn't her responsibility; no one wanted Cui Baozhu to disappear.
Seeing Miya on the verge of collapse from guilt, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"You can go, but you must obey orders and not leave the group."
"Um!"
Soon, the teams set off in the direction where the southern border was relatively weak and dangerous.
Miya was also in the group. She walked next to Ren Qingsong and headed in the direction she had discussed with Guan Wenyang when Cui Baozhu mentioned it.
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