"Have you ever considered whether they are from Beiyan or Dongting? Or perhaps both?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked into the dog's eyes with a smile, which completely baffled the child.
He hadn't really thought about these things; he just subconsciously felt that since this happened within the territory of Beiyan, it must be a Beiyan person.
But after hearing his mother's words, he couldn't help but have some doubts. Could it be someone from Dongting? After all, the people from Dongting were so wicked.
As for the Northern Yan people who cooperated with the Eastern Court, there were countless of them. His father had previously eliminated many of those people.
Before Gou'er could answer, Jiang Jiuniang asked again, "Do you remember when you were arrested back then?"
Gou'er nodded, and Jiang Jiuniang continued, "I suspect it's related to that."
"But weren't those people all dealt with? How can there still be so many remnants?"
The dog was very surprised and somewhat unwilling to believe it was true.
Jiang Jiuniang said, "What if what was dealt with back then was only the tip of the iceberg?"
Lu Baichuan had been in charge of that matter all along. Jiang Jiuniang trusted Lu Baichuan's abilities, but the Dongting people were cunning. Who knew how many schemes they had secretly set up?
"What if they weren't doing this in Beiyan?"
The dog's eyes widened, but Jiang Jiuniang's voice clearly reached his ears: "Don't forget, this is the border, the territory between Beiyan and Dongting. It's just a stone tablet."
A single step can mean stepping onto the territory of a country on either side of your feet.
At such a close distance, there's no need to take them to any faraway places. In fact, to make it easier to capture these children, their hideouts are very close to the border.
"Does Mother mean that the people of Dongting specifically capture children from Beiyan in pursuit of immortality?"
The dog felt its jaw drop; how awful!
Compared to that, what does it matter that they attracted wolves and tigers last night and took away the Dongting people's food?
"That's right."
Jiang Jiuniang nodded; that was exactly what she thought.
This makes a lot of things make sense.
It's not just the retired emperor of Beiyan who pursues immortality; there are also people in the Eastern Court royal family who do. It's just that the pills they refine themselves are not poisonous, and there's no harm in taking them, unlike the retired emperor who had poison entering his body. If it weren't for Jiang Jiuniang, he would be a pile of bones by now.
So that means that all these years, the people of Dongting have actually been using the children of Beiyan to do those things.
Just thinking about it made Jiang Jiuniang's fists hard.
The people of Dongting are utterly despicable!
The dog was just as angry, its teeth itching with rage.
The children who were abducted with him were fortunate enough to be rescued by his parents, but what about the others who weren't rescued? They suffered such cruel treatment at such a young age, and were brutally murdered before they even had a chance to see much of the world.
"Mother, we must save those children! That old woman told me that someone will come to the pavilion outside the city to pick us up tomorrow night, which means there are other children besides me. Shall we go and save them?"
The dog sat up and looked at Jiang Jiuniang with an anxious expression.
"The two of us are too few. Why don't we go find Father and ask him to take some men with us and wipe out their entire hideout!"
The dog's face was full of resentment, its cheeks bulging, showing how furious it was.
"No, we can't tell your father about this for now. He's busy lately and can't be distracted."
Jiang Jiuniang refused outright, and then explained, "Besides, everything we're doing now is just our own speculation. We're not sure if it was done by the Dongting people. We need to investigate things thoroughly first."
Dog was still a little worried. It was just the two of them now. What if the other side had a lot of people?
Mother might be able to get away easily on her own, but isn't she taking him with her?
He pouted, genuinely feeling like a little burden.
What are you thinking about now?
Jiang Jiuniang reached out and pinched his pouting lips: "Didn't I tell you? I brought you out because I'm absolutely confident I can protect you. You don't need to be afraid of anything, just charge forward. Your old mother will take care of everything, understand?"
Hearing these words, the dog naturally felt very comfortable. Having a fairy mother really makes you able to walk sideways. Who understands?
"Hehe, I understand, Mother! Then I'll wait in the pavilion tomorrow night as she instructed, and follow them to see where they're taking us."
He knew his mother must think the same way.
As expected, Jiang Jiuniang nodded.
"Just go with them and do whatever they tell you to do. Anyway, this isn't your first time experiencing something like this, so you're experienced. I won't say much more; just do what you think is best."
Dog: ...
Why does it sound so subtly proud when his mother says these words?
To avoid being noticed, Gou'er didn't go out for a stroll after that, but instead stayed in the inn reading.
The next evening, he quietly left the inn and headed out of the city gate.
He remained quiet the whole way, never speaking to anyone, his gaze slightly vacant, looking somewhat foolish, which successfully deceived the people secretly lying in wait, and he followed them out of the city.
When Gou'er arrived, there were already quite a few people in the pavilion, mostly children about his age. They all sat there with blank expressions, ignoring each other, as if they had no souls.
The dog sat quietly and waited, and after a while, a few more children slowly came over.
It's really strange; it feels like all the rare children in the city have been tricked into coming here.
He didn't see so many children when he was walking around the streets yesterday.
In other words, once these children are under control, they will not go out; they will just wait to come to the pavilion together today to be picked up.
No wonder Mother wouldn't let him go out yesterday. Mother is truly a fairy, she's so insightful!
After it got completely dark, the faint sound of horses' hooves could be heard in the distance, and soon the carriage arrived in front of them.
Two people jumped out of the car and walked towards them.
When the dog wasn't looking, it sized them up. They were dressed all in black and had their heads covered; they didn't look like good people at all.
"Get in the car, hurry up!"
He spoke in Dongting dialect the moment he opened his mouth.
Perhaps because these children grew up on the border and could understand the Dongting language, they immediately stood up and lined up to board the carriage in an orderly fashion when called upon.
This carriage is quite large; it could easily accommodate twenty children.
The carriage was dark and there wasn't much to see, so the dog closed its eyes to rest.
The carriage traveled normally along a mountain road, which was very bumpy. After about an hour, it stopped. Gou'er secretly lifted the curtain to look, and good heavens, they were being taken to the military camp!
This is the military camp of the Dongting people!
In other words, all those children who had gone missing were brought to the military camp!
There are people from the Eastern Court in the army who are pursuing immortality, and the other party must be a person of high status, otherwise they could not have done it so secretly.
The dog thought it had figured out the truth, but soon became anxious again.
He and his mother originally thought it was just an ordinary hideout, so they came to give it a try. Who knew they would end up in the enemy camp?
With so many people in the enemy camp, how can Mother possibly get him and all these children out together?
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