Chapter 91: What if Eighteen Dies...
It's that peddler!
The monkey shoved the eighteenth child into Granny Peach Blossom's arms and drew a knife from his waist: "Granny Peach Blossom, you take the little girl and go first. I'll meet you at the usual place after I've dealt with this man!"
But then the peddler flashed by and arrived in front of them in a few breaths.
The monkey spirit's eyes widened. This person knew martial arts! And his movements were so fast! Who exactly was he?
The peddler smiled and held out his hand: "I took a liking to this little girl first. Leave her here, and you can go."
Tao Hong chuckled, "Since we're in the same line of work, let's follow the rules of the trade! The little girl is in our hands. If you try to take her again, you'll be breaking the rules. My husband and I could chase you for the rest of our lives and that would be perfectly justified!"
"Peach Blossom, you monkey spirit, how is that girl you kidnapped twenty years ago? Where is she now?"
The two men's expressions changed: "What are you talking about? We don't understand! Since you took a liking to this little kid first, then we'll give him to you according to the rules of the underworld!"
The clever monkey tossed Eighteen into the peddler's hand, then turned and pulled Peach Blossom: "Let's go!"
The peddler's voice came from behind: "Back then, the General offered a reward of one million taels of silver just to get news of his beloved daughter. Twenty years have passed, and I never thought that the reward of one million taels of silver would end up in my hands."
The two walked faster, and just as they were about to reach the alley entrance, they suddenly stopped.
The peddler stood smiling in front of them, the little baby in his arms with its eyes closed on his shoulder, clutching a dough figurine in its hand. Both the baby and the figurine were steady and unshaken by the peddler's movements.
Peach Blossom and Monkey Spirit knew they had encountered a formidable foe and dared not let their guard down. Fearing that the peddler might have companions, the two stood back to back and drew their weapons.
The monkey wielded a curved sword, while the peach-colored one carried a soft whip. When they revealed their weapons, they both exuded a murderous aura.
The clever monkey stared at the peddler: "Who exactly are you?! What's your relationship with that girl?"
"What relationship do I have with her is none of your business. You just need to come with me." The peddler smiled slightly. "Are you coming with me on your own, or do you want me to just send you on your way?"
Twenty years have passed. General Li has long since passed away. Not long after, the Li family was convicted, and members of the Li family were either killed or injured. Those who were lucky enough to survive chose to leave their hometown and live in anonymity. In just five years, such a large and deeply rooted clan in Lingnan collapsed.
"Are you from the Li family?" the monkey asked. "I can take you to see Miss Li. If you don't want to see her, I can also give you Miss Li's assets."
"No matter how much wealth Miss Li has, can it compare to the General's million-dollar bounty? You sly monkey, you're a fool yourself, don't treat others like fools. While I'm still being polite to you, come with me now. If I run out of patience... I can take your corpses back with me."
The couple were shocked: "Who are you?! We were also set up for what happened twenty years ago. We had no choice in the matter. If you are from the Li family, we are willing to tell you the truth! Also, Miss Li is in Peach Blossom County. If you let us go, we will definitely let you see her."
"It seems you really don't want to live anymore."
No sooner had the peddler finished speaking than he flipped his right hand, and the monkey spirit felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows. He charged forward with his knife, but after only two steps, he collapsed with a thud. Peach Blossom shouted "Monkey Spirit!" and swung her whip at him, but the whip was only halfway through before she froze.
A dagger was stuck between her peach-red eyebrows!
The peddler walked over, pulled out the dagger, and immediately a spurt of blood gushed from the wound between Tao Hong's eyebrows, splattering onto the peddler's body and some even onto Shiba's clothes. The blood quickly seeped into her light blue dress, soon staining a large patch of dark red, which looked very glaring.
"Damn it."
The peddler stabbed Tao Hong and the monkey couple twice more, making him and Shi Ba even more covered in blood.
The eighteen-year-old in his arms stirred restlessly, as if it were about to wake up. The peddler frowned and quickly wrote a few words on the ground.
Eighteen woke up with a soft cry. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. Terrified, she pouted and cried, "Sister, waah! Eighteen is blind! I can't see anything! Waaah!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes lit up – she could see again!
As soon as Shiba stopped crying, she remembered the two villains before she fainted, and she became scared again. She pouted and wanted to cry again, but then someone comforted her: "It's okay, the bad guys have been driven away."
It was that peddler uncle who taught her how to make dough figurines!
"Uncle, uncle, did you save Eighteen?" she said, glancing behind the peddler.
The peddler covered her eyes with his palm and, as he walked away, replied with a smile, "Yes, I saved you. How do you plan to repay me?"
"Eighteen is rich! My sister is rich! My brother is rich! We'll give you all our money!"
"How do you know your sister and brother are willing to give you all their money? What if they aren't? Money is hard to earn!"
"I knew it! They would definitely agree! Because I'm Jiaojiao's favorite little darling!"
The little girl's voice was lively and clear, completely unaware of the bloody scene the peddler was shielding her from. All the way, she chattered on and on, telling the peddler who her favorite treasure was and which one she liked the most.
Her tone was full of pride and confidence; she was everyone's darling, and she had never doubted that.
She's such a loving girl, it's enviable and makes you want to take her away or destroy her.
Stepping out of the alley and completely away from the crime scene, the peddler put Shiba on the ground and pointed to the crowd not far away, saying, "Are those people looking for you?"
They are Ma Dalang, Liang An, and Boss Tang's men!
And the one surrounded by them was Zhou Mujiao!
"elder sister!"
Eighteen cheered and ran off, but after a few steps she remembered she hadn't said thank you yet, so she slammed on the brakes and turned back. But who was behind her? The uncle who taught her to make dough figurines was long gone!
Eighteen scratched her head and asked, "Uncle, can you fly? Can you fly and disappear into the earth like Sun Wukong in the stories my sister tells me?"
She wanted to run back to confirm, but by then someone had already spotted her: "Eighteen! We've found Eighteen! She's here! At the alley entrance!"
Zhou Mujiao went straight to Jiaoyun Clothing Store after leaving the workshop. On the way, she bought her a roast chicken, planning to eat it before going home. However, when she returned home excitedly, she was greeted with the news that Shiba had gone missing!
Her legs went weak on the spot.
In modern times, Zhou Mujiao once worked on a government-led charity project: printing information about abducted children on the packaging of a beverage product.
More than 30,000 abducted children, with abduction times ranging from 30 years to two months. Behind each abducted child is a heartbroken family and countless unimaginable speculations.
The Zhou family was a large clan with many children. During that time, she often had nightmares about the children in her family being abducted and transported to some country to become performers in underground circuses, locked in cages, or having their hands and feet broken, their tongues cut out, and being thrown out onto the streets to beg.
She had encountered such children on the overpass before. She called the police and assisted the relevant departments in rescuing these children. However, even after their rescue, they still had no home. Either their parents had passed away and their relatives were unwilling to take care of them, or their parents had already had two or three children and there was no place for them in their families.
The moment she heard that Shiba had disappeared, all she could think of were the children with missing limbs on the overpass. She was afraid that one day she would walk down the street and a girl with her hands and feet cut off and her tongue cut out would hug her legs, cry and look at her, but be unable to say a word!
Thankfully, Shiba was found!
Zhou Mujiao rushed over, hugged Shiba, and burst into tears.
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