"Don't be afraid, uncle is here to rescue you."
Xiang Mantang's eyes revealed a trace of compassion before he stepped inside, directly breaking the iron cages and carrying the children out.
Outside the door lay piles of scrap, clearly indicating that their current location was a scrap collection station.
And the traffickers had temporarily held the children there.
The call Xiang Mantang received earlier was about this.
After carrying more than a dozen children out of the dark and damp room, Xiang Mantang handed them over to Liu Mei and Gao Yu, who were waiting to the side, and instructed, "Help them wash up, change into new clothes, then go and contact their families."
"Yes," Gao Yu and Liu Mei responded.
"Wait," Xiang Mantang said upon noticing that several of the children seemed to have undergone considerable torment and likely harbored significant psychological trauma, which could lead to severe psychological damage. He added, "Also contact a few psychologists to treat them."
"Yes," Gao Yu and Liu Mei responded again.
Once Xiang Mantang had no further instructions, they respectfully took their leave.
After Liu Mei and Gao Yu had taken the children away from the scrap station, Xiang Mantang turned his attention to a middle-aged man with a fierce face lying to one side.
This man was one of the human trafficking gang members.
Originally, when Xiang Mantang arrived, the man thought of fighting. Failing that, he planned to run, but Xiang Mantang had broken both of his legs, and now he could only groan lying on a heap of scrap.
Xiang Mantang walked over to the middle-aged man with a detached gaze, then squatted beside him, and began to speak in a soft and gentle voice, "Tell me, who else is in your gang behind you?"
"Hmph," the middle-aged man lying on the scrap was quite defiant. Hearing Xiang Mantang's question, he scoffed a few times, utterly disinclined to respond.
He seemed to have a strong sense of loyalty, absolutely unwilling to betray his comrades.
But after Xiang Mantang's several forceful actions, he ended up wailing and told Xiang Mantang about his accomplices' locations, contact details, and what they looked like.
Once Xiang Mantang was sure he had spoken, he took action again, ending the man's life of crime.
Xiang Mantang never showed mercy to traffickers.
He had cleared quite a few traffickers over the years while simultaneously searching for their hidden powers in hopes of finding his sister.
Although the hope was slim, he also felt that those who had killed his parents and taken his sister away years ago did not seem like ordinary traffickers.
But this did not stop him from hating traffickers and launching a fierce crackdown on all human traffickers!
Just like when Mu Jinyu discovered Du Xiangcheng's daughter was kidnapped in an abandoned factory by chance, his furious intervention and rescue was prompted by this very reason.
After dealing with the middle-aged man, individuals dressed in specialized attire came in from outside, dragging the corpse away for disposal.
Liu Mei had also finished handling the tasks Xiang Mantang had assigned and had returned, waiting to the side. Seeing this, she came over.
"Tianshu, how did it go?"
Liu Mei looked at Xiang Mantang, who was wiping his hands, her gaze filled with reverence, and deep within her eyes, a faint trace of compassion.
But she dared not show it, for Xiang Mantang needed no one's pity!
"Just ordinary traffickers," Xiang Mantang said indifferently, his tone betraying no disappointment.
Perhaps, he was already accustomed to the routine fruitlessness and had ceased to harbor any expectations, which naturally meant he no longer felt disappointment.
"Let's go."
Xiang Mantang put away the towel and said to Liu Mei.
Although he already knew the location and the detailed information of the individuals involved, Xiang Mantang didn't need to go there personally; it was something he could entrust to his subordinates to handle.
But he just liked to do things with his own hands!
To vent the powerlessness of the past!
…
On the other side.
After telling Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou to go back on their own, Mu Jinyu returned home with Mei Yinxue.
"What? You've been with me for three days, and now that they're coming back, you're not going to stay with them? Aren't you afraid they'll get upset?"
Mei Yinxue sat in the backseat of the car with Mu Jinyu, looked at his somewhat tangled expression, and said with a light laugh.
During the three days Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou were on a business trip, Mu Jinyu didn't want to spend his nights alone, so he mostly spent his time with her.
He had been with her all day today as well, picking gifts on the street, so when Gu Xiyan and the others returned, Mei Yinxue already felt very satisfied. She thought there was no need for Mu Jinyu to keep accompany her.
Mu Jinyu's voice was a bit hoarse, then he sighed, "It's fine, I'll go back and be with them later, I mainly came to see you because there's something I need to discuss."
Mei Yinxue gave Mu Jinyu a glance upon hearing this, annoyed that he couldn't have said something flattering, making her moved for nothing.
"What is it?" Mei Yinxue asked seriously.
Mu Jinyu said, "In six days, come with me to the Capital City."
The engagement was set for seven days from now, and waiting until then to go would be too rushed. So Mu Jinyu wanted to go a day earlier for better preparation.
"In six days, huh!" Mei Yinxue thought it over and, feeling that she didn't have any important matters that couldn't be postponed, replied, "Sure, but why the sudden trip to the Capital City?"
Mu Jinyu blurted out, "To save... uh..."
After voicing just those two words, he immediately shut his mouth, thinking that the reason sounded too juvenile and afraid that Mei Yinxue would laugh at him, so he said no more.
"You should just go if I ask, why so many questions? Just tell me yes or no."
Mu Jinyu's tone was a bit fierce.
Mei Yinxue didn't mind his brusqueness at all. Instead, she found it quite amusing and vaguely guessed a bit of the reason.
There weren't many things that could make Mu Jinyu lose his composure, and in the Capital City, there was even only one...
Thus, Mei Yinxue had already guessed who Mu Jinyu was going to the Capital City to see, but as for the reason, she couldn't figure it out. However, it didn't really matter. She would find out when the time came.
With a gentle nod, Mei Yinxue's lips, as red as blood, neared Mu Jinyu's ear and she whispered softly, "Let's go, but tonight... you have to keep me company!"
Hearing Mei Yinxue's words, Mu Jinyu couldn't help but shiver and then, gritting his teeth, he nodded with the resolution of a hero on a no-return journey, "Okay!"
"Hehe..." Mei Yinxue chuckled lightly, not saying anything more.
Seeing her reaction, Mu Jinyu also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling more confident about his trip to the Capital City in seven days.
To be honest, at first Mu Jinyu intended to go to the Capital City alone. After calming down, he felt it would be awkward to just show up uninvited, so he thought of bringing along someone.
He hadn't considered Xiang Mantang; Mu Jinyu knew his thoughts well. Although Xiang Mantang would certainly not stand by in times of crisis, asking him to accompany him on the trip would definitely be refused. Xiang Mantang probably even wished for Mu Jinyu to go alone to find Su Zijin.
Then, Mu Jinyu considered asking Gu Xiyan or Wen Rou, but upon reflection, they had been quite busy lately. It would be hard for them to take time out, and besides, it seemed as if they would be more of a burden if they went.
Therefore, he thought of Mei Yinxue.
Mei Yinxue knew Martial Arts and had seen blood. With an incredibly strong presence, she had the ability to command a scene. Having her along seemed quite appropriate.
So, after the birthday banquet ended, he went to find Mei Yinxue.