The little girl, carrying a plastic bag, entered the small room next door, where a little boy of about four or five was lying. He was covered with a rag full of holes, the little boy's eyes tightly closed as he lay on the ground, shivering. His lips were cracked, and his little face was red with fever.
"Brother, brother," the little girl struggled to lift the boy up, saying, "Eat something, sister has brought back something tasty, eat more and your illness will be cured..."
The little boy barely opened his eyes to look at the girl, his eyes filled with affection and reliance. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.
The little girl carefully took out the food and put it into the boy's mouth. He chewed laboriously a few times but failed to swallow the food after several attempts.
"Brother, please eat something, you haven't eaten in so long..." Tears welled in the girl's eyes as she implored, "If you eat, you'll get better, please eat..."
The little boy grasped the little girl's arm with one hand and leaned weakly against her. Their frail bodies in the abandoned room appeared particularly desolate.
Ye Qing's eyes reddened as he approached and touched the little boy's forehead. The boy had a high fever and was burning up, no wonder he couldn't eat.
"Big brother, please save my brother…" The little girl clutched at the hem of Ye Qing's clothes and whispered, "I … I don't want my brother to leave me, big brother, I'm begging you… I can do laundry, I can wash dishes, save my brother, and I'll help you wash clothes, wash dishes…"
"Don't worry, he will be alright!"
Ye Qing picked up the little boy as Li Lianshan walked in from outside, saying, "I've called an ambulance, it's on its way!"
"What's the situation up there?" Zhao Chengshuang shouted from below. His wheelchair couldn't come up, so he was waiting with a few policemen downstairs.
Ye Qing carried the little boy down, and Li Lianshan's men led the dozen or so children down the stairs as well.
Seeing so many children, Zhao Chengshuang's eyes nearly popped out. Astonished, he looked at Ye Qing and asked, "Are these all the kids you rescued before?"
Ye Qing nodded, and Zhao Chengshuang's expression darkened, his brow furrowed as he said firmly, "What's going on? Even if they have no family, they should have been taken to an orphanage for adoption, how come they are begging outside? And with so many children begging outside, what exactly is happening?"
"The orphanage has issues!" Ye Qing said gravely.
"The orphanage?" Zhao Chengshuang was taken aback, glancing at the surrounding children, he asked, "What could be wrong with an orphanage?"
Ye Qing shook his head and glanced at the police officers around, saying, "This matter, keep it confidential for now."
"What, you want to investigate the orphanage?" Zhao Chengshuang looked at Ye Qing in surprise and remarked, "That's unnecessary, isn't it? Orphanages and shelters are funded by the government, what could be wrong with them?"
Li Lianshan pursed his lips and said, "Even the police have their bad apples, how can orphanages be without issues?"
Zhao Chengshuang scratched his head and replied, "I'll explain the situation to them in a bit, this won't leak out for now."
Soon, the ambulance arrived and took all the children to the hospital. Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan managed the aftermath, keeping the news temporarily under wraps, not allowing it to leak.
The little boy was just suffering from a common fever, and with medication, it wasn't difficult to recover. Of course, if he hadn't been brought to the hospital in time, at his young age, continuing with such a high fever would have been incredibly dangerous.
On the way, Ye Qing also learned from the eldest of the children the reason they were hiding in the unfinished building.
In fact, after Ye Qing rescued them last time, most of the children were sent to the orphanage, with only a small number taken by their families. Those children who stayed at the orphanage for less than a month were sent away in batches, and this group was likewise sent off, ending up in the nearby Tianhui City.
In Tianhui City, they were handed over to a group of men who once again enslaved them. There, they witnessed children who had arrived before them being mutilated or scalded with boiling water until their bodies were horribly disfigured, and then they were forced to beg.
This group of children nearly suffered the same fate as the others, but for some unknown reason, a group of men suddenly stormed the place, drove off the captors, and rescued them. Then they were transported back to Shenchuan City by car, and those who rescued them left them in Shenchuan City and departed.
The few older children who were leading the group, a bit wiser, knew better than to venture out during the day, so they hid in the unfinished building with the rest of the children. Only at night would they go out in groups to beg for food. This had gone on for four or five days until tonight, when they met Ye Qing.
To be honest, these kids weren't that happy to see Ye Qing. Last time, although Ye Qing had rescued them, they were quickly sent to Tianhui City and almost suffered even crueler harm. Their hope in society, and in adults, had almost vanished.
Sitting in the car, even though the nurses and doctors took great care of them, their eyes still brimmed with hostility and wariness, so guarded against everyone!
After hearing what the kid said, Li Lianshan slammed his fist against the car door and roared angrily, "Damn it, these bastards, they're even less human than Boss Lin!"
"How is this possible? How could this be?" Zhao Chengshuang lowered his head, muttering in disbelief, "Weren't they sent to an orphanage? How could they be taken away? What on earth happened here?"
"Fuck your ancestor, what orphanage!" Li Lianshan gritted his teeth and said, "I just don't trust these so-called rescue organizations, bastards, it's clear that those beasts inside have colluded with the people from Tianhui City. Damn their ancestors, using boiling water on such young kids, these bastards really came up with it.
Fuck it all, I'd better not find out who did this, otherwise I'll fucking throw them into a boiling pot and cook them!"
Li Lianshan was on the verge of raging, while Zhao Chengshuang's face was full of confusion. Ye Qing, however, remained calm, just that his eyes were getting colder and colder.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Ye Qing instructed Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan to take care of the children there.
"What are you going to do?" Zhao Chengshuang grabbed Ye Qing and said, "Don't be impulsive, the people at the orphanage are public servants, don't do anything excessive!"
"What damn public servants, doing things , are they any different from beasts?" Li Lianshan jumped up in a rage and said, "Ye Zi, you stay here and watch them, I'll fucking go find those scumbags. Bastards, public servants? I'm not afraid of any fucking public servant!"
Ye Qing shook his head and said, "You guys stay here. Not everyone at the orphanage might be bad, we need to investigate this matter thoroughly first!"
Zhao Chengshuang was still worried and asked, "How do you plan to investigate?"
"I have my ways!" Ye Qing finished speaking and left directly with Black Bear.
"Hey, don't make a big deal out of it!" Zhao Chengshuang urgently called out from behind.
Li Lianshan shouted, "It's already a fucking mess, make as big a mess as possible with this!"
The orphanage was built in the Southern Suburb, nestled quietly in a small hill. The place was usually deserted, and Ye Qing and Black Bear rode the motorcycle they had used last time, speeding towards the orphanage in the cloak of night without encountering a single person along the way.
Ye Qing hid the motorcycle behind a large boulder, and together with Black Bear, they circled the orphanage, familiarizing themselves with the layout.
"I'll go in, you keep watch here!" Ye Qing instructed Black Bear, then took a run-up, easily cleared the two-meter-high wall of the orphanage, and noiselessly jumped inside.
The orphanage was built quite well, with four six-story buildings, surrounded on all sides as if forming a courtyard. It was nearing ten o'clock; most of the rooms were dark, except for two lights still on in the innermost building.
Ye Qing moved silently into that building and reached the door of the room where the lights were on. The door was closed, but faint voices could be heard from inside.
Ye Qing pressed his ear against the door and clearly heard a conversation between a man and a woman inside.
Man: "These kids just got here, and the city is taking it seriously, so we can't make any moves for now. Tell the Beggar King to wait until the heat dies down here, and I'll send this batch right over. Let him rest assured, since he's paying, I'll definitely handle it for him. But no one wants unnecessary trouble, right?"
Woman: "Of course, we've been cooperating with Director Chen for so long, and we trust what you say. The key issue is the group of kids who were taken last time; some say they were sent back to Shenchuan City. Director Chen, be careful with that. If someone with a motive discovers this, it's no laughing matter."
"What exactly happened? These kids, someone tried to snatch them? Is someone trying to mess with us?"
"I don't think so. If someone really wanted to mess with us, they would've just handed the kids to the police, why go to such lengths? Also, don't forget, the Beggar King's sister is in good terms with Young Master Zhou; just on Young Master Zhou's face alone, no one would dare mess with the Beggar King."
There was a silence in the room before the man asked, "Does Young Master Zhou know about the Beggar King's business?"
"Hehe…" The woman chuckled softly, not answering the question directly, but whispered, "Director Chen, I think we best find those children first. I've heard that Shenchuan City has been restless lately, with someone called Ye Qing stirring up trouble there. If he finds the kids first, things could get complicated!"
Man angrily, "Shit, do you really think that Ye Qing's got some kind of superhuman power? He's just a retired soldier. He hasn't provoked me yet, but if he dares mess with me, I'll make him disappear in a minute!"
"Of course, with Director Chen's influence in Shenchuan City, that Ye is nothing. But as you said, better to avoid trouble when we can!"