Chapter 220 Catching Up
Because of the disappearance of the young man from the Xing family, Li San Niang initially thought it was just an ordinary case of a missing child.
After all, children from wealthy families, whether young girls or young boys, are the most popular targets for kidnappers during lively festivals and crowded places.
This is one of the reasons why the Li family has never allowed Luzhu to go out and play, for fear that she might be kidnapped by abductors.
The Li family was able to rest assured that Xiao Silang would go to the academy to study because Xiao Silang always went in and out with Li Dalang and the other two, and never acted alone.
Children aged three to ten are the most popular among child traffickers.
Children of this age can already talk, run, and jump, and their appearance is already showing signs of beauty and ugliness. Kidnappers only need to give them some sleeping pills to sell them safely for money.
"Let's head home as soon as possible; it's getting late. Erlang and Sanlang, stay close and don't go astray."
After Li's mother spoke up, everyone agreed that it was indeed the case and that they should head home as soon as possible.
When the Li family returned via the same route, they encountered servants from two different families carrying lanterns, asking questions among the crowd.
Both families said that their young master and young lady got lost while watching and releasing lanterns because there were too many people.
At this moment, Li San Niang glanced at Qiu Xiang and thought, "Could this be something the Holy Temple Sect did?"
Otherwise, what kind of villainous gang would dare to cause such a big commotion on Emperor Wu's birthday?
"Big Brother, carry Little Four on your back and keep an eye on people. I think the road ahead is blocked by people looking for their children. We might not be able to walk together when we get there. We'll just wait at the carriage station."
Seeing signs of a traffic jam in the crowd not far ahead, Li's father said this to Li Dalang and the others.
Li Dalang bounced Xiao Silang, who had already dozed off, on his back and then nodded.
Following her father's gaze, Li San Niang looked ahead and indeed saw a traffic jam.
Li San Niang felt that they shouldn't go back now. She hugged Lu Zhu'er, who was also starting to feel drowsy, and turned to Li's father, saying, "Father, let's not go any further. If we can squeeze through, that's fine, but if we get separated or are pushed by the crowd, it's really easy for something to happen. We have a child with us. If something happens, it will be a huge loss."
Looking at the increasingly noisy and crowded crowd ahead, Li Erxiong nodded in agreement with what Li Sanniang had said.
“Father, Third Sister is right. Let’s not go any further.” Second Brother Li looked to both sides. On the left was a grain shop, on the right was a cloth shop, and further ahead was a wine shop. No wonder there was a smell of wine.
"Let's go check out this fabric shop first."
Mr. Li was not one to ignore advice. He glanced at the crowd that was moving closer to him, then at Mrs. Li. When Mrs. Li nodded, he nodded as well and led the way into the fabric shop next door.
Once inside the shop, there was no one else besides the shopkeeper and two servants.
Indeed, who would come to browse fabric shops late at night during a holiday?
The shopkeeper was naturally an experienced merchant. The Li family members looked like they had come in to avoid the crowds, not that they specifically wanted to buy anything.
But the chubby young man was a shrewd businessman. He smiled and said to Li's mother, who looked like she was in charge, "Grandma, please take a look. We also have some new fabrics from Jiangnan. There are many patterns and colors, suitable for all ages. Which one do you want to see? Just tell me, and I'll show it to you right away."
Mr. Li didn't like looking at these things. He always wore whatever his mother told him to wear and didn't care much about these things. So he sat down on a stool nearby.
The waiter was observant; seeing that Mr. Li had sat down, he brought out a tray of tea from the back.
There were three chairs and stools left. Li Ersao, holding Xiao Wulang in a diaper, sat down. Li Erxiong, also impatient with looking at these, sat down with her.
Holding the sleeping Lu Zhu'er, Li San Niang had no interest in looking at the fabric and sat down on the last chair.
Not wanting to disappoint the shopkeeper's eager invitation, and also genuinely curious about the style of the fabric from Jiangnan, Li's mother and sister-in-law followed the shopkeeper's gestures and began to examine it.
About fifteen minutes later, just as Li San Niang was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard screams and shouts coming from the street outside.
Li San Niang hugged Lu Zhu'er even tighter, and when she touched her hand, which was still warm, she felt relieved.
Seeing Li San Niang's appearance, Qiu Xiang ran outside to look.
Something was wrong. Li San Niang sensed something was wrong. The hairs on the sides of her ears stood up. With her keen senses, Li San Niang instinctively grabbed Lu Zhu'er and dodged to the left.
With a "whoosh," a hidden dart grazed Li San Niang's shoulder and embedded itself in the window frame of the shop.
"Third Sister!"
Outside the door, two loud bangs were heard as Qiu Xiang dodged the long sword of the masked man in black who had appeared out of nowhere, and the sword struck the door frame.
Qiu Xiang instantly took out the Emei Dagger from her sleeve and began fighting with the man in black.
On the roof of the fabric shop, there were sounds of people walking on the tiles, and the constant clanging of sharp objects.
Nineteen, who had been standing next to Li Sanniang, had somehow drawn a soft sword from his waist. Instead of going to the door to help Qiu Xiang, he stood in front of Li Sanniang, who had just dodged the hidden weapon and was now under the window.
Qiu Xiang and Shi Jiu's mission has always been to protect Li San Niang's safety.
Seeing this situation, Li Sanniang realized that the Holy Temple Sect might not only be causing trouble in Chang'an City tonight, but also taking the opportunity to eliminate her.
All of this happened too fast, but Li Dalang and Li Erlang reacted quickly.
Li Dalang pushed Li Erlang and Li Sanlang beside him toward Li's mother and sister-in-law at the counter, and then carried the still unconscious Xiao Silang on his back to Li's father, Li Erlang and Li Erlang's sister-in-law.
Li's father, having more experience, sat on the stool and, seeing the situation, said directly: "Big Brother's wife (Li's sister-in-law) and your mother hide behind the counter, Tiger Head (Li's eldest son) grab the knife, and Third Sister get the medicine."
Li's mother and sister-in-law hid behind the counter, and Li's mother called Li Sanlang in as well.
Li Sanlang's martial arts skills are not as good as Li Dalang and Li Erlang's, so it's better not to let him go out. Li Dalang might even have to take time out of his way to protect him.
Afterwards, Li Erlang followed directly to Li's father and the others.
At this moment, Li Dalang also pulled a long dagger out of his boot.
Seeing this, Li Erlang felt a little regretful. Li Erlang always relied on his intelligence and was unwilling to solve problems with force. Moreover, since he had been practicing martial arts since childhood, he had always lived in Chang'an City and had never been in danger. Therefore, he did not carry any weapons with him like Li Dalang.
But when it came to a real fight, Li Erlang listened to the sounds of the sharp weapon hitting the roof and truly felt that he wasn't up to the task.
Here, take it.
Nineteen pulled a dagger from his boot and threw it to Li Erlang.
Li Erlang accepted it and said, "Thank you."
At this moment, Li San Niang took out the poison from the purse at her waist and threw it directly to Li's father.
At this moment, Li San Niang heard the noise outside getting louder and louder, and at the same time, she smelled a burning smell.
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