False evidence

Chapter 111 Liu Yi'er (Part 2)
"It's them!"

Qi Zhen suddenly said.

I saw her biting her lip tightly, her eyes filled with hatred. I followed her gaze to the man and woman and asked, "Do you know them?"

Qi Zhen said bitterly, "I was sold to Fengcheng by these two back then!"

Pidan was stunned: "Are these two human traffickers?"

Seeing Qi Zhen nod, I felt a strange stirring in my heart, and then I looked at the girl who was scrambling to eat the rotten meat noodles.

The girl was so hungry that she completely ignored the beating she was receiving. When Lin Qin'en came out, she had already finished the whole bowl of freshly cooked noodles.

Pidan tilted his head and looked at her for a while, then said, "Why do I feel like I've seen this girl before?"

"We've all seen her."

I glanced at Qi Zhen; her attention was still on the man and woman.

I told Pidan not to ask any more questions and to keep watching.

The middle-aged man glared at Lin Qin'en and asked, "Did you throw the wine jug?"

Lin Qin'en seemed not to hear him speak, turning her head to the side and staring at the disheveled girl for a long time.

The middle-aged man was confused and stunned. Receiving no response, he immediately threw a punch at Lin Qin'en.

Lin Qin'en seemed to have lost his soul; the fist was almost at his face, but he still didn't react.

Suddenly, a hand darted in from the side and grabbed the middle-aged man's wrist.

This person used a clever technique, grabbing the other person and pulling them down with the momentum, sending the scoundrel sprawling face-first into the dirt.

Lin Qin'en seemed to come back to life, turned his head and looked at the person on the ground in astonishment, then sneered: "Brother Liu, you have this trick up your sleeve?"

"The world is a dangerous place; if you don't know a few self-defense skills, how dare you come out and start digging?"

Liu Yi rolled up his sleeves and glanced at him sideways: "You've been hanging around in the brothel for too long, haven't you? You've worn yourself out, haven't you? If I hadn't stopped you, you would have gotten hurt."

Lin Qin'en chuckled awkwardly, "I was just worried that the little girl would get burned."

While the two were talking, the middle-aged man had already gotten up.

Just as I was wondering how the two of them would deal with him, Qi Zhen suddenly shouted, "Stop that old woman!"

I was startled and turned around to see that the old woman was holding the girl's head under her armpit, with her back to me, and I didn't know what she was doing.

"Oh no!" I couldn't see her movements, but now that I knew who she was, I immediately knew what she was doing.

Pidan pulled me aside and said urgently, "That girl was probably kidnapped too. You have to find a way to help her!"

I shook my head: "This happened decades ago, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"what are you doing?!"

Liu Yi'er was clearly more alert than Lin Qin'en. Upon noticing the old woman's movements, he swiftly reached her and pulled the girl out from under her ribs.

The girl's face was contorted in pain as she scratched her throat and made "uh-uh" sounds.

Seeing this, Liu Yi'er flew into a rage, kicked the old woman to the ground, and shouted, "Qin'en! Quickly bring the vinegar!"

Pidan asked me, "What happened to that woman?"

"She must have been fed caustic soda. She was probably also a trafficker. This old woman is an old hand, very cunning. If anyone gets involved, she'll poison the trafficker to make them mute for fear of being exposed."

I put my arm around Pidan and pulled Qizhen back two steps.

On the surface, I was worried that Qi Zhen would go berserk when she recalled her own experiences, but in reality, I was afraid that I would lose control of my emotions and rush forward. I had heard my grandfather talk about the methods of human traffickers many times, and I had even personally witnessed my grandfather treating a child whose voice had been poisoned and rendered mute.

I already deeply abhorred this damned profession, and after recently learning that I had been abducted by Ding, a sorceress from the same village, I became even more disgusted with such beastly creatures.

The old woman clumsily got up from the ground, first telling the middle-aged man not to be reckless, then smiling broadly at Liu Yi'er, she said:

"I'm so sorry, gentlemen. My daughter is a silly child. She took your food and burned herself."

Liu Yi'er just watched her coldly. When Lin Qin'en brought the vinegar, he immediately pinched the girl's mouth and forced it down her throat.

Lin Qin'en was clearly less worldly-wise than him; seeing the girl's incessant wailing, he asked:

"How did this girl get so burned? Should we take her to see a doctor right away?"

Liu Yi'er waved his hand, handed the girl to him, and stepped forward to say to the old woman:

"We've all been through thick and thin together, so there's no need to be too explicit. In short, I want this child. Name your price."

"What price are you asking for? This is my own sister! You think you can just take her like that? Who do you take me for?" the middle-aged man said viciously.

Seeing that the old woman didn't speak but just kept her eyes darting around, Liu Yi suddenly reached into the back of his long robe and pulled his hand out, revealing a German-made mirrored box.

He twirled the Mauser pistol between his fingers, then held it out to the middle-aged man with the butt facing outwards: "Is this enough to trade for your sister?"

The middle-aged man wasn't really stupid; seeing his posture, he immediately backed down.

The old woman quickly stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, let's talk this out. This old woman knows what's good for her. Please put this treasure away."

Liu Yier put away his Mauser pistol, his eyes darting around, and turned to Lin Qin'en, saying:

"Qin'en, since you're planning to get married, your new bride should have a maidservant to serve her. I think this girl is quite good; you should buy her."

Lin Qin'en had traveled extensively, and by now he could see through the situation. He immediately said, "Then let's buy it."

Liu Yier raised an eyebrow: "You said it yourself. If you want to buy it, then pay up!"

Before Lin Qin'en could speak, he interrupted, "You're the one who wanted the person, but I'm not paying for it!"

Lin Qin'en glanced at the girl, gritted his teeth, took out the cloth bag from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and threw it into the old woman's arms.

"How much?" the middle-aged man asked, leaning closer.

The old woman nudged him with her elbow: "We poor people have lowly lives. It's a great blessing that Er Yatou has caught the eye of these two gentlemen. We're already being kind enough not to be giving them money. What are you still babbling about?"

She smiled ingratiatingly, said a few meaningless words to Liu Yi'er and Lin Qin'en, and then hurriedly dragged the man away from the teahouse.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Pidan muttered angrily, "They just let those two bastards go like that? That's outrageous!"

I glanced at Liu Yier and said to her, "This Liu is no ordinary person. If you ask me, those two bastards would be better off avoiding places with few people if they were even slightly smart."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Yi'er said, "Qin'en, take this child inside first and feed her with sesame oil mixed with raw egg white. I have something to take care of; if all goes well, I'll be back in half an hour."

Without waiting for Lin Qin'en to speak, he walked away unhurriedly.

Following his instructions, Lin Qin'en fed the girl egg whites. Seeing that the girl's pain had eased, he asked the waiter to wring out a towel and wipe the dirt off the girl's face.

I looked at Qi Zhen, "Do you recognize who she is?"

Qi Zhen's eyelashes trembled. She didn't speak, but stared at the two people by the window for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

Pidan stared at the girl for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"
"She's the bald guy's wife?!"

(End of this chapter)