"Those who share your stance."
A clear voice rang out, but not from Xia Yunting's lips.
Rong Zhi walked in from the outside, her gaze falling on Liu Hong. Xia Yunting also looked at him, retracting his killing intent.
"Liu Hong, you're involved in the missing person cases, aren't you?" Rong Zhi asked.
This direct approach surprised Liu Hong a little, but it also confirmed for him that these two were not from Yanzi Mountain.
Thinking this, he relaxed a bit.
"I'm not a human trafficker."
"You're an accomplice to human traffickers."
This was not a question, Rong Zhi stated it with absolute certainty, which made Liu Hong panic. He never expected her to guess so quickly. But then he thought, they had no proof, so why should he fear her?
"What makes you say that?"
"Based on your actions tonight. That girl just returned, and you were so eager to take her away. If you're not a human trafficker, who are you?"
"Just on that point? I cannot be convinced."
"Oh? Then explain, why were you in that girl's house in the middle of the night, and why did you want to take her away?"
Seeing that Liu Hong wasn't overly flustered and spoke calmly, Rong Zhi knew he must have some plausible excuse ready. She was curious to hear it.
"I just... wanted to see her more."
Well, this was a love story?
"You like her?"
Liu Hong didn't answer, but his silence conveyed the answer.
"You like her, so why didn't you openly propose to her family? Why sneak her away in the middle of the night? Are you trying to ruin her reputation?"
"You saw what happened during the day. Lu Yuanxiu said those things. Even if I married her legitimately, we wouldn't be able to live in the village. I'm alone, and if I take her with me, we can live anywhere. If we stay here, we'll be living under the gossip of others for the rest of our lives."
His words were reasonable, and his tone, full of deep affection and helplessness, almost convinced Rong Zhi.
"Where could you go? Is it that secret room in the cave?"
"How did you know?"
Liu Hong blurted out, then immediately regretted his slip of the tongue.
Hmph, she was almost deceived by him.
If he truly liked Gu Xinlan as he claimed, he could have eloped with her before. Why didn't he? It was obvious he was lying.
"Liu Hong, you saved that girl, but you dare not send her back. What are you afraid of?" Rong Zhi leaned closer to Liu Hong, observing him. "Are you afraid she'll reveal you're a human trafficker when she returns, or are you afraid the people behind them will retaliate against you when they find out you saved her?"
As she spoke the last part, Rong Zhi noticed a flicker of panic on Liu Hong's face, and she knew she had guessed correctly.
Liu Hong remained silent. Rong Zhi continued, "Don't worry, as I said, our stance is the same. As long as you tell us everything you know, my husband and I will do our best to help you."
"Who exactly are you?"
"Just people who can't stand injustice when they see it."
Liu Hong was silent, seemingly hesitating whether to speak.
"You can choose not to tell us, but now that the girl has returned home, the people behind them will sooner or later investigate and find out that you were the one who saved her. At that time, not only will they deal with you, but the villagers will also know you are an accomplice to human traffickers. No one will stand by you. But if you tell us, we will help you deal with the human trafficking ring. Tonight's events can also be kept secret, guaranteeing your safety."
The pros and cons were clearly analyzed. Not telling them would result in being attacked from both sides. Telling them offered a sliver of hope.
"Can I trust you?"
"What, you don't believe in our strength? Husband, show him something."
Rong Zhi patted Xia Yunting's chest.
Xia Yunting, who had been listening quietly, nodded. He walked to the base of the wall and kicked it with all his might. With a crack, the wall broke, and it crashed to the ground with a roar, shattering into pieces.
Liu Hong stared in astonishment.
Rong Zhi's mouth twitched. What a spendthrift! She asked him to show off, and he ended up destroying their house.
"It's useless," Liu Hong sighed, regaining his composure.
"They have too many people. If I could deal with them, I would have done so long ago."
Too many people? It seemed to be quite a large group.
"About how many people are there?"
"There are... twenty or thirty."
"Where is their base?"
"Yanzi Mountain."
"When is the next operation?"
"I don't know."
Rong Zhi looked at Liu Hong.
"I really don't know," Liu Hong frowned, seeming to recall something.
"I only know that there used to be a bandit stronghold in Yanzi Mountain. Those people killed the bandits, occupied the stronghold, and started engaging in human trafficking. I happened to be passing by alone at the time and was captured. I pretended to join them to avoid death. I saw the people they had captured in the bandit stronghold. I originally wanted to release them all, but they discovered me. In the end, I only managed to bring out this one."
Hearing this, Rong Zhi's eyes lit up. Knowing the location was good.
"What kind of people are they?"
"The boss is called Ma San. He wields a large saber and has over 20 subordinates. Their fist and foot skills are good, and they are particularly skilled at hiding. They are ruthless. If someone doesn't comply, they beat them first. If it's a girl, they'll likely..."
He couldn't continue after that, but Rong Zhi understood. In a word, these people were beasts.
"Where do they sell the people they capture?"
"I don't know about that. Ma San and his younger brother, Ma Si, handle the sales personally. The ordinary subordinates never get involved, let alone a newcomer like me."
This was also normal. Rong Zhi didn't doubt it, but it raised a new question.
"You saved that girl, so why did you return to Yunshui Village? Aren't you afraid of retaliation if the human traffickers see you?"
"They haven't come for a long time."
After Liu Hong took Gu Xinlan away, he spent some time in hiding. Although he was nominally a hunter in Yunshui Village, he would hide in the mountains for eight out of ten days, occasionally coming down to see if the human traffickers were still around.
Only when he noticed that the human traffickers appeared less frequently did he gradually return to living in the village. However, he didn't know how to explain Gu Xinlan's situation, and he was afraid Gu Xinlan would tell the villagers about his past involvement with human traffickers if she returned. Therefore, he had not allowed her to go back. Who would have thought that Gu Xinlan was already mentally unstable when he first rescued her? After hiding with him for a while, she had completely gone mad.
He felt even more guilty and didn't know how to face the villagers. Only recently had he found that secret room in the cave, thinking it would be fine for Gu Xinlan to live there. He never expected it to be discovered so quickly.
"If they don't come to us, we can go to them. Perhaps we can rescue more people," Rong Zhi immediately made a decision.
"No, they have too many people. With just the two of you, how can you possibly defeat them?"
Although he had witnessed Xia Yunting's prowess earlier, Liu Hong still didn't believe they could fight one against ten.
"Isn't there you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you've told us so much. When it comes down to it, you wouldn't feel right not helping us, would you? If we take them down, no one will ever know you were involved with them, and you'll become a hero of Yunshui Village."
"It's late. Go back. We saw nothing tonight."
Rong Zhi patted his shoulder.
Liu Hong was still a little slow to react.
Join them to catch human traffickers? Become a hero of Yunshui Village? He had never considered it.
"Oh, right. Tomorrow, I'll need your help. Come with my husband and help me rebuild the wall during the day."
"..."
The interrogation ended so quickly. Liu Hong left. The two of them were no longer worried that he would do anything to Gu Xinlan.
"How were you so sure he was an accomplice to human traffickers?"
After washing up, Xia Yunting looked at Rong Zhi, who was drying her hair, with curiosity.
She had no concrete evidence, yet she had spoken so confidently, as if she had everything under control, almost making him think she had been investigating secretly behind his back.
"Actually, I wasn't sure. It was just a guess."
"A guess?"
"Yes. His behavior was very strange. Saving someone is clearly a good deed, yet he didn't dare to say it openly, and he even dared not let that girl be seen in public. This only means he has something to hide. I've seen complicated situations in the past, like conflicts between martial sects or internal struggles in noble families. Those acting as spies for sects, or maids who have done wrong, I've seen more complex cases than this."
It just meant that when people experience more, they develop intuition. Rong Zhi was merely acting on this intuition, asking questions in the direction she imagined, and making further guesses based on the other person's reactions.
"Xiao Mo, you're truly amazing."
Admiration appeared in Xia Yunting's eyes. Even the most brilliant strategist under his command in the past was not as good as this.
Then, with ulterior motives, he said, "I didn't expect you to have experienced so much at such a young age."
Rong Zhi froze.
Oh no, she had gotten a bit carried away just now. Had he discovered something? However, Rong Zhi quickly relaxed. No matter what he thought, he could never guess about reincarnation.
"Yes, some of it I heard from others. By the way, you need to fix that wall properly tomorrow; it's too flimsy."
She dried her hair and quickly climbed into bed, as if afraid she might say more.
Xia Yunting, however, became interested.
"Xiao Mo, what else have you experienced? Tell me more. Maybe I'll regain my memories."
"I hadn't met you back then. Even if I told you, you wouldn't remember it, would you?"
Trying to trick me? No way.
"Alas, then forget it."
Xia Yunting sighed and began to undress.
"It's still early, and I can't sleep. Xiao Mo, since you don't want to tell stories, let's do something else!"
Rong Zhi heard a rustling sound. She turned her head, her face filled with alarm.
"What do you want to do?"