"Actually, that day when Little Mi and I went to the teahouse to beg for food, we were already targeted by those two despicable guys, Li Da and Li Er."
When Zhao Ji said this, his expression obviously turned ferocious. Wei Shuxuan understood his feelings well and reached out to pat his shoulder to comfort him.
Realizing his inappropriate emotions, Zhao Ji adjusted himself and continued.
Zhao Ji and his younger sister, Zhao Mi, temporarily took shelter in the dilapidated temple near the teahouse. In order to survive, he went begging in Liuyun Town every day. He wasn't a scholar; he was just an ordinary rustic man from the mountains. He didn't understand the principle of not bowing for a handful of rice. All he knew was that if they didn't get something to eat, he and his sister would starve to death.
Zhao Mi loved doing needlework. Even when they fled from home, she still carried a small sewing kit with her. Zhao Ji knew his sister loved handicrafts. When he went begging, he would deliberately go to the area near the cloth shops. When the sun was setting, he would pick up some discarded pieces of cloth in the back alleys to take back for his sister.
That night, he picked up a very beautiful red piece of cloth. "Little Mi, look how beautiful this cloth is. I searched for a long time to find it."
"S-superb."
Zhao Mi took the red cloth from Zhao Ji's hand. Her pretty face was full of worry and uneasiness. Zhao Ji noticed something was wrong with his sister and asked, "What's wrong, Little Mi? Did something happen? You look so pale."
"Brother, I'm so scared!" Zhao Mi threw herself into her brother's arms. "This afternoon, I saw two tall men lingering outside the dilapidated temple. I-I'm so afraid!"
However, Zhao Ji didn't take his sister's uneasiness to heart. He just comforted her, "Little Mi, we're just two starving and ragged refugees. Don't worry, no one will target us. But if you see any strange men outside, you should hide, okay?"
".....Okay, brother."
Although Zhao Ji said so, Zhao Mi became even more worried. She didn't want to stay in the dilapidated temple during the day. She said she wanted to go begging with Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji felt sorry for his sister and wanted to persuade her to go back, but she refused.
"Brother, just let me stay by your side. I'm so scared when I'm alone in the dilapidated temple."
The doting brother, Zhao Ji, agreed.
So, when Zhao Ji went out to beg, Zhao Mi sat nearby, holding the cloth Zhao Ji had picked up, planning to make a sachet for her brother.
However, who would have thought that before Zhao Mi could even stuff the dried flowers into the sachet she had made, she was forcibly taken away by Li Da and Li Er.
It was a silent dusk, with fluffy snowflakes falling.
Zhao Ji held the few strings of copper coins he had just received and was taking his sister, Zhao Mi, back to the dilapidated temple. But at that moment, a dark shadow flashed by quickly. A wooden stick hit the back of Zhao Ji's neck. He immediately felt dizzy. His vision blurred, and the world spun around him. He fell to the ground...
He raised his head. Through the blur, he saw two tall men holding his sister. Zhao Mi struggled constantly, but she was so thin. How could she be a match for two strong men?
"Let... let go of my... my sister..." Zhao Ji tried to reach out his hand, but the pain from the back of his neck made it impossible for him to maintain a clear mind. He could only watch helplessly as his sister was knocked unconscious, stuffed into a large hemp sack, and then taken away by those two men.
In a daze, Zhao Ji vaguely heard one man call the other by the name Li Er. Then he completely lost consciousness.
When he woke up, it was already the next morning. Zhao Ji clearly remembered that the weather that day was very nice. The sun was shining brightly, and the sunlight on his body carried a faint warmth. It had been snowing the previous night...
Zhao Ji felt as if he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember. What did he do yesterday...?
Trying to recall what had happened yesterday, Zhao Ji felt his head ache more and more the more he thought about it, but his mind still deeply remembered someone.
His sister!
"Right, Little Mi!" Zhao Ji exclaimed. He looked around but didn't see anyone. Not far from him, a flash of red caught his eye.
The moment he saw that red, his pupils dilated. Zhao Ji tried to get up on all fours, but because his body still felt weak, he couldn't stand up. He could only crawl over. He stretched out his trembling hand and grabbed that red in his palm.
It was the sachet that Zhao Mi had just made.
"Little Mi!" At this moment, Zhao Ji finally completely remembered what had happened the previous night.
He remembered the painful look on Zhao Mi's face as she struggled in front of him, the silhouettes of those two men, and the name Li Er.
How could he easily find the man named Li Er just based on a name?
Zhao Ji couldn't draw. He used the money he had begged for to ask someone at a painting stall in Liuyun Town to draw a picture for him. Although Zhao Ji couldn't clearly see their faces, he vaguely remembered their clothes and figures.
Holding the painting he had gotten, Zhao Ji sat in the corner and carefully looked at it to see if he had missed anything. Just then, an old beggar sat down beside him.
"Kid, are you looking for these two people?" The old beggar stroked his dirty long beard.
Zhao Ji turned his head and glanced at the old beggar. The pain of losing his sister made him have no intention of paying attention to others. He shifted his gaze back to the painting.
"These two people often come to our town. Every time they come, they carry a very large hemp sack on their backs. I often see them at the city gate."
"Uncle, do you know them?" Hearing the old beggar's words, Zhao Ji quickly turned around and excitedly asked.
"I don't know them," the old beggar stroked his beard again. "But these two are really strange. Every time they enter the city, they carry a large hemp sack. That sack is about the size of a person. Occasionally, you can see the sack moving around, but an old man like me is too old to interfere with other people's business..."
Zhao Ji understood what the old beggar meant. He looked at the old beggar. "You... you mean these two are human traffickers?"
"I just think so. But if you've lost a family member, then they probably are."
"Human traffickers?"
At this moment, Zhao Ji felt extremely regretful. If only at that time...