The little girl had her mouth taped shut and looked at Yang Weiyi with tearful eyes.
Yang Weiyi was stunned and stammered: “Lao Pang, this isn’t what we agreed on…”
“What’s not the same? What could be more reliable than having it right in front of you?”
“No, I didn’t want a living person. This—this is illegal…”
The sinister bald man next to Pang Daozi spoke, his voice hoarse and rough, like sandpaper scraping against a steel pipe: “Illegal? If you buy a kidney from the black market, isn’t that illegal?”
Yang Weiyi was speechless, his head lowered, not knowing what to say. Pang Daozi urged: “Take her back, just like I said. Two kidneys; buy one, get one free. Where could you buy them for fifty thousand yuan?”
“But, but there’s an extra person at home…”
“Just say she’s a daughter you had in the past and raised elsewhere. Now you’re bringing her back.”
The bald man smiled: “You can keep her for now. When she grows up, she could become a child bride, a win-win situation.”
Yang Weiyi couldn’t smile at all, but he didn’t dare anger Pang Daozi, so he could only muddle through and take the little girl home. On the way, he removed the tape from her mouth and asked: “What’s your name?”
“Gardenia… Gardenia…” The little girl’s voice was muffled, “… I want to run away…”
Yang Weiyi, dazed, wiped her tears and whispered: “Then you’ll be called Tao Tao.’”
Lu Caiyun waited anxiously at home, never expecting him to bring back a child. The couple sat in silence. Yang Weiyi sat by the bed, deeply distressed, while Lu Caiyun comforted him: “Forget it; don’t think too much. Let’s find time to go to the hospital and get a matching test done. If it’s suitable, we’ll keep her for now. It’s better than having nothing.”
Yang Weiyi weakly replied: “Pang Daozi said the blood type is definitely correct. He told us not to go to the hospital for testing but to take her to a private clinic for matching.”
Lu Caiyun disagreed, fearing Pang Daozi might be trying to deceive them with any child and also considering that if the match was unsuccessful, it would be a good excuse to return the child.
The next day, they took Tao Tao to their son’s attending physician for a blood test to check for compatibility. They were informed that the blood type was indeed compatible, but the results for lymphocyte toxicity tests, Human Leukocyte Antigen A (HLA) system, and Panel Reactive Antibodies (PRA) would only be available in two weeks, so they had to take Tao Tao home and wait anxiously.
Unexpectedly, before the compatibility results arrived, the police showed up first.
Sheng Guoning listened quietly as Yang Weiyi clutched his hair, tears streaming down his face: “I really had no other choice… Xiao He’s condition is getting worse, my wife and I see it every day, fearing that we’ll bury our child. We couldn’t wait for a kidney, and only Pang Daozi could help. I had no choice but to make a deal with him…”
“You chose this path yourself; no one forced you,” Sheng Guoning pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone softening slightly. “Where is Tao Tao now?”
“Pang Daozi sent someone to take her away.”
“…Taken away?” Sheng Guoning was surprised. “Where did they take her? Why was she taken away?”
“She was here yesterday, and Pang Daozi suddenly came to take her to a private clinic for matching. I didn’t dare tell him she had already been to the hospital for a blood test,” Yang Weiyi wiped his reddened eyes. “Now that I think about it, it might be better that he took her away. I hope she doesn’t come back. I can’t make any more mistakes.”
“Will he come back to find you?”
Yang Weiyi’s head hung low and shook slowly: “I don’t know. He always contacts me, using different numbers. I don’t know when he will come next.”
Sheng Guoning looked at his disoriented appearance and patted his shoulder: “If you had refused firmly, you wouldn’t be so regretful now. I won’t take you to the station today. Go to work as usual and pretend you don’t know anything. If Pang Daozi contacts you again, let me know immediately.”
Yang Weiyi was stunned and stood up: “Officer, you’re not going to arrest me? Does that mean I’m not in trouble?”
Not in trouble? Haha, dreaming.
“Do you know what he needed the materials for?” Sheng Guoning asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. He just said it was useful…”
Sheng Guoning’s sharp eyes fixed on him: “Then what do you think those materials could be used for?”
“Maybe for making fertilizer…” Yang Weiyi stared blankly at Sheng Guoning.
Sheng Guoning sighed. It was clear that Yang Weiyi was clueless. Pang Daozi wanted controlled substances, and it wasn’t hard to guess what he intended to do with them. Despite working with raw materials every day, Yang Weiyi was naively imagining the least likely use.
Perhaps this was also a form of self-deception. He didn’t dare believe Pang Daozi was making explosives with the materials he provided. If that were the case, his charges wouldn’t just be about organizing illegal activities; if the explosives caused casualties, he could face the death penalty.
As for how Yang Weiyi would be sentenced, it wasn’t up to Sheng Guoning but would be determined by the forensic report. This was also the second mission for Sheng Guoning’s trip to Muli—to collect some chemical samples and compare them with the explosive components from the previous case.
To atone for his sins, Yang Weiyi cooperated actively with Sheng Guoning, packing up the necessary chemicals. Sheng Guoning reminded him again to cooperate fully with the police and not to think about running away. He had already contacted the local police station to ensure Yang Weiyi wouldn’t escape from Muli City.
Yang Weiyi dared not disobey. He was now in a state of despair, like a walking corpse, eager to confess immediately to get a lighter sentence.
Early the next morning, Sheng Guoning took a box of controlled substances back to Nanyi. On the way, he received a call from Lin Zhizhi—Xiao Shitou was missing.
Lin Zhizhi was panicking on the phone, unsure of what to do. Under Sheng Guoning’s patient reassurance, she gradually calmed down. He sent Xiao Shitou’s photo to Shen Ruirui and Shao Shiqing, asking them to check surveillance footage along the route near the Magic Cube Apartment, hoping to find his whereabouts quickly.
Following his instructions, Lin Zhizhi returned home. A minute later, she called Sheng Guoning again: “I searched. We’re missing a loaf of bread, a fruit knife, and some coins from the drawer in the shoe cabinet, about fifty yuan in total.”
“What was he doing yesterday? Any unusual behavior?”
“Yesterday, I took him out for the day. We went shopping and bought clothes; he was quite happy. When we came back in the evening, I was revising a manuscript, and he was in his room using a tablet to learn Pinyin. He was still learning when I went to sleep.”
“Really studying hard?” Sheng Guoning found it strange. “Are you sure he was really learning Pinyin?”
“Absolutely. He even filled out a page of notes… Oh?” Lin Zhizhi checked the learning app and was surprised to find that only the first lesson was unlocked. Xiao Shitou had spent the whole night only learning the vowels a, o, e?
She opened the system settings and checked the program’s usage time, finding that the browser was used most frequently, and the time coincided with when Xiao Shitou was supposedly “studying.”
“He wasn’t learning Pinyin; he was searching for things. The browser had a lot of place names.”
Indeed, the child had made thorough preparations before leaving. Although young, his maturity and shrewdness were beyond what other children his age could match. Just considering his courage to take a fruit knife, few peers could compare.
“The last search result was Muli,” Lin Zhizhi suddenly thought of the WeChat messages that seemed to be about cultivating feelings, “…Could it be that he was chatting with you to find out about Muli City?”
“He was chatting with me?” Sheng Guoning was confused. “Last night?”
He reviewed the chat logs, which had seemed enthusiastic at the time. Looking back now, he noticed that some of the later messages had an indirect tone.
It was astonishing that a child could have such investigative skills and judgment. He clearly understood that Sheng Guoning would not disclose confidential case details, so he took an alternative approach, deducing the destination through the locations mentioned. If Sheng Guoning guessed correctly, Xiao Shitou was likely heading to the Second Chemical Factory in Muli City.
This little rascal, what is he doing coming to such a place alone? Lin Heyu didn’t come over.
Sheng Guoning lowered his head, pondering, and a vague thought crossed his mind but quickly dissipated. He sighed, scratching his short hair: “As expected of the child raised by my brother-in-law; the trouble level is top-notch.”
“Muli is very dangerous, right?” Lin Zhizhi murmured.
Places related to the case are never safe. Lin Zhizhi didn’t understand the case details but knew Xiao Shitou well. His personality was reserved and cold, doing everything as he pleased. She even feared that this child might attempt to apprehend the criminal by himself, creating a dramatic situation.
“Don’t worry too much. He doesn’t have an ID card, so he can’t take the high-speed train, and the money he took isn’t enough for a taxi. He might still be in Nanyi,” Sheng Guoning reassured her. “I’ll have someone check the bus station, and the local police in Muli will be notified to keep an eye out and detain Xiao Shitou if they find him.”
“Okay, thank you.” Lin Zhizhi felt a warm relief in her heart. “I really appreciate your help. Please be careful on your way back.”
After hanging up, Lin Zhizhi lay on the bed, unable to calm down. She remembered Xiao Shitou’s sharp and indifferent gaze, filled with a sense of aloofness, and her heart twisted.
Sitting up again, Lin Zhizhi took a deep breath and booked a ticket to Muli.
———
[02/28, 10:36, Nanyi City Bus Station]
Xiao Shitou was at the bus station, holding a bottle of mineral water. He twisted off the cap and looked at the bus route map in the advertising lightbox.
Without a phone and unfamiliar with Nanyi, he only had a hand-drawn map, relying on asking people to find the station locations. Each time, he would receive a concerned comment: “Little boy, why are you traveling alone? Where are the adults at home?”
Xiao Shitou smiled awkwardly, brushing off with a prepared excuse. His aunt must have noticed his disappearance by now. She might call the police or, more straightforwardly, call Lin Heyu directly.
For him, nothing was more alarming than seeing Lin Heyu’s angry face. He sighed helplessly. Once he made his decision, there was no turning back. Whether it was to save the gardenia or Lin Heyu, he was willing to give everything.
If Lin Zhizhi called Lin Heyu or Sheng Guoning, there would surely be a massive search for him. But they wouldn’t guess how skilled Xiao Shitou was at “playing hide and seek.” During his time wandering, he had to engage in petty thefts for survival, making him extremely sensitive to people peeking on the street and skilled at hiding. He had once slipped away from Lin Heyu’s grasp without being detected, so evading other police officers shouldn’t be too difficult.
The train station was definitely off-limits, and black cabs were unreliable. After studying Nanyi’s transportation routes, Xiao Shitou saw the river crossing and suddenly had an idea.
The ferry.
Nanyi’s northern ferry terminal led to a town on the opposite side of the river, which was adjacent to the outskirts of Muli City and close to Baimei Mountain. With the route decided, Xiao Shitou used a public phone to inquire about the ferry, learning that a ticket was needed but no ID. Many students from towns needed to commute to the city by ferry daily, so the requirements were almost the same as for a bus.
The bus to the ferry terminal arrived. Xiao Shitou put on a mask, blending his small figure into the crowd.
Back in Nanyi, Sheng Guoning, carrying controlled substances, rushed to the forensic department, encountering the equally anxious Zou Bin: “Can you tell me, what’s the earliest the results can come out?”
“This is a DNA comparison; it’s not something I can just glance at,” the forensic expert replied with frustration, clearly having answered this question more than once. He handed over the test tubes. “Why don’t you come and see for yourself how soon the results can be expected?”
Zou Bin forced a smile, cupped his hands, and said, “Please, you continue. I’ll come back later.”
“What kind of evidence did he deliver?” Sheng Guoning asked.
A trace of nervousness flickered in Zou Bin’s eyes: “Nothing special, just a blood sample. I have other matters to attend to, so I’m leaving.”
He quickly made his exit. Sheng Guoning placed the bag on the workbench: “What’s wrong with Zou Bin? Why is he in such a hurry?”
The forensic expert shrugged: “I don’t know. It’s better that he left. He’s been distracting me from my work.”
“He brought what kind of blood sample?”
“I heard it’s from a hostage, brought from the hospital.”
“Why ‘heard’?” Sheng Guoning pointed to the computer, “The DNA database for hostages should have the data, right?”
“There is, but it doesn’t match,” the forensic expert looked bewildered. “A few days ago, they sent a hair sample from Haijing, which didn’t match the database; today they sent a blood sample, requesting comparison with the hair and database, and I don’t know what’s going on.”
Hair? Sheng Guoning’s mind flashed with a realization: “Is it from the little girl?”
“Yes, the one sold to someone else.”
They had used Tao Tao’s hair for comparison to determine which family she belonged to. But—how could it not match? Did they get the wrong sample?
The mismatched hair, the sample from the hospital, and the missing Tao Tao… In a moment of clarity, the previous fleeting thought became crystal clear.
He quickly walked to the corridor, made a phone call to Lin Heyu, and recapped Yang Weiyi’s instructions. He then got straight to the point and asked about Tao Tao.
Sheng Guoning’s hand pressed on the window sill, the force making his knuckles slightly white, and he asked with unprecedented seriousness: “Captain Lin, which child among the hostages is Tao Tao?”
“I haven’t seen her; I’m not sure.”
“Xiao Shitou doesn’t know either?”
“Hmm, not familiar.”
“…Lin Heyu, we’re all working on the same case. Why are you hiding such important information?” Sheng Guoning could no longer tolerate it. “She’s not even on the hostage list. She’s an extra child!”
Thus, Xiao Shitou’s reason for going to Muli alone became clear.
He was risking everything to find that “not-so-familiar” girl, likely because this extra girl had a significant connection to him.
