Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Little Red Carp wandered around outside all day, hoping this day would come sooner. She was growing impatient to take down Li Shan’s family.

”Okay, okay!” A silly, adorable smile appeared on Little Red Carp’s face as she waved her arms and legs, running toward Zhao Xiaohai just like a normal child.

On the surface, Little Red Carp was silly and naive, but inwardly she was thinking, ’Ah, Zhao Xiaohai, you foolish boy. You’re in for some bad luck. You were tempted by a small gain, but you don’t realize you’ve brought harm upon yourself.’ Remembering her old master’s teachings, Little Red Carp decided not to hold it against Zhao Xiaohai. She hoped she could save him, and more importantly, that he would mend his ways.

Zhao Xiaohai was taken aback when he saw Little Red Carp running over so happily. ’I didn’t expect her to be so easy to coax today!’

’But this is good, too,’ he thought. ’As long as I do what Aunt Liu told me, I’ll get the money, and I can help my mother keep her secret.’

The foolish boy didn’t yet know that almost everyone in Nianqiao Village knew about the affair between Widow Qian and Wang Dadan.

”Come on, come on! There are a lot of us. I’ll teach you how to play.” Zhao Xiaohai kept backing away, and by the time Little Red Carp caught up, they were already far from the Dragon King Temple.

Zhao Xiaohai deliberately led Little Red Carp further away. Little Red Carp seemed to be having a great time playing with the other children, as if she hadn’t noticed at all that they were now a long way from the Dragon King Temple.

When one of the children nearby made a mistake, Zhao Xiaohai scolded all the other kids and sent them away, leaving only Little Red Carp.

”It’s just the two of us now, Little Red Carp. I’ll play with you,” Zhao Xiaohai said. ”Little Red Carp, the ground over there is flatter. Let’s go over there.”

Little Red Carp looked up, a sweet smile on her face, and said, ”Thank you, Xiao Hai.”

Seeing Little Red Carp’s smile, Zhao Xiaohai’s heart sank. ’She’s such a nice little girl. If she falls into Liu Lanhua’s hands, won’t she be in danger?’

Just as Zhao Xiaohai was hesitating, Liu Lanhua, who was not far off, gestured for him to hurry up. Zhao Xiaohai didn’t dare to delay any longer.

Little Red Carp was aware of everything happening around her, and she understood Zhao Xiaohai’s hesitation and inner struggle.

Little Red Carp followed Zhao Xiaohai into a more remote area. When they reached a field of reeds, a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth. It was Li Shan.

Zhao Xiaohai jumped in fright, realizing that Liu Lanhua’s family was about to do something terrible to Little Red Carp. He immediately turned to run, intending to go back to the Dragon King Temple and find Zhao Nuanyue.

But just as Zhao Xiaohai turned, he was grabbed by Li Siming, who clamped a hand over his mouth.

”Let’s go!” Li Shan whispered. ”We can’t stay here for long!”

Zhao Xiaohai kicked his legs wildly and struggled nonstop. Li Siming snarled viciously, ”If either of you struggles again, I’ll kill you right now.”

Zhao Xiaohai was, after all, only an eight or nine-year-old boy. Seeing Li Siming’s vicious expression, he was so frightened that he cowered, his face turning pale.

’Liu Lanhua is a bad person,’ he thought. ’They’re going to kill Little Red Carp, and they’re going to kill me, too.’

’I should have listened to my mother and stayed away from people like Liu Lanhua. They’re so evil.’

’Now, not only am I going to die, but Little Red Carp is going to die too.’

’If I die, what will my mother do?’

’My father is already dead. If I die too, Mom probably won’t be able to survive.’

With his mouth gagged, tears streamed uncontrollably from Zhao Xiaohai’s eyes.

Little Red Carp looked at Zhao Xiaohai and blinked, but she wasn’t crying. When Zhao Xiaohai saw her big, innocent eyes, he felt a deeper pang of guilt.

’It’s my fault Little Red Carp is in this mess.’

’Before, Liu Lanhua only said she wanted to scare Zhao Nuanyue. She never said anything about killing Little Red Carp, and she definitely didn’t say they would tie me up, too!’

’I’m such an idiot!’

’But it’s too late for regrets now!’

Little Red Carp watched the tearful Zhao Xiaohai and thought to herself, ’This foolish boy. I hope this experience teaches him a lesson he won’t forget!’

Soon, the two children were stuffed into burlap sacks, placed on a flatbed cart, and covered with a thick layer of straw and grain.

’This is bad,’ Little Red Carp thought. ’Where are they planning to take us?’

”Dad, Mom, take these kids to the county seat,” Li Shan said. He had originally planned to kill them. ”Zheng Delin will meet you there. If you sell these two kids, you can make a lot of money!”

”Huh?” Li Siming was taken aback. ”We’re not killing them?”

”Heh, if we kill them, we’ll have to find a place to bury them,” Li Shan laughed. ”There are hunting dogs in our village, so the bodies might be found. It’s better to sell them and make some good money! Our family is having a tough time right now. Selling these two kids will bring in a lot of money, and things will be a little easier at home.”

Hearing this, Liu Lanhua nodded repeatedly. ”That’s right, it’d be such a waste to kill them. Even a few chickens or a pig can be sold for money, let alone two kids like these. By the way, how did that Zheng Delin get into this line of business?”

Li Shan sneered. ”When you get used to the good life and suddenly have no money, you naturally start scheming to get by. We can talk about that later. Dad, Mom, you two take them away. I’m heading back to the village to finish up my work.”

It turned out that after returning to Labor County, Li Shan had gone to visit Zheng Delin, only to find that he had fallen on hard times and had gotten into the business of human trafficking.

Zhao Nuan Yang had been following them this whole time. When he suddenly saw Li Shan heading back, he quickly hid. After Li Shan passed, he resumed his pursuit, tailing Li Siming and Liu Lanhua.

Zhao Nuan Yang used the Space Ring to contact his sister, and Zhao Nuanyue received an update on the situation.

Through the ring’s connection, Zhao Nuan Yang asked, ”Sis, what should I do now?”

”Follow them to the county seat, then go find Li Jianmin directly,” Zhao Nuanyue said. ”I’ll contact Little Red Carp and have her stall Li Siming and Liu Lanhua. When they meet up with Zheng Delin, you’ll bring people to catch them red-handed. Stay in contact with Little Red Carp and don’t lose their trail.”

Zhao Nuan Yang had been to the county seat with his sister a few times, so he knew Zhou Jian Country and Zhou Jianmin. He could go there directly, but he wasn’t sure he could get into the government office compound.

”Sis, there are guards at the compound gate. I might not be able to see Zhou Jianmin and Zhou Jian Country,” Zhao Nuan Yang said with a frown. ”If I can’t meet them, all our efforts might be for nothing.”

Zhao Nuanyue thought for a moment, then nodded. ”Hmm... oh, that’s right! Old Man Sun at the salvage station is an old friend of Hua. Go find him. Tell him you’re my brother and a friend of Hua Yusen. Explain that Li Siming and Liu Lanhua have kidnapped our little sister and another child from the village and plan to sell them to Zheng Delin. He’s an experienced old man; he’ll know what to do.”

Zhao Nuan Yang nodded. ”Okay, I’ll go find him! The salvage station isn’t far from the main road anyway.”

”Okay, go, and be careful,” Zhao Nuanyue said. ”Mr. Sun will bring people to arrest them, and they’ll all be taken to the public security office. You just need to follow Liu Lanhua and Li Siming. When they meet with Zheng Delin, we’ll get them all in one fell swoop.”