140. Analysis

Yuwen Chengdu told Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang everything that had happened after he and Zhang Xuan parted ways, including the fact that Zhang Xuan was heading toward the place where the traffickers rested. Yang Zaixing also described the situation at the front gate and voiced his doubts. Since Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang were both seasoned men of the world, they wanted to hear what the two elders thought of this eerily empty stronghold.

After listening, Uncle Tong chuckled. “Perhaps it is just as you said. All the traffickers in this stronghold may simply be asleep. This is neither a bandit lair nor a military camp. How could they possibly run it like one? The children are locked in the cells and cannot get out, and the stronghold is located in such a remote place that ordinary people would never find it. Even if someone happened to see it, the size of the place would probably scare them away—or they would be driven off by the traffickers if they came too close. As for the authorities, who would come to a place like this for no reason? And at this hour, ordinary people would already be asleep, especially those with little entertainment to occupy them. They would only turn in earlier. So there is no need for the traffickers to post guards at night. How could they have anticipated that people like us would come to raid the place? That is my guess. We have simply made the problem more complicated than it really is.”

Yang Zaixing and the others found his reasoning quite convincing. In a remote place where even the emperor’s authority could barely reach, a place so barren that not even birds would bother to relieve themselves, who would be foolish enough to patrol in the middle of the night unless they knew someone was coming to raid the stronghold?

“Let’s go find Little Xuan,” Yang Zaixing said. “We should make sure he doesn’t cause some enormous commotion.”

———————————————

After parting from Yuwen Chengdu, Zhang Xuan followed the map of the stronghold provided by the Nie brothers and made his way toward the traffickers’ quarters. Just as he was about to leave, however, one of the children who had been sitting inside the cell suddenly stood up, walked to the door, and called out to him.

“Big Brother, are you here to rescue us?”

When Zhang Xuan first heard the voice, gooseflesh rose all over his body. But after he understood the words, he patted his chest in relief.

Good heavens, that had nearly scared him to death.

He turned toward the cell and saw a small figure standing at the doorway. He immediately raised a finger to his lips and waved for the child to stop talking. Then he walked over, crouched beside the cell door, and whispered, “Yes. Don’t be afraid. I’m here to rescue you. But before I get you out, you must behave and, above all, make no sound. We mustn’t let those villains notice us. I’m going to deal with them in a moment. If you hear anything, don’t be frightened. Some of the other children may wake up, so I want you to calm them down, all right?”

The child standing at the doorway nodded and also placed a finger against his lips.

Zhang Xuan nodded, then gently stroked the child’s head. “Wait a little longer. Soon, you’ll all be free.”

He rose and continued toward the traffickers’ quarters. As he walked, he kept glancing back at the child standing by the cell door.

Could the feeling of being watched just now have come from that child? If so, the child’s mental strength was probably on par with Nie Zheng’s. Zhang Xuan truly had no idea what these children had endured here to make them so resilient. He could not even tell whether that was a good thing or a bad one.

Following his memory, Zhang Xuan reached the place where the traffickers rested. It consisted of two wooden huts. Both doors were half open. Zhang Xuan pushed open one of them and peered inside from the doorway. It was pitch-black, and every now and then he could hear a few snores. They were all asleep.

He then went to the other hut and pushed open its door. The situation was exactly the same.

After closing the door again, Zhang Xuan could not help thinking how convenient it would be if he had two grenades—one for each hut. He could take them all out in an instant. Unfortunately, he had only himself to rely on, which made things rather troublesome.

Zhang Xuan spread his hand, closed his eyes, and silently repeated in his mind, “Grenade, grenade.” He then moved his hand slightly and opened his eyes.

As expected, there was nothing in his palm.

It seemed he really did not possess some cheating “golden finger.” He had prayed with such sincerity, yet not even a grenade had appeared. If a grenade was too much to ask, a machine gun would have done. And if that was still asking too much, then a rocket launcher would have been fine—as long as it came with ammunition.

Not wanting to alert the enemy, Zhang Xuan moved away for the time being. He decided to go to the front gate and see how Yang Zaixing and the others were progressing. Had the guards there been dealt with? Was the gate already open? If they had not finished, he would lend them a hand. If they had, he would join them first and discuss how they should deal with the traffickers in these two huts.

However, as Zhang Xuan headed toward the front gate, he noticed another wooden hut not far from the two huts. Farther away from that one stood yet another.

Neither hut had appeared in the description given by the Nie brothers. Could they have been built within the past two days?

Zhang Xuan went behind the nearer hut and discovered that its door was locked. There was no light inside. Peering through the cracks between the planks, he saw nothing but darkness.

He could only make his way toward the more distant hut. But just as he was about to reach it, a foul stench suddenly wafted over.

He immediately covered his mouth and nose. His entire body felt sick, and he had a powerful urge to vomit.