Plunder-Chapter 134 He’s in Trouble

This day, Qiao En had arranged to meet Auntie Jiang for an early trip to the market.

But, by almost eight o’clock, Auntie Jiang had not shown up.

She called, yet Auntie Jiang didn’t answer. Qiao En grew worried, so she went to Auntie Jiang’s home to look for her.

The courtyard gate was ajar, so she pushed the door and went straight in.

"Auntie Jiang."

Qiao En entered the courtyard and called out to her.

There was no response from the yard, so Qiao En walked further inside and saw an unexpected visitor.

He Peng was dressed in a suit, sitting awkwardly on the living room sofa.

Auntie Jiang was busily occupied in the kitchen, her complexion not looking good, with traces of tears in her eyes.

"Hello!"

He Peng stood up, greeting Qiao En.

Qiao En had changed a lot; he did not recognize her at all.

He didn’t recognize Qiao En, but she recognized him.

"Auntie Jiang, who is this? A relative of yours?"

Qiao En asked with a local accent as she made her way to the kitchen.

Auntie Jiang was bent over, constantly wiping the stove, the ceramic tiles of the stove shining from her scrubbing.

"No."

Auntie Jiang denied.

"Do you want me to send him away?"

Qiao En went over and grabbed Auntie Jiang’s hand.

Little Xu was gone, and the family members were the most heartbroken.

Auntie Jiang remained silent, so Qiao En took it upon herself to approach He Peng.

"Mister, if you have nothing else here, you should leave. My aunt doesn’t welcome you."

Qiao En said to He Peng in Mandarin laced with a local dialect.

She stood with one hand on her hip, wearing the most ordinary looking slippers, her face without makeup, and a fierce scar on her forehead.

It was the first time He Peng had encountered such a person in Auntie Jiang’s house, and he had an embarrassed smile on his face.

"I am a friend of Little Xu; we worked together at the same company before. I came here to check on Little Xu’s family on her behalf."

He stated his purpose and then pulled out a thick envelope from his pocket, placing it on the living room’s coffee table.

"Well... then I’ll be going now. I’ll come by again when I have some free time."

He Peng was about to leave when Auntie Jiang, who had been hiding in the kitchen, came rushing out, snatching the envelope back to him.

"I don’t want it."

"This is a little token from her colleagues. Please accept it," he insisted.

He Peng pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, but he didn’t take it.

Yet Auntie Jiang insisted, determined to return it to him.

The two stood at the door, one trying to return, the other refusing to accept.

"Auntie Jiang, just take it, eh."

She interjected.

"Exactly, take it, please."

He Peng stuffed the money back.

He opened the door and disappeared from the room as quickly as he could.

As soon as he left, Auntie Jiang grabbed several boxes of high-end nutritional products from the living room and quickly chased after him.

He Peng had arrived by car, and as soon as he saw Auntie Jiang chasing after him, he immediately started the engine and drove off.

Auntie Jiang didn’t catch up and stood at the crossroads, her eyebrows twisted into a frown.

Seeing her like this, Qiao En felt very heartbroken.

She went out, put her arms around Auntie Jiang’s shoulders from behind.

"Why insist on returning it?"

Auntie Jiang suddenly burst into tears, "My daughter is gone, do they think that by giving a little favor I would forgive them? No, I will never forgive."

The pain of parting from life can only be truly understood by the closest of kin.

Fortunately, she didn’t know the true cause of Little Xu’s death.

On the day He Peng returned to Rong City, Zhou Jin’an’s people brought back some good news.

They said they had spotted Qiao En in a small town five hundred kilometers from Rong City.

"Is the information reliable?"

Upon hearing this, Director Zhou’s entire body tensed up.

"Director Zhou, the information is accurate; they took a photo, just a profile, but I will send it to you right now."

The photo was sent to Zhou Jin’an.

The woman in the photo was dressed in mountaineering attire, with her face masked, making her features indistinct.

But her eyes were just too similar to Qiao En’s.

Zhou Jin’an stared at that photo for a long time, and those dormant veins of blood suddenly started to boil.

Six months, over one hundred and eighty days, he had searched more than two hundred cities, and finally, there was news about Qiao En.

Without a second thought, Zhou Jin’an was determined to see her personally.

When Cheng Lu learned of this, she hurriedly tried to stop him, "Director Zhou, you can’t go. That place is far from Rong City, and there’s a typhoon approaching. It’s too dangerous for you to go there."

To Zhou Jin’an, what was danger anyway?

All he wanted was to find Qiao En as soon as possible.

"You stay, I must go."

Zhou Jin’an insisted.

That night, he packed his gear quickly and embarked on the journey to find Qiao En.

Cheng Lu originally wanted to accompany him, but Zhou Jin’an stopped her.

Both of them traveling together would be too conspicuous.

Worried, Cheng Lu arranged for four bodyguards to follow Zhou Jin’an.

The drive from Rong City to that place usually took six hours, but they happened to set out just as the typhoon made landfall, with torrential rains causing roads in many towns to collapse.

They had to change course and take a detour.

The driver drove while Zhou Jin’an, seated in the back, fixed his piercing gaze ahead.

His two large hands were clenched tight, palms sweaty.

The thought of seeing Qiao En soon had him so excited that he could hardly put it into words.

The journey took roughly thirteen hours to complete.

Everyone was utterly exhausted, but as soon as Zhou Jin’an arrived, he wanted to search for Qiao En.

The car headed toward a hotel in town, where, according to the tip, Qiao En was staying.

When Zhou Jin’an arrived, the person in question was just about to check out and leave.

"Director Zhou, that’s her."

The informant pointed at the woman.

Zhou Jin’an spotted her immediately by her silhouette, which closely resembled Qiao En’s.

She was about 165 centimeters tall, with a slender figure and long hair that reached her waist, draped over her shoulders. She wore a duckbill cap and had been keeping on a black mask throughout.

"Qiao En."

Zhou Jin’an couldn’t help but shout out loud.

His voice echoed strongly in the hotel lobby, attracting the attention of many people around.

The woman also looked over, but just with that one glance, Zhou Jin’an was disappointed.

She was not Qiao En. Qiao En’s eyes were never that sharp.

"Secretary Qiao."

In an attempt to take credit, the informant quickly stepped forward to intercept the woman.

"Back off, or I’ll call the cops," she snapped, her voice hoarse and grating.

She was almost frantic, tearing off her mask.

This time, Zhou Jin’an saw her face clearly.

It was completely different from Qiao En’s.

Overwhelmed by disappointment, Zhou Jin’an turned and walked away.

"Director Zhou, I am sorry."

The informant hung his head in admission of the mistake. Zhou Jin’an didn’t say a word, he just got into the car.

The car retraced its path, another dozen or so hours of travel ahead.

The amount of anticipation he had on the way there was matched only by the disappointment he felt now.

The car interior was deathly silent, with no one daring to even breathe too loudly.

Outside the window, the rain was heavy, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, as if to echo Zhou Jin’an’s mood.

"Director Zhou, the rain is getting too heavy, should we find a place to rest for a bit?" the driver suggested.

But Zhou Jin’an wouldn’t hear of it, "Keep going."

With orders given, the driver had no choice but to drive on through the rain.

However, the rain that night was exceptionally fierce.

It was as if a hole had been torn in the sky, pouring all its contents onto Zhou Jin’an’s car.

As the vehicle made its way along a mountain road, it suddenly encountered a landslide.

The driver had no time to reverse, and the entire mountainside surged downward.

Zhou Jin’an’s deep eyes took one last glance outside the window, and then the world before him turned completely dark.