Su Wantang thought she was overthinking, but failed to notice the man gradually closing in while asking for directions.
Just as she raised her hand to point the way, he struck without warning. Before she could react, he pressed a handkerchief over her nose and mouth.
…
It had already been three days since Su Wantang disappeared.
Gu Ciyuan’s robust frame seemed to have shrunk, his face now shadowed with stubble, his entire appearance haggard.
Over these three days, he had scoured all of Jingdu, mobilizing every connection he could, yet found no trace of Su Wantang—not even a single person who had seen her.
A suffocating frustration lodged in his heart, refusing to dissipate.
Gu Ciyuan felt that if this continued, he would truly go mad.
At the entrance of the Gu residence, Li Mingxin’s furtive figure peered left and right, catching Gu Ciyuan’s eye.
Ever since he and Jiang Hongqi returned to Jingdu, they had encountered Li Mingxin persistently harassing Su Wantang.
Later, Gu Ciyuan learned that this had been going on for nearly half a month, starting from the very first time Li Mingxin laid eyes on Su Wantang.
Su Wantang’s disappearance undoubtedly involved Li Cuiping. If not for her loose tongue, how would Gu Changsheng have found out he took Su Wantang to the hospital for a check-up, triggering the subsequent events?
So, the sight of Li Mingxin stirred in Gu Ciyuan an urge to tear him apart.
Yet he also felt puzzled.
Li Mingxin was Li Cuiping’s only nephew. Whenever Gu Ciyuan wasn’t home, Li Mingxin treated the Gu residence as his own.
This time, however, he was sneaking around—clearly abnormal.
Gu Ciyuan knew this because Gu Jiaojiao also disliked this cousin and often complained about him.
Although Gu Ciyuan didn’t get along well with the rest of his family, he had a soft spot for Gu Jiaojiao.
Strangely enough, he had once imagined his own sister in Su Wantang’s image—if his mother hadn’t died during childbirth, his sister might have grown up just as sweet and lovely.
After leaving Nan Province, he often worried whether she would cry or be bullied by others.
They were both motherless children, and Gu Ciyuan knew exactly how that felt.
Gu Jiaojiao was two years younger than Su Wantang and particularly clingy back then. One moment of soft-heartedness on his part, combined with Gu Changsheng’s attempts to mend their family ties, led to Gu Jiaojiao latching onto him.
Initially, he didn’t always rush to his aunt’s house upon returning. It was only after Li Cuiping brought Li Lan into the household as a maid, and she began subtly seducing him, that Gu Ciyuan grew so exasperated he stopped going back altogether.
Li Mingxin hadn’t shown up since that night Su Wantang knocked him out. After regaining consciousness, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had encountered something sinister.
But the moment he brought it up, his parents slapped him hard across the face, forcing him to keep it to himself.
Today, he came to investigate—what exactly was going on with that girl Su Wantang?
After spending so many days with her, he was convinced she was alive. But that night, had the person he followed not been her at all, but something impersonating her?
Li Mingxin felt he had uncovered the truth.
He cursed his own foolishness.
What normal young girl would deliberately head into secluded areas at that hour!
As Li Mingxin lost himself in these thoughts, a sudden slap landed on the back of his head.
Turning around, he met Gu Ciyuan’s dark, menacing glare.
Fear once again rose in his heart, nearly making him piss his pants in terror.
He plopped down on the ground, hurriedly covering his head with his hands. “Don’t hit me! I know I was wrong!”
“Wrong about what?”A sharp glint flashed through Gu Ciyuan’s weary, dark eyes as he asked in a low voice.”
“I…” He hesitated, glancing up at Gu Ciyuan’s expression, unsure whether he should reveal what happened that night.
From Gu Ciyuan’s perspective, this guy was nothing but trouble—ugly, delusional, and downright stupid.
The way his beady eyes shifted around made it clear he was up to no good.
Another slap landed on his head. “You better think carefully—are you going to confess yourself, or do I have to beat it out of you?”
“I… I just came to visit my aunt. What is there to confess?”
Li Mingxin wasn’t stupid. If Gu Ciyuan found out he still had ill intentions toward Su Wantang, he’d be digging his own grave!
So he could only play dumb.
Gu Ciyuan didn’t know where this intuition came from, but he felt certain he could pry something out of this guy.
He glared at him menacingly, testing the waters as he said, “Confess what you know about Su Wantang. Li Mingxin, you know I always keep my word. If you come clean yourself, I won’t hold it against you. Otherwise… I’ll break your third leg. Do you think your hypocritical aunt can protect you then?”
“No, no, no! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”
Gu Ciyuan was the person he feared most, bar none. Although Gu Changsheng also made him too afraid to look directly at him, as an elder, he at least wouldn’t lay a hand on him. But Gu Ciyuan never held back when beating him up.
After hearing his confession, Gu Ciyuan’s first instinct was that the guy was messing with him.
Of all the lies he could come up with, he actually claimed Su Wantang was a ghost and that she had knocked him out!
After giving him a couple of hard kicks, Gu Ciyuan still refused to give up on this slim hope and headed to the alley the guy mentioned.
Surprisingly, he actually found a clue.
Someone had seen a girl walking on the road late at night through a window. Following the directions given, Gu Ciyuan began investigating along the path.
…
“No way, that’s too expensive. I can only offer fifty dollars.”
“Bullshit! She’s a virgin—look at her figure, look at her face! If my family weren’t in such dire straits, I wouldn’t be reduced to selling my own daughter. Fifty dollars and you expect to marry a beautiful wife? Go home and sleep with your mother instead.”
Su Wantang woke up to the sound of noisy haggling.
Even before opening her eyes, she could hear the bargaining. Combined with what had happened before she lost consciousness, it wasn’t hard to guess—she had fallen into the hands of human traffickers.
Not daring to open her eyes, she listened as they struck a deal, selling her for fifty dollars.
A rustling sound followed. Su Wantang cracked her eyes open just enough to see the scene before her.
She and a child were lying on a bench, while two other men stood nearby counting money.
A perfect opportunity.
Su Wantang moved her fingers to touch the child beside her, and in the blink of an eye, both of them vanished.
When one of the men finished counting the money, he stuffed it into the pocket at his waist. “The amount’s correct. She’s yours now. Take her home quickly.”
As he spoke, he winked and leered, making the other man itch with anticipation, eager to carry her home and have his way with her.
But when the two turned around, their eyes widened in unison.
“What the hell?! Where did they go?”
“Why are you looking at me? I didn’t take her! No way, since she’s gone, you have to return my money.”
“Return your mother’s head! She disappeared in your village. You must have conspired with your villagers to pull some dirty trick, trying to take advantage without paying, that’s why you’re holding my daughter captive!”
“Damn it, let’s talk this through properly, don’t resort to violence…”
Su Wantang couldn’t hear the commotion outside, nor did she know that her disappearance had sparked a fierce fight between the two men. The altercation had drawn the attention of other villagers, eventually creating quite a scene.