Captain Fang took Zhao Shiyun to investigate the surrounding area. The west side of the city was rather deserted, with most of the houses being private houses. Because they were cheap, many outsiders rented them, and there were also many uninhabited houses.
This area is far away from the market, so it has not been developed yet and is inconvenient to do anything. Most of the people who bought houses here rent them out.
The two men did not want to alert the enemy, so they did not go door to door asking. Instead, they carefully observed the axle marks, hoping to find clues.
The kidnapper was also clever. After entering the west part of the city, the axle marks increased significantly. Zhao Shiyun said, "The young man who reported the incident said that his brother has caught up with us. Let's look carefully to see if he has left any clues."
Captain Fang agreed and began searching more carefully. The two searched inch by inch along the road, leaving no corner untouched. Just when Captain Fang was feeling discouraged, Zhao Shiyun suddenly pointed at a stone on the side of the road and shouted, "Captain Fang, look!"
Captain Fang leaned over and saw a few shallow scratches on the stone, as if hastily carved with a sharp object. Zhao Shiyun squatted down to examine them carefully. "These scratches should be the clues left by the child." Following the arrow, they continued forward. Not far away, they found similar scratches. Following the clue, the two turned into a narrow alley. It was dark, damp, and filled with a musty smell. The further they walked, the quieter it became, and the atmosphere became eerie.
Suddenly, Captain Fang heard a slight noise coming from the front. He immediately became alert and signaled Zhao Shiyun to be careful. Captain Fang clenched the sword in his hand, and Zhao Shiyun also clenched the stick he picked up on the road, and the two slowly approached the source of the sound. Turning the corner, they saw a figure squatting next to the water tank. The two men walked lightly and slowly approached. The man leaned forward and kept looking, but no one knew what he was looking at. Captain Fang quickly drew out his sword, put the back of it on the man's neck, and shouted: "Don't move!"
Yang Xu was frightened to death. He turned his head stiffly and saw the uniformed captain and Zhao Shiyun. His heart finally eased a little. He carefully glanced at the knife on his neck and hurriedly explained, "Officer, I'm not a bad person. My name is Yang Xu."
"Poplar catkins?" Zhao Shiyun repeated.
"Do you know him?"
"He seems to be the younger brother of the guy who reported the news."
Upon hearing this, Captain Fang sheathed his sword, stepped forward to help Yang Xu up, and said, "I'm sorry, brother. I hope you weren't scared."
Yang Xu's legs went weak, and he chuckled, "It's okay. Oh, by the way, the thieves are in the house up ahead. I heard them say they were going to find someone to sell that kid off."
"What?" Zhao Shiyun stiffened his fists and strode forward.
Captain Fang quickly stopped him and continued to ask, looking at Yang Xu, "How many people are there?"
Yang Xu revealed everything he knew, and the others decided to wait for Zhao Qide's return before catching him all in one fell swoop. Captain Fang asked Zhao Shiyun to go fetch the two yamen runners, saying more people would make the job easier. Zhao Shiyun agreed, and although he was worried about Yu Ge'er, Yang Xu didn't know where the runners had gone, and Captain Fang had to stay behind to keep an eye on them, so he had no choice but to go on his own.
＊
Lin Yan sat in the shop for half an hour when he heard hurried footsteps outside. He stood up hurriedly and saw that it was Li Yuemei and Zhao Qiming who had arrived, followed by Zhou Chunlan.
"Brother Yan, what happened?" Li Yuemei's eyes were red and he almost tripped when he entered the door. Zhao Qiming quickly supported him.
Lin Yan said, "Brother Shi Yun has caught up with him, and the head constable from the government office has also gone."
Zhao Qiming didn't want to sit still and wait for death: "I'll follow and take a look. You guys stay in the shop and don't leave."
Li Yuemei was unwilling to agree. She wanted to go with them, but Lin Yan advised, "Let's wait in the shop. We don't know where we are, and we might end up making things worse if we go with them."
Zhao Qiming knew exactly what was happening, but his concern was overwhelming. He sighed, sat down at the door, and stared outside, hoping to see Zhao Shiyun and Yu Ge'er return. The others were also pacing around the shop, their hearts pounding.
*
It was getting dark, and the two men's feet were numb from squatting. Finally, what they had been waiting for came. They saw Zhao Qide leading three people sneaking in. From their direction, they only saw a woman and two men. The woman was about forty years old and dressed up fancy.
Zhao Shiyun and the others hadn't returned yet, and Captain Fang was a little anxious, but he didn't dare to act rashly. He planned to wait a little longer, and if they still didn't come, he would rush in with this guy to rescue them.
Before they could make a move, a crisp slap was heard from the house. Yang Xu was startled and looked at Captain Fang. He warily signaled Yang Xu to be quiet, then slowly approached the house.
The two of them pressed against the wall to listen to the noise inside, and heard a man yelling, "Behave yourself, or I'll kill you."
Another voice came: "Okay, okay, be quiet. It's not good to break it."
A woman said sharply, "That's right. Look at my face, it's all swollen. How am I going to explain this to the master?"
Inside the room, Zhao Qide smiled and said, "Sister Zhang, calm down. This little bitch is just being restless. Besides, you have to dress respectably when you take her to the master's house. By then, her face will have been swollen."
Sister Zhang rolled her eyes at him. Since that was the truth, she didn't argue with him. "It's a deal, fifty taels, cash on delivery."
Zhao Qide rubbed his hands and showed a greedy smile: "That's right, that's right."
Sister Zhang took out some silver and was about to hand it to Zhao Qide when she suddenly asked, "Is this young man really your relative?"
"Of course. He is not loved by his parents at home. No one wants to keep him. So he asked me to sell him secretly. I guarantee that no one will come to find him." Zhao Qide lied with his eyes open. Anyway, when he got the money, he would run to Yangzhou and he would not be able to find him.
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