Bai Li glanced at Chen Huasheng and, seeing that his green military uniform was still relatively clean, reluctantly said, “Alright!”
Upon hearing this, Chen Huasheng promptly picked up Bai Li and pulled two pieces of White Rabbit milk candies from his pocket. “Li Li, here are two candies—one for you and one for your brother.”
Bai Li smiled as she took the candies and immediately handed one to Guo Jingbo. “Brother, have some candy.”
Guo Jingbo frowned. “Li Li, Mom and Dad taught us not to take candy from strangers.”
Bai Li grew impatient. She unwrapped the candy and shoved it into Guo Jingbo’s mouth. “Uncle Sheng is Dad’s deputy, not a stranger!”
This Taotie, what’s he dawdling for? The sooner the bad guys reveal themselves, the sooner we can catch them and earn Karmic Merit.
She was in a hurry. After earning the Karmic Merit, she still had to go back and find Dad, bring him home, and slap Wei Linlang in the face.
Guo Jingbo wanted to say something more, but with a candy suddenly stuffed into his mouth, his instinct was to spit it out. However, when he saw the death glare Bai Li shot at him, he pursed his lips and kept the candy in his mouth, reluctantly chewing on that peculiarly flavored sugar.
Seeing Guo Jingbo eating the candy with teary eyes, Bai Li also unwrapped her candy and put it into her mouth—though in reality, she tossed it into her Companion Space.
As she did so, she sighed at her own miscalculation. She should have placed a trash can in her Companion Space to store all these tampered items in the future.
Seeing that both Bai Li and Guo Jingbo had eaten the candy, Chen Huasheng’s smile widened even further.
In less than a minute, Guo Jingbo felt a wave of dizziness. He immediately realized the drug in the candy was taking effect and hurriedly looked up to warn Bai Li. “Li Li, this candy…” (It’s tainted, spit it out!)
But before he could finish, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
Seeing Guo Jingbo faint, Bai Li immediately put on a look of panic. She stiffened in Chen Huasheng’s arms, kicking her legs wildly as she cried out, “Brother, what’s wrong with you? Put me down, I want to see my brother!”
Feeling Bai Li trying to break free from his hold, Chen Huasheng instinctively tightened his grip, trying to keep her from escaping—and naturally received a few kicks from Bai Li in the process.
Bai Li’s kicks were strong, and she deliberately put more force into them. Chen Huasheng felt sharp pains in his stomach and thighs, cursing inwardly: This little brat, just wait until I take her back—I’ll teach her a lesson then.
With that thought, he tightened his arms even more, preventing Bai Li from breaking free.
However, after kicking twice, Bai Li suddenly went limp and collapsed into Chen Huasheng’s arms.
“Li Li, what’s wrong? Wake up!” Chen Huasheng pretended to shake her gently.
…
Bai Li lay motionless in Chen Huasheng’s arms, unresponsive.
Seeing this, Chen Huasheng whistled.
Immediately, a burly middle-aged man in gray clothes emerged from behind a tree and walked over to Chen Huasheng. He nudged Guo Jingbo with his foot, his face full of disdain. “Why is there another kid?”
Chen Huasheng shot a cold glare at the gray-clad man. “Lao Yang, be careful. If you wake this boy up and he starts making noise, none of us will get away.”
“He followed this girl out of the Yu family, so he must be very close to them. One is as good as two—let’s take them both back. Otherwise, when he wakes up, it’ll be trouble.”
Lao Yang reluctantly picked up Guo Jingbo and followed behind Chen Huasheng, quickly heading toward the winding, undulating deep mountains not far from the military district. As he walked, he grumbled, “I don’t know how this little brat grew up—he’s really heavy…”
Chen Huasheng listened to Lao Yang’s complaints the whole way and grew impatient. “Lao Yang, he’s a six-year-old child who doesn’t even look fat. How heavy can he be? Are you not up to it anymore? If you’re not, we don’t need you for this.”
Neither of them noticed that Bai Li’s little hair bun had come loose, and two hair ties had fallen to the ground.
Hearing Chen Huasheng’s threatening words, Lao Yang didn’t dare say anything more. Silently, he followed behind Chen Huasheng, climbed halfway up the mountain, and entered a cave.
The cave entrance was wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Inside, it was even more level and spacious, covering dozens of square meters, and it had been tidied up by someone.
After setting Guo Jingbo down, Lao Yang plopped onto the ground, panting heavily. “I can’t go on—I need to rest for a bit.”
Chen Huasheng also placed Bai Li beside Guo Jingbo and gave Lao Yang a disdainful look. “Lao Yang, I really don’t know how you got so useless. Carrying a child for such a short distance and you’re already done for.”
Lao Yang, who had been looked down on repeatedly, grew angry. Pointing at Guo Jingbo, he shouted at Chen Huasheng, “You try picking him up and see!”
Chen Huasheng ignored Lao Yang, turned around, and sat down inside the cave. His eyes were as cold as a snake’s, fixed intently on Bai Li and Guo Jingbo. “I don’t have time to argue with you. Keep an eye on these two. Whether we can get our second brother back depends on how much they mean to the Yu family.”
The anger on Lao Yang’s face faded, replaced by a worried expression. “I wonder if the boss will be discovered by the military district when he delivers the letter. When will he come back?”
Chen Huasheng seemed to be answering Lao Yang, yet also talking to himself. “The boss knows what he’s doing—no need for you to worry!”
After that, neither of them spoke again, and the cave fell into silence.
Bai Li lay on the ground, piecing together important information from what she had heard along the way. These two men were not from the military district. They had originally intended to capture her, likely to use her to threaten her father or the military district into releasing their second brother. However, they hadn’t expected Guo Jingbo to follow her out, so they took him as well.
But why were these two coincidentally waiting outside the Yu family just as she left the house?
If they had been lying in ambush outside the Yu family all along, she didn’t believe it. The military district’s residential compound had patrols. It was normal for outsiders to linger outside the Yu family for a short time, but they couldn’t possibly wait there all day.
Just as Bai Li was pondering this, footsteps echoed from the cave entrance. Soon, a tall man dressed in black walked in from outside.
“Boss, you’re back?” Lao Yang was delighted to see the man. He jumped up with a smile and walked over to him. “Did the military district receive the letter?”
The boss coldly glanced at Lao Yang and was about to speak when his peripheral vision caught sight of Guo Jingbo. Suddenly, he let out two hearty laughs. “It seems even the heavens are on our side. Our chances of rescuing our second brother have just increased.”
Lao Yang was puzzled, looking at the leader with confusion. “Boss, why do you say that?”
The leader pointed at Guo Jingbo, his voice tinged with excitement. “Do you know who he is?”
Lao Yang shook his head. “No. Ah Sheng was afraid this boy might ruin our plan, so he told me to carry him up the mountain.”
“Boss, let me say this—the fewer people who know about our plan, the safer it is. One more person means one more risk. I’ve never understood why Ah Sheng insisted on bringing this boy up the mountain. Wouldn’t it have been better to just finish him off directly?”