tallest building

Chapter 113 Missing

112
Seeing that Ma Daguang hadn't made any move after going down, Gong Xu decided to follow him.

Ma Ping'an stopped him, saying, "You should go down, young man!"

After saying that, he went down with the lantern, and he did see someone—Ma Daguang, who was standing there dumbfounded.

Ma Ping'an immediately became agitated, grabbed Ma Daguang, and yelled, "Where is he?! I'm asking you where he is?!"

Hearing the commotion, everyone above came down. Gong Xu's eyes turned red, and he rushed up, ready to fight Ma Daguang to the death.

Ma Daguang said with trembling lips, "They were always here! I brought them food before dark yesterday."

"Where?" Gong Xu asked through gritted teeth.

“Your son… was originally… right there…” Ma Daguang pointed to the wooden cage by the wall.

The door to that wooden cage remains closed, but one of the logs has been sawed off, leaving it just wide enough for a small child to squeeze through.

The one next to it is the same.

Gong Chang'an is gone, his page is gone, and the mute father and son who guarded them are also gone.

"Master Gong, it seems your young master has escaped from this cage. As for whether he actually escaped, we don't know," the officer said as he stepped forward and examined the cage.

“He’s still a child, where could he run off to? Those two people are gone now too, please don’t…” Gong Xu couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Master, let’s try to look on the bright side,” Ma Ping’an quickly advised. “Those two are just guards; they probably wouldn’t dare to kill us.”

Ma Daguang, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

In fact, he had already told Lu the Mute and his son that if they were discovered, they should simply be silenced.

He did this to protect himself. The Lu family, father and son, were both mute and illiterate, so interrogating them was no different from interrogating two pieces of wood.

But if Gong Chang'an and He Ming were still alive, they would definitely reveal themselves, since they had met before.

Moreover, that person hadn't asked him to leave any survivors in the first place.

But now, I can't say these things even if you kill me.

"Let's search around here first; maybe he's hiding somewhere," the officer said. "Guard both the front and back doors; don't let anyone in or out."

Having no other option, the group searched the entire Xuanmiao Temple, inside and out.

But even by dawn, they still hadn't found Gong Chang'an and the others.

Not long after the city gates opened, an oxcart selling vegetables that had come from outside the city slowly headed east.

People on the street couldn't help but look at the car with curiosity, because the market was to the west.

An elderly couple, dressed in coarse cloth, sat on the vegetable cart; they were people who worked the land year-round.

There was also a little boy of seven or eight years old, and the one sitting next to him, who looked worried, was older than him, but no more than ten years old.

The two people were filthy, but their clothes were noticeably better than those of the elderly couple.

The oxcart moved extremely slowly, but eventually arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Ruyang's residence.

At that moment, the servant responsible for sweeping the front gate was engrossed in sweeping the floor and hadn't noticed anything. Only when the oxcart stopped did he straighten up and say, "Didn't you see me sweeping? How come..."

Before he could finish speaking, he spotted Gong Chang'an sitting in the car.

He immediately rubbed his eyes, then slapped himself before asking, "Is it the Fourth Young Master?"

Gong Chang'an laughed and said, "Of course it's me. Quickly help Heming down."

The servant threw the broom aside and rushed forward, intending to help Gong Chang'an down from the carriage. But Gong Chang'an didn't need him; he nimbly jumped down from the carriage himself.

At this moment, Lao Huang also came out of the door and was so shocked when he saw Gong Chang'an that he almost fell to the ground.

"The Fourth Young Master is back! The Fourth Young Master is back!" Old Huang shouted at the top of his lungs, "Those who are quick on their feet, hurry inside and report the news!"

The people in the manor were both surprised and delighted to hear that Gong Chang'an had returned.

By the time Zhang Ma rushed over, everyone had already surrounded Gong Chang'an.

"My little darling! You're finally back!" Zhang Ma pushed through the crowd, hugged Gong Chang'an, and burst into tears.

"Don't cry, Aunt Zhang. I'm fine, nothing's wrong," Gong Chang'an said, wiping away her tears as he comforted her.

"Thank God! Thank God! Who rescued you?" Zhang Ma asked quickly.

"We escaped on our own, but we hitched a ride back to the city with a vegetable farmer, so we should thank them properly."

"Of course, of course, I'll go out and invite them in right away!" Zhang Ma said as she walked out, while Lao Huang had already led the elderly couple who grew vegetables in.

This was the first time in their lives that these two people had entered this grand courtyard. They were extremely reserved, unsure of where to look, and even seemed to have forgotten how to walk.

"Thank you so much, my two benefactors! Please come and sit in our guest room." While ordering someone to prepare tea and snacks, Zhang Ma personally welcomed the two people into the reception room.

Meanwhile, Gong Chang'an had already run into Wen Mingqian's room and rushed into her mother's arms.

"Quickly, let me see if he's hurt anywhere!" Wen Mingqian anxiously examined his son from head to toe, making sure he wasn't injured before pulling him back into his arms. "God! My child, you're finally back!"

Sang Er was so happy that she shed tears.

"Mother, Sister Sang Er, please stop crying. I'm back safe and sound, aren't I?" Gong Chang'an said. "You must have been so worried!"

“Don’t even mention it! Not only is my wife worried, but I’m also so anxious that I wish I could pray to every god and Buddha in the heavens. I even got up early this morning to burn incense and made a vow before the Bodhisattva that I would do anything as long as you could come back safely,” Sang Er said.

"Now that I'm back, will you marry me?" Gong Chang'an's eyes lit up immediately.

"Stop talking nonsense." Sang Er glared at him. "I told them to prepare bathwater, so you can wash up properly, change into new clothes, and get rid of the bad luck!"

"Don't rush to make me take a bath. I haven't eaten anything for days, and if I soak in water, I'm afraid I'll get even more dizzy." Gong Chang'an said with a bitter face. "I only ate a melon at someone's vegetable cart, but that only quenched my thirst and didn't fill me up."

"Oh dear, I was so happy I got confused." Sang Er immediately blamed herself. "I'll get you some snacks first, and then I'll have Zhang Ma cook for you."

"Also, Heming's hand is injured. Quickly fetch a doctor to take a look at him." Gong Chang'an didn't forget his page, "And get him some food first."

“He Ming has suffered. Although his severed finger cannot regenerate, we will make it up to him in other ways,” Wen Mingqian said.

He added, "Since you ran back on your own, the master and the government probably don't know yet! They should send someone to inform you. But we don't know where they are now, so we'll have to go to the government to tell them."

After Gong Chang'an had eaten and drunk his fill, he told Wen Mingqian in detail how he had escaped.