"Alright, you've bought so much, and Xin Xin's place doesn't have a refrigerator, so it won't keep. It'll just go to waste," Du Fei said, stopping Liu Shishi from adding more to the shopping cart. He wasn't being stingy with money for Yu Suqin and Zhuang Jiaxin's mother and daughter, but with the hot weather and their lack of a fridge, anything bought would spoil in a few days.
"Okay, then we'll just buy these for now," Liu Shishi said with disappointment, nodding. She and Du Fei then pushed the cart to the checkout. Yesterday, seeing how hard life was for the little girl Xin Xin and her mother, Liu Shishi had intended to secretly give them some money. But Du Fei disagreed. He felt that although Yu Suqin and her daughter were struggling, Yu Suqin was a principled person and wouldn't easily accept Liu Shishi's money. If Liu Shishi were to secretly give her money and leave, it might be mistaken for pity. Now that Yu Suqin was recovering and Xin Xin was obedient and sensible, Du Fei believed the mother and daughter could live well through their own efforts. That's why Liu Shishi had dragged Du Fei to the supermarket early this morning, intending to do a big shop and buy food, necessities, and clothes for Xin Xin.
"Du Fei, do you want me to help you carry some?" Liu Shishi asked with concern as they neared Xin Xin's house and she noticed Du Fei carrying several large bags.
"No need, they're very light," Du Fei replied, shaking his head. For Du Fei now, even a ton of weight was something he could lift with ease. The strength of a cultivator was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
When they reached Xin Xin's house, Du Fei and Liu Shishi were shocked to find a large hole in the front door. They exchanged a glance, both feeling a bad premonition. Indeed, as they walked into the yard, they found everything smashed and in disarray. Liu Shishi quickly ran into the two rooms.
"Oh no, Xin Xin and Sister Qin are gone, and the house is a mess!" Liu Shishi immediately reported the situation to Du Fei. Logically, even if Yu Suqin had gone out to work, she wouldn't have smashed the door and the items in the yard. Something must have happened.
"Du Fei, should we call the police?" Liu Shishi, unfamiliar with this place called Wangchuan, worried about Yu Suqin and Xin Xin's safety and her first instinct was to call the police.
However, Du Fei thought that besides knowing the mother and daughter's names, they knew nothing else. Even if they called the police, they couldn't provide any useful information.
As Du Fei was contemplating what to do, someone peeked their head out from outside Yu Suqin's house and looked in. Du Fei immediately noticed them and walked over.
"I, I don't know anything, I'm sorry, I was just passing by," said the woman peeking at the entrance. She was a woman in her fifties, and her clothing suggested she was also from a poor family.
"Auntie, don't be afraid, we're not bad people. I just wanted to ask if you know what happened to Sister Qin and her daughter Xin Xin?" Liu Shishi's gentle tone immediately put the middle-aged woman at ease. In her eyes, a beautiful girl like Liu Shishi couldn't possibly be a bad person.
"Oh, you know Suqin? Not long ago, some fierce-looking men came. They first smashed and broke everything, and then they took Suqin and her daughter away." The auntie's voice was filled with indignation. "Those wretched people! Suqin and her daughter are already suffering so much, and they still come to bully them. Heaven will surely deal with them. I wanted to help, but I'm useless..."
The auntie started talking nonstop. However, besides telling Du Fei and Liu Shishi that Yu Suqin and her daughter had been taken away, the rest was just rambling.
"Auntie, I wanted to ask, did you see what those people looked like, or where they took Sister Qin and her daughter?" Liu Shishi, eager to find Yu Suqin and her daughter as soon as possible, interrupted the auntie's chatter.
The auntie thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "There were four or five of them. One was tall and thin like a bamboo pole, one had pockmarks on his face, and the others..."
Du Fei's eyes sharpened as he heard this. Weren't these the two men he encountered at Yu Suqin's house yesterday? Du Fei had initially thought that after he taught them a lesson, they would back off. To his surprise, not only were they not afraid, but they had insanely kidnapped the mother and daughter. If he had known this, he should have crippled them yesterday. Du Fei began to regret being too lenient.
"Oh, I remember now! One of them said they were taking Suqin and the others to the Greenland Nightclub first," the auntie added.
"Thank you, Auntie." With the address in hand, Du Fei and Liu Shishi immediately turned to leave. When rescuing someone, speed is of the essence. One never knew what might happen if time dragged on.
At the roadside, Du Fei first flagged down a taxi for Liu Shishi, asking her to return to the hotel and wait for him.
"You be careful too. Call me if you find anything," Liu Shishi said understandingly. She didn't insist on going with Du Fei, knowing that the rescue mission might involve danger and her presence would only be a hindrance. Du Fei nodded in acknowledgement.
...
"What the hell are you guys doing? We're not human traffickers, why did you bring them here?" Lu Gang exclaimed as he entered the room. He saw his subordinates yelling at a mother and daughter. He called one of them over to ask what had happened. After hearing the explanation, he slapped the subordinate.
The beaten man rubbed his head and said with a smile, "Boss, this woman's husband owed us a lot of money. But she secretly sold their house. I figured she must have hidden the money somewhere." He continued, "Boss, didn't you say we haven't collected enough protection money lately? So we're finding ways to increase income."
Lu Gang's expression softened upon hearing this. To him, as long as his subordinates were making him money, it didn't matter what illegal activities they were involved in.
"So, did that woman reveal the whereabouts of the money?" he asked.
"Not yet, she's being stubborn. But I've got a plan. If she doesn't talk, we'll send her out to work tonight. As for her daughter, she can do chores for now, and when she's old enough, she can work too, hehe." The man didn't seem to realize how shameless his words were and even chuckled lewdly.
Lu Gang lost interest and waved his hand, intending to dismiss his subordinate.
Bang!
Just then, a loud noise came from outside the door. The entrance of the nightclub was smashed down by a figure.