The plans for what to do next were already roughly in place in Ye Tiancheng's mind.
First, he had reported his safety to Hou Mingzhu and confirmed with her that nothing had happened on her end.
As usual, everything was safe with Hou Mingzhu, and there was nothing for Ye Tiancheng to worry about for the time being. Ye Tiancheng then put his mind at ease and began contacting Nie Chongyang.
Nie Chongyang was quite surprised to receive communication from Ye Tiancheng. After confirming it wasn't the little fox contacting them, and upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's request, he couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Ye truly never visits without a purpose."
Ye Tiancheng thought to himself that although he and the little fox had provided Nie Chongyang with a lot of help, he had also caused Nie Chongyang quite a bit of trouble.
Previously, Ye Tiancheng had sought Nie Chongyang's help with the Shao Ying incident, and the person was still being held by Nie Chongyang.
Ye Tiancheng replied with a hint of embarrassment, "I don't wish to be this way either, but my schedule is quite tight. Even I am often either on my way to encountering trouble or have already encountered something. This time, I truly feel it's tricky, and I have a feeling it involves quite a lot, which is why I've come to trouble you."
What the latter said was not false. Ye Tiancheng said he felt it involved quite a lot, not to deliberately exaggerate to ensure Nie Chongyang's help.
Although this village was not famous and had a limited audience, the number of tourists who traveled to this village for evening events every year was not small when counted strictly. If there were any problems here, if something had happened, then it would definitely not be a minor matter.
Even if Ye Tiancheng did not contact Nie Chongyang now, perhaps one day, Nie Chongyang's team would investigate this area.
After Nie Chongyang's team was established and began investigating and researching strange and mysterious events, they were also compiling information from various sources, wanting to know if there might be anything else hidden within past investigations that might have already been resolved or remained unresolved.
If the village where Ye Tiancheng and the others were currently located was indeed confirmed to have had an incident, then it was only a matter of time before Nie Chongyang discovered it.
Upon hearing this, Nie Chongyang took Ye Tiancheng's words seriously, believing that Ye Tiancheng was not crying wolf. "I believe your deductions have their own reasons. I will take this seriously, try to retrieve the relevant information for analysis, and provide you with assistance. Be careful on your end, and if you need anything else, feel free to ask."
"Is your time very tight?"
Ye Tiancheng indicated that it indeed was. When they checked into Mei Mei's guesthouse, they only had three days left. Now, they truly had only two days and one night to spare for Ye Tiancheng to rush to investigate clues.
Nie Chongyang then said, "I understand. I will expedite things on my end."
Ye Tiancheng said, "Thank you very much for your help. If you need any assistance in the future, you can also ask us. As long as we can help, we will definitely not refuse."
Speaking of which, it was quite a coincidence.
Nie Chongyang was not polite either, "Speaking of which, we do have a rather tricky matter on our end. If you can help, that would be great. Fortunately, the situation is not urgent, and it should still be manageable after you've finished with your affairs."
This was indeed a coincidence. Since Ye Tiancheng had spoken, he would not go back on his promise.
Moreover, he had genuinely offered to help with this matter.
Having a give-and-take relationship was more conducive to fostering feelings. When interests and emotions intertwined, and relationships became increasingly complex, they would also become increasingly firm.
If Nie Chongyang's team only provided Ye Tiancheng with assistance without asking for anything in return, Ye Tiancheng would instead worry if they were setting a trap for him or had ulterior motives.
Furthermore, not knowing how to repay kindness would be too greedy.
"Okay, if anything unexpected happens on your end and I cannot get there in time, you can also ask me remotely," Ye Tiancheng immediately agreed.
Ye Tiancheng and Nie Chongyang quickly reached a consensus, with both parties obtaining what they desired before they both hung up.
Remotely, since Nie Chongyang was already helping, the next task was to find other breakthroughs and try to gather information from other tourists who, like Ye Tiancheng and his companions, were also outsiders.
Ye Tiancheng had some experience in finding people to talk to.
After all, with considerable social experience, Ye Tiancheng possessed a certain discerning eye. He wouldn't claim to be able to judge people with 100% accuracy, but he could generally get a good sense of them, and there wouldn't be any major problems.
To improve efficiency, Ye Tiancheng, Fatty, and the little fox split up. Considering the little fox's safety, Ye Tiancheng instructed him to return to his side at least before dark.
The current situation was quite clear: the little fox was more likely to be the one being targeted, and his safety was a serious concern. Ye Tiancheng was somewhat uneasy about him.
The little fox understood Ye Tiancheng's concern for him and readily agreed.
He would not easily risk his own life. After all, to die before achieving anything was not bravery, but recklessness. The little fox cherished his own life quite a bit.
After Ye Tiancheng began acting alone, he wandered around the village. Since they had already explored the village on the day they arrived, they had a basic impression of the entire village's layout, so he wasn't wandering aimlessly. He also didn't have to worry about overlapping with the areas explored by Fatty and the little fox.
He appeared no different from other tourists who were out sightseeing. However, while other tourists focused more on the scenery and interesting items sold in the village, Ye Tiancheng's attention was on these tourists themselves.
Ye Tiancheng observed them one by one, eliminating possibilities. He didn't have any success for the entire morning, but he wasn't anxious. As he ambled along, he finally identified a target—specifically, a family of three.
Ye Tiancheng had been paying attention to this family for a while.
He first noticed them because Ye Tiancheng himself had a wife and daughter, and seeing a similar family combination, he naturally looked at them more. After a few more glances, he had identified his target.
To confirm he hadn't misjudged, Ye Tiancheng observed the family closely for a period of time. He was quite certain there were no major issues, and only then did he begin to secretly plan how to approach them and achieve his objective.
Although it wasn't obvious, this family was also heading towards the upcoming evening event.
From their demeanor, Ye Tiancheng didn't think they were completely unaware.
After all, Ye Tiancheng and his companions had done their homework but couldn't find out about this evening event in advance. How did this family learn about it?
If they were from a wealthy family, Ye Tiancheng's doubts would be fewer. Wealthier people always had more channels to learn about certain things, and when they were bored, they were always willing to come.
However, the same situation seemed unusual for an ordinary family.
Ye Tiancheng was a good judge of people. With Hou Mingzhu's help, Ye Tiancheng himself had also learned to assess family backgrounds. He could be sure that this family, at best, was from a well-off background and could not be considered wealthy.
Then, what was their reason for coming?
Ye Tiancheng himself felt that it was unbelievable that so many people, regardless of gender, age, or wealth, would flock to such a remote mountain village for a tourist attraction or an evening event.
Therefore, he had to consider what their purpose was in choosing to come here.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but think, hoping he was overthinking. If even families like this, not being misled or deceived, appeared here with some ulterior motive, he wouldn't know what to say.
He followed them all the way, looking for an opportunity. Finally, he saw the couple busy selecting items, picking and choosing for a long time, and momentarily not paying attention to their child, allowing the child to wander further and further away on their own.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but frown.
Bringing a child out and being so careless. Children are inherently ignorant. What if the child gets lost and can't be found? What if they encounter a human trafficker...
Thinking this, he followed along, while also continuing to pay attention to the couple's situation, lest he follow the child and be unable to return the child to them.
The child had unknowingly walked quite far, two to three hundred meters away from her parents.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't stand it and was wondering if he should intervene. If the child walked any further, it would be inconvenient. At this distance, he could still manage to notice the child's parents; any further, and it would be difficult to say.
However, the child soon stopped. She stopped at a stall, and Ye Tiancheng followed her gaze, discovering a candy stall.
The items sold at this stall were mainly candied hawthorns, sugar figurines, and sugar paintings. Children indeed liked these things, which was why she stopped here.
Ye Tiancheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The candy stall was relatively quiet, perhaps because it wasn't unusual. Every tourist attraction had candy stalls, didn't they? As Ye Tiancheng thought about how to approach the family, his mind turned, and he indeed thought of something.
After thinking it through, Ye Tiancheng steadied himself and walked towards the candy stall.
He had already figured out how he should strike up a conversation with this family. He believed he would soon be able to approach them and get the information he wanted, and he would definitely not return empty-handed.