Ya'er was back to her calm self and her father tucked her into bed. Filled with fatigue, Ya'er soon fell asleep, and the gentle sound of her breathing filled the room. The middle aged man was relieved and beckoned for Feng Yongrui to move to another room.
The two of them sat down, and the middle aged man, Han Gang, offered Feng Yongrui a cup of water to drink. Feng Yongrui gladly took the cup and gulped down the water greedily. His nerves that were taut and stressed gradually eased and he sighed.
"So... as you may have seen, my daughter is... sick," Han Gang said. He looked down, trying to hide the emotions on his face.
"The villagers all say she's gone crazy, but I can't... I don't want to accept it. I brought her to the doctor, but he said there's nothing that can be done..." Han Gang tightened his fists.
"You... sir, you're a cultivator, right? Do you know what happened to her?" Han Gang's face was worn with age, worry, and fatigue.
Feng Yongrui pursed his lips and shook his head, indicating he didn't know. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with her... but, I want you to tell me what happened to her. Tell me everything you know. How did you lose her, and how did you find her? Tell me everything that happened that day, and don't miss a single detail."
Han Gang nodded and began to speak. About six months ago, Ya'er had turned 8 years old. Han Gang had promised her that when she turned eight, he would take her with him when they went hunting.
That day, Han Gang was by her side all the time. The two hunted some animals together, and managed to catch 2 rabbits.
"Did anything happen while you were hunting?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Well... nothing out of the ordinary, I guess? Ya'er complained that her head hurt, but that's quite normal since she was under the sun for a long time..." Han Gang looked at Feng Yongrui's expression and frowned.
"Was there something wrong about it?" He asked.
Feng Yongrui looked at him. "You said Ya'er's head hurt?"
"Yes..."
That black wriggly object was inside her head too... Was it a coincidence?
Maybe not.
"Tell me what happened before her head hurt," Feng Yongrui said, his eyes gleaming.
Han Gang put his hand under his chin, where stubble had begun to grow, and looked back at the events of that day.
"To be honest, I don't really remember," He admitted. "At that time, I didn't think it was a big deal. She didn't even complain that much... She only said it in passing..."
Feng Yongrui was disappointed. Was he too sensitive?
"Well, it's okay. Go on and continue," Feng Yongrui urged.
Han Gang paused and then recalled what had happened next. The hunting that day was considered successful, so the two went home in bright spirits. They cooked the rabbit meat and had dinner.
There was nothing out of place at that time. The two went to bed, but at dawn, Han Gang woke up to go to the toilet. When he opened his eyes, he found that Ya'er was gone.
His first thought was that she had gone to the toilet as well, so he wasn't worried. But after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of her. It was then that Han Gang remembered the "ghosts" that had kidnapped the children.
He was panic-stricken and began searching for her everywhere. He even roused his neighbors and asked them if they had seen Ya'er. Unfortunately, she was gone.
"No sign of the house being broken into, right?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Nope. There was no traces of a living person breaking into the house. My things weren't stolen either," Han Gang replied.
"But... as I remember, you said she was kidnapped, not caught by a ghost... What made you think that way?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Here's the thing, I believe someone was luring Ya'er away," Han Gang said.
Feng Yongrui observed the man. His face was serious, so he should be telling the truth.
"I checked the doors, it was locked from the inside. The latch can only be unlocked from the inside, so only Ya'er would be able to unlock the door without leaving any traces."
Han Gang stopped for a while and his face turned melancholic. "I asked the government to investigate, and they sent a few experts to check if someone broke into the house using internal energy or a spell, but they didn't find anything."
"Hmm... Then you think Ya'er went out of the house by herself, and someone was luring her?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Exactly. You see, on the second day when I was looking for Ya'er, I walked around and found this," Han Gang took out a small bell from his pocket.
"This was something I gave her a long time ago, and she always wears it like a pendant, around the waist here," He pointed to his abdomen.
"I found this lying on the ground near the forest, and there was some Fuahua sap sticking to it. As you may know, Fuahua sap is just like honey, sweet and delicious. Children love it very much, and my Ya'er is no exception."
"However, the Fuahua sap comes from the Fuahua tree, which isn't a local tree. Finding a Fuahua tree in this area is very rare and almost non-existent. Therefore, the Fuahua sap that I found was not from the forest. Someone must've deliberately brought it and used it to lure Ya'er outside."
Han Gang gave a slight pause, and then continued. "If the one who was kidnapping the children was a ghost, why would the ghost need to try to lure the children away? A ghost can just come inside and kidnap the child without using any petty tricks, right?"
"...So that's how you reasoned that Ya'er was kidnapped..." Feng Yongrui nodded in understanding. "Wait, but, how do you lure a sleeping child to wake up, go outside, and follow you just by using some sweet tasting sap?"
Something doesn't feel right...
"...To be honest, I'm not sure either. It's just my hypothesis. How the kidnapper managed to lure my daughter away and make her walk out of the house on her own volition is indeed a mystery," Han Gang admitted.
"Okay, well, when did you find her?"
"As you might have imagined, I was so distraught when I lost her. I kept searching around the area, hoping to find traces of her. About 3 months after her kidnapping, I was going hunting when I found traces of blood in some bushes."
Han Gang explained that he followed the trail of blood to a cave, where he found Ya'er lying unconscious. She was barefoot, blood streaking the soles of her feet, and she was wearing ragged clothes.
A rope was tied around her neck. Her wrists had red markings, indicating that she had been tied up.
"Seeing the rope markings and her malnourished body, I became more convinced that she was kidnapped by a sinister person instead of a ghost," Han Gang said.
Feng Yongrui was quiet for a while and processed the information.
"Oh right, when I found Ya'er, she had scars all over her body," Han Gang said, gritting his teeth. "I'm sure those children were forced to do something, or made into slaves. Ghosts wouldn't do that to kids... Only humans have a heart sinister enough to do something like this."
"...I think you helped me a lot. Now I can investigate further, thank you for your help," Feng Yongrui said.
Han Gang nodded. "It's alright. I just hope you can find out the devils behind this and bring them to justice."
Feng Yongrui nodded. After bidding goodbye, he left the house. The sun had gone to bed and the dark sky was filled with countless stars. Feng Yongrui decided to go back to sleep and continue his investigation tomorrow.
The next day, Feng Yongrui woke up early and re-visited the homes of the victims, this time asking a specific question. On the day the child disappeared, did the child suffer from slight migraine?
Feng Yongrui still remembered the disgusting worm inside Ya'er's head, and he felt that it was really important. After Feng Yongrui visited all their homes, Feng Yongrui found that it was true: most of the children complained of having a headache on the same day they were kidnapped.
Feng Yongrui felt like he was on to something. He left the town and returned to the Immortal Pathway Sect. He checked on his disciples, and when he saw that they were studying well, he felt reassured.
Feng Yongrui went to the Immortal Pathway Sect's library and began scouring the books like a bookworm. It might have taken him a long time to search for the books he needed, but thankfully the System helped him.
Feng Yongrui finally found the books he needed, and he began reading at a fast pace.
***
Feng Yongrui: *searches the library for the books he wants*
Feng Yongrui: System, help me!
Librarian: "..." Then what am I here for?!
***
Note: The Fuahua tree is an imaginary tree. It doesn't exist in real life.
***
What is the one thing that can lure you away? Money? Books? A brand new sports car?
Comment below~