Chapter 183 183 I will always start a new life normally...
Guan Xia didn't want to waste even a minute. She knew that with the police's carpet search, even if Ning Ping'an was hidden very well, they would always be able to find some clues and rescue him.
But whenever she thought about the child who was only four years old when she disappeared and was now hiding very close to them, without seeing the light of day for nearly 2,000 days and nights, she must be very thin and weak, with a pale face, numb and terrified, and perhaps even abused, and very likely with injuries on her body, Guan Xia became extremely anxious and wished she could appear in front of her and by her side immediately.
Fortunately, Guan Xia's temper was not that good, but not that bad either, and she could still control herself. Otherwise, she really wanted to go up and give this beast in human skin a few heavy punches, and force him to tell her Ning Ping'an's whereabouts.
Hearing the name from Guan Xia's mouth, the illegitimate child flinched, clearly knowing something. But before he could stammer, his mother, Cheng Yiyan, approached with a forced smile and spoke with a trembling voice, "What, what Ning Ping'an, officer? What are you talking about? We don't know. Did you ask the wrong person? We..."
So many police officers had come to the door with search warrants, yet Cheng Yiyan was still clinging to a lucky escape, trying to fool Guan Xia. Guan Xia angrily told her to shut up, then stared at her illegitimate son and said, "You're saying this now, but if the police find you first, you'll be sentenced to life in prison. Do you know how many years you'll be sentenced to? Your health is so poor, can you withstand life in prison?"
Guan Xia was quite adept at using threats and inducements for the first time, and Cheng Yiyan's expression changed immediately. Before she could speak again, Pang Le roughly pushed her aside. The illegitimate child looked at his mother for help, but seeing his fragile and beautiful mother, who he thought was omnipotent, in such a miserable state and unable to help, the illegitimate child's psychological defenses quickly collapsed. He almost cried, "I'm telling you, I don't want to go to jail. She's in the basement of this house."
Finally, the illegitimate son was forced to speak. Guan Xia and Pang Le were both excited, but Cheng Yiyan, who had been trying hard to hide the secret, had a look of despair on her face and collapsed to the ground.
The policemen on the side looked at her indifferently. She was still as elegant and beautiful as before. She used her beauty to get many things she wanted, and even saved the life of her child who was in poor health. But this time it was useless. No one would rush out to help her again.
Ignoring Cheng Yiyan who was beginning to cry out of fear, Guan Xia and Pang Le roughly pulled the illegitimate child up from the sofa, and then pushed him away, "Where are you? Lead the way."
The illegitimate son still wanted to delay a little, but his health, even though it was based on the health of others, was only slightly better. He was still thin and weak, and he didn't have much strength. He had no ability to resist Pang Le at all, and was pushed several times and almost fell down.
Perhaps he finally saw the reality clearly. The illegitimate son looked around and tried to delay time in vain. Finally, he dragged his feet and took Guan Xia and Pang Le into a room on the first floor.
No one knew what the room was used for, and it was locked in broad daylight. After the illegitimate child opened it, Guan Xia and Pang Le pushed him in, only to find that it was a carefully decorated study room filled with books and a long-haired carpet on the floor, but there was no sign of use.
The illegitimate son walked to an exquisitely shaped floor lamp with some trembling, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grasped the metal lamp stand of the floor lamp, turning it hard. Then a mechanical and regular clicking sound was heard in the study.
Guan Xia looked in the direction of the voice excitedly, thinking that it would be a passage leading to the underground, but it turned out to be just a small dark room, which seemed to be used to store something. There was a safe in the corner, and on the wall around the safe there was a row of cabinets with partitions. The surface of the cabinets was also equipped with transparent glass. Looking through the glass, one could see jewelries sparkling with the luster of gems.
Guan Xia felt like she was being fooled for a moment, and angrily pushed the illegitimate child again, "Stop playing tricks, where is he?"
The illegitimate child wanted to cry but had no tears. He stumbled towards the dark room and said, "It's really down there. I didn't lie to you."
Pang Le was staring at him with a fierce look, his fists clenched as if he would beat someone up at any time. The illegitimate child at least seemed to be cooperating with the two of them obediently on the surface. He walked to the door of the dark room but did not go in. Instead, he squatted down and lifted the carpet on the floor of the dark room. Then, in the excited eyes of Guan Xia and Pang Le, he revealed a door with a handle that could be lifted upwards.
It looked like there was a passage leading to the underground hidden inside. Pang Le excitedly grabbed the illegitimate son's collar and lifted him up. He pushed him aside as if he felt he was in the way, then rubbed his hands and lifted the door.
Guan Xia took the opportunity to call Ji An, who was searching other rooms, and told her what they had found.
But within a minute or two, the originally empty study was packed with people. Not only did Ji An and Xu Nian all come, but several criminal police from the Anjiang Branch also came, but they were a little slower and only squeezed at the outermost edge.
At this time, Pang Le had already opened the small door, revealing a wooden staircase leading down. Before Guan Xia and the others could react, she had already stepped down. Just then, she heard a surprised cry, "Guan Xia, Sister Ji, the person is down there. I saw him. Come quickly."
Guan Xia did not argue and let Ji An go down second, then followed her and carefully went down the stairs. Then she saw a large iron door, which was very heavy and blocked the way. Pang Le was huddled in the corner, trying to make room for Ji An, while Ji An was sticking his head through a deliberately cut hole and looking inside.
Looking at the iron gate and the surrounding environment, Guan Xia seemed to be wondering who they were visiting. It was obvious that Cheng Yiyan was very afraid that Ning Ping'an, who could save her son's life, would run away. Even though she was facing a child who was only a few years old, she was still so cautious. It seemed that she was going to lock her up for life.
Ji An had obviously seen the person he wanted to see, and at this moment, he was so excited that tears were streaming down his face. Guan Xia was about to call Xu Nian to bring the illegitimate child down, but just as she opened her mouth to call out a name, she heard Xu Nian's voice coming from behind, "I'm here, I've brought the person down."
Compared to the emotions of Guan Xia and the others, Xu Nian was still calmer. Perhaps he guessed that there might be a place down there that needed this illegitimate child, so before Guan Xia could say anything, he simply came down and brought the person down with him.
Xu Nian was indeed very foresighted. There was indeed a fingerprint lock on the big iron door. Pang Le once again roughly dragged the illegitimate child over and almost pushed him against the door, urging him harshly, "Hurry up and open the door. Don't dilly-dally."
At this point, it was too late for the illegitimate child to regret, so although he looked aggrieved and embarrassed, he finally cooperated to unlock the lock.
As soon as the door lock made the sound of being unlocked, Ji An couldn't wait to open the door and ran in. Guan Xia followed closely behind him, and then saw the lights light up one by one as the door opened.
What surprised Guan Xia was that the basement was very large, at least one or two hundred square meters. Most of the area was planned and filled with medical equipment. Only a room was separated by transparent glass in the corner. The room was very small, with only room for a small bed, a washbasin, a small toilet, and a TV hanging completely on the wall above the toilet.
Coupled with the transparent glass that allows for clear viewing of everything inside, Guan Xia felt it was absurd and unbelievable. Ning Ping'an was being held here with even more dignity than she had imagined. She seemed like a prisoner, or an experimental exhibit. She was completely deprived of her human rights and dignity, being manipulated and monitored at will.
No wonder there was a small hole like a window on the iron gate just now. It seemed that it was to make sure that people were always there, so that Cheng Yiyan who lived here and the illegitimate son who came back from time to time could be easily checked.
Seeing this scene, even Xu Nian, who always behaved very calmly, couldn't help but push his illegitimate son forward and said, "Open the door, hurry up."
Yes, in addition to the fingerprint lock on the iron door, there is also a fingerprint lock on the door of the transparent room where Ning Ping'an is locked up.
The illegitimate son staggered to open the lock again, and Ji An immediately rushed in. He first nervously checked Ning Ping'an's body up and down to see if he had any injuries, and then he couldn't hide his excitement and hugged him, crying uncontrollably.
Ji An hugged Ning Ping'an tightly while crying, and said incoherently: "Ping'an, Aunt Ji is here to take you home. Aunt Ji finally found you. Don't be afraid, Ping'an, Aunt Ji will take you home soon."
Compared with Ji An's excitement, crying and laughing, Ning Ping'an acted so numb and at a loss.
Guan Xia didn't feel anything obvious when Ji An was holding her. It was not until Ji An let her go that Guan Xia was sure that she could see negative emotions such as confusion, fear, panic, and helplessness on the child's face.
For five years, Cheng Yiyan and the others not only locked up Ning Ping'an's body, but also locked up the growth she should have had. She seemed to have completely forgotten Ji An, as if she was looking at a strange aunt. There was no joy in her eyes of seeing a loved one again, only panic of not knowing how to deal with her peaceful life suddenly being disrupted.
What made Guan Xia even more sad was that even though Ning Ping'an's eyes and face revealed fear, her body did not dodge at all. She just sat there stiffly as if she was used to it. Ren Ji'an touched and hugged her excitedly, but she did not show any emotional response at all.
After holding her for several minutes, Ji An finally realized something was wrong after her excitement subsided. She looked at Ning Ping'an, who was motionless like a mannequin, and looked into her eyes in a panic. As she looked, she said anxiously, "Ping'an, it's me. I'm your Aunt Ji, the Ji of seasons. Have you forgotten? When you were a child, I bought you many skirts, white, pink, and yellow. Every time your mother and I took you out, I would dress you up like a little princess. You liked the pink skirt I bought you the most, and it went with the pair of white leather shoes your mother bought you. Do you remember?"
It was the first time that Guan Xia saw such obvious nervousness and fear on Ji An's face. She stared at Ning Ping'an's eyes, trying to find a hint of memory in them.
Fortunately, although Ning Ping'an had been missing for five years and was only four years old when she was forcibly kidnapped, her previous memories were too beautiful compared to the five years of hellish life, so she still remembered some of it.
In the expectant eyes of Ji An and Guan Xia, Ning Ping'an seemed to recall something, and the expression on his face finally changed a little. He looked at Ji An with a little uncertainty and stammered, "Ji, Aunt Ji..."
Even though it was only two words, Ji An was overjoyed. She agreed repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, I am Ji An, your Aunt Ji, do you remember?"
Ning Ping'an still didn't smile, but the fear on his face was a little less. He nodded and said stumblingly, "I, I think, I remember now. You are, you are Aunt Ji."
As Ning Ping'an spoke again, Ji An paused. She looked at Ning Ping'an with great distress, and gently touched her head with trembling lips, trying hard not to let tears fall. She smiled happily and agreed, "Yes, I am your Aunt Ji, Ping'an. Aunt Ji finally found you. Aunt Ji will take you home now, home."
As Ji An spoke, he leaned over and picked up Ning Ping'an. Although Ning Ping'an was nine years old, she was very thin and light judging from her thin face and pointed jaw. Ji An had no difficulty holding her, as if he was holding a treasure. He smiled but with tears in his eyes as he walked out quickly.
Guan Xia and Pang Le didn't follow immediately. Instead, they waited until the person had passed through the iron gate and disappeared. Pang Le whispered to Guan Xia with some concern, "Ping'an...will she ever recover? I see she's stuttering. I remember Geng Jing's confession that Ning Xin was stabbed in front of Ning Ping'an. Since she remembers Sister Ji, she should also remember her mother. Will she have a psychological trauma in the future?"
Guan Xia exhaled heavily, shook her head, and said, "I don't know either, but as long as she can still speak, it's good. Being able to speak means she has a desire to communicate. That way, with the help of a psychologist, even if there are psychological traumas, she can slowly recover and live a normal life over time."
Pang Le's face was still filled with worry, but he agreed, "You're right. As long as she can still speak, it's a good thing. She's still young. If she can live with her family again, she'll be able to live a normal life over time."
As if to comfort himself, or to comfort Guan Xia, Pang Le murmured these words several times, and then pulled Guan Xia out of this hellish place.
Ning Ping'an was found, which meant that the evidence was conclusive. When they went up, they didn't see Ji An and Ning Ping'an, but they saw Cheng Yiyan who was handcuffed.
No longer as calm as before, Cheng Yiyan was now emotionally broken, tears streaming down her face, her body limp. She was only saved from collapsing to the ground by the two female police officers who were holding her up.
Guan Xia and the others came up, and the criminal police from Anjiang District Branch and the technical team hurried down.
Xu Nian didn't linger in the basement for long. He came up immediately after Guan Xia and the others and handed the handcuffed illegitimate son to the Anjiang District Police Station. He first answered a phone call, then walked over to Guan Xia and said, "I just received news that the task force has arrived and arrested Xi Weihong and Gao Chengye. As for the other people involved in the crime, the task force will conduct a comprehensive investigation with the cooperation of the Anjiang District Police Station. I believe it won't be long before they are all caught."
Guan Xia glanced outside the door and searched for Ji An in vain, then she retracted her gaze and said, "Looking at Ping An's condition, he must first undergo a comprehensive and detailed physical examination, and we must cooperate with the Anjiang District Police Station to conduct an injury assessment. I guess we will have to stay in Baofeng City for another two days. I will definitely have to accompany Sister Ji during these two days and can no longer participate in the case. As for you..."
Before Guan Xia finished speaking, Xu Nian said sympathetically, "Now that Ping An has been found, the case is solved. The rest are just minor details. You don't need to get involved. Just go about your business. We'll coordinate with our colleagues at the Anjiang District Police Station based on the situation. Anyway, we'll be waiting for your news. Once you've concluded your situation and decide to return to Shangshuang City, we'll set off together."
Guan Xia breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Although Ning Ping'an's mental state was not optimistic, it was a good thing that she was still alive and could speak normally. Guan Xia believed that with the company of Ji An and Ning Xin's parents, she would always be able to start a new life normally.
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