Old Master Li finally caught his breath and handed over the kettle he’d just drunk from. “Here, all of you—have a sip of water and steady yourselves.”
Li Luoyu nodded. “Yes, yes, drink a bit more. My water’s sweet.”
The water had been diluted ten thousand times from the spiritual spring by Xiao Liuli. It might not be strong enough to cleanse the body and marrow, but it would at least ease their fatigue.
Once she was seated, Li Luoyu pulled out her own small canteen from the canvas bag and took a big gulp of undiluted spiritual spring water. The cool, pure liquid slid down her throat, instantly calming the heat in her chest. Above, the ceiling fan droned. Her gaze swept over the noisy carriage, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.
The train departed from the capital and was bound for Heilongjiang. They would get off five stops before the terminal.
Logically, a carriage at the starting station shouldn’t be this crowded. Yet the aisles were crammed with luggage of all sizes. Bamboo baskets held live chickens squawking noisily. Faces of every kind filled the space—some tearful, some smiling, some grumbling curses, and some… furtive.
An old woman, acting suspiciously.
She held a child in her arms, dressed in a washed-out gray blouse. A headscarf covered half her face, but when she turned her head, a corn-sized black mole behind her ear was exposed. Her fingernails tapped rhythmically against the seat seam—steady, precise, like she was sending some kind of signal.
Li Luoyu nudged Old Cui with her elbow. Following her gaze, Old Cui’s drowsy eyes snapped wide open. The tapping—its rhythm unmistakable—was like an old telegraph machine. It was Morse code.
Translation: “Target secured. Rendezvous at the next stop.”
Old Cui’s body tensed involuntarily. As a military research expert with thirty years of experience, he had seen countless overt and covert threats—assassinations, poisonings, ambushes. A crude code like this was easy for him to decipher.
“She’s using standard Morse code,” he whispered, barely audible. “It means: ‘Target secured. Rendezvous at the next stop.’”
Li Luoyu narrowed her eyes. Her gaze seemed casual, but it was locked on the old woman. The half-covered face, the sleeping child… for some reason, the words human trafficker suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her spiritual sense swept over them. The child was delicate and adorable, with a plump, fair little face like a rosy apple. The old woman, however, had slanted eyes and a sharp chin—no resemblance whatsoever. Her left arm supported the child, while her right hand held a bag positioned oddly high, clearly concealing something.
As she withdrew her spiritual sense, she left a mental mark on both the woman and the child for tracking.
Li Luoyu twitched her lips. Novels didn’t lie—trains really were hotspots for trouble.
Old Cui started to rise to call the railway police, but Li Luoyu pressed him down. Lowering her voice, she said, “Grandpa Cui, don’t rush. Wait until the train starts moving. And she’s not alone—there are accomplices in this carriage. Don’t alert them yet.”
Meanwhile, Old Master Li was chatting away with Old Pei about the past. Turning his head, he caught sight of his granddaughter and Old Cui leaning close together, whispering about something.
“Whew—” A red armband with a collapsed nose finally squeezed through the crowd into their carriage. The red cloth band on his arm had slipped down to his armpit. “Didn’t expect you old fogies… to move so fast. Already found seats, huh?”
Another tall, thin red armband followed behind, clutching a crumpled ticket marked “Row 3, Seat 6,” clearly for the seat behind Li Luoyu.
Li Luoyu shot them a cold glance. “Watch your mouth. Who are you calling ‘old fogies’?”
The flat-nosed man stiffened his neck. “I’m calling you old fogies—what, you want to rebel? You little—”
“Hey, hey, Wang Hu, slow down.” The tall one dragged him away before he could finish cursing. “Let’s sit down first. Too crowded—if we lose the seats, we’ll be standing the whole way…”
Wang Hu thought about it—fair enough. Too many shameless people and too few seats. He didn’t want to stand all the way.
Li Luoyu curled her lips and closed her eyes to rest, her spiritual sense enveloping the entire carriage.
“Woo—clank!”
The train started moving. Those with seats sat, and those without grabbed onto whatever they could.
Li Luoyu stood, preparing to find the railway police about the traffickers. But as soon as she turned, Wang Hu called out, “Hey! Where are you going? You’re not allowed to walk around freely—don’t you know that?”
He and the other red armband kept their eyes fixed on them, like guarding against thieves, afraid they might run off.
Li Luoyu wasn’t angry. People like them, being sent down, really weren’t allowed out of sight. She scratched her head irritably and pointed toward the carriage connection. “I’m going to the restroom.”
Wang Hu rubbed his nose, suddenly remembering she was just a young girl. He glanced at her grandfather—well, with him here, she probably wouldn’t run. He waved his hand. “Fine. Be quick.”
“Mm.” She nodded and turned away.
Passing through a couple of foul-smelling carriages, she finally reached the soft sleeper section, where two railway police in blue caps stood.
She walked quickly over and lowered her voice. “Comrade, I have something to report.”
“What is it?” the younger officer asked.
She glanced at the noisy surroundings. “Not a good place to talk.”
The older officer touched the gun at his waist. “Then come with us.”
They led her to a small compartment used as their office. Only then did she speak seriously:
“There are three human traffickers in Car No. 12. One is an old woman holding a chubby child, wearing a gray blouse, with a headscarf covering half her face. There’s a mole the size of a corn kernel behind her neck.”
“One is a burly man in blue work clothes, with a scar at the end of his left eyebrow. He has a gun at his waist.”
“And the third… a woman around thirty, wearing a red floral dacron blouse. There’s a scar from a pierced ear on her left earlobe. The child she’s holding was fed milk mixed with a sedative—they should still be unconscious.”
A ripple of surprise flashed in the older officer’s eyes. “How do you know all this?”
Just before departure, several fully armed soldiers had boarded the train, saying a brigade commander’s grandson had been kidnapped. They had only just begun searching carriage by carriage—and this girl had already uncovered it?
Li Luoyu met his gaze calmly. “Observation. If you don’t go now, they’ll get off at the next stop.”
The younger officer sprang up. “I’ll call for backup!”
The older officer looked at her seriously. “You’re impressive, young lady. Sharp observation. Ever thought about joining the railway police?”
Cases of trafficking, espionage, theft, robbery, speculation, even riots—these were common on the railways. Someone like her, who could see through disguises and pinpoint anomalies, would greatly improve their efficiency.
Li Luoyu blinked, puzzled. “?”
Was it really that easy to get a railway job these days? Still, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she smiled and shook her head. “I’m being sent down with my grandfather. Not suitable for this kind of work.”
The older officer opened his mouth, then closed it. Matters involving “sent-down” individuals were beyond a regular railway officer’s authority. After a pause, he said, “Mm… there will always be a place where you can shine.”
He had seen too many children of the so-called “stinking ninth category”—their eyes either full of fear or empty with numbness. But this girl was different. There was light in her eyes—like tempered steel—sharp and clear in a way that didn’t belong to someone her age.