"Understood,"
So Du Lanyue had come to find her here.
Now Gu Qingcheng understood why that man had abducted Du Lanyue. He had likely been watching her residence all along and discovered Du Lanyue when she came to visit.
"Scoundrel! Detestable!"
Gu Qingcheng vowed to capture this person and whoever was behind him.
To find Du Lanyue, she would naturally need to rely on local influence.
Gu Qingcheng summoned local magnates like Boss Du, who partnered with her on the freight terminal.
"What? Your friend was kidnapped?"
Boss Du and Boss Xia, along with their entourage, had rushed to Gu's residence upon being invited by Gu Qingcheng, assuming she wanted to discuss the progress of the freight terminal. They never expected this.
"Yes, I want to ask for your help in inquiring, among the local powers, who is most likely to be able to afford soldiers."
Gu Qingcheng was convinced that the man who abducted Du Lanyue must have had military experience, and a not-so-low rank.
But the other party was clearly acting under orders.
Someone with such formidable martial arts skills, willing to obey orders, meant the person they were serving must have an extraordinary background.
Indeed, upon hearing Gu Qingcheng mention this key point, Boss Du pondered for a moment before replying,
"There shouldn't be any. We locals have no dealings with military men. After all, we don't have the capability to make these soldiers subservient."
"That's right. We are just ordinary merchants with some money. How could we possibly dare to keep soldiers at home? We'd likely be unable to control them and end up being harmed by them instead," Boss Xia said frankly.
"Although we couldn't help Young Master Gu directly, we will do our best for whatever you need. We will provide manpower and strength whenever called upon," Boss Du promised as he left.
"What do we do? Sister Lanyue was kidnapped, and they can't help. Are we just going to be clueless?" Mi Guo asked anxiously, after politely seeing off Boss Du and his party.
"Not necessarily. Have Dapeng find someone clever to follow Boss Du. I think he knows who the perpetrator is but simply doesn't want to offend them," Gu Qingcheng replied.
"Ah? Is that so?" Mi Guo said indignantly, "He's too smooth, like a loach, always trying to please everyone."
"Heh, this time we'll force him to take a stand," Gu Qingcheng's expression turned serious. "Otherwise, our cooperation with him won't last."
A force that wanted to abduct her, and Boss Du knew who they were but refused to offer assistance.
In Gu Qingcheng's mind, Boss Du had already been blacklisted.
"Young Master Gu, you say my sister is missing?"
Du Lanxing, at home, had waited and waited. Her sister hadn't returned for half the day, and she suddenly felt a premonition. She wondered if her foolish sister had gone to confess her feelings to Young Master Gu and had become despondent.
Worried that her sister might be in trouble, Du Lanxing hurried to find Gu Qingcheng.
"Lanyue has indeed run into trouble."
Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected Du Lanxing to arrive so soon. This was good, otherwise, she wouldn't know their family's exact location and would have to inquire everywhere to notify the Du family.
"Is my sister in mortal danger?"
Upon hearing Gu Qingcheng's words, Du Lanxing was terrified, her face turning deathly pale.
"We don't know yet, but since the other party is willing to negotiate, I estimate there's no immediate danger to her life before the conditions break down. However, rest assured, no matter what conditions they propose, as long as Lanyue's life can be saved, I will agree to them," Gu Qingcheng quickly reassured Du Lanxing.
"Then thank you, Young Master Gu." Du Lanxing's mind was in a whirl.
Seeing how polite Gu Qingcheng was, she suddenly felt that her sister must not have confessed her feelings to Young Master Gu yet. At this moment, she couldn't help but feel regret for her sister. If something happened to her sister, and Young Master Gu didn't even know of her feelings, wouldn't her sister's affections be in vain?
Du Lanxing was about to muster the courage to tell him about her sister's feelings. But on second thought, if she revealed it now, and her sister returned, wouldn't it rob her sister of an opportunity to pour out her heart to Young Master Gu? The words that were on the tip of her tongue, Du Lanxing swallowed them back down.
Just then, Wang Dapeng rushed in with a report:
"Young Master Gu, this is bad. Our boat carrying cloth, less than twenty miles out from Chaliao Island, was robbed by a band of river bandits. The boat and the cloth have fallen into the hands of the bandits, and the crew members are all under control. Only three crew members, seeing the situation was dire, jumped overboard and escaped by swimming back, relying on their good water skills."
"What? Such audacious river bandits? Weren't we traveling with three boats? And they were still so brazen?" Gu Qingcheng was stunned.
"The opposing side was well-trained and meticulously organized. Judging by their coordination, I believe they were soldiers." Wang Dapeng, being a former soldier himself, recognized the strong imprint of military men from their movements and skills.
"Could it be that they are the same group who kidnapped Sister Lanyue today?" Mi Guo blurted out.
"Highly likely," Gu Qingcheng frowned.
As the situation unfolded, Gu Qingcheng found it very bizarre. She suddenly felt that this was a conspiracy targeting her.
"What should we do?" Mi Guo asked anxiously, "I feel like these people are all targeting us, and we don't even know when we've been put under surveillance." Mi Guo looked full of regret. If it weren't for his lack of vigilance, Du Lanyue wouldn't have been abducted. Or, if he had discovered the surveillance earlier and hadn't resorted to indirect methods, but had directly found Wang Dapeng and others to capture the person, none of this would have happened.
"If they are deliberately targeting us, there's no way to avoid it. Don't blame yourself," Gu Qingcheng comforted Mi Guo, then turned to Wang Dapeng, "Dapeng, for now, gather as many people as possible, just in case."
As she was making arrangements, the gatekeeper rushed in with a panicked look, holding an arrow with a letter attached.
"Young Master Gu, I don't know which scoundrel shot an arrow at our gate, almost hitting me. I saw the envelope was addressed to you for personal delivery," the gatekeeper reported.
Gu Qingcheng took the letter and, after reading it, her expression became grave.
"Young Master Gu, is that letter from those people?" Wang Dapeng asked anxiously.
"Yes," Gu Qingcheng nodded.
"What did it say?" Mi Guo quickly asked.
"Nothing much. It just told us to wait." Gu Qingcheng said, tucking the letter into her pocket. Although everyone was curious, they couldn't bring themselves to take the letter from Gu Qingcheng's pocket.
"Then I'll go gather the men first," Wang Dapeng said.
"Alright, the more people, the better." Gu Qingcheng's face was grim.
"What about me?" Mi Guo couldn't help but ask.
"Go help Dapeng," Gu Qingcheng said indifferently. Mi Guo hesitated for a moment, then ran out with Wang Dapeng.
Du Lanxing anxiously asked, "Young Master Gu, did the letter really just say to wait?"
"Yes. Don't worry. I will definitely bring your sister back," Gu Qingcheng said solemnly.