Chapter 59
Ye Jia and his men returned quickly. Bazatu came over, pinched the man's chin, and immediately recognized him. "Sister-in-law, I've brought this man back to the base. He's definitely someone who escaped from Hongshan. Please be as alert as possible these few days, as things may not be peaceful recently."
After giving some instructions, Bazatu took the man and left.
Bazatu lifted such a heavy man as if he were a chick. The man had probably lost too much blood and had already fainted. Bazatu walked to the gate and was stunned by the sight of the three large horizontal wooden bolts. He turned his head to look at Ye Jia, who was comforting the children in the yard, and thought to himself that this sister-in-law of the Zhou family was truly an extraordinary person.
Ye Jia didn't know what he was thinking, but the trap she set seemed to have worked.
Because of this incident, Yu Shi, Ye Simei, and the others now treasured the traps Ye Jia had dug. They were so effective at catching thieves and keeping them out of danger that they naturally valued them. Yu Shi, realizing that a patch had been stepped on and damaged, quickly called in a few people to dig again, filling the gap. As she did so, she muttered, "I should have set up more traps earlier. That way, no matter where they stepped on, they wouldn't be able to escape."
Ye Jia just laughed when he heard that, but when he thought of what Bazatu said, he felt heavy in his heart.
What happened at the base? How could the prisoners escape? And when will this chaos finally end? It's really useless to have so many people guarding the Hongshan dungeon.
"Forget it," Ye Jia looked up at the sky. She hadn't slept all night, and her head was buzzing. "Let's go back to the house and get some rest after we've packed up."
Ye Wumei responded and led the children back to the house.
That night, Zhou Jingchen returned from nowhere. He knocked on the door for a long time. Because of the shock of the previous night, no one dared to open the door for him. After confirming it was Zhou Jingchen, Ye Jia led Diandian to open the door for him.
Zhou Jingchen had an icy air about him, and his hair and clothes were a little messy.
He called for the door to be opened but she didn't come in. It seemed she had just received the news and hurried over to take a look. Seeing that no one in the family was in trouble, she felt relieved: "Jia Niang, a group of kidnappers have escaped from the garrison. They have some connections with the government office and are not easy to deal with. If you see any strange people hanging around the courtyard wall, don't open the door and let them in."
"Yeah." Ye Jia had heard him mention the kidnapper before, so he was naturally serious now: "Are you still going out so late?"
"Something happened in Libei Town. It happened suddenly, and several villages were affected. The troops stationed there have been transferred by the Oghuz army. Dongxiang Town is centrally located, so it's less likely to be affected, but you still need to be extra careful at home." Zhou Jingchen, who did have a lot on his mind, gave Ye Jia a deep look. He reached into his arms, pulled out a dagger about the length of Ye Jia's forearm, and handed it to her.
Ye Jia was stunned, took it, and found it was very light.
"Carry it with you. This dagger is very sharp." Zhou Jingchen suddenly reached out and rubbed her head, saying slowly, "If you encounter someone who is against you, just stab them directly. Be brave and don't be like you're at home, afraid to kill chickens and fish. Close the door."
Ye Jia: “…”
After saying this, his figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Ye Jia tucked the dagger into his bosom and locked the gate to the compound with his fifth sister, who had appeared out of nowhere. Diandian stood up from the corner, her green eyes striking in the darkness. Ye Fifth Sister, caught sight of her, was startled. She hurried back into the house. Ye Jia stroked Diandian's head. Diandian stretched her neck to rub Ye Jia's hand, then raised her head and howled at the sky.
The howl startled the chickens and animals in the yard. For a moment, the clucking of the chickens relieved a lot of tension.
Yu hugged her arms and rubbed them, then quickly closed the window: "This little thing is really scary when it screams."
"Isn't it?" Ye Wumei was also afraid.
Ye Jia was quite happy instead and took Diandian back to the house.
…
At the same time, Zhou Jingchen returned to the camp and stayed awake all night again.
In fact, Zhou Jingchen was actually ordered to search for the Turks this time, and chasing the human traffickers was just a side job.
There's movement in the north. Intelligence reports indicate that the Turks have sent a detachment into the villages surrounding Kashgar County. The northwest is vast and sparsely populated, and villages are quite far apart. It's unlikely that the group would brave the heavy snow and inclement weather, and they're likely still hiding within Dayan territory. Warfare on the border is certain to resume in about six months.
The bureaucracy in this part of Northwest China is rotten to the core. More than half the officers are mere shills, obsessed with power and profit, with no regard for the lives of the people. While a few remain aloof from these rotten affairs, they often turn a blind eye. Internal strife is rampant here, and the soldiers below act independently, a disorganized mess.
Zhou Jingchen was deeply concerned. If war broke out six months from now, the Turks would march straight in and force the people of Dayan into Jizhou. Losing the city would be a minor matter, but the devastation would be devastating, a cause for concern.
Before leaving, Zhou Jingchen had deliberately tricked Ogus into leaving Bazatu behind in the camp. Bazatu, though seemingly rough and crude, was incredibly alert in battle. He would react instantly to any sign of trouble. Leaving him in the guardhouse at Hongshan would protect the Zhou family.
Bazatu knew Zhou Jingchen's arrangements and thought about the words Zhou Jingchen had passed on before he left. He told Ye Jia, "If my sister-in-law has any urgent matters, go to the Fulai Inn in town and pass on a message to find Sima."
Ye Jia kept these words in mind.
Ajiu came back on a snowy night, carrying more than 300 kilograms of bath beans.
When he arrived, there were also a few people that Ajiu was familiar with. These people seemed to be from the town passing through Luntai. They came to Libei Town to look for someone. Since it was convenient for him to go, Ajiu took the person with him. When he returned, it was evening. The inns in the town were closed, and there was no place to stay. So Ajiu took the person to stay at Zhou's house.
With Ajiu's return, Ye Jia finally felt relieved. Having a force at home was far less effective than not having one. Even with Ajiu being the only man around, the tense atmosphere at home relaxed.
Old Man Sun quickly took the things off the car and carefully moved them back to the kitchen.
There was no need to rush to put it in the cellar so late. Seeing that he was exhausted from the long journey, Ye Jia told him to go back to the house and rest. Old Man Sun was indeed exhausted, so he nodded without hesitation and went back to the house to fall asleep. His room's kang had been set up some time ago and could be used by burning a fire.
Not to mention how happy Old Man Sun was when he saw the warm kang in his house and how he thanked Ye Jia for his forgiveness. Just say that Ajiu and the others who came with her waited in the yard for a while, but there was really no room for them to stay.
The Zhou family only has so many houses, and it really can’t accommodate everyone.
Ye Jia was a little embarrassed: "The rooms at home are full, and there is no room to move."
Ajiu naturally knew the whole thing.
"Don't worry, sister. You all go back to your house and rest. I'm going out for a walk." Although Ajiu was anxious to see his wife and son, he was the one who brought this trouble upon himself, so he naturally had to take care of their resettlement. "The house I bought in town is empty, and it's just sitting there. I'll take this opportunity to send them to my house in town for resettlement."
He exhaled as he spoke. The weather was so cold that water would freeze. "But it's so cold this winter, there's nothing in the empty room. Can you and Auntie go back to the room and see if there's any mattress to move out? It's so cold, I'll freeze to death in the empty room over there without a mattress."
It is certainly not difficult to borrow a mattress. Since the Zhou family built a kang, they have fewer mattresses to put out at night.
Ye Jia turned around and went back to the house, and moved out the few empty mattresses with Yu. Ajiu carried them into the car and took the group away from Zhou's house.
The people who stayed overnight were old acquaintances of Ajiu, as they were also in the fur trade. They had known each other since Ajiu was twelve or thirteen, and they had quite a bit of contact, so Ajiu naturally took good care of them. After settling the people in the new house, he returned to the Zhou family under the cover of night. The door bolts at the Zhou family's house were quite troublesome to open and close, so Ajiu wanted to save trouble by climbing over the wall. However, he remembered that the wall seemed to be trapped by Ye Jia, so he could only knock on the door honestly.
After finally getting the door opened, he didn't have time to describe the thrilling journey. He was already exhausted from the journey, and even the strongest man couldn't stand it. He quickly ate a small meal, went back to his room and fell asleep.
I originally thought I would only stay for one day, but it started snowing again the next day.
Snow fell fast and heavy. The two men who had been staying overnight had nowhere else to go, so they came to Ye Jia's place during the day. Seeing them in the daylight, Ye Jia could clearly see that they were two strong men. One of them was a Uighur, with a rather deep appearance. It was said that both of them had lost their daughters, and after hearing about the kidnapper's escape, they had come here specifically to chase him.
Ye Jia's heart trembled, and he asked, "When did it happen?"
"Just these few days."
The two big men gnashed their teeth when they mentioned this, wishing they could pull out the tendons and skin those kidnappers, chop them up and feed them to the dogs: "This isn't the first time. Nearly ten girls have gone missing in our village. Some are seventeen or eighteen years old, some are three or four. In this freezing weather, people can be left at home. Are these kidnappers motherless and daughterless? They're not afraid of God's punishment for kidnapping girls!"
"My girl is fourteen years old, smart and pretty. My mother has discussed with someone and will arrange a marriage for her in the spring of next year. But she went out to wash clothes and never came home again." The big man's eyes were swollen when he talked about his daughter.
Ye Jia didn't know how to comfort him, he just said that the discovery was made in time and he hoped that he could find it.
Regardless of whether they could find it or not, the fact that two men rushed out in such heavy snow was a testament to the compassion of all parents. Ye Jia thought of her three young women, plus Rui Jie'er, making four in total. If those kidnappers really had escaped this way, her family would be in great danger as well.
Thinking about it, he gathered everyone together and explained the matter in detail.
The fourth and fifth sisters of the Ye family were all nervous, repeatedly saying that they wouldn't leave the house for the next few days. Yu Shi said that her family wouldn't be so unlucky as to encounter such things, but she still kept a close eye on Rui Jie'er.
A few days passed like this, and nothing seemed to be happening. The two men Ah Jiu had brought with him didn't stay in town for long. Every day, they would go down to the village to ask if anyone had seen any strange people recently. They would also ask if anyone had lost their daughter. As they inquired along the way, the Zhou family gradually calmed down.
One evening, Ye Jia felt bored staying in the house, so he chopped firewood in the yard.
A woman's voice called out hurriedly from outside the courtyard, speaking with a Dongxiang Town accent. She didn't know what was going on, and her voice was a little anxious. She banged on the Zhou family's door loudly. Yu Shi, hearing the noise, went to the courtyard to ask what was going on.
The woman, seemingly on the verge of tears, said she was from Linjia Village, a village in Dongxiang Town, and that she wasn't a bad person. Since the Zhou family wouldn't open the door, she had no choice but to ask outside if anyone had seen her two daughters, Mia and Pasha, fourteen or fifteen years old. The old woman's face was blue from the cold, and her words were trembling and unclear.
Yu hesitated for a moment, but because she felt sorry for the man who couldn't stand steadily, she opened the door anyway.
I saw an old woman, hunched over, her face blue from the cold, her eyebrows frosted with snow. Her eyes were red, and she was leaning on a branch. Seeing Yu, she quickly gestured to her, "About this height, tall and thin. My daughter has foreign ancestry and curly hair. Mia loves coming to town. She was going to buy rouge a few days ago. Didn't you see her?"
"No, old lady," Yu saw that she was really anxious and shook her head, "Why don't you go to the town and ask?"
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Ye Jia.
Ye Jia hadn't been out for a while, so it was impossible for him to see Mia. He shook his head and said, "Old man, when did your daughter go missing? Why are you out looking for her at this hour?"
"He wasn't here yesterday. He didn't come home yesterday." The old woman's eyes were red. "What about the Pasha? Have you seen the Pasha? The Pasha is taller than her sister, with golden eyes. He also has curly hair. A few days ago, he was wearing a red dress with green jacket and trousers. The Pasha likes to laugh a lot, and he has a loud voice. Didn't you see him?"
Yu showed a look of regret on her face and shook her head.
The old woman covered her face and burst into tears, truly wailing. But she couldn't get over it. Her two daughters had been missing since yesterday. She hadn't slept all night, staying up all night, her eyes nearly blind. In the morning, unable to sit still, she and the old man started searching everywhere. She went to town, while the old man went around the village asking around.
"Nothing, nothing can be found. Could it be that my Mia Pasha was kidnapped by some kidnapper..."
Ye Jia's heart trembled at the words. She didn't dare to say whether the old woman's two children had been abducted by kidnappers, but thinking of Zhou Jingchen's warning before leaving, she guessed it was likely true. Not knowing what to say, she could only tell her to go to the garrison and ask. The county magistrate didn't care about the matter, and even if she went to the county government to report it, no one would care.
The old woman wiped her tears and walked away. Ye Jia watched her disappear from view and sighed deeply.
It snowed heavily all day and was still snowing when it got dark.
The wind blew all night, freezing Ye Jia so much that he wished he'd just slumped over the kang. This kang was built perfectly; if it had been built any later, Ye Jia wouldn't have survived the entire winter. Occasionally, when they got up to eat, the family would huddle in the kitchen. Looking out at the heavy snow outside, Ye Jia couldn't help but think of Zhou Jingchen, who was still busy on the road. He wondered how he'd fare, out there in such cold weather.
Towards the afternoon, there was a noise outside the house.
Hearing the commotion outside the courtyard, Ye Jia climbed up the wall with a ladder and peeked out. There was another commotion at the garrison. A large number of soldiers were lining up, their faces solemn. A group of people appeared from nowhere and formed a circle outside the garrison. They were chattering and talking, as if something big was about to happen.
Out of caution, Ye Jia called out to the yard, "Diandian."
There was a rustling noise outside the courtyard, and then a large black shadow jumped in from the corner. It was so fast that it quickly rushed to Ye Jia's side, following the wall. Yu's face was full of anxiety below, and she asked her anxiously, "What happened? Why is there such a commotion outside?"
"I don't know." Ye Jia was far away and couldn't see clearly, "Something must have happened."
Just as he finished speaking, someone knocked on the gate of Zhou's courtyard from outside.
The people circling the camp were at a loss, unable to find a way to find someone, so they gathered in front of the Zhou family's courtyard. Several elderly people, their faces blue from the cold, hunched over and shouted outside, "Can you please let us in to get out of the wind?"
Seeing that one of the elderly people was so cold that he was shivering and unable to stand, Ye Jia asked Yu to open the courtyard door.
The people standing outside the door were from the villages below, looking for someone. They'd all lost their daughters, and after days and nights searching with no luck, they were practically losing their minds. Yu let them in, gave each of them a bowl of hot tea, and kindly shared some food with them. She'd heard them twice in the past few days, and now again. They all had children, and it was heartbreaking to hear them tearfully talking about their lost children.
"Alas, these heartless kidnappers deserve to be cut into pieces!"
Ye Jia said nothing, but he felt something was amiss. Even if the kidnappers were rampant, they weren't this rampant. Lately, it wasn't just one town where children were missing. In Luosang Town, and now in Dongxiang Town, these two adjacent towns, children were missing on a daily basis. If this wasn't intentional, then these kidnappers had someone behind them, allowing them to brazenly disregard the stationed soldiers.
"Why do I feel so strange?" Ye Jia had a vague feeling, "It feels like a feint to the east and attack in the west, to disperse the troops."
When Ye Jia said this, Yu's heart skipped a beat.
She was obviously also finding it strange. While kidnappers were common these days, she'd heard from Fifth and Fourth Sister Ye that they'd only seen one kidnapper every once in a while, never every day like they were seeing now. They'd watched with indifference these past few days as at least a dozen families came to the station to question them or cause trouble. They'd come in waves every day, from morning till night.
"Could it be that some important person is imprisoned in the base?"
How could Ye Jia know this? She couldn't find out even if she asked. No one was stupid enough to tell Ye Jia about important military secrets.
The elderly women seeking shelter at Zhou's house were from a small village down below. I heard that village was located on the outskirts of the city, and many foreigners lived there, mostly Uighurs. Ye Jia had rarely visited the villages down below since arriving in Dongxiang Town, so he wasn't very familiar with them. He gave them some food and water, then sent them off.
The people gathered at the gate of the station made inquiries but got no results, so they all dispersed one by one.
Because of the chaos outside, the Zhou family's yard hadn't been open for the past few days. Fortunately, the family had already stockpiled enough food to last them the entire winter. They didn't have to travel far to town to buy more.
Even though we have a kang burning at home every day, the boiler also uses firewood, which burns quite quickly.
During the day, the doors of the houses were all closed. Except for around noon, when Yu and Ye Wumei took Lin Zeyu, Sun Jun, and the other children out to collect firewood, the doors of the house were always closed. Yu figured that since things were unsettled outside, she'd better gather more firewood. This way, they could burn for a few more days and save having to go out every day to collect firewood. It was this time, after they'd been out collecting firewood for a while longer, that the accident happened.
Yu returned home carrying a bundle of firewood and discovered that Rui Jie'er, who had been following her, was gone. Not only Rui Jie'er, but Ye Wumei also seemed to be missing. Ye Jia was inside settling accounts when he heard Yu's outbursts and hurried out.
"What's going on?"
Yu's face turned pale, and she rushed outside with shaking hands: "Jia Niang, Rui Jie'er is missing. She was following me just now, but when I turned around, she didn't follow me back... Rui Jie'er, my Rui Jie'er..."
"Don't panic, don't panic." Ye Jia realized that something was wrong, and immediately went to the house to get a knife, called Diandian and went out of the yard.
When I got outside the yard, I saw Ye Wumei running towards me in a hurry, "Sister, sister! Hurry!"
Ye Wumei threw the firewood in her hands to the ground and rushed over, shouting, "I just saw a man! A Han Chinese man picked up Rui Jie'er and ran away! I can't catch up, he ran in that direction! Hurry up!"
Ye Jia had no time to care about this and hurried back to the house to call for help.
"Quick, go find your fourth brother-in-law!"
Ye Jia didn't dare to rush in, not knowing how many kidnappers there were, or if they were operating as a gang. Even with a knife in hand, she wouldn't dare rush in alone. Yu was mad, tears streaming down her face. One cheek was swollen, and it looked like she had slapped it. Ye Jia didn't have time to comfort her. She rushed back home to find Old Man Sun in his mule cart.
She definitely couldn't catch up with the mule on her own two feet. The mule ran so fast: "Is Uncle Sun here? Uncle Sun!"
Old Man Sun was gathering firewood in the backyard when he heard the noise and came running over. Hearing that Rui Jie'er was missing, he quickly put the cart in the ground. Ye Jia instructed Yu Shi to go back to the house and get a piece of Rui Jie'er's usual clothing: "Mom, hurry up! This can't be delayed!"
This was a good thing about the ancient times, especially when the mountains were blocked by snow and transportation was inconvenient. As long as that person didn't have wings, he couldn't get very far in such a short time. Yu Shi didn't know why Ye Jia wanted Rui Jie'er's clothes, but her body was faster than her brain. Before she could react, she had already gone to the house to get a piece of Rui Jie'er's usual clothes. When Ye Jia got the clothes, he shouted, "Diandian!"
Diandian rushed out of the house, and Ye Jia held the clothes under its nose: "Quick, go find it. Follow this smell!"
Diandian was not vague. She bit Rui Jie'er's clothes and sniffed a few times, then rushed out of the yard with a whoosh. Seeing Yu's panic, Ye Jia knew that it was useless to rely on her at this moment, so she took the lead and said, "Mom, go to the garrison and ask if you can find Zhabatu. Tell him what happened. If you find him quickly, there is still hope for salvation."
Ye Jia said calmly, "In this weather, even on four legs, he can't run far. Besides, that person is holding a child in his arms. He must be nearby in such a short time. If you panic and waste time, that would be a bad thing."
Fourth sister Ye came out after hearing the noise. Now that she understood, she panicked: "Sister, Ajiu is out."
"Do you know where he went?"
Fourth Sister Ye only knew that Ajiu went out with a bow and arrow, but she had no idea where he went. Ye Jia had no other choice. Since Ajiu couldn't come back, she called Fifth Sister Ye and got on the mule cart. Old Man Sun had already set up the cart and was waiting outside the yard. "Mother, please go to the garrison as soon as possible to find out. If it doesn't work, go to the Lai Fu Inn in town and pass on a message. My husband will get the news."
Ye Jia's words, "Husband," woke Yu up. She immediately wiped away her tears and went to look for someone.
As soon as the mule cart was loaded, Old Man Sun pulled it and headed out. Diandian had already run away, and Ye Jia followed her by following the footprints on the ground. Fortunately, Ye Wumei had good eyesight, as she could still see Diandian's footprints in such a messy snow.
As they followed the tracks, Zhou Jingchen's men in Luosang Town surrounded a large caravan from the Western Regions. Over seventy members of the caravan were detained, and several of their hideouts were raided. These individuals, dressed as Western merchants, frequently traveled to and from Dayan under the guise of selling tea and silk from Dayan. They were secretly gathering information and shielding the Turkic delinquents.
The lost defense map of the base was not found, but Zhou Jingchen and his team secretly tracked the two and captured Chen Zhen. When Chen Zhen was grabbed, he was sleeping naked in the gentle land, and his legs immediately went limp with fear.
They had now blocked someone in a village woman's house, and no one could have imagined that this seemingly ordinary village was actually a brothel village.
Inconspicuous during the day, it becomes more pronounced at night. The prostitutes hidden within are diverse, ranging in size and shape. There are not only exotic women with blue, green, and golden eyes, but also many beautiful Han Chinese women. The women are known for their unbridled and daring sexuality, making them quite famous on this street. It's a well-known den of prostitution on the secret roads.
"I didn't expect that there was such a big secret door hidden here." Such a small place actually accommodated hundreds of pilgrims.
When they first arrived, they hadn't noticed anything amiss. After all, villages like this, with more women than men, weren't uncommon in the northwest. Due to years of war, all the able-bodied men had been conscripted. The villagers were tight-lipped, and without a way in, it was impossible to get in.
Three days ago, Zhou Jingchen led his men on a town search and discovered several rouge and powder shops in Luosang Town. There were four more shops than in Dongxiang Town. Luosang Town was smaller than Dongxiang Town, encompassing seven or eight villages. In reality, there were far fewer shops than in Dongxiang Town. However, after inquiring at the rouge and powder shops, he discovered the demand was staggering. Strangely enough, he inquired at several other shops, and the total number of shops he found was staggering.
Even if Lausanne Town is more prosperous than Dongxiang Town, it is not that much better.
Suspicious, they sent someone to disguise themselves and extract information from him.
At first, he tried not to alert the enemy, but instead had his men stake out the villages for a few days. Then, as he had expected, he encountered a group of people. He immediately dispatched his men to surround the villages overnight. He detained all the female pilgrims inside, and for some unspecified reasons, he also killed a number of people.
Just as they were apprehending the prisoners, something unexpected happened on the border. A group of Turkic soldiers attacked the northwest of Libei Town and massacred many people.
Zhou Jingchen immediately realized something was amiss and ordered all pilgrims from the village to be tied up. Anyone attempting to escape would be killed, regardless of their identities. He would be held responsible for any consequences. The situation at night grew increasingly perilous. The situation in Libei Town grew increasingly critical, and Ogus, unable to hold out, ordered Zhou Jingchen's forces to be withdrawn.
After the people were taken away, Zhou Jingchen couldn't keep an eye on them, so he could only send a group of them back to the military camp prison.
However, before being sent back, they were subject to a strict investigation, and those with suspicious behavior or strange expressions were all placed under guard. Many civilians were unaware of the situation, and when the border war broke out, they began to panic.
Not to mention that Zhou Jingchen was too busy to spare time, Old Man Sun drove a mule cart and followed the footprints into a village.
The village wasn't particularly far from the camp, about twenty miles away. The mule cart took only half an hour to get there. But once the cart reached the village, there were no more footprints to be seen. The snow at the intersection had been swept into a mess, and there were still traces of cow and sheep tracks. Ye Wumei leaned over the car window, unable to see clearly, and scratched her head anxiously.
"Sister, I don't know where it is."
"Nothing, just wait for the people from the base to come." Ye Jia calmed down. Since there was no trace here, there was only one village ahead, and the person must be in this village. There were only three of them, and they didn't know if Yu's side had found the person.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, someone finally came.
It’s Ajiu’s man.
Ajiu recognized the Zhou family's mule cart and came over to knock on the door. Old Man Sun turned his head and saw that it was Ajiu, and he was immediately relieved. Ye Jia stuck her head out, and Ajiu entered the carriage to ask what was going on.
He pondered and said, "It should be in this village. You wait here, I'll go in and take a look."
After saying that, he got out of the car quietly.
His figure was as fast as a jackal in the snow and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Ye Jia and Ye Wumei waited anxiously, watching the hours tick by. This village was quite large, and if the kidnapper was truly hiding here, who knew if he would escape from somewhere else. She was just contemplating what to do when Old Man Sun suddenly shouted from outside the carriage.
Ye Jia was startled and subconsciously reached into his arms and took out a knife.
After waiting for a while, he heard the sound of claws scratching the door outside. Then Old Man Sun said, "Boss, Diandian is back."
Ye Jia hurriedly opened the door a crack and pointed at the huge wolf head that was stretched out like this. There was something in its mouth, and it spat it in front of Ye Jia with a plop. Ye Jia glanced at it, but it was Ye Wumei next to her who exclaimed: "Sister, Ruijie'er's shoes!"
Ye Jia's heart trembled.
Diandian whimpered twice and bit Ye Jia's clothes, pulling them down. They were now at the end of the village, near the woods. Ye Jia looked in the direction of the woods and saw a small courtyard. From their direction, the door of the courtyard was tightly closed, and knocking on it would not make any difference.
Ye Wumei had good eyesight and saw two women washing things in the yard.
Ajiu came back after a while.
"Sister, you guys go back first." He led his men around the village several times, but couldn't see anything wrong. But that's when he felt something was amiss, so he simply turned back and said, "Go to the town and find my brother-in-law's people to come over. I'll keep an eye on this place."
After hearing what he said, Ye Jia called Diandian out, "Diandian followed Sister Rui here. Maybe it can smell where Sister Rui is."
Ah Jiu's eyes lit up when he saw Diandian. He naturally recognized Diandian and knew that this was Ye Jia's treasure at home. The situation was urgent, so he nodded and said, "Then sister, you can leave Diandian here. You and Fifth Sister go back and wait first, and call more people over."
Ye Jia also knew that she could not help, so she asked Old Man Sun to drive them back.
As soon as they left, Ajiu took Diandian back into the village. Every household in the village was in hibernation, and several of the courtyard doors were locked. Diandian walked close to the wall, landing silently. They walked close together and stopped at a house. Standing in the yard was a mother and daughter. They looked like they were of foreign descent, with dark features.
Seeing Ajiu standing at the door, the daughter was curious and asked him who he was looking for.
Ah Jiu smiled, pretending to be thirsty, and asked for a cup of hot water. "I came from Luosang Town. I was originally going to the Western Regions to escort the goods, but I happened to run into the chaos in Luosang Town. I ran back from there for fear of being affected. I have been to this village before and know that the villagers are simple-minded. If the host family can let me in to take shelter?"
As he spoke, he sneezed several times and his voice began to tremble.
The girl frowned and looked at her mother beside her. The woman didn't trust Ajiu, but when she saw that he was alone, she was no longer so wary. She opened the door a crack and saw that Ajiu was a handsome man. He was a foreigner with green eyes and looked quite similar to them. She immediately felt relieved, turned her head to look inside the house, and said lightly: "Come in."
Ah Jiu thanked her and politely followed her into the yard. Glancing around, it looked like an ordinary farmyard, except for the bucket filled with clothes.
It was rare for the girl to see such a handsome young man like Ajiu. When Ajiu smiled at her, the girl's eyes suddenly lit up.
At the same time, the mule cart returned to the base.
Yu had already returned home, wandering around the yard like a headless fly. Someone inside heard the sound of the mule cart and hurried over to open the door. Seeing that it was indeed Ye Jia and the others returning, they immediately peered inside. When they didn't see Rui Jie'er, tears welled up again, and they asked in rapid succession, "Where's Rui Jie'er? Have you seen her? Did you chase her but couldn't you?"
"We chased them to a village, and they probably hid there."
Ye Jia looked at the bad weather, which looked like it was going to snow again, and felt a little relieved. Snow would be good, and it would be best if it was heavy enough to block the road. They couldn't run far when the road was inconvenient. "Dian Dian and Ajiu are squatting outside. Mom, have you found anyone at the base?"
"No, they probably mistook me for the country woman who came to the garrison a while ago seeking help, and sent me back without saying a word." Yu felt flustered at the mention of this, and she almost wanted to slap herself a few more times. If she had known something would happen, she shouldn't have let Ruijieer go out to collect firewood. Couldn't she have done it herself?
Ye Jia couldn't sit still anymore, so he asked Old Man Sun to go to the town again.
Zhou Jingchen left her contact information. She hid her dagger in her pocket, boarded a mule cart, and asked Old Man Sun to take her to the Laifu Inn on the street. Luckily, someone was there, so Ye Jia went to the innkeeper to pass on a message. The innkeeper, of course, recognized Ye Jia and, not wanting to delay, went out to pass on the message. Ye Jia walked around outside and returned to the camp. At the camp gate, she said she was looking for Bazatu.
The sentry said in embarrassment, "The flag commander has been ordered to leave. If the madam is worried, I will call a few brothers over."
After that, he called out five tall and strong soldiers. Ye Jia told them the location of the village and the location of the house. He returned to Zhou's house to wait for news, and then asked Old Man Sun to take the men there.
At the same time, Ah Jiu entered the house and sat down. He heard the girl talking to someone inside. He didn't know what they were talking about because they were talking incessantly. After a long while, the girl came out, her face red.
Ajiu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are there any guests at home?"
The girl was embarrassed by the question, mainly because Ajiu's appearance was quite suitable for her taste. She couldn't help but look at him twice while he was talking. When he opened his mouth, she immediately nodded and replied: "I am also from outside, passing by our Linjia Village. I am a businessman from the Central Plains who came to do business. It's difficult to travel in the heavy snow, so I came to stay at your house for two days."
"I see." Ajiu asked, "Han people?"
The girl's eyes widened in surprise, as if she was wondering how Ajiu knew he was Han Chinese. But then she understood again: since they said he was a merchant from the Central Plains, he must be Han Chinese.
As they were talking, Ajiu heard a subtle noise in the corner. He asked, "Are you just mother and daughter at home? How come there's no male owner in such a big house?"
"My father went hunting," the girl said honestly, "and my brother went with him."
Ajiu laughed and nodded: "Is that so..."
The snow continued to fall, and soon the voices of the interracial mother and daughter talking filled the room. The man, known as Boss Shang, spoke elegantly, like a scholar. Perhaps because he dealt with rough people, Jiu rarely heard anyone speak like that. The man in the room was unknown, and his words were irritating.
Ajiu clicked his tongue, and a black shadow quickly jumped out from the corner of the wall.
The shadow moved quickly, and Ah Jiu immediately stood up and followed its direction. He saw it swoosh out and bite the neck of an old woman who had just come out of the kitchen. Diandian was much larger than an average wolf, and with that bite, the old woman died before she could even scream.
Ah Jiu was startled and quickly went over to drag the body to one side. Diandian sniffed the smell and suddenly ran to the other side.
Jiu chased after her, and there was still someone standing by the wall. It was an old man, and he was too late for the old woman to come out. Then he saw a snap, and the old woman's neck was bitten off. Seeing that something was wrong, he turned around and ran.
Diandian shook off his claws and started chasing, then pounced on the old man and bit his shoulder from behind.
The old man screamed and yelled. Seeing that things were not going well, Ajiu pulled out his weapon from behind, chased after him, and cut the man's neck. The people in the house noticed something was wrong and rushed out to see that the man and the wolf had already killed two people. The huge wolf opened its bloody mouth and stared at them fiercely.
Among the leading few people, there were some who knew martial arts, and they ran out subconsciously.
Diandian threw the person in his mouth fiercely and pounced on him to bite. One of the figures quickly dodged, and Ajiu followed up to finish him off. His knife was the kind that could cut through iron like mud, and the knife came down steadily and fiercely. Ajiu looked very scary at this time, as if killing someone was no different from slaughtering chickens and ducks. The bloody smell coming out of his bones scared the two people who came out to watch and made them confused.
Ah Jiu's figure was ghostly, and there was another sound of sharp teeth biting flesh. Diandian had returned without knowing when, biting the man's abdomen. His enormous body naturally possessed incredible strength. He bit the piece of meat and pulled hard, causing intestines to spill onto the ground.
As expected, a dog that bites doesn't bark, and a wolf that eats people doesn't bark either. The wolf pointed at the remaining man, frightening him so much that he didn't dare to fight anymore and left the house.
Outside, a scream erupted from the house. It was the young girl from the house who had just come out, terrified by the scene. She sank to the ground, trembling and speechless, pointing at Ajiu, who was struggling with someone, and the wolf with a mouth full of blood. A young, handsome man, with a sinister aura, walked out from behind her. He walked straight towards the girl.
Just as chaos was about to break out, a mule cart suddenly arrived outside the yard. When the cart stopped, five soldiers got out.
Several people hurried down and climbed over the wall nimbly.
Indeed, there were quite a few people hiding in the yard, and soon they emerged from all corners. The girl vaguely realized something was amiss. She had seen Ah Jiu coming in and killing people, and she had assumed he was a bad guy. She was about to hide with the people behind him, but when she saw the people climbing over the wall were all in military uniforms, and they were immediately fighting with Boss Shang's men, she immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
“This, this…”
The girl's mother finally realized something was amiss. She rushed out with a kitchen knife in hand. Seeing her daughter being strangled by someone, she broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't dare to move, so she cried and screamed as she stabbed at the person with the knife, unable to speak a single word. The person holding the girl hostage was the man who had come to stay at their house.
The moment 'Boss Shang' saw something was amiss, he turned and ran. Boss Shang was different from the others around him. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. His appearance was quite intimidating, and he looked like he was attracting attention.
The yard was a scene of chaos. This group of kidnappers was unusual, seemingly from the underworld, and very persistent. In the end, Sun Yushan arrived quickly, rushing in with a few men and quickly shooting and wounding the people, then tying them up with ropes. Diandian had bitten three to death, and just now, another one escaped during the chaos. Ah Jiu was about to shout, but when he turned around, he found that Diandian was gone.
"I just ran after that guy," the frightened girl said, wiping her tears. She wiped the blood from her face and sat on the ground, shivering. Her mother's face was also very grim, and they were both a little confused at this moment.
Before they could catch their breath, Ajiu suddenly said, "There are people outside the yard."
Everyone turned their heads, and sure enough, they saw a shadowy figure swaying through the crack in the door. Just as Sun Yushan was about to approach with his knife, the figure suddenly pushed the door open and came in. With a thud, he dropped to his knees. It was the old woman who had been crying so hard.
The woman knelt on the ground and began to cry, crying about her miserable life and how her daughter had been captured by human traffickers. She had no choice but to tell the traffickers about the beautiful girl's home here: "Wuwuwu... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. But I can't do anything! You don't know how vicious these people are. They captured a room full of girls and locked them in one room. In the middle of winter, they didn't give them any clothes to wear. They stripped them down to the point where they didn't even have a piece of clothing to cover their bodies... As soon as the snow stops, they'll leave, and take my two daughters with them to move... I really can't do anything!"
Sun Yushan had no time to appease an old woman, so he ordered his men to search the yard. Someone observing this couldn't help but wonder, "Boss, is this kidnapper one of the ones who escaped from our base?"
"I don't know." Sun Yushan had never seen one. "It's very likely."
"So what should we do now?" They should be taken back to the base or something. Sun Yushan happened to be nearby and immediately gave chase after them upon hearing the news. He was agile and quick, killing people like cutting melons. "Should we send them back to the base or take them to Sima?"
"Take him away." The traitor in the garrison hadn't been caught yet, and if he was sent back, he might be released again. "Please let Sima decide."
Seeing Old Man Sun waiting outside the yard, Sun Yushan took out a small purse from his pocket and stuffed it into Old Man Sun's hand, "Dad, buy some food for Brother Jun."
After saying that, he took people to search the house.
After searching the yard thoroughly, they found about ten girls. Many of them were missing from the village and hadn't been returned yet. As for Rui Jie'er, they searched everywhere but couldn't find her.
Ah Jiu was anxious. Since it was getting dark and there was no time to go back, he and the other people stationed there searched the village inside and out. Most of the girls hiding in the cellar were returned, but Rui Jie'er was nowhere to be found. As for the truth of what the crazy woman had said, Sun Yushan wondered if there were still a group of abducted girls hiding in the town. After some thought, he decided to take the old woman back with him.
The Zhou family looked up at the sky, and Yu cried until she was almost blind.
Ye Jia was pacing anxiously in the yard. After a long while, Ye Jia heard the sound of something scratching at the door outside the yard. The rustling sound made Ye Jia's heart move. He asked, "Is it Diandian?"
Sure enough, a wolf howled outside: "Awoo~"
Ye Jia hurriedly opened the gate. Under the cover of night, she saw Diandian standing at the doorway, blood dripping from his mouth as he walked. On his shoulders was a terrified little girl, her face grimacing, his claws tugging at Diandian's neck fur. The two wolfs silently entered the yard through the night. Yu Shi was stunned, watching the little girl on the wolf's back, both crying and laughing.
She rushed over, hugged the little girl and rubbed her head non-stop: "Sister Rui, my sister Rui, I finally found you..."
Ye Wumei was so horrified by the sight that she didn't know what to say. She squatted on the side, watching Diandian. She had never felt this thing was so reliable. Ye Jia was also a little excited, and walked over to pick up the little girl. Rui Jie'er was still in shock, holding Diandian's fur tightly, not daring to let go. After a long time of being coaxed by Yu Shi, she finally opened her mouth and burst into tears.
When she cried, Yu Shi started crying too. The two of them hugged each other and cried until the sky was dark. Ye Jia touched Diandian's big head, lowered her head and rubbed the fluff on its head: "Come on, mother will feed you something delicious!"
Although Diandian bites people, she doesn't eat human flesh. After hearing what Ye Jia said, she happily shook her head and followed Ye Jia to the kitchen.
Ye Jia fed it with a large bowl of fresh meat. At this time, Ye Simei came out of the house holding the child. She was also very happy to see Rui Jieer being sent back. She stretched her head to look into the yard, but did not see Ajiu. She immediately became anxious: "Sister, Ajiu is not back?"
Ye Jia glanced at the sky. It was already dark. The snow hadn't stopped yet.
Not only did Ajiu not return, but Old Man Sun also didn't return. Yu had already carried the frightened Rui Jie'er back to the house. Ye Wumei went to boil some hot water and would give the child a bath later. A good night's sleep might make her feel better. As soon as it got dark, heavy snow began to fall again. It soon covered the ground, piling up the snow that had just been swept from the yard.
Ye Jia and a few others locked the door in the yard first and waited for someone to knock on the door before opening it.
Fourth Sister Ye looked out the door for a long time. Ye Jia guessed that Diandian had found Rui Jie'er first and carried her back. Ajiu and the others were probably still looking. "I guess they still have something to do. Let's wait and see."
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