The reed marshes were desolate in winter, with only the sound of waves crashing on the river. Occasionally, cargo ships would pass by in the middle of the river. There were no man-made paths in the reed marshes, and the two of them trudged forward, gripping the withered reeds and grass, until they saw the illegally constructed house not far away. Jiang Shuya looked around and noticed a small boat behind the house. The oars on the boat were covered by snow and lying to the side. This made her think that recently, the bridge had been strictly inspecting trucks transporting building materials, and the old man Chen's house had been built at this critical time. He must have used that boat to row to the other side of the river and illegally transported all the building materials here to build the house.
The cold wind whistled, and the heavy snow falling from the sky showed no signs of stopping. The bright moon had disappeared into the gloom. Suddenly, a beam of light shone directly onto the road in front of the illegally constructed house on the shore. It was a car headlight. Lin Moxiao grabbed Jiang Shuya: "Quickly, squat down. The car has arrived."
The two were still some distance from the illegally constructed house. They crouched down in the tall reeds, holding their breath and silently observing the movements on the shore through the gaps. Soon after, the car slowly approached and stopped there. It was exactly as they had guessed in their previous life. However, back then, they had not had a direct conflict with Huang Tao, nor did they have any thoughts of revenge. But those children had truly suffered, being exploited by these unscrupulous people for profit, their whereabouts unknown.
A man got off the car. Upon closer inspection, Jiang Shuya recognized him immediately by his gait. He was carrying a flashlight, perhaps as a cover. Before entering the reeds, he waved the light around, as if being very cautious, shining it back and forth.
Sun Qi was closest to the shore, lying there motionless, her legs probably about to freeze. Seeing the people on the shore shining flashlights down on her, her heart was in her throat, fearing that she would be discovered before she could even make a move.
After standing there for a long time, Huang Tao went in another direction and went to check on Old Chen's fishpond as well.
The two continued to move forward, bowing low. Jiang Shuya's forehead was covered in cold sweat. She was being carefully pulled along by Lin Moxiao and dared not utter a sound.
After Huang Tao returned, he spoke to the people in the car, then took out his keys from his pocket, walked to the door of the illegally constructed house, unlocked the door, turned off the car lights, and the surroundings were silent. After a moment, the car door was quietly pulled open, the force of which was very deliberate. A burly man stepped out, his black fur coat particularly eye-catching, and a gray knitted hat on his head. He naturally took a child, about three or four years old, from the person inside and held him. Next, another person got out, wearing a dark red cotton-padded jacket and a similar knitted hat, carrying what looked like a quilt. Two more people got out, each holding a child, the oldest of whom was about five years old. There were exactly three children.
Jiang Shuya stared intently, counting in her mind, recalling the clothes the boys were wearing. Two of them were different from those in the newspaper, but they were about the same age. Their faces were too far apart to see clearly, but one of them was the same as the one in the newspaper photo, wearing a black clover-patterned down jacket. Jiang Shuya recognized him at a glance.
Several people carrying children entered the illegally constructed house, and the door was closed.
Jiang Shuya, who was hiding in the reeds, poked her head out and was about to go forward: "There is a window at the back of that house. I'll go take a look."
Lin Moxiao stopped her: "The most important thing now is to sneak into that van and take the key out. They are very vigilant. Once they find us, they will drive away immediately. I'll go take a look."
Jiang Shuya said anxiously, "I need to go and see what those three children look like."
Lin Moxiao solemnly said, "There's no need to look. Bringing three children here in the middle of the night, in this desolate wilderness, and leaving them in that empty, illegally constructed house, must be the work of a child trafficking gang."
As the two were arguing, they saw Sun Qi not far away, bending down and carefully climbing towards the back of the house. There was a slope at the top, and he climbed up two steps before sliding back down.
Jiang Shuya gasped, her heart tightening instantly: "This is too dangerous. If the people inside come out, they could just walk up and bump into each other. Sigh! This Sun Qi, doesn't he know what danger is?"
Lin Moxiao's brows furrowed: "What are you underestimating? Call the police right away. Before they come out, I'll sneak over and look for the keys. If I can't find them, I'll find a way to damage the car."
Jiang Shuya quickly took out her phone and dialed 110. A moment later, a series of prompts appeared. She kept her eyes on Sun Qi and watched him finally come ashore, craning his neck to look into the house.
The other party finally answered the phone. Jiang Shuya didn't dare to speak loudly. She spoke slowly and clearly, saying each word: "Hello, I am a villager from Xixia Village. I have discovered that there are several thugs in an illegally constructed house not far from Lao Chen's fishpond by the river. They are holding three children hostage. It seems that they are the children who went missing in Wuhe County. Their behavior is strange and very suspicious. There is no time to lose. Please send the police here immediately. The thugs are here."
A response came immediately from inside, confirming the exact location. They gave a positive reply that they would immediately summon the police and arrive in about half an hour. Jiang Shuya frowned upon hearing this. Today was a day of bad weather, so how could those people be there so quickly? By the time they arrived, it would be too late, and they might have already run away. Lin Moxiao's method was correct; they should try to stall them.
Sun Qi peered intermittently through the window. The three children were on blankets on the floor, seemingly asleep. Sun Qi tried hard to recall the children's appearance in the newspaper. After observing them for a long time, she suddenly felt excited and almost cried out. Finally, it matched up. Yes, it was them.
Lin Moxiao had already crossed the reeds and quickly reached the shore. Watching his nimble figure, Jiang Shuya was somewhat dazed. She gripped the reeds tightly in front of her, her palms sweating. She knew she couldn't help much; she had an idea but lacked the real ability to bring them into this dangerous situation. Yet, she felt uneasy.
Just then, a person suddenly walked out of the illegally constructed house. Jiang Shuya's heart skipped a beat. Lin Moxiao had already appeared in front of the car. The person walked to the back of the car but stood there without moving. Lin Moxiao was only a car's width away from him. He heard the sound of running water on the ground. It turned out that the person was relieving himself. A moment later, the person walked into the car with satisfaction, opened the door, and got in. Perhaps it was too cold inside, so he sought warmth in the car. Lin Moxiao did not move and remained extremely calm. He held his breath, turned around, walked to the front of the car, opened the door, and his thick, dark eyebrows twitched. The person was dozing off in the seat.
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