The first to rush forward was Huang Guilian. Hearing the description of the “corpse,” a tidal wave of despair crashed over her. Almost crazed, she shook off her husband, stepped in front of the women, grabbed one by the clothes, and screamed, “Boy or girl? How old? What was he wearing? He’s definitely not this tall, right?!”
The women were frightened too and struggled to get free. Seeing her well-dressed but disheveled, seemingly unhinged, they realized she was a madwoman. The scene descended into chaos. Jiang Yan and Wang Zhang arrived to separate the crowd. Wang Zhang specifically took the two women aside and explained the situation. Upon hearing that the child might be her missing son, the women softened. No wonder she was behaving so unusually—anyone in her position, having lost their only child, would be frantic.
Though they weren’t actual witnesses, simply recounting what they’d heard, the fact that the age matched was enough to send Huang Guilian’s heart plummeting.
The municipal leaders had already coordinated with the female doctor who had arrived early, making sure she kept an eye on the overseas couple for timely medical attention. Wei Jingrui himself squatted on the ground, tugging at his thinning hair. This was his first time handling such an important meeting—and it had gone disastrously wrong. Not to mention the life of his child, if word of this got out, who would dare invest here again? The Western media had always been painting them negatively; now that this incident had occurred, they would surely exaggerate it further.
In his breakdown, no one listened. Wang Zhang, after checking on the land temple situation, cursed. Jiang Yan, more meticulous, asked the women, “Are you sure the child is dead, or are you exaggerating?”
“Positive. We heard the child’s body was stiff, the face had turned blue. And if he were alive, why wrap him in a tattered mat? Why leave him in that corner?” The women’s words only thickened the tense atmosphere.
Exchanging glances, Jiang Yan and Wang Zhang noticed the cars and police around—this wasn’t a situation they could meddle with, so they held their tongues and slipped away.
Familiar with the terrain, Wang Zhang knew the child was at the land temple and prepared to retrieve the body. But Huang Guilian, now no longer crying or shouting, calmly said she wanted to go with him.
“A-Lian…” Wei Jingrui tried to stop her. If he could, he would bear all the guilt and sorrow himself, not letting his wife suffer any more.
She didn’t shout, only tears streaming like a faucet.
“My parents wanted a son desperately, but until I was born as the seventh child, they never got their wish. They hated me, named me Huang Lian, to make my life bitter. But I refused. After leaving that family, I changed my name. Gui Tonggui—they doubted me, but I insisted on a name full of worth, to show them that my life would not be bitter. I have no children, they laughed at me—let them laugh. I don’t care. But my son is mine. He won’t die so easily. He’s still waiting for me to save him… I will bring him home.”
Her voice was low, half a whisper, half accusation, her mind seemingly unsteady.
A Cai, already in tears, slapped himself several times. It was all his fault. All his fault!
Wu Guan, like a spring wound tight, ran tirelessly through the night. Following the address, he reached the guesthouse. Before joining the military, his hometown had a traditional Chinese doctor—any minor ailments were sent to him, though the effects were limited. People often said the herbal remedies were mostly for psychological comfort; for real illness, they didn’t work quickly.
But today, Wu Guan was about to overturn that conclusion. He had witnessed with his own eyes how a child teetering on the brink of death was saved by a traditional doctor. Under Sang Zhi’s miraculous hands, the child had revived.
Once the child regained consciousness, they learned his residence to report the news. Pushing through the crowds outside, Wu Guan shouted, “Is the Wei Lingdong family here? Your child has been found!”
A man half a head taller than Wu Guan, with deep, dark features, suddenly attacked him. The man was capable enough to be a bodyguard for the son of the Rubber King, skilled in Jeet Kune Do, Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Karate. Wu Guan was caught off guard by the sneak attack, but his reflexes were quick, and he countered.
The two fought fiercely. Though young and initially able to block some moves, Wu Guan gradually fell behind. A high kick came down, and A Cai, tall and furious, focused all his strength in a right-leg strike. If Wu Guan hadn’t blocked it, at minimum, a fracture would have occurred.
No one expected him to fight with such recklessness. The fierce wind whipped across their foreheads as he froze. But just in time, someone pulled him aside to intercept the attack. Jiang Yan, familiar with the compound, moved quickly. What Wu Guan thought was a decisive move, Jiang Yan considered insignificant. With rapid precision, he struck the opponent’s elbow and hand, deflected A Cai’s attack, and during a moment of imbalance, grabbed his leg and executed a judo-style throw. Nearly two hundred pounds, and the man was effortlessly thrown to the ground, a cloud of dust rising.
The man, unwilling to yield, got up to attack again. But the maneuvers he had usually executed with ease, which had once made him proud, now became a liability. Any observer could see that he was gradually losing.
It wasn’t surprising he doubted himself. Despite being a seasoned competitor and frequent winner in many matches, Jiang Yan was no ordinary opponent.
His techniques were honed through real combat training, forged on the battlefield—not some flashy moves with no substance. If he had a proper weapon in hand, he could even kill in just a few moves.
Wei Jingrui scolded A Cai sharply, telling him not to act recklessly. A Cai, in tears again, hung his head dejectedly. Even his once-proud, perfectly sculpted chest drooped. He struggled through his halting Chinese to complain: “They kill people, and then come after us! If you ask me, they took the person and now pretend to be merciful like a cat crying over a mouse!”
Everyone else was confused. Jiang Yan translated it: “They killed someone, then came to mess with us. In my opinion, they took the person, then feign pity like a cat crying over a mouse.” But that wasn’t the main point. The key was that the soldier bringing the news said the child was still alive.
Wu Guan was immediately surrounded. After experiencing waves of grief and relief, the municipal leaders anxiously asked him where the child had been found. They speculated that the child who had just suffered misfortune might not be the overseas couple’s son. It wasn’t that they cared less about other children, but at this critical juncture, having the Wei family’s child alive was strategically more advantageous.
“At the land temple!” Wu Guan replied. Before the Cultural Revolution, that place had been well-known, so everyone immediately knew the location. After he spoke, the crowd’s spirits sank again. Weren’t those two women saying earlier that they found a corpse there?
“Is it alive or dead?” Wang Zhang shouted, fuming, grabbing Wu Guan.
“It’s alive now, but earlier it seemed dead. I can’t guarantee it’ll still be alive later—it was a bit dangerous…” The back-and-forth of dead and alive left everyone’s heads spinning.
Jiang Yan, however, understood: the child was still alive. After repeatedly confirming the accuracy and reliability of the news, he informed the overseas couple. Huang Guilian’s eyes lit up with unrestrained joy. She grabbed her husband’s sleeve, repeatedly asking if he had heard correctly.
“My son isn’t dead! I knew he was safe!” she exclaimed, urging Wu Guan to lead the way.
Tonight had truly been a rollercoaster, full of life-threatening danger. The municipal leaders and the head of the Overseas Affairs Office exchanged glances, bitterly aware of the ordeal. At a time like this, whether disaster or fortune, they had to witness it together.
The other overseas investors, after this incident, mostly lost interest in investing. Western news had it right: this land was uncivilized, a place where seeds of evil could grow—investing here would likely be wasted.
But now, with such a dramatic turn of events, they wanted to see what happened. Some, thinking carefully, noted that the child had just narrowly escaped death and now needed a doctor—their Western medical team happened to be with them. Driven partly by curiosity, everyone silently followed.