Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 216 Missing Children Case

After Zuan brought two people to report to the Fifth Dimension, before the Fifth Dimension could say anything, Nangong slammed the table and said, "We must take care of it! If we rely on those good-for-nothings in Jiankang County, we will lose our children again!"

"Take care of it." The Fifth Dimension said, "I'll go tell the Lord of Guards right away."

He then took Yang Zhong to find Xue Dingnan to ensure that he would not forget the content of the report.

After listening to the report, Xue Dingnan smiled and said, "We have nothing to do now, so let's take care of this matter."

Officials can't stand their subordinates being idle. The Donghunhou case had shaken the capital so severely that no demons or ghosts dared to show their heads, and the ghostwriters had a comfortable life and became lazy.

"And I remember something." Xue Dingnan added, "When the whole city was looking for Donghun Hou, our people rescued several boats of children."

"Really? I have no impression at all." said the Fifth Dimension.

"Hehe, your memory is so bad." Xue Dingnan smiled and said, "Besides, those children were abducted from other places, so it didn't cause much commotion."

"It seems like this is a big deal." Yuchi Bei stroked his neatly trimmed moustache and said, "It's possible that the children were rescued, so the traffickers tried to kidnap another group in Beijing."

"If it's really to fill the gap, many more children will be abducted." Xue Dingnan said: "I remember that there were about 300 children in those boats."

Then he ordered in a deep voice: "Tell the patrol officers tomorrow to pay attention to the investigation and find out more, and focus on finding evidence of demonic activities, so that we can intervene in a big way!"

"Yes." Everyone responded in a deep voice.

~~
However, it was Team A's turn to stay behind the next day, so Ren Yuan and others stayed in the yamen for the whole day but did not get a chance to go out to look for clues.

When I was handing over the shift, I heard that three more children were abducted today, two boys and one girl, all under the age of twelve.

"It's weird. No one saw how the children got lost, and no one saw who did it." Yan Fei went to the scene and questioned the families of the three children, but found nothing.

"All three families said that by the time they realized what was happening, the children were gone."

"No, I'll go check it out tomorrow." The Fifth Dimension said, "See who this person is."

"If the leader of the building takes action, there will be no problem." Everyone was delighted.

Ren Yuan and others were delayed for a while while listening to the case, and only returned to Ping'anli after dark.

As soon as you enter the gate, you will see the street is brightly lit and there are more than a dozen tables lined up.

It turned out that Aniu's father and Aliang's father invited everyone to have a drink to celebrate. The chefs were naturally the owners of several snack stalls. They also slaughtered a pig and a sheep and were waiting for them to take orders.

"They're back, they're back." The children were looking forward to it, and cheered when they saw the four people coming back.

"Oh, please take your seats, my lords." Blacksmith Hong's face was flushed as he cordially invited the four to take their seats. "This time, the two boys can eat the emperor's food, all thanks to the four lords."

"Yes, yes." Aliang's father was a little thin-skinned, but his eyes were red, and he choked up and said, "If it weren't for the four adults, Aliang would have done something stupid. I kowtow to you."

As he said this, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"Hey, get up quickly." Chen Baxian stretched out his hand to help him up and said, "A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. If you can help us, you will definitely help us."

"Besides, it was Aliang's fault." Ren Yuan also smiled and said, "We can't just watch our own people being bullied."

"Well said, well said!" The neighbors cheered excitedly when they heard the words. Now they finally had someone to support them.

"Please take your seats, my lords!" Zhou Fangzheng stood up and asked the four people to take their seats, and then ordered, "Hurry and start eating."

After the four of them sat down, Uncle Bing and others began to serve the food.

A Yao was not interested in the food. After looking around, he suddenly asked, "Where's A Lan?"

"Where has the little girl been? I haven't seen her since I was busy in the afternoon." Aunt Bing was also surprised: "It's already dark and she hasn't come back yet?"

"It's okay, she never leaves our Ping'anli, the gates are all closed, she can't be lost." Uncle Bing didn't want to affect the atmosphere. Ren Yuan and the others looked at each other and thought of the missing child case.

"Find the child first." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice, "There are so many children missing recently."

"That's right. Only after we find the child can we eat peacefully." Chen Baxian also nodded and stood up.

"Okay, let's go look for it together." Zhou Fangzheng called out, and the neighbors started looking everywhere in the neighborhood.

"Alan, Alan..." The calls came one after another, but after searching Ping'anli, there was no trace of the little girl.

I asked the old soldier guarding the gate, and he said he didn't see Alan go out either.

"I won't let a child run outside without an adult at home to lead him." The old soldier said seriously, "I didn't see that little girl Alan today."

"Could it be that he climbed over the wall?" Zhou Fangzheng guessed.

"If he was moving around in broad daylight, he would have been discovered long ago." Chen Baxian shook his head and said, "It's impossible that he stole a hundred children and still didn't reveal his identity."

Ren Yuan asked again: "Have any strangers come in or out?"

"Of course there are, peddlers walking the streets, and some people visiting relatives and friends." The old soldier said, "When the gate is open, they just come in and out freely. I didn't keep track."

"Is there anyone taking the sheep out?" Ren Yuan asked again.

“No, today only people are leading sheep in, and no one is leading sheep out.” The old soldier shook his head decisively.

"Forget it, let's just call someone." Ren Yuan sighed and crushed the talisman in his hand.

This is one of the conveniences he brought to Chongguang Tower. Everyone has one, and they can crush it in an emergency. As the fifth dimension of the God Lord, he will receive the signal and rush over in time...

Sure enough, after half a cup of tea, two beams of clear light flew into the workshop.

Diwuwei and Nangong came together, the former holding a Zuan under his arm.

~~
After Ren Yuan explained the situation, he led the two owners to the alley where the children last saw Alan.

The fifth dimension scattered colored sand and silently recited Alan's name in his heart.

Soon, the figure of a little girl appeared in the alley.

"Alan..." Uncle Bing and Aunt Bing rushed over crying, but were stopped by Yang Zhong.

"That's just an image, not a real person. Don't disturb the owner."

The couple didn't dare to move and just covered their mouths and cried.

Everyone saw Alan hiding in the firewood pile, probably playing hide-and-seek with his friends.

After waiting for a long time, perhaps realizing that she had been forgotten by her friends, she crawled out from the pile of firewood.

Alan was just about to go out to the alley to look for his friends when he bumped into an old lady.

The little girl rubbed her head and looked up, as if to apologize, but the old lady suddenly opened her bloody mouth and swallowed her in one gulp. Then she walked out of the alley tremblingly, leaning on her walking stick...

"Alan!" Aunt Bing screamed and fainted on the spot.

"Was Alan eaten?!" Uncle Bing asked in a trembling voice.

"It should be swallowed, not eaten." The Fifth Dimension shook his head and said, "This monster has the magical power of 'the world in the belly'. It hid the child in its belly and stole it away, instead of eating it."

(End of this chapter)