Chapter 117: Another severed limb
The man took over, "Yes, it started with the second daughter of the Sun family in the north end of the village who went missing. The Sun family searched the entire village for days but couldn't find her. They figured she might have been taken away by a beggar, since she was just a girl, and there was no way they could just accept the bad luck. A few months later, the eldest son of the Zhao family across from the Sun family also disappeared, neither alive nor dead. That's when the villagers started to get suspicious, because their two families were closest to the foreign church and hospital, and it was hard not to suspect anything."
"Have you negotiated with those foreigners?" Linlang asked.
"Negotiate? How dare we country folks negotiate with foreigners? Firstly, we can't communicate, and secondly, we don't have any evidence. They act so arrogantly that we dare not say a word."
"In the following years, there were three or four more cases of missing children, which caused panic among the people. Those in the village who had relatives or friends nearby moved away, leaving only families like us who had nowhere to go."
"I just overheard outside. Is your child missing too?"
The couple was stunned for a moment, and seemed to find it difficult to speak.
Linlang quickly continued, "I'm really sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Alas, you're right," the man said with a sad expression. "My only daughter, Dong'er, also disappeared half a year ago. One evening, we weren't paying attention and let her run away. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. She was born mute. My husband and I searched the village for over ten days, but there was no trace of her. I even went to the city, nearly a hundred miles away, and still couldn't find her."
"So with so many children missing from your village, why don't you report it to the police?"
"I believe you are also aware that there have been wars in the south and the north in recent years. Who would care about the children lost in our remote area? It's because our place is particularly remote and not affected by the war, so some people are reluctant to move away. In fact, if there is any clue, we can go to the police station in the city to report it." The male host replied.
"Why is there no clue? Last time I saw a cloth belt hanging on the banyan tree in the flower garden from afar. Isn't it the one Dong'er tied around her waist? There is a big word 'Dong' on it!" The hostess interrupted.
"You're still talking about that? Why don't you bring it here? How can those foreigners recognize it just by looking at it and talking about it?"
It seemed that the disappearances of the village children were most likely the work of those Satanic followers of the Ghost Face. Linlang wondered, could it be that... the arm and leg that were intentionally placed in two different places were also from the missing children?
Linlang couldn't help but shudder.
But... wait. When Vina Yun discovered the leg in the confessional yesterday, those ghost-faced people looked surprised, as if they hadn't known anything about it. Were they faking it? Why would they have to put on such a show in front of Luo Mei and me, two people who were captured? It doesn't make sense!
"You two, there's one thing I'm not sure about," Linlang continued, "Have you ever been to that hospital for treatment?"
The man kept shaking his head. "How could we dare go to a hospital run by foreigners? First, we have no money. You've seen our family's situation. Second, it's obvious that the doctors in the hospital are the same as the believers in the church. We dare not approach them casually. Now we even have to think twice before going out during the day."
"But I passed by that hospital, and it doesn't look small. If the villagers of Jushui Village have never been to the hospital for treatment, then who is this hospital for?"
The host chuckled and said, "You ask us, who should we ask?"
The hostess took over the conversation. "It's true. This hospital gets a lot of people coming in every month or two. They seem to be seeking medical treatment. Some are Chinese, but more are foreigners. Some are white, some are black. Anyway, I've seen them a few times."
"Is it day or night?"
"Well... usually after dark. Although there isn't much noise every time, I can always sense them from the yard when so many people come at once."
Linlang thought that this was most likely a secret gathering place for the organization, gathering here regularly. The two people who had secretly conversed behind the aqueduct the day before yesterday were likely the leaders of the organization who had gathered here.
"Miss Lin, I guess you were attracted by that beautiful flower garden. I advise you not to stay here too long," the host said. "This is definitely not a good place. Those ghost faces are very vicious. If you were caught by them, you don't know what would happen to you! So leave as soon as the sun rises."
Linlang nodded in agreement. "Thank you both for the reminder. I will definitely leave at dawn."
After some humility, Linlang finally insisted on living in the woodshed, which touched the Li couple.
A night passed.
The next morning, at daybreak, the hostess came to the woodshed and served Linlang hot corn porridge and sesame cakes. Linlang thanked her profusely and ate her breakfast hastily.
"Go south from the door, then turn east at the fork in the road. After about ten miles, you'll find a town with convenient transportation. There's even a train station next to the town, which takes you north directly to Zhili. If you want to go by water, head west. There's a canal ferry not far away. But I advise you to take the land route; the water route isn't safe."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I will never forget your kindness in taking me in." Linlang bowed and expressed her gratitude.
"Don't say that. It's not easy for a girl like you to go out alone. You need someone to take care of you wherever you go. We're in a poor and remote place here, and we can only do our best. Please don't despise us."
"How could that be! I'll also keep an eye out for your missing child. If I find any information or clues, I'll definitely send you a message."
"Oh, you still remember this? Thank you so much, Miss Lin!" The hostess of the Li family had red eyes and her legs went weak as she knelt down to Linlang.
"Don't be like this!" Linlang quickly supported her. "Then I'll see you later. Please thank the eldest brother of the Li family for me. I won't come in to disturb you so early."
"I'll take you there."
"No need for that. If there's any disturbance outside, it would be bad for my sister-in-law to be implicated."
The hostess of the Li family was quite touched. "Okay, Miss Lin, you must take care of yourself. If you pass by our Jushui Village next time, please come to my house again!"
After Linlang said goodbye to her hostess and left the courtyard, it was already dawn. The village was quiet, even the crowing of roosters was rare. She didn't follow Mrs. Li's instructions and headed north towards the church and hospital. After all, Luo Mei was still in their hands, and there was no news about Dr. Vina Yun. She couldn't leave them alone!
But where could they be holding Luo Mei? She managed to escape last time, so this time she'll probably be under even tighter guard. I doubt she'll be held in the church warehouse again. It might be better to go to the hospital and look for her. Perhaps it's not just Luo Mei, Vina Yun might be there too.
Thinking of this, Linlang approached the hospital under the cover of the surrounding village buildings, while keeping a close eye on the situation near the hospital and the church, fearing that those ghost-faced people would suddenly appear and discover her whereabouts.
Just as they were about to reach the window of the hospital building, Linlang suddenly heard a sharp cough. Startled, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw the gardener, Ma Laoba, walking towards the garden from the church, a rake slung over his shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she hadn't been noticed.
After calming herself down, Linlang hid in the corner of the first floor of the hospital and peered into the window. However, all the windows on the first floor were curtained, and she couldn't see anything. It seemed she had no choice but to risk entering the hospital to find out what was going on.
Linlang circled the hospital wall and headed back. She remembered that when Vinayun had pulled her out of the weeds and toward the back wall yesterday, she'd noticed a back door. She might as well sneak in through that, but it depended on her luck whether the door was securely locked. If she wasn't, she'd have to think of another way.
As the day grew brighter, time waited for no one, and Linlang quickly reached the back wall of the hospital. The back door was closed, as Linlang expected. She cautiously looked around, and after confirming that no one was there, she finally reached the back door.
She gently pushed the door and found it was unlocked. What good luck! Linlang felt a surge of excitement.
But just as she was silently saying thank you, a drop of red liquid suddenly appeared on the back of her hand, as if it had dripped from above. Linlang's heart tightened, and she couldn't help but look up.
A foot-high cross was erected on the back door's beam, and a leg hung from the top. Blood was dripping slowly from the leg, trickling down onto Linlang's hand.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
