Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

It seemed that the room was a little stuffy, or perhaps it was the effect of the countless cups of bland tea.

Shen Jingyuan, who usually remained energetic and clear-headed even after working sleeplessly for several days and nights to deploy combat plans and perform sand table simulations, now felt restless and dizzy, as if his head was filled with paste.

The routes on the map that were originally clear, smooth, and well-known to him now appeared twisted and tangled in his eyes, like a tangled spider web that he couldn't make sense of no matter how hard he looked at it.

The information on the document, which was originally well-organized and had clear meaning, now seemed to be blurred into a mess. Although I could recognize every word, I still couldn't connect the dots to form a clear meaning in my mind.

His chest felt as if it was stuffed with a ball of cotton, pressing heavily against his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

His thoughts swung wildly between the two extremes uncontrollably.

Sometimes he thought of the difficult and dangerous mission to the north, and the pressure of losing everything if he took a wrong step. Sometimes he thought of Lin Xi's pale face, which was full of stubbornness and panic, yet pretending to be stubborn.

Countless thoughts raced through Shen Jingyuan's mind. Where would she go? With her temper, would she get into a fight with someone else? Could she have already...

Shen Jingyuan suddenly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to suppress these chaotic worries. He subconsciously reached out for the tea at hand, but accidentally knocked over the cup.

The warm tea spilled down his fingertips to the back of his hand, causing a stinging sensation. Shen Jingyuan hurriedly moved the documents on the table aside, then looked down at the back of his hand.

Lin Xi obviously did not hold back at that time. The bloodstains left on the back of his hand were deep and long. Although they have scabbed over now, they are still somewhat shocking to look at.

In addition, after being soaked in tea, the edges of the wound are red and swollen, and there is an old scar at the base of the thumb that looks like it was scratched by a thorn. It makes people feel painful just by looking at it.

Shen Jingyuan stared at the wound for a while, then suddenly curled his lips and let out a self-deprecating sneer.

He stood up, walked to the window and opened half of it.

The cool evening air rushed in, slightly dispelling the stuffiness in the house and the chaos in his mind. Shen Jingyuan cast his gaze towards the alleys downstairs where the lights were gradually lighting up and people were bustling around. His eyes became sharp again.

He had to do something, not just wait, like he had done so many years ago.

Just when Shen Jingyuan made up his mind not to wait any longer and was about to turn around and leave the private room, a burst of hurried but deliberately light footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, followed by two short and one long knocks on the door.

Shen Jingyuan's eyes fixed, "Come in."

The person who pushed the door open was indeed the shopkeeper in a navy blue gown. He gently closed the door with his backhand, without any greeting, walked straight to Shen Jingyuan, and reported in a concise and low voice.

"Boss, there's news."

Shen Jingyuan's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he leaned forward imperceptibly. "Speak."

"As you instructed, our people have focused their search around the docks," the shopkeeper stated in a steady, clear voice. "One of our informants confirmed that early in the morning, a young lady of exceptional appearance and bearing ran out of the docks in a state of panic. Because of her striking appearance, he paid her a little extra attention, observing her hurriedly heading west."

"I personally led people to inquire along the west side and asked a lot of people." Shopkeeper Song continued, his words clearly outlining Lin Xi's route of activities for the whole day.

"At first she was just walking aimlessly, but then... she seemed to be so hungry she stopped in front of a wonton stand on the street."

"The vendor was an elderly man who looked unwell. His son was not filial. He not only robbed the elderly man of his money, but also cursed and tried to attack him."

"The young lady couldn't stand it and argued with him for a few words. It seemed like they were about to fight, but the old man tried his best to stop them."

"Later, perhaps because she felt sorry for the old woman, the young lady gave her a whole dollar when she paid, and didn't even ask for the change before walking away."

"But who would have thought that her actions were seen by a group of street kids on the street. Thinking she was being taken advantage of, they swarmed around her and asked her for money."

At this point, the shopkeeper shook his head, as if sighing for the young lady's naiveté.

"The young lady had clearly never seen anything like this before. She was so frightened that her face turned pale. She frantically tried to get away, but was pushed so hard that she stumbled a few steps and nearly fell to the ground. Finally, a man carrying groceries nearby couldn't stand it anymore and yelled at her to disperse the children."

As Shen Jingyuan listened, his eyes darkened slightly and his knuckles tightened unconsciously.

"Perhaps she was frightened, or perhaps she felt the streets were too dangerous, so she hailed a rickshaw in a panic and said she wanted to go to the train station." Shopkeeper Song paused before continuing, "She seemed anxious to leave Jinling, but when she got there, she felt around, her face pale, and she stammered for a long time, unable to pay.

The shopkeeper's frown deepened. "I think it was taken away by a group of street kids. These kids grew up on the streets. They're pitiful, but also hateful."

Shen Jingyuan's heart sank suddenly. He not only thought about his past, but also worried about Lin Xi's situation.

"The driver was waiting for the money, and she had no choice but to hastily remove a pair of earrings from her ears to pay for the fare. The earrings were worth far more than the fare, so the driver made a profit, but she... naturally didn't have much money left for a train ticket. We asked around at the train station, but no one had ever seen a lady like that buy a ticket and get on a train."

The shopkeeper said as he pulled out a handkerchief from his bosom and unfolded it in his palm. Lying quietly inside was a pair of glittering pearl earrings. "I took the initiative to buy these earrings from the coachman."

Shen Jingyuan's gaze narrowed slightly, falling on the pair of earrings. He hesitated for a while before reaching out to take them.

"The final clue was that someone saw her wandering around the train station in a daze for a while, then heading towards the crowded streets at the foot of the old city wall."

"There are a lot of shops over there, especially pawnshops. Let's go along that path. I'm familiar with the owner of Hengtong Pawn Shop, and the description of the woman he described matches exactly the person you're looking for."

"The girl pawned a jade bracelet of exceptional quality. Because she was restless and didn't know the market value, the cashier at the counter undercut her by a few dollars and some loose change. Fortunately, she didn't leave immediately after pawning the item. She seemed extremely tired and sat in the rest area in the pawnshop, lost in thought."

"I got the letter and immediately had my clerk pretend to pawn something and pass a message to Hengtong, telling him to find a way to keep her there. Say there's a minor flaw in the paperwork that needs to be checked, or use the excuse of checking the bills. Whatever it takes to hold her back for a moment, and I'll come back to report to you immediately."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he bowed slightly and said, "Boss, the person should still be in Hengtong Pawnshop now, you see..."

After Shen Jingyuan heard this, the anger in his chest almost solidified. He turned around abruptly, his movement causing a gust of wind, and spoke in a cold tone.

"lead the way!"