Chapter 22: Disappearing Companions (Part 9)
The next morning, Han Jianye and his companions followed the guidance of the surveillance video and tracked down a spacious farm in the suburbs.
Liao Wei stood outside the farm, looked around, and exclaimed: "This farm is really big. Are they here to eat?"
Han Jianye noticed that there was a lush grove behind the farm.
Since there was no surveillance equipment in the grove, they could not determine whether Xiao Lu and Zhong Menhuai entered the grove on May 21, or went somewhere else after having dinner at the farm.
Song Zhi made a suggestion: "Let's split into two teams to search."
Han Jianye turned to Ye Bai and the others and said, "Let's go to the grove and check."
Ye Bai noticed that there were many dragonflies flying low around him and the weather was unusually hot and humid, which seemed to indicate that a heavy rain was about to come.
Su Wan picked up a bamboo pole from the ground and walked in front to clear the way. As he walked, he said, "To be honest, if we commit a crime in this dark night, who would know?"
"That's true." Liao Wei agreed and followed Su Wan to the left.
When Ye Bai turned around, he found that the two of them had walked very far away.
"Why are you standing there in a daze? Why don't you catch up?" Han Jianye said to Ye Bai.
Ye Bai responded, and then they divided into groups of two and started to act separately.
Han Jianye discovered that the deeper he went into the grove, the darker it became, as if it were a green tent. If one walked there alone, it would be easy to get lost. It also gave people a spooky sense of fear, which made him very uncomfortable.
Ye Bai stopped. He had the same feeling as Han Jianye, which reminded him of an old saying: At noon, ghosts appear.
There are few outsiders at this time. If you really encounter danger and no one responds to your calls for help, it will be an extremely terrifying experience.
However, he thought that this place was a perfect place to commit a crime and dump a body.
As they walked in, the weeds grew taller, almost reaching their knees.
It's such a hidden place that even if someone were hiding nearby they wouldn't be able to notice.
Amidst the desolate scene, Han Jianye unexpectedly discovered a dilapidated old house, standing alone about ten meters in front of them.
His eyes met with Ye Bai's at the house, and both of them showed a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Without saying a word, they just exchanged glances tacitly, and then walked towards the old house together.
Ye Bai looked up at the sky that was blocked by the dense tree canopy, feeling a little uneasy, anticipating the coming rain.
The sky became increasingly gloomy, as if foreshadowing the approach of a storm.
When they stepped into the dilapidated old house, it had already started to drizzle outside, and the sound of rain came into the house through the dilapidated windows.
The old house looked very dilapidated. There was no gate to protect it. There was nothing inside the house, leaving only a desolate scene.
The huge cracks in the roof allowed rain to pour down unrestrainedly, and the surrounding walls and corners were covered with thick spider webs.
Originally they were expecting to make some discoveries here, but now it seems that this old house can only serve as a temporary shelter from the rain.
Just then, Song Zhi called and asked about their exact location.
After Han Jianye briefly described their current situation, he hung up the phone in a hurry.
As the rain intensified and the thunder roared, they were not allowed to go inside.
Ye Bai sighed softly, lamenting the fate that played tricks on him.
He had expected rain, but he had not expected it to come so quickly or so hard.
Han Jianye noticed the displeasure on Ye Bai's face, so he asked him jokingly, "Am I a hedgehog? Why do I make you so uncomfortable?"
"Of course not." Ye Bai immediately retorted.
Han Jianye looked down at him, "What's with that expression on your face? People who don't know would think I bullied you."
Ye Bai raised his head and his eyes met Han Jianye's deep black eyes. He opened his mouth and wanted to explain, but turned his head away in front of Han Jianye's attentive look and said lightly: "I just don't like thunderstorms."
"Why are you like a girl, afraid of thunder and rain?" Han Jianye teased.
Ye Bai wanted to explain himself but didn't know where to start. His gaze turned to the heavy rain outside the window and his face became paler, as if the heavy rain had brought back a past event in his mind that he didn't want to recall.
At this time, the thunder became more deafening...
Han Jianye noticed Ye Bai's abnormality and asked with concern: "It's just thunder and rain, is there any need to be so nervous?"
Ye Bai did not respond. He leaned against the wall, sweat oozing from his temples due to physical fear.
His eyes became blurry, as if he was trapped in the horrific memories of being kidnapped in his childhood.
It was an abandoned old house. Ye Bai was born into a famous wealthy merchant family in Qiyang City. He was lively and cute when he was a child.
When he was in sixth grade, a kidnapping completely changed his life.
He was kidnapped by two kidnappers who rammed a private car with a van at an intersection.
When Ye Bai woke up, he found himself locked in an abandoned old house with two kidnappers wearing black hoods next to him. They demanded a ransom of up to 3 million from the Ye family.
There was a violent storm outside, and inside the house were two vicious kidnappers.
Because of the shock and cold, Ye Bai had a fever that night. In his blurred consciousness, he felt a little brother holding him tightly in his arms, constantly comforting him.
Until the police and parents arrived...
"Ye Bai..."
Han Jianye pushed him gently, waking him from his memories.
Ye Bai looked at Han Jianye palely and saw that his face was full of worry.
Ye Bai felt his cold body gradually warming up. He swallowed and looked outside again at the gradually weakening rain. Thinking back to the little brother who accompanied him through fear and darkness, his mood slowly calmed down a lot.
After a while, the rainstorm finally stopped and the calling voices from afar became clearly audible.
Han Jianye stepped out of the house and signaled to Ye Bai: "Let's go, Captain Song is here to pick us up."
Ye Bai responded softly, then followed Han Jianye's steps, preparing to return together.
However, just as they were about to meet Captain Song and others, Ye Bai accidentally stepped into the rain-soaked grass, lost his balance, and fell heavily to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Han Jianye quickly reached out and pulled Ye Bai out of the mud.
Ye Bai frowned and turned around unhappily. He looked at his clothes covered in mud and his mood instantly plummeted to the bottom and he looked in a miserable state.
He shook his head. "It's okay."
Just as he was about to go back to change his clothes, his eyes were attracted by a piece of clothing-like scraps on the ground.
His eyes were fixed on the black cloth, as if the heavy rain had washed away the covering soil, exposing it.
Suddenly, he shouted excitedly: "Everyone come here, we have found something!"