Chapter 252 - 250: People from Two Worlds (Second Update)

Chapter 252: Chapter 250: People from Two Worlds (Second Update)

This request isn’t too unreasonable, especially since the place where the two children went missing isn’t far from the government office of the Western Capital. Mr. Yao hesitated only for a moment before agreeing outright.

After that, Xu Jing and the Xu Sihai father and son sat in their carriage, following behind Mr. Yao’s horse. However, there were government officials surrounding their carriage, clearly treating them as major suspects.

As soon as Xu Sihai got in the carriage, he said, "Jing, even though Yang’er’s nature can be a bit rash, he would never do something like kidnapping! Jin’er is even more impossible! Before I came out, I already spoke with Dong and the others, urging them to find the two quickly."

Dong was the long-term follower by Xu Sihai’s side.

Xu Jing glanced reassuringly at Xu Sihai and said, "I’m aware of that, Uncle, but you need to be prepared that Dong and the others... may not be able to find our cousins."

Xu Sihai furrowed his brow tightly, and Xu Huan’an beside him said in a deep voice, "Jing, do you think Huai Yang and Huaijin are being used by villains?"

"Yes, otherwise this would be too much of a coincidence. Just a few days ago, we had a conflict with those two children on the street; now they’re suddenly kidnapped. Moreover, all the details show that this matter involves our cousins."

Xu Jing curled her lip coldly and said, "The setup is too obvious. If I’m not mistaken, our cousins are already controlled by the person behind this, but rest assured, Uncle and Brother, the mastermind’s goal is to frame us. They won’t easily harm our cousins."

Having been in business for so many years, Xu Sihai had seen all sorts of underhanded tactics. But it was rare to have someone so blatantly lash out at his family. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth, "Who the hell is this! And of all places, it had to be in the Capital City. If this were Bianzhou, I’d have made sure they’d regret it!"

Nonetheless, this was the Western Capital.

Even he was at a loss.

Xu Huan’an frowned and said, "If Huai Yang and Huaijin are truly framed as the kidnappers, we’re in big trouble."

Both the Wang Family and Xu Family are formidable, especially the Wang Family.

Even the current Empress Dowager is from the Wang Family. If we anger them, any of them could crush us with a mere slap!

"Uncle and Brother, don’t panic yet."

Xu Jing said solemnly, "Since it’s a fabricated setup, there will definitely be a flaw. As long as we can prove that our cousins did not kidnap Wang Baojun and Xu Hanguang, we’ll be safe."

She didn’t doubt her ability to find that flaw; her only concern was whether those people would give her the time to find it.

Soon, the carriage arrived near Baoyue Pavilion. Just as Xu Jing got off the carriage, she noticed a section of the road being repaired. The street beside it was piled with sand and mud, with three craftsmen diligently working.

As Xu Jing was closely examining the craftsmen, Mr. Yao came over and said, "The alley where the two young masters were kidnapped is just ahead. Please, Miss Xu, hurry up. If I return too late, Jiang Zhaoyin might blame me."

Mr. Yao had helped her as much as he could, and Xu Jing was already very grateful, not wanting to make things difficult for him. She nodded and said, "Please lead the way, Mr. Yao."

They walked about twenty steps forward and reached the alley. It was a narrow alley filled with sand and mud for the roadworks. Though the alley was narrow, it was fairly deep, allowing ten or so steps inside.

Xu Jing slightly furrowed her brow and said, "This alley would be very suitable for hiding people."

The road construction sand and stones inside formed several small mounds, and stacks of paving bricks were piled high, each hiding spot could easily conceal a person.

At the end, a few unused wheelbarrows were also stored.

Mr. Yao walked beside her and said, "This is the only alley like this nearby. Other alleys must be kept clear for pedestrian traffic, so the craftsmen mainly pile things here.

But since the road that needs repair isn’t here, they usually work on this other section of the road and only come here to get materials.

They usually take a pile of materials at once, and only come back afterward, so there are often times when the alley is empty.

Because of the roadworks, there’s little pedestrian traffic, and not even a small vendor around to watch.

It’s indeed... perfect for an abduction.

As Mr. Yao explained, he walked over to a more secluded mound and said, "When we came to investigate, we found a piece of jade and a bag of scattered sweets here. According to the Wang Family and Xu Family members, the jade piece was one that Young Master Wang always wore, while Young Master Xu was holding a bag of sweets as snacks before he went missing."

Xu Jing squatted down, using her finger to gently touch some sugar crumbs on the ground, then looked up at the messy footprints, her brows furrowing even tighter. "Given the amount of sand and mud here, it’s easy for footprints to be left, but unfortunately, the footprints are already all messed up."

The ground was cluttered with countless, chaotic footprints, including those of the craftsmen and those from the government officials investigating the case. Without a specialist in footprint analysis on the scene, it was truly difficult to make anything out of the site.

Yet, Mr. Yao suddenly sighed, "No wonder Miss Xu knows the importance of footprints in an investigation. When we first arrived, the footprints weren’t as destroyed as they are now. Our government office happened to have a government official skilled in footprint tracking, and according to his analysis, there were likely two kidnappers who ambushed in the alley. The two children were controlled as soon as they entered.

They likely used burlap sacks to cover the children, pretending to be sand haulers to carry them away while the sacks hid their faces.

We already asked the craftsmen. They said that around 9 a.m., a child suddenly came running over with several meat buns, claiming it was a kind gesture for their hard work, so they didn’t notice the alley at that time."

As he spoke, he pointed to a light front-heavy footprint near the mound, along with a relatively complete footprint next to it, saying, "This spot doesn’t see much traffic, so these two footprints are relatively intact. One of the kidnappers likely crouched here, with their right knee touching the ground, waiting for the other kidnapper to lure the children in, explaining why their right footprint appears to be tiptoeing."

Upon closer inspection, Xu Jing confirmed that the two footprints were indeed clearer, and even the tread patterns of the soles could be made out.

After finishing his explanation, Mr. Yao paused, then said with a complicated tone, "And as for the other footprint, it looks quite dainty, suggesting it was left by a woman.

That woman’s footprint mainly fell in the middle of the road, which was quickly covered by other footprints, but we had an artist sketch the footprint."

Following behind, Xu Huan’an was immediately delighted, "In that case, once we find Huai Yang and the others, we can compare their shoes with the kidnappers’ footprints, and then..."

"If the one who set this up isn’t a fool, they would naturally think of that. Most likely, they captured our cousins first, then let people similar in stature wear their shoes to carry out the kidnapping."

Xu Jing spoke coldly without raising her head.

Xu Huan’an was momentarily speechless, staring blankly at the cold and unsmiling woman not far away.

If previous Jing was like an entirely different person from before, then the current Jing seemed as if she came from another place altogether.

The sense of unfamiliarity and detachment was even stronger.

Xu Jing contemplated the two footprints for a while, then stood up and said, "Mr. Yao, since you’ve helped me this much, might you disclose a bit more? With just these footprints, we can’t conclude that the kidnappers are my cousins; there are many male and female pairs in the world.

Is there some other crucial clue you haven’t mentioned to me?"

What could be so crucial that the government in Western Capital believes they are major suspects?

The clue surely points directly at them, or rather, directly at Xu Huaiyang and Xu Huaijin.