Her long-lost biological daughter.
Shen Qingxuan.
Was living quite comfortably in the waitress sister’s home.
The older sister noticed her bruises—she had actually seen them during yesterday’s meal.
But at the time, she thought they were from a beating by the adults at home, so she didn’t say anything.
Now that she had calmed down from the panic,
she realized it was likely because the little sister had gotten hurt while saving someone.
She was just about to treat her wounds.
In truth, none of the three little ones, including Xiao Tuanzi herself, paid it much mind.
She was used to running wild in the mountains, always the little tyrant of the hills.
Ever since she could run, she had been climbing trees and getting into fights on the mountain.
At first, her master and senior brothers would fuss and fret whenever she got hurt.
Later, as long as she wasn’t missing any limbs,
a few scrapes and bruises were simply ignored.
Of course, losing a fight was an exception.
That’s why Xiao Tuanzi was still brooding over yesterday’s fight with the fake heiress.
It seemed she hadn’t won, and it bothered her.
The waitress sister took an iodine swab and carefully dabbed at the scrape on Shen Qingxuan’s temple.
As soon as the swab touched her skin, Xiao Tuanzi grimaced and pulled back.
“Does it hurt?”
The waitress sister lightened her touch, first tapping the unbroken skin with the swab.
Xiao Tuanzi grimaced and pulled back again.
The older sister understood—kids this age loved to pretend.
So, she changed to a new swab and continued.
[Still pretending it hurts? You didn’t even make a sound when you fell from a tree.]
Xiaobai, who had fought with Xiao Tuanzi before, didn’t believe it for a second.
[What do you know? Playing pitiful gets you the good stuff.]
The Xuan Bird had also woken up and was chirping by the window.
Hearing the bird’s call, the waitress sister turned and gasped in surprise.
“What a beautiful bird!”
Xiao Tuanzi proudly lifted her chin. “She’s mine.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the doorbell suddenly rang.
The waitress walked to the door and glanced through the peephole, reminded of yesterday’s events.
It was two police officers in uniform.
She hesitated for a moment before opening the door. “Officers, what is it now?”
The officers at the door were not the same ones from the police station yesterday.
“Hello, is this Zhang Guosheng’s home?”
The older sister was momentarily stunned to hear her father’s name and didn’t react at first.
Seeing her silence, the officer checked the house number again and continued.
“Hello, ten years ago, Zhang Guosheng reported that his daughter had gone missing.
Yesterday, we received a set of remains. After comparing the DNA with the records from that time, it’s possible they belong to the daughter who went missing ten years ago.
However, we tried calling him but couldn’t get through, so we came to the address on file. Does he no longer live here?”
The waitress sister took two steps back in shock.
Memories came flooding back.
When she was young, her older sister went missing after school.
Her parents searched everywhere and entrusted her to her grandmother.
Two years ago, her grandmother passed away, and her parents never returned.
She had always avoided thinking about these things.
Now…
“My sister… Mom and Dad…”
The officer picked up on her words. “Are you Zhang Guosheng’s daughter?”
“I am.”
The officer sighed, his tone heavy.
“Miss Zhang, we’ve discovered a set of remains that may be related to your missing sister. We’d like to ask you to come to the police station for a DNA comparison.”
The waitress sister’s legs went weak, and she leaned against the wall for support.
Xiao Tuanzi stood behind her, grabbing two of her fingers with her small hand.
“Don’t be scared, sister. Qingqing is here.”
The officer noticed Qingxuan. “Who is this child?”
“She’s the little sister who saved me yesterday.”
The waitress sister steadied herself, wiped away her tears, and asked, “Officer, it’s been ten years. How could bones suddenly appear now?”
“We just received a report. Someone left an ‘item’ at the police station entrance, so we went to investigate.”
The officer didn’t explicitly say it, but the item at the entrance was a piece of human bone.
“Please come with us for a comparison. We’ll notify you as soon as we have the results.”
The waitress sister nodded and turned to look at Qingxuan.
“Little sister, I need to go to the police station.”
“I’ll go with you!” Qingxuan looked up at her with her round eyes.
Lingfeng jumped onto her shoulder. 【Xiao Tuanzi, what are you planning?】
“Of course, to help.”
Qingxuan said proudly, taking the waitress sister’s hand.
“Let’s go, sister. I’ll stay with you.”
At the police station, the waitress sister sat on a bench, her face pale.
Xiao Qingxuan sat down beside her.
The two little ones were peeking through the window nearby, angrily stomping their paws.
With their noble lineage, they weren’t even allowed inside.
Suddenly.
Xiao Qingxuan frowned, looking toward the end of the corridor.
A faint trace of resentment and an inexplicable sense of familiarity drifted from there.
【Xiao Tuanzi, that resentment feels familiar.】 Xiaobai sensed it too.
Xiao Qingxuan nodded but said nothing.
Just then, a female officer walked over, holding a file.
“Miss Zhang, the results are in. The remains are indeed your sister’s.”
The waitress sister slumped, tears streaming down her face.
“My sister is gone, and my parents never came back either.”
Xiao Qingxuan suddenly spoke up, “Officer sister, can I see that sister?”
The female officer was taken aback. Those were remains, and they should technically be returned to the family.
She glanced at the waitress sister.
She brought over the remains, placed in an urn, and handed them to her.
As soon as Xiao Qingxuan touched the edge of the urn, a wave of resentment dissipated.
【Thank you, little sister. You really brought me home.】
It turned out to be the female ghost whom Eldest Senior Brother had performed Soul Deliverance for when they descended the mountain.
【Xiao Tuanzi, Master told you not to interfere with karma casually.】
Xiaobai recognized it too. Having lived for a century, it immediately understood the key point.
【Well, her wish is fulfilled now. She can rest in peace and reincarnate.】
Lingfeng licked its paws, feeling hungry.
The waitress sister trembled as she held the urn.
The female officer sighed and handed her a tissue.
“Miss Zhang, please accept our condolences. We reviewed the case files from back then. Your sister was only seventeen when she went missing. She was abducted by human traffickers. Surveillance wasn’t advanced back then, and although the police arrested several traffickers, they couldn’t find her.”
“Human traffickers.” Zhang Yali sobbed.
“My parents went looking for her and never came back.”
Xiao Qingxuan quickly calculated with one hand and spoke in her childish voice.
“Sister, the people who abducted her back then are the same group who tried to kidnap you yesterday.”
The waitress sister looked up sharply. “What did you say?”
“The auntie told me.”
Xiao Qingxuan gently touched the urn.
“That man has a crescent-shaped scar on his hand. There was also someone like that in the van chasing you yesterday.”
Upon hearing this, the female officer immediately took out her notepad.
“You encountered human traffickers yesterday too? And you noticed that man’s features? Anything else?”
Qingxuan closed her eyes, recalling the female ghost’s words.
“He wears a string of prayer beads around his neck, but instead of Buddhist mantras, they’re engraved with numbers—something like ’73?'”
“731,” the female officer interjected.
“This set of numbers recently appeared in another case—it’s the code name for a human trafficking ring.”
The waitress was horrified and grabbed Xiao Qingxuan’s hand.
“Little sister, what about my parents?”
Xiao Tuanzi closed her eyes again and calculated.
“They’re still alive, in an abandoned mine shaft to the northwest, but they’re fading fast.”
The poor parents had traveled to a remote village some days earlier.
They discovered the traffickers’ village, were thrown into the mine shaft to fend for themselves, and were now at the end of their rope.
“Officers, please, go save my parents!”
The waitress fell to her knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down her face.
The policewoman quickly helped her up. “Calm down first—this is just a child’s playful words.”
An abandoned mine shaft to the northwest—how far northwest?
Xiao Qingxuan stood up directly and headed for the door.
Seeing this, the waitress hurried after her.
“Little sister, let’s take a taxi.”
The policewoman watched the two leave, momentarily stunned.
Today’s events were a bit hard to believe.
Better report it to the supervisor first.
【Xiao Tuanzi, are you really going to see this through to the end?】 Lingfeng asked worriedly.
【These people aren’t easy to deal with.】 Xiaobai chimed in.
“Master said, to see someone in danger and not help is to betray the path of cultivation.”
Qingxuan glanced at the urn. “Besides, I promised her.”
The waitress was taken aback. “Promised?”
Qingxuan nodded. “I met her when I came down the mountain and promised to find her family.”