Chapter Forty-Three: Anxious and Impatient

Three minutes passed. When the man finally came to his senses, he frowned and shook his head hard, feeling as though he had forgotten something important. Only after forcing himself to recall where he was did he suddenly realize that the child who had been sitting in the cart was gone.

Panic-stricken, he jumped to his feet, abandoned the cart, and searched frantically in both directions. Finding nothing, he circled the supermarket twice more, but the child was nowhere to be seen. Only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation. He rushed to the service desk, described the child’s appearance, name, and the spot where she had disappeared, and then began to scrutinize the surveillance footage.

Those who paid close attention would recognize that this anxious man searching for the child was Li Changfeng, who had taken Yaya out for the day. And the missing child was indeed Yaya. So, where was Yaya now?

At that moment, Yaya, somewhat bewildered, was following behind Zhang San as they boarded a train back to City B. City B was Zhang San’s stronghold. For safety, he wanted to go home for a couple of days to see how things would unfold and to begin training the child—he couldn’t risk exposing his true identity. Children aged four or five were the easiest to coax! By the time he delivered her to the Xuanyuan family, even if he couldn’t pass as her father, at least the child would recognize him as a relative. The Xuanyuan family was known for its strict traditions; he would need to come up with a new identity for the child, which was headache enough. All this for just four spirit stones! Was it worth all this trouble?

Back in City Y, Li Changfeng had confirmed that Yaya was truly missing. He called the police, notified Tang Wei and the others, and immediately phoned his family in City B, asking his father for help. He even requested that his uncle, a high-ranking official in a certain department, make a call to City Y so the local police would take the matter seriously.

His next step was to search the city, hoping he might spot the lost child somewhere. After all, the surveillance footage showed Yaya leaving the store alone—no one had taken her by force.

When Tang Wei received the call, her heart nearly stopped from anxiety. She was at a complete loss and could do nothing but weep, muttering, “How could she just vanish like that? What do we do now? What should we do?”

In the end, it was Tang’s father who took charge, arranging for the whole family to take a taxi into the city. On the way, he contacted both Tang Feng’s and Tang Jing’s families, who were also in town. Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and began searching various parts of the city. They combed through amusement parks, playgrounds, snack shops, and even little girls’ favorite clothing stores.

Meanwhile, the police station had received orders from higher up: no matter what, the child had to be found promptly. With the upper authorities taking the case so seriously, the city’s police chief personally gave orders to all district stations—no one was to rest until the child was found.

Police cars patrolled every few minutes. Checkpoints were set up at major intersections. All outbound vehicles at the station underwent strict inspection before departure. Groups of officers, photos in hand, searched every nook and cranny. The whole city was on edge, with citizens speculating whether a major crime had occurred or if a fugitive had slipped into their midst.

By after ten o’clock that night, most city shops had closed. In the city police headquarters’ conference room, the mood was heavy as the heads of various departments and district chiefs sat with a weight on their chests. The man at the head of the table slammed his fist down and roared, “What are you all doing? So many people, and you can’t find one child! Is this your idea of efficiency? Useless, the lot of you! Let me tell you, the higher-ups are paying close attention to this. I received a direct call from above—the child must be found. I’m giving you three days. If you can’t complete the task, you’d better be ready to lose your positions. I’ll find someone more capable to do your jobs. All districts, keep some personnel on the search tonight and intensify the effort during the day. Tomorrow, I’ll inform the chiefs of neighboring cities and ask for their cooperation. No—don’t wait until tomorrow. Secretary Lin, contact them immediately! Meeting adjourned!”

Everyone in the conference room leapt to their feet to gather their things and leave. The middle-aged man, unable to bear the sight, pounded the table again and shouted, “Why are you all so slow? If you dawdle any longer, it’ll be daylight by the time you get back to your posts! Is this how you always do your work?” This time, everyone grabbed their belongings and rushed out like they’d seen a ghost. In less than ten seconds the room was empty, leaving only the chief, fuming with rage.

At Tang Feng’s home, the entire family had gathered. Li Changfeng sat in a corner lost in remorse. Even after an entire day of searching with legs as heavy as lead, he felt nothing but regret. Why hadn’t he kept a better eye on Yaya? How could he have let her wander off alone? The Tang family had shown great kindness to his own, and yet he had lost their most precious child. He almost wished he were dead.

Tang Wei, limp with exhaustion, slumped on the sofa, her eyes swollen like twin lightbulbs. When she caught sight of Li Changfeng, rage flared within her. She stood up, strode over to him, and raised her hand, intent on striking him, but Zixuan quickly held her back.

Zixuan tried to calm her: “Weiwei, getting angry won’t help now. Let him recount exactly what happened today—maybe we’ll find a clue in his story.”

Old Li, who had spent the day searching with the rest, barked at Li Changfeng, “You fool! Hurry up and tell everyone exactly what happened. If you leave out anything important, I’ll deal with you myself!”

Li Changfeng began recalling everything from their arrival at the supermarket, including everything they’d bought. Finally, he described a strange moment captured on the surveillance video: though it felt like only a moment to him, the footage showed him staring blankly at the shelves for three whole minutes, during which Yaya climbed out of the cart unnoticed.

Tang Wei and Zixuan exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up—they sensed this might be the key. Tang Feng, however, began to scold, “Of course you didn’t notice! She’s just a child, but you left her while you zoned out. If you can’t handle taking care of kids, you shouldn’t bring them out! If you do, at least keep an eye on them—”

“All right, Feng,” Tang’s father interrupted her tirade. “There’s no point arguing now. Let’s focus on what to do tomorrow.” Then he turned to Zixuan. “Zixuan, did something occur to you?”

He addressed Zixuan first because he noticed the young man’s expression had changed after hearing Li Changfeng’s account, as if he’d thought of a solution.

Zixuan did not disappoint. “I think I have a general idea. Everyone should rest for now. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the supermarket and review the surveillance footage again.” Tang Feng, though reluctant, led everyone to their rooms.

Once he was sure Old Li and his wife were asleep, Tang Wei gathered the family together. To avoid being disturbed, Zixuan even went to Old Li’s room and cast a sleep spell before leading everyone into their private space.

Tang’s father was the first to ask, “Zixuan, do you suspect something you don’t want them to know?”

Zixuan’s expression was grave. “Weiwei and I suspect this was done by someone like us—a fellow practitioner. But what we don’t know is why they took Yaya.”

Tang Feng’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “You think it was someone who practices immortal arts like us? Could they know about the secret manual little sister has, and kidnapped Yaya to threaten us?”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Tang Jun replied sagely, then fell silent.

Tang’s mother asked anxiously, “Well then, what do you think the reason is?”

Everyone watched him expectantly, only to hear him say, quite matter-of-factly, “I don’t know either.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at him. Tang Feng pinched him hard on the arm, fuming, “Then why say anything at all?”

“I just don’t think it’s your reason,” Tang Jun mumbled defensively.

Their second brother-in-law chimed in, “I agree—it’s unlikely to be about our manual. Weiwei is so generous; if anyone asked her for it, she wouldn’t refuse. Why resort to kidnapping? There must be something we don’t know.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and began pondering what they could do next.