After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

By this time, the constables had already tied up all the masked men, and everyone was waiting for him.

Wang Zhao pursed his lips, not wanting to waste everyone's time, so he blushed and leaned on his third brother's back.

Although Third Brother was a scholar, he could carry a little boy on his back without any problem.

Wang Zhao buried her face in her third brother's shoulder, only revealing a pair of bright red ears.

Although Young Master Wang dares to talk about anything with his close friends, he is actually still a virgin and has no experience in getting along with a man.

Once outside the village, the carriage stopped at the village entrance.

When Wang Zhao was placed on the cushion by his third brother, he quickly turned his head away, afraid that someone would see his flushed cheeks.

Although Wang Zhao's ankle had already been treated with medicine, Lin San still found a doctor and prescribed some medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Lin San went to deal with the masked men who had ambushed them, while Wang Zhao returned to his room and lay down to recover from his injuries.

This matter is considered to be temporarily closed. As for the real mastermind, we will probably have to wait until we return to Beijing to continue the investigation.

There's no rush, because once this matter is made public, those whose interests are affected will naturally try every means to deal with him.

All we need to do is wait and see.

It's just a pity for those children who were trafficked to all corners of the country; they will probably never be found again in this lifetime.

It's really sad.

Before things had calmed down for two days, Yang Hong'er actually came to the yamen (government office).

He wasn't looking for Lin San, but for Wang Zhao.

The constable led him into Wang Zhao's room, where the two chatted for about half an hour before Yang Hong'er took her leave.

As soon as Yang Hong'er left, Wang Zhao immediately sent someone to find Lin San, saying that there was something very important.

Although Wang Zhao was willful, he was not arrogant, and he never did anything pointless to seek attention.

Lin San thought his foot injury had worsened, so he rushed over.

Wang Zhao dismissed the servants and beckoned to Lin San with his finger.

Lin San stepped forward and sat down beside his bed. "What's wrong? Does your ankle hurt?"

Wang Zhao shook his head.

"Yang Hong'er just told me something," Wang Zhao said in a low voice, glancing furtively towards the door.

Lin San went to close the door and only returned after making sure no one was outside.

"you say."

"Yang Hong'er said that Xie An appeared to him in a dream," Wang Zhao said. "Xie An is that dead child, do you remember him?"

Lin San nodded. "What's wrong?"

"Xie An appeared to Yang Hong'er in a dream and told her that he was in a very dark place before he died, where he was beaten a lot. There were also many, many children there who lived in great pain every day."

Wang Zhaode looked serious, afraid that his third brother wouldn't believe him, "So I guess those children might be in the same place and weren't sold."

After listening, Lin San asked, "Besides being very dark, is there anything else about that place?"

Wang Zhao had originally guessed that his third brother would say something like "Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits," or scold him.

But to his surprise, his third brother actually believed him.

"Third Brother, do you believe me?"

The pretty puppy's eyes sparkled, making Lin San's heart flutter.

"I believe you," Lin San said. "What else did Yang Hong'er tell you?"

"He also said that Xie An said there was a lot of water in that place, and the ground was completely submerged in water."

"It's very dark, and there's water. Could it be a cave?"

Wang Zhao said, "I also guessed it was a cave! Third Brother, we're on the same wavelength."

Lin San gently poked the young man's forehead. "Shameless."

Wang Zhao stuck out his tongue. "Omitted."

"There are quite a few mountains in Song County..." Lin San said. "If we send people to search them all, it will probably take a lot of time. Did Yang Hong'er mention any other clues?"

Wang Zhao thought for a moment and said, "It seems there's nothing else, just the child crying and saying he's cold and hungry..."

Lin San wasn't in a hurry. "Think about it slowly. There must be other clues that we've overlooked."

"Oh, right!" Wang Zhao said, "and fire."

"fire?"

"Mmm," Wang Zhao said. "Yang Hong'er said that Xie An said in his dream that his flesh was so hot. I thought Xie An was referring to the burning of his body after the mortuary caught fire..."

"Then let's assume he was talking about his life before he died," Lin San said. "It was cold, there was fire, but his flesh was scalded... so it could only be a branding iron."

Wang Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Did those villains brand the children?"

"That's a lead, if that's the case, then there must have been a blacksmith shop that forged branding irons over the past ten years," Lin San said. "There are quite a few blacksmith shops in Song County, but I think we can start by investigating the blacksmith shops around Liushu Village."

"Third Brother, I have a small question."

"explain."

"Even if we find out that someone did buy Luo Tie in the past, we still can't find any trace of the children, right?"

"At least it shows that Yang Hong'er's dream has some basis in reality," Lin San said.

Wang Zhao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Lin San drew a portrait of Chen Xiaomi's lover and had someone inquire about it at a nearby blacksmith shop.

An old blacksmith actually remembered that several years ago, someone had indeed come to buy a soldering iron.

However, the man claimed to be from the government office, and because so much time had passed, the old blacksmith couldn't remember what the man looked like.

After hearing this clue, Wang Zhao secretly asked Lin San if this meant that Yang Hong'er hadn't lied.

Those trafficked children might still be alive!

Lin San said that although he couldn't be completely sure, he would definitely look for people as long as there was a glimmer of hope.

The area around Song County is mountainous, with even more caves. With the current manpower of the county government, it might take a year to find them.

After thinking it over, Lin San decided to start with the group of masked men.

Wang Zhao secretly followed Lin San to see how he would trick him into revealing the information, assuming it would involve coercion or bribery.

Unexpectedly, Lin San dismissed the jailers and brazenly impersonated one of their own.

"Don't blame me, blame your incompetence. The higher-ups are furious," Lin San said. "But they've shown leniency to Iron Fist Master and are planning to get him out of there. As for you..."

Iron Fist Master is Chen Xiaomi's lover and the apparent kidnapper.

Lin San smiled slightly, but said nothing more.

The leader of the masked men spoke up, "Who are you?"

Lin San recalled the coded message at the beginning of those letters and said, "Old Hua's steamed buns, September's dirty water, seventy-two roads have all passed over my face."

The leader's expression immediately hardened. "You... Ha, no wonder we brothers failed. It turns out we were abandoned."

"It's all because you guys did a bad job," Lin San said. "But I'm an old enemy of Iron Fist Master, and seeing you in trouble, I can't help but feel a bit of sympathy for you... so I've decided to help you."

The leader asked, "How can we help?"

"Take me to that shipment, and we'll take down Iron Fist Master. From now on, he'll only have us by his side," Lin San said. "Following him, we'll rise to prominence sooner or later. Then we'll be second only to him, above thousands."

The leader looked at Lin San, seemingly trying to discern the truth from his expression.

"Okay, I promise."