Chapter 34
Not Only Children
Author: Yan Ruxu
Date: 2025-02-28
The waterways of the capital were everywhere — seeing a river by the roadside was nothing unusual. But Jiu Que couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.
When she walked to the edge, she saw the river distinctly separated from the ground under her feet, the water surface half a person’s height lower than the road. The water was clear and calm, seemingly without anything unusual.
Yet when she followed the river with her eyes into the distance, she noticed a small bridge not far ahead. Beneath it was a dark opening — pitch-black, impossible to see what lay inside. Still, the river’s surface rippled slightly as it flowed past the bridge’s shadow.
Jiu Que had excellent eyesight; those ripples seemed to move in a certain pattern. Then, for a fleeting second, the pattern changed — a subtle disturbance, quickly gone. But in that brief moment, she could have sworn she saw a faint glimmer of light flash beneath the bridge where there should have been nothing at all.
She had already questioned the others several times. Madam Lin had reacted quickly — the moment she realized her grandson was missing, she’d called on familiar neighbors to watch the entire street. It wasn’t convenient to summon outsiders, but finding a child should have been easy enough.
Madam Lin was shrewd for her age, but she had never dealt with officials before. Jiu Que was probably the only government officer she knew. Though ordinary people tried to stay far from the authorities, in times of crisis, they still trusted them deeply.
Now, seeing Jiu Que staring at that dark bridge opening with furrowed brows, Madam Lin’s heart clenched.
“What is it, my lady? Did you notice something?”
Jiu Que immediately hushed her with a “shh” and gestured toward several strong young men Madam Lin had gathered. They were quick to understand and moved toward the direction of her gaze.
The noisy street gradually fell silent. People, sensing something was happening, instinctively stepped aside. Then, as realization dawned on more of them, they held their breath and began moving toward the bridge.
Some parents clenched their fists in fury, ready to tear apart whoever dared to harm their children. How could anyone be so cruel?
Jiu Que’s eyes stayed fixed on the darkness beneath the bridge. As the men crept closer along the riverbank, she leaned forward slightly — as if confronting something unseen. Then, in a single precise moment, she thrust her hand downward.
Splash!
Lin Mingde’s father was the first to leap into the river, plunging straight toward the dark bridge without hesitation. The other men — the children’s relatives — followed close behind. Shouts, curses, and the sounds of struggle echoed from under the bridge.
There were people under there — for real!
“Help! There are several children down here! They’ve all fainted! Those bastards laid them on wooden planks — they’re soaked through!”
At that, the onlookers could no longer hold back. One after another, they jumped into the water like dumplings dropped into a pot. Jiu Que kept her eyes fixed on the commotion, ready in case someone tried to escape. Fortunately, there were many helping hands, and soon several men emerged from the water, dragging out two disheveled, struggling kidnappers.
Quick-witted neighbors tore off their belts and ropes to tie the men up. As soon as they were hauled onto the bank, they were pinned down — some couldn’t resist landing a few furious blows, and chaos briefly erupted.
Jiu Que strode forward quickly. The rescuers were already lifting several unconscious children from the river. She counted them — six in total, all between five and eight years old.
But none of them had a red mole on their ear.
Her brow knotted tightly. Lin Mingde’s father, despite bleeding and exhausted from the fight, lunged forward, seizing one kidnapper by the collar and slapping him hard — twice, thrice — his voice raw with desperation:
“Where’s my son? Where is he?! What did you do to him?! Why isn’t he here?!”
The man looked dull and honest — hardly the sort one would suspect of such crimes — but the evidence was irrefutable. Still, no matter how the father shouted or threatened, the man clamped his jaws shut and refused to speak.
Madam Lin trembled with fury, striking the man on the head with all her strength. Yet when he still wouldn’t talk, she turned helplessly to Jiu Que. To her, this female officer — who had so quickly seen through the abnormality and caught the kidnappers — was clever and reliable. Time was running out. If they didn’t find her grandson soon, it might be too late.
“Lady Ying…”
Jiu Que walked up to the two kneeling men, their faces swollen and bruised, and the sobbing children being comforted nearby. She closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke calmly:
“According to our laws, those who voluntarily confess and expose the ringleader may have their punishment reduced by one degree. For the crime of child trafficking, accomplices are to be executed by strangulation. But if you tell us where the others — and the remaining children — are, your sentence may be changed to exile. The road to exile is long, but life is still life. Better that than dying alone.”
The two men said nothing — expressionless, defiant, almost disdainful.
Jiu Que didn’t care about their attitude. She simply turned and signaled Lin Mingde’s father to take the shifty-looking one aside. She followed them.
The “honest” man, who had appeared so loyal moments ago, started to fidget the moment Jiu Que walked off with his companion. Unable to see past the crowd now separating them, he could only strain his ears — hearing fragments of the officer’s low, persuasive voice.
“…What? Truly this… tsk, that’s troublesome… No matter — we can… save you… scapegoat…”
The kneeling man’s eyes widened in panic. So that coward, Hei Laosan, had broken first! He knew that fool couldn’t hold up — always weak-kneed, the kind to sell his own brother under pressure. Some brother he was!
“Hei Laosan! You spineless rat! If you dare expose Boss Yu’s whereabouts, no one will save you! Do you want your corpse sunk in Yong’an River?! Shut your damn mouth! You—”
His words cut off suddenly. Jiu Que was walking back through the crowd now, calm and composed, that same poised, regretful look on her face.
Regretful? What was there to regret? Shouldn’t she be coming to interrogate him next?
But she didn’t even glance at him — just walked past without a flicker of interest.
Why? Why walk right past me without turning back? No — she must know something. She’s pretending! She has to be!
Jiu Que strode past, speaking quietly to a burly man nearby:
“Please go to the yamen with my token. Tell them we caught two child traffickers in the market and rescued six children. One confessed the ringleader’s location and where the other captives are. Have them temporarily detained in a secure place. We’ll need reinforcements — summon the city patrol if necessary. We must capture…”
No. No, no, no!
The remaining man saw her walking away — saw his last hope slipping from reach. Panic overtook him. With a shout, he broke free from the two men holding him down, voice cracking from desperation as he screamed:
“Not only children! There are women too!”
