However, when they arrived at the clinic, they saw the tightly closed door. Du Heng called Wang Shizhen, "Wang, where’s the child? Bring her over, and I’ll take a look at her."

Wang Shizhen spoke very fast, his voice tinged with anxiety, "Du, wait a moment. We don’t know where Xixi has gone to play. Her father and I are looking for her. I’ll call you once I find her."

"Alright, we’ll go for a walk in the meantime."

After the call, they decided to head back to the mountaintop. They had only glanced at it earlier, so this time, they wanted to take a closer look at the paraglider.

However, after wandering for a while, they felt a bit bored and tired but still hadn’t received a call from Wang Shizhen.

With no other choice, Du Heng called Wang Shizhen again, "Wang, have you not found the child yet?"

"No, haven’t found her." Wang Shizhen’s slightly panting voice came clearly through the phone. "Someone just said they saw a person leading Xixi away, but we can’t find that person."

For no apparent reason, Du Heng’s heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Have you found the person who took Xixi?"

"Not yet."

"Do you know who they are?"

"It’s one of the kids from our village."

Upon hearing that it was a child from their own village, Du Heng relaxed slightly. "It must be two kids playing somewhere. Don’t worry, ask their parents."

"We’ve asked, but their parents don’t know either." Wang Shizhen sounded very anxious. "I’ll call you later. I see the kid now."

Looking at the disconnected call, Du Heng told Dong Yuezhang about the situation, and they decided to return to the village.

Just as they reached the village entrance, they saw Wang Shizhen and his cousin; Wang Shizhen was gripping a boy tightly by the arm.

Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang hurried over. "What’s happened? Did you find Xixi?"

Wang Shizhen’s cousin looked extremely anxious. If Wang Shizhen hadn’t been restraining him, he might have struck the boy. Wang Shizhen frowned and said, "We’ve questioned this kid for a long time but haven’t gotten anything out of him. He says he and Xixi picked some corn in a field over there, and they separated afterward. But we’ve searched there and found nothing."

The boy Wang Shizhen was holding looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. He stared at Wang Shizhen and his cousin, his face a mask of terror.

They were standing at the village entrance, and more and more people, having finished their meal, were preparing to leave. Someone remarked, "This kid might really not know anything. You should let go of him first. Look how scared he is."

Only then did Wang Shizhen realize he was still clutching the boy. Glancing at the terrified child, he quickly released his grip.

Many of the people who gathered around knew Wang Shizhen’s cousin, and some were even close to him. Upon hearing the child was missing, some tried to comfort the family while others helped ask around. In no time, everyone had joined the search for the child.

Du Heng stopped Wang Shizhen, who was about to leave, and asked softly, "What’s your relationship with the kid you just caught?"

Wang Shizhen frowned. "Besides sharing the surname Wang, we’re not closely related. Our great-grandfathers were cousins."

Du Heng’s eyes twitched slightly. This relationship was indeed a distant one.

Wang Shizhen took out the keys to his clinic, pressed them into Du Heng’s hand, and said, "You two go wait in my clinic for a while. I’ll go look for the child again."

With that, Wang Shizhen hurried off once more, rejoining the others in the search.

Du Heng jiggled the keys in his hand and turned to Dong Yuezhang. "Did you think there was something off about that kid’s expression just now?"

Dong Yuezhang squinted. "I don’t think it was fear. It was more like...panic."

"I also think it was panic," Du Heng agreed.

"So, you mean there’s something wrong with that kid?"

Du Heng let out a heavy sigh. "We’re not familiar with this place. Should we keep an eye on that kid?"

Dong Yuezhang pondered for a moment. "Alright."

Then, the two of them followed the boy. After he entered a courtyard, they found a shady spot under a tree and sat down.

And they waited there for half an hour.

Just when their patience was about to run out, they saw the boy leave his house, a shovel in his hand.

After leaving the house, the boy actually crept along the base of the wall, heading in the opposite direction from where he had pointed earlier.

The two exchanged glances, both thinking something was off about the boy, and immediately followed him from a distance.

However, as they continued to follow, the boy crossed a mountain ridge. By the time Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang crested it themselves, he was gone.

"Where did he go?" Dong Yuezhang asked Du Heng, looking out over the open fields.

Du Heng scanned the area and then whispered, "Let’s search. His view must be blocked by the edge of some field. You search from the upper side, and I’ll search from the lower side."

Dong Yuezhang agreed and started jogging in the direction Du Heng indicated, while Du Heng, without delay, began carefully searching along the lower edge of the fields.

Just as Du Heng rounded the edge of a field, he saw the boy who had just disappeared. He had reappeared at the bend Du Heng had just passed.

At that moment, the boy was holding the shovel, frantically flinging soil in front of him. He looked extremely flustered and...anxious.

"HEY, what are you doing?" A dreadful thought flashed through Du Heng’s mind, and he sprinted forward.

Startled by Du Heng’s voice, the boy yelped, dropped the shovel, and ran without even glancing back at Du Heng.

Du Heng ran to where the boy had been standing and discovered a water hole, less than eighty centimeters long and under thirty centimeters wide. It was a small hole eroded by rainwater running down the mountain.

Du Heng peered down into it. Despite the dim light, he saw a familiar splash of color.

Du Heng’s eyes widened in fury. He glanced in the boy’s direction just in time to see Dong Yuezhang appear at the top edge of the field. Du Heng roared, "Dong, catch him! Catch him!"

Dong Yuezhang saw the boy running towards him and simultaneously heard Du Heng’s rage-filled shout. His heart tightened, and he lunged for the boy.

Du Heng paid no more attention to what was happening behind him. He scrambled to the edge of the hole, shouting desperately, "Xixi! Xixi!"

But after waiting for what felt like an eternity without any response, Du Heng felt a chill run down his spine.