Zhao Ji was filled with remorse. If at that time he had listened attentively to Zhao Mi's concerns and taken measures accordingly, his younger sister wouldn't have gone missing.
However, there were no ifs in this world. What had happened was already a fait accompli, and no one could change the established facts.
Now all that remained was to figure out how to find his younger sister.
"Thank you, old sir."
Zhao Ji stood up, bowed politely to the old beggar, and then rushed away in a hurry with the painting in his hand.
Since the old beggar said he had once encountered the two men at the city gate, Zhao Ji thought that if he kept watch at the city gate, would he be able to wait for those two men as well?
"Did you wait for Li Da and Li Er later?" Wei Shuxuan propped her chin up and looked at Zhao Ji with a dirty face.
"I did, but I missed them. Because I waited for them for three days without eating, I fainted in the end. Then it was the old beggar who saved me. He told me that the two men were now in the city."
Before his body had fully recovered, Zhao Ji ran out to inquire about Li Da and Li Er. Because if he delayed for a moment, he didn't know what terrible things his younger sister would encounter.
He carried the portrait and inquired in every corner. Fortunately, the beggars in the town were willing to help him. They all said that if they saw these two men, they would inform him.
Although he had walked around the whole day without getting any information, Zhao Ji believed that one day he would surely find his younger sister.
Just one day later, while Zhao Ji was still searching for people in the streets and alleys, a young little beggar was looking for Zhao Ji.
"Zhao Ji! I saw those two men!" The little beggar finally learned where Zhao Ji was from other beggars and trotted over to find him.
"Really? Where are they? Take me to them quickly!" Zhao Ji got anxious. He didn't even notice that the portrait he had always cherished so much had fallen to the ground.
"Really! They're just over there at Laifu Restaurant!"
"Laifu Restaurant? I know where it is!"
Originally, Zhao Ji was not familiar with the streets in Liuyun Town. But from the moment his younger sister went missing, he had become familiar with the streets and shops here.
So, Zhao Ji and the little beggar came to the front of Laifu Restaurant. They quietly poked their heads in and scanned the restaurant lobby, but they didn't see the two men.
"They're not here. Did you see wrongly?" Zhao Ji asked the little beggar beside him anxiously.
"How could I? I clearly saw them go in. Maybe they went to stay at the inn. I remember they were carrying a bundle on them."
If they were staying at the inn here, then as long as he kept watch here, it would be fine. Anyway, he couldn't find them anywhere else. It was the same no matter where he kept watch.
"Thank you. If I find my younger sister, I will surely repay you well."
"You're welcome, Brother Zhao."
Zhao Ji squatted in the corner opposite Laifu Restaurant, constantly keeping an eye on the movements in front. Just as he was gnawing on the big white steamed bun the old beggar had just given him, he saw a very scantily - clad woman go in.
Previously, Zhao Ji had also been to the city and seen the world. The women in the brothels were almost all like this, dressed scantily, walking with a sway, constantly wiggling their slender waists.
The woman just now should be a brothel girl. She looked quite old. Could she be a madam or something? Zhao Ji gnawed on the bun and thought silently.
The sky gradually darkened. The street stalls around had all packed up and gone home for dinner one after another. A bright full moon hung in the dark - blue sky, and the thin moonlight shone on the ground. Along with the cold north wind, there was an added sense of desolation.
Not long after, Zhao Ji saw the brothel woman leave with the two men. Moreover, the three of them seemed to be chatting and laughing. They seemed to be quite familiar with each other.
Since the two men had left the restaurant, Zhao Ji naturally had to follow them. He kept a distance of about fifty meters from them so as not to be discovered.
So, Zhao Ji followed the three of them all the way to the outside of Cuiqing Brothel. He quietly hid behind a big tree and watched as the woman led the two men go in. The two relatively young women at the door should know that woman, because he saw the young women talk to the woman for a few words and then go in with the two men beside the woman.
"This woman is actually Mama Zhang of Cuiqing Brothel."
"Yes, it's this woman. It was she who killed my younger sister!" When Zhao Ji mentioned Mama Zhang, his anger was even higher than when he had just mentioned Li Da and Li Er.
"I know. It was this vicious woman who pushed my younger sister downstairs, making her die in the freezing snow. She died so miserably. So I want her to go through all the pain my younger sister suffered."
"How did you know that your younger sister was in Cuiqing Brothel?" Wei Shuxuan patted his shoulder.
"Actually, I wasn't very sure. One day on the road, I heard two girls saying that there was a new little girl in their brothel who was very tough. No matter how much Mama Zhang beat her, she just refused to receive customers."
Zhao Ji also learned from the two girls that the little girl was beaten all over with injuries by Mama Zhang. Fortunately, one of the girls took pity on her and brought medicine to treat her wounds. The girl then learned that the little girl's name was Zhao Mi. Zhao Mi said that she was abducted here. She asked the girl who treated her wounds if she could help her find her elder brother.
That girl was also in the brothel and was also helpless. How could she help her that much?
"I don't blame that girl for not helping my younger sister. After all, she was just an outsider. As soon as I knew that Xiaomi was in Cuiqing Brothel, I immediately rushed there to find her."
At this point, tears unconsciously welled up in Zhao Ji's empty eyes. Wei Shuxuan knew this story. She had heard the girls in Cuiqing Brothel talk about it.
"I didn't expect that as soon as I entered Cuiqing Brothel, what I saw was my younger sister's body. That hateful madam actually asked me to pay a hundred taels of silver to buy my younger sister's body. What a vicious woman!"
Wei Shuxuan could tell that Zhao Ji hated Mama Zhang very much. No wonder he had cut off her head.
"I had no choice and I didn't have the money either. I could only leave angrily. But I knew that my younger sister must have been very scared to be left alone in that terrible place. So I fought with all my might to raise enough money to get my younger sister's body back."
"I'm curious about one thing."