Just as she was about to explain, the words on the tip of her tongue died when she saw Xiao Manxue following the doctor toward the brick kiln in the back. She hurriedly limped after her.
When she saw the horrific state Lu Jianguo was in as he was carried out of the old brick kiln, Xiao Manxue's suspended heart finally settled. But Zhou Qichuan's brows were tightly knitted—how could Lu Jianguo be injured this severely?
"What exactly happened?" He wanted to get answers from Shen Linzhou.
But Shen Linzhou stood there motionless, his face revealing nothing, only his clenched fists betraying the turmoil inside him. Shen Linzhou had witnessed the entire incident with his own eyes—Xiao Mandong had been left with no choice. He couldn't say anything now, afraid that a wrong word might bring trouble to Xiao Mandong. Better to wait until she returned and then figure things out together.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mandong, following the route Lu Jianguo had just described to her, finally caught up with the three people.
After about half an hour of walking, Wang Yuanyuan was led by the skinny tall man into a mud-brick house. Xiao Mandong didn't follow them; instead, she trailed the other man, heading west.
After another ten-plus minutes, she saw the man enter a courtyard.
Xiao Mandong circled around from the vegetable garden at the back to the window and listened carefully for a long time, but she didn't hear any child crying.
Xiao Mandong anxiously rubbed her hands together. What should she do? Maybe she should go back and get help—she already knew the address. She didn't dare go in; she was no match for that man, otherwise she wouldn't have been struggling to fend him off just moments ago.
If there were even two more people inside, she'd surely be done for. She still had so many things left to do—she hadn't lived enough yet. Thinking this, Xiao Mandong turned to leave, but the person behind her nearly made her scream. She was silenced by a hand clamped over her mouth.
"Don't yell. What are you afraid of?" It was Lin Wenya.
"When did you follow me? I had no idea." Seeing Lin Wenya, Xiao Mandong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was right behind you the whole time. You were probably too focused on them to notice me."
Xiao Mandong sighed heavily: "That man went into this courtyard, but I didn't hear any child crying. I don't know if the kid is asleep. It's just the two of us now—what good will that do? Let's go back and get more people!"
"Fine, you go. I'll stay here and keep watch, see if I can figure out whether the child is here."
Xiao Mandong couldn't possibly leave Lin Wenya alone here. If anyone should stay, it should be her—she had her space, a place to hide.
But Lin Wenya insisted, and Xiao Mandong didn't want to waste any more time. She could only hand her surgical knife to Lin Wenya for protection, then quickly disappeared into the night.
She ran all the way to the police station. Director Lin led his men and drove over to Daxi Village.
When they arrived at the spot where Xiao Mandong and Lin Wenya had been hiding, there was no sign of Lin Wenya.
The hunched man who had accompanied them to the black market earlier had come along too. Though he wasn't tall, he wasn't hunched at all—his posture was straight and his movements were agile. With a single light leap, he vaulted over the courtyard wall. Moments later, the front door swung open. Xiao Mandong walked into the courtyard and saw that Lin Wenya had already tied up the entire family with rope, stuffing rags into their mouths. How Lin Wenya had managed it was beyond her. The tall man was curled up in the corner, beaten black and blue.
Xiao Mandong spotted the woman who had taken the child at first glance: "She's the one who took the baby." Without any hesitation, Xiao Mandong pointed her out.
When the woman saw Xiao Mandong, her pupils contracted sharply. She never expected it to be this little wretch. The tall man tried to struggle to his feet to attack Xiao Mandong, but he was bound too tightly.
Seeing the man's move, Lin Wenya strode over and kicked him square in the chest. He was shoved backward, slammed into the wall, and collapsed to the ground.
The man never imagined he'd be brought down by two women.
The entire family was loaded into police cars and taken back to the station for questioning. Lin Wenya had sustained some injuries herself, though nothing that looked serious. On the way back, Xiao Mandong learned that Lin Wenya, despite her delicate appearance, was actually a female public security officer who had undergone special forces training. No wonder Director Lin had brought these two along during the last black market trip. Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover.
Xiao Mandong returned to the hospital first. She needed to see Xiao Manxue and also fetch a doctor to go to the brick kiln and save that damn Lu Jianguo. Who knows if bleeding for so long would cause real damage—but at the time, she'd had no choice. If she hadn't struck hard, Lu Jianguo would have kept harassing her. She simply didn't have the time.
As soon as she walked into the hospital, she saw Zhou Qichuan at the payment counter, preparing to pay a fee.
"Zhou Qichuan, what are you doing here?"
Hearing Xiao Mandong's voice, Zhou Qichuan spun around: "Where did you go? What exactly happened? How did Lu Jianguo end up like that?" Zhou Qichuan fired off three questions in a row.
"He and a human trafficker kidnapped my sister, and he tried to assault me. I accidentally hurt him. The trafficker had a child, so I went to rescue the child."
Xiao Mandong's answer was brief and to the point. She had already thought through her story. She'd filed a report about Lu Jianguo kidnapping Xiao Manxue, which made her actions self-defense. She'd also told Director Lin the full story just now—minus the part about Wang Yuanyuan, of course.
Xiao Mandong was confident that since she'd helped Director Lin find that family, he would absolutely have her back.
Zhou Qichuan really couldn't figure out this Xiao Mandong. Or rather, he'd never once understood this woman's logic from the very beginning.
Xiao Mandong followed Zhou Qichuan to the operating room entrance, where Shen Linzhou was also waiting. He didn't know how to ask either, and with so many people around, he kept his mouth shut.
When Xiao Manxue saw Xiao Mandong, she ran over and grabbed her sister's arm tightly. She had been terrified out of her mind.
Before long, the operating room door opened. Lu Jianguo was wheeled out, pale as paper, his leg wrapped in gauze. Still unconscious from the anesthesia.
The doctor removed his mask: "Who are the family members? He's out of danger, but the tendon in his leg was severed too completely. Even with the best recovery, he'll likely never fully regain function in that leg. You need to be prepared for that."
Just as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor. Several people in public security uniforms strode over, led by the formerly hunched man. They flashed their badges and said in a deep voice: "Who is Lu Jianguo? We're here regarding the case of Lu Jianguo's suspected kidnapping of Xiao Manxue. We'll need relevant parties to cooperate in making statements."
Xiao Mandong had already told her sister not to lie—just tell the truth from start to finish, including how Xiao Mandong had sent her away to alert the Lin family.
As for Xiao Mandong severing Lu Jianguo's leg tendon—that had happened between just the two of them with no witnesses. As long as she stuck to her story that Lu Jianguo was about to assault her and she accidentally cut him with the surgical knife while defending herself, no witness was needed. That's exactly how the sequence of events should logically unfold.
