Ye Mu'en drove for more than twenty li in the direction A Long pointed but found no protruding buildings. How could people hide in such an open space?
A few people followed behind and got out of their cars when they saw Ye Mu'en stop.
"Young Master Ye, is the direction correct?"
"This land was bought to build houses, and it's all cleared empty land."
Ye Mu'en stopped abruptly and turned to look at the people behind him.
"Whose land is this?"
"It seems to belong to someone from out of town. We'll need to investigate who it is."
"Go and investigate now. Then, get some police dogs. Search a twenty-li radius, and specifically look for any signs of digging underground."
After Ye Mu'en finished speaking, he walked towards the open land. He felt that this place was definitely problematic, otherwise A Long wouldn't have held on with his last breath to point in this direction.
Ye Shengge woke up when it was almost dawn. The moment she opened her eyes, she felt completely weak.
"Wife, you're awake! How do you feel now?"
Ye Shengge shook her head but her eyes were fixed on the phone. Zi Yi Sheng's lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say anything.
Ye Shengge closed her eyes in disappointment, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes.
"Don't cry, Big Brother has already found Min Hang's people. They might have some news now, it just hasn't been passed over yet."
Zi Yi Sheng busied himself wiping his wife's tears, but they wouldn't stop flowing.
"Wife, our daughter is a little lucky star, she'll definitely be fine. I'm just worried about you. Your condition really can't go on like this. We still need to wait for our daughter to come back."
Ye Shengge opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred by tears. She raised her hand and produced a cup of water. She hadn't even had a chance to drink from the spatial well water just now.
Zi Yi Sheng thought his wife was thirsty and quickly leaned her against him, slowly feeding her. After finishing one cup, Ye Shengge produced another. She had to get better quickly; she had to wait for her child to return safely.
After drinking three cups in a row, Ye Shengge finally regained some strength. The spatial well water had never been a miracle cure; it only helped to improve one's condition with long-term consumption.
"What time is it?"
"It's four o'clock. You should sleep for a while. You need to be well-rested to wait for news."
"I can't sleep. I just had a dream. I dreamt that Xiao Mi'er was sleeping soundly, just covered in dirt like a little coal ball."
Zi Yi Sheng rubbed his face against his wife's hair and managed a stiff smile thinking of their daughter, who was as mischievous as a boy.
"When does she ever come home clean? She's the opposite of our son. She should have been born a boy."
"Youyou must have been terrified. That child keeps everything to himself and never speaks his affection for his sister. His phone calls were filled with guilt towards Xiao Mi'er. We adults couldn't protect her, so what could a child do?"
Zi Yi Sheng had always known his son was sensible and had deliberately acted contrary to him.
"I'll have someone bring our son over tomorrow. That way, he won't be brooding alone."
"Don't let him come. Seeing me like this will only worry him more. Let them all come together when Xiao Mi'er is found."
The sky outside had completely brightened, but for Tian Tian, everything was still dark, making her feel as if time was passing too slowly.
The rope on her wrist finally broke against the table. The excitement of her hand being freed made Tian Tian ignore the bloody wounds on her wrist.
She fumbled to untie the rope on her feet and stood up, taking a while to recover. Her arms and legs were numb.
This time, Tian Tian felt every inch of the walls in the room. It turned out there was no door in this room, only a half-height window that was nailed shut. She leaned against the window and listened carefully to the sounds outside. It was so quiet that not even insects were chirping.
Tian Tian couldn't worry about that anymore. She moved the table and threw it at the window. It didn't work the first time, so she tried again.
Xiao Mi'er was also groggily woken by the noise. The darkness that met her eyes quickly made her understand her situation, and her fear intensified.
"Auntie Tian Tian, Auntie Tian Tian, are you still there?"
"I'm here, Xiao Mi'er. Wait for me for a moment. I'll break the window and come to save you. Don't cry, okay?"
After the window was broken, it was still dark. Tian Tian could only grope her way out of the window. However, instead of flat ground, her feet landed on stairs, which were made of wood.
Tian Tian did not go up the stairs but felt her way towards Xiao Mi'er.
"Xiao Mi'er, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you, Auntie Tian Tian. The door on my side won't open."
"There's a door here! Do you know where it is?"
"Yes, I'll knock for you to hear."
Xiao Mi'er quickly walked towards the door. She had already felt her way around the door several times last night, so she could quickly locate it.
Tian Tian heard a faint knocking sound not far from her. She felt along the door and discovered that it was latched from the outside with a wooden bolt. Tian Tian happily removed the bolt.
"Xiao Mi'er, stand to the side. Auntie is going to push the door open."
"Okay."
Xiao Mi'er stood to the side. As the door opened halfway, she impatiently squeezed out and grabbed Tian Tian's pants.
"Wuwuwu, Auntie Tian Tian, I'm scared."
Tian Tian hugged Xiao Mi'er, their faces touching as they both cried. She was scared too.
"Xiao Mi'er, we need to leave here immediately. Auntie will carry you."
Xiao Mi'er, sobbing, climbed onto Tian Tian's back. Tian Tian then used her hands and feet to climb the wooden ladder. After only a few steps, she felt something press against her head. It seemed she had reached the top.
Tian Tian pushed hard against the top with her hands, but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. She simply placed Xiao Mi'er on the step, bent down, climbed a few more steps, and used her back to push with all her might.
This time, she saw a sliver of light. Tian Tian happily continued climbing the steps, so that the full force of her back could push against it.
After several attempts, she heard the sound of a heavy object falling. This time, with little effort, she pushed open a very large piece of wood, which was extremely heavy.
"Xiao Mi'er, hurry and crawl out first."
Xiao Mi'er scrambled up the ladder with her hands and feet. The gap she had created was just enough for her to squeeze through.
"Auntie Tian Tian, there's a large iron pot and many bricks on top of the board."
"Okay, stand aside. I'll just ram it a few more times."
Xiao Mi'er looked at the iron pot, which was large enough for her to lie down in, and tried to pull it with all her might. However, her strength was limited, and the iron pot didn't even move. She could only carry the bricks away one by one.
With Xiao Mi'er's help, Tian Tian also climbed out quickly.
The two of them stood in the vast wasteland, the weeds reaching twice Xiao Mi'er's height.
Tian Tian felt scared, even though it was daytime. She had a feeling that bad guys and venomous snakes might suddenly appear.
"Let's go, let's go quickly."
Xiao Mi'er obediently climbed onto Tian Tian's back again. Without knowing which direction to go, they ran with their heads down.
"Sister Tian Tian, are you hungry?"
Tian Tian licked her dry, peeling lips. She was almost dying of thirst.
"Once we find the main road, we'll meet people, and then Xiao Mi'er can eat whatever she wants."
"Will someone come to save us? It's been all night, and we haven't seen Uncle Min Hang or brother."
Tian Tian's spirits sank when she thought of the chaotic scene last night. She hadn't even seen Min Hang or Youyou when she was abducted.
"They must be looking for us, but the bad guys hid us too well, so now we need to contact Uncle Min Hang to pick us up."
"Okay, tell Uncle Min Hang to bring me delicious food. I've gotten so thin from hunger."
"Okay, Mi'er, hold on a little longer."
Ye Mu'en had walked through the entire open area. Besides finding two corpses, he found nothing else.
"Continue to expand the search, and then have someone control the owner of this land."
In fact, Tian Tian and the others were not here at all. The kidnappers had deliberately hidden corpses in various places to mislead those who were searching.
Zi Yi Sheng finally managed to get his wife to sleep. He rubbed his tired eyes and walked out. Ouyang and the others had also been up all night, staring at their phones like rabbits.
"Young Master Zi, how is Madam?"
"She's much better. Is there any news?"
Ouyang shook his head dejectedly. He couldn't understand why the kidnappers hadn't made any demands after taking the hostages.
Zi Yi Sheng saw the cigarettes on the table, lit one, and began to smoke slowly.
Just then, Ye Shengge was woken by the ringing of the phone. She quickly ran to the living room barefoot, grabbed the phone, and answered it.
"Hello!"
"I assume you are Ye Shengge, Zi Yi Sheng's wife."
"Yes, what are your conditions?"
"Hahahaha, you're quite clever. You are indeed the apple of Zi Yi Sheng's eye. Listen carefully, this is the first condition."
"Is the child okay? I want to hear their voices."
"You are not qualified to negotiate with me."
Ye Shengge pressed a button on the splitter. This was connected to the phone in Ouyang's room. Ever since the children were abducted, they had changed the phone lines in two rooms.
Normally, the phone would ring in Ouyang's room first. She wondered if Ouyang and the others had heard it yet.
Zi Yi Sheng picked up the phone the moment it rang, but there was no sound. After more than ten seconds, his wife's voice came through.
"You can't even confirm that the children are alive, so why should I listen to your conditions? Since this is a negotiation, you have to show your hand."
"Hahahaha, you will obey. How about I send a grand gift to the Bai family first, and then you call them to ask if the weight of this gift is enough."
"Hello, hello, hello!"
The call was suddenly hung up. Ye Shengge felt like she was going crazy. She didn't know what the other party would send to the Bai family, and her mind was filled with images of the children's bloody severed limbs and fingers.
After listening, Zi Yi Sheng rushed back to the room. Seeing his wife sitting on the floor, he quickly picked her up.
"What should we do? I was thinking of confirming the children's safety first before negotiating. Did I do something foolish?"
"No, no, you did very well. I would have done the same."
"Will they cut off the children's fingers and send them to the Bai family?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Didn't you hear them say it was the first condition? If they really harm the children, I will not let them control me."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. A Sen walked in with a dark expression.
"Young Master Zi, the family of the waitress who deliberately poured soup on Madam has been kidnapped. She was ordered to make sure Madam's clothes were wet or dirty."
"Have you found the person behind this?"
"Not yet, but all three women from last night have left the hotel. Penny sat by the sea for two hours watching the sea, and Averilla drove around as if just for fun.
Only Stormy went to a night market and ate there for over an hour."