Qi Xiaolin rushed to the prison, losing count of how many red lights he ran along the way. As he approached the interrogation room, his hands were trembling. A mixture of anxiety and excitement made his heart race.
He slammed the door to the interrogation room open. Yan Feng, wrapped in bandages, had already been brought over and was sitting there waiting for his arrival. Seeing him, Qi Xiaolin demanded anxiously, “Yan Feng, tell me, is that child from back then dead or alive?”
Jiang Ling, who was accompanying him, was surprised to see Qi Xiaolin’s emotions in such turmoil.
Yan Feng remained silent, turning his head to the side.
Qi Xiaolin was never a patient man. He immediately stepped forward, growling, “Let’s see if your mouth is tougher or my fist is!”
Before his hand could land, the man sitting in the chair spoke slowly, “He is alive.”
Upon receiving the answer he sought, Qi Xiaolin felt his heart tremble. Just moments ago, he had received news from his search team on Island A. An elderly couple had recalled a night twelve years ago when a blood-stained child had broken into their home, crying and begging them to let him hide for a while. Not long after, that child was forcibly taken away by the people who had been chasing him. Later, on the island, the elderly couple often saw the child appearing with various adults, and it was a long time before he finally left.
Based on the couple’s description, that child was almost certainly Qingyan. Since Yan Feng had not killed Qingyan immediately after finding him, it was highly likely that he was still alive. Now, that speculation had been confirmed.
Yan Feng sighed as if he were helpless. “I can tell you the whole process and where he is, but I have one condition: you must send my wife to the hospital for treatment.”
Qi Xiaolin nodded. “Fine, I agree.”
Yan Feng continued, “It is true that I did not kill him. The Yan family likes to groom henchmen from a young age; stray orphans and abandoned infants are the largest source for our underlings. Besides, you were the one who brought that child to me. I originally intended to kill him, but he survived the dog kennel and escaped. He had extraordinary talent, so I changed my mind. I didn’t kill him because I knew you were still alive. I wanted him to live, to become a backbone of the Yan family, and to work himself to the bone for us so that, in the future, he would cross swords with you.”
At the end of his sentence, he gave an eerie smile, his eyes fixed on Qi Xiaolin. These words were completely genuine, and such malice was exactly his true nature.
Qi Xiaolin glared at him, his fists clenched at his sides, his entire arm shaking. He used all his willpower to control himself from punching Yan Feng in the face. He forced the words out through clenched teeth, “Where is he?”
Yan Feng smiled. “He has always been by your side, from beginning to end.”
A series of faces flashed through Qi Xiaolin’s mind. Although he had brought many people from the Yan family, there were only a few in their twenties. After filtering them, only one remained: Ren Jue. For some reason, as the final choice fell on Ren Jue, a strange sense of disappointment washed over him.
He did not voice his thoughts but instead asked, “Who is it?”
Deep down, he had held a glimmer of hope that it might be Yan Qingming. But Yan Qingming was two years older than his Qingyan.
Yan Feng spoke slowly, stating the name he had guessed, “Ren Jue.”
Qi Xiaolin argued, “But his face bears no resemblance to Qingyan.”
Yan Feng sneered, “Believe it or not, I am just telling you the facts.”
When Qingyan had “died,” he was only fifteen years old. It was not surprising that his appearance had changed over a decade.
Qi Xiaolin asked, “Then why doesn’t he remember anything from the past?”
Yan Feng looked indifferent. “Have you ever heard of a hypnotist? Making someone subconsciously forget an event, or implanting a memory they never had—to them, these are just the most basic techniques.”
Qi Xiaolin did not speak; he simply looked at him quietly. Yan Feng spread his hands. “I have said what I needed to say. Now, you should fulfill your promise. My wife is still in prison.”
Qi Xiaolin laughed as if he had heard a joke. “What promise? Did I say anything of the sort?”
His expression was dark and eerie. “As devious as you are, when did you become so naive?”
The Yan family had caused his parents’ deaths, leaving them without even a proper burial. Yan Feng wanted him to send his wife to the hospital to save her life? He had been merciful enough by not poisoning them. He turned and left the interrogation room without looking back.
The truth of whether Ren Jue was actually Qingyan still required further investigation. Jiang Ling remained silent. He gave Yan Feng a scrutinizing look before turning to follow Qi Xiaolin out.
He and Ren Jue had both been bought from human traffickers by Yan Feng. They had spent two full years in a dark, sunless basement together. He knew Ren Jue’s past clearly, and he was certain that Ren Jue and Qingyan were not the same person. Furthermore, he knew that the child who had survived the dog kennel all those years ago was someone else entirely.