The shot hit the ugly woman's arm. With a pained cry, she spun around, glancing in the direction where Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan were hidden, then quickly fled.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan immediately rushed into the house to check on the two children. Afterward, Leng Ruoli transferred the children into her system space and then pursued the ugly woman.
As they emerged, they were intercepted by the two black-clothed men who had just stolen the children. The four immediately engaged in a fight.
The martial arts of these two black-clothed men were not very high. Leng Ruoli barely made a move before Jun Mohan killed them both within a few rounds. The couple then immediately gave chase.
Because the couple had been delayed by their fight with the two black-clothed men, by the time they chased out of the dilapidated courtyard, the ugly woman had already vanished without a trace.
Jun Mohan had to rely on his keen sense of smell to lead Leng Ruoli. However, after only a short pursuit, they found the ugly woman by a riverbank. Since Leng Ruoli's gunshot had injured her arm severely, she was unable to run fast. 138 Reading Network.
At this point, Leng Ruoli took out another miniature handgun, intending to kill the ugly woman immediately.
Sensing her danger, the ugly woman leaped into the river behind her with all her might, at her fastest speed. Immediately, two large bubbles rose from the water, and the ugly woman disappeared without a trace. The river surface returned to its calm state.
"Alas, she got away again," Leng Ruoli said with some regret.
"Li'er, it's alright. She's in such a state, and severely wounded. That should be enough for her to struggle with," Jun Mohan comforted her.
Leng Ruoli nodded at his words.
Then, the couple immediately returned to the inn.
Inside their room at the inn, Leng Ruoli released the two children from her system space and woke them up.
The little girl who sold steamed buns opened her eyes and recognized Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan as the brother and sister who had bought her steamed buns by the bridge earlier that day. She mistakenly believed they had kidnapped her, and she and the little boy beside her looked at them fearfully.
"Brother, Sister, why did you bring me here? Are you regretting not letting me give you change?" the little girl asked with a face full of terror.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan: "..."
"No, it's not like that. It's because two bad people knocked you unconscious and took you away. We happened to rescue you. Do you remember how you were knocked unconscious by the bad people?" Leng Ruoli explained, then asked with concern.
"Sister, I was just boiling medicine for my mother when I suddenly felt someone behind me. As I turned to look, that person covered my mouth with their hand. Then, I felt a sharp pain in my back and passed out. I don't know what happened after that," the little girl replied, recalling the events carefully.
"What about you?" Leng Ruoli asked, gesturing to the little boy.
"Sister, I fell asleep in bed. I don't know what happened afterward," the little boy answered fearfully.
"Do you two still know how to get home? I can take you back," Leng Ruoli said with a smile.
Both children nodded vigorously.
Then, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan first took the boy closest to them home, and then took the girl home.
As Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan were nearing the girl's doorstep, they looked ahead and saw a woman leaning on a cane, standing by the entrance, looking around anxiously. Her pale face was etched with worry.
Seeing this, the little girl ran over quickly.
"Mother, why did you come out?" the little girl asked, holding onto the woman.
"Yu'er, where did you go in the middle of the night? I called for you in the room for a long time, but you didn't respond. I got up and went to check the kitchen, only to find soup medicine spilled all over the floor. I thought something had happened to you!" Yu'er's mother said, her face full of concern.
"Mother, I'm fine. Suddenly a cat appeared in the kitchen, which startled me greatly. I accidentally dropped the bowl of medicine. I was so angry that I went to settle the score with the cat, and I accidentally ran into the alley," Yu'er said with a smile, not mentioning a word about being stolen by bad people.
"You child, what does that cat know? If the soup medicine spilled, it spilled. You still ran out to argue with a cat, causing me such worry," the mother said, playfully tapping Yu'er's small nose with her finger.
"Mother, I was wrong. I promise not to do that again next time," Yu'er lowered her head in apology.
"Remember, there will be no next time," Yu'er's mother warned again.
Hearing this, Yu'er nodded vigorously.
"Mother, Yu'er wants to introduce you to two people." At this moment, Yu'er pointed at Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan and said, "Mother, Yu'er ran far away just now, and I was very scared in the dark alley. It was this older brother and this older sister who were worried about my safety and specifically sent me back."
After hearing Yu'er's words, the woman glanced at Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan. They exuded an air of nobility, and the woman immediately guessed they were not ordinary people.
"This humble woman thanks the young master and young lady for escorting my daughter home. Bianjing hasn't been very safe recently, with frequent child-snatching incidents. As a mother, I am very worried about my children's safety. My daughter was quite mischievous tonight, and it's fortunate you two helped me bring her back," the woman said with a worried expression.
"You don't need to be so polite, sister. I was just passing by and learned that this little girl was lost, so I brought her home along the way. However, what about this child-snatching matter you just mentioned?" Leng Ruoli asked with evident confusion.
"Are you two outsiders who just arrived in Bianjing?" As she spoke, Leng Ruoli nodded slightly.
"My brother and I just arrived in Bianjing today," Leng Ruoli said, half-truthfully.
"No wonder you don't know about the child-snatching incidents in Bianjing," the woman sighed. She had been standing for quite some time and was now feeling tired.
"Then, sister, could you briefly tell us about this matter?"
"Alas, in the past six months, there have been numerous child-snatching incidents in Bianjing. This humble woman heard that the children who were stolen were later found to be corpses with their blood drained, their appearances terrifying. To this day, the authorities have not been able to catch the culprit. This matter has made Bianjing a place of great unrest," the woman said, panting slightly.
"Oh, so that's how it is! Thank you for informing us, sister. Since you are not feeling well, we will not disturb you any further." Leng Ruoli glanced at the woman's condition and decided to take her leave immediately.
As she was leaving, Leng Ruoli looked at the environment where the little girl lived. The entire alleyway was filled with poorly constructed bamboo fence houses, with no tiles on the roofs, only thatched roofs covering them.