The commotion here was quite significant, and coincidentally, Qi He and his patrol happened to be passing by. They first saw Mrs. Zhong and Meng Yulian searching for their children. Qi He immediately dispatched someone back to the garrison to inform Commander Jin and Captain Zheng, while he led his men to spread out and help search.
Qi He, with his sharp eyes, spotted Fu Xinci and Ning’er from a distance and rode over to investigate.
As they approached, they saw the unusual positions of the man and woman, and everyone chuckled. It was obvious whose doing this was.
Fu Xinci pointed to the sacks on the donkey's back, telling them to carefully move them down.
When Meng Yutang and Meng Yuluo carefully untied the sacks, they saw Jin Zhong and Zheng Nan, still unconscious inside. The two men dared not move the children and were at a loss for what to do, their hearts aching.
Later, Meng Yutang took the lead, and the two of them began beating the two kidnappers.
For such acts, no one would intervene even if they cried and screamed. The remaining people all made a great effort to restrain themselves from laying a hand on them, for fear of beating them to death.
Meng Yutang and Meng Yuluo, one for his nephew and the other for his younger brother, beat them to their heart's content.
The kind-hearted Miss Fu, however, didn't want her younger brother to witness this scene, so she covered Ning'er's eyes as she spoke.
Mrs. Zhong and Meng Yulian also hurried over. Seeing their children, who were once lost and now found, they both hugged their children and wept.
Old Jin and Captain Zheng, who had heard the news and rushed over, looked at their wives and children with eyes that seemed to be dripping blood from worry. Their wives were their lives, and their children were the very essence of their lives.
They hugged their wives and comforted them, then brought river water to wake the two children.
Upon seeing their parents, Jin Zhong and Zheng Nan burst into tears.
Zheng Nan, being older than Jin Zhong, was much quicker to speak. In a few words, the child explained how they were captured by the kidnappers.
"Dad, Mom, Jin Zhong and I were playing outside when two bad people came and grabbed us. We wanted to run home to find Mom, so they covered our mouths with cloths."
After his son finished speaking, Captain Zheng's teeth gnashed with hatred, and he stomped on the man, sending him flying high into the air.
Just as he was about to deliver a second kick, Old Jin stopped him.
"Old Jin?"
"Changmin, wait a moment. I feel like there's something fishy about this."
"They're kidnappers, what's so fishy about it?"
"Changmin, this Mengjia Town has more families with children than just ours."
Still in a daze, Captain Zheng didn't fully grasp Old Jin's meaning.
Old Jin offered another hint: "Our two families live in the garrison's family quarters. If they were normal kidnappers, they would have to be out of their minds to try to steal children from there."
Fu Xinci also understood. These two were not ordinary kidnappers; they were most likely spies. Capturing two children was very likely intended as a hostage situation.
"What malicious intent," Captain Zheng finally understood.
"Full lockdown. I'm going to report to Commander Qianhu," Old Jin said, glancing at his eldest son. His meaning was clear: he wanted Meng Yuluo to escort Mrs. Zhong and his younger son home.
"Dad, don't worry, I'll take Mom and brother home."
"Good," Old Jin replied, then quickly rode his horse towards the Commander's office.
Qi He also wanted to escort his sister Fu, but everyone present knew how strong Fu’s combat skills were, hidden beneath a smile as radiant as spring flowers.
Not to mention the distant past, but the two kidnappers right here were captured by Fu alone.
Look, Meng Qishan and the others were still looking at Fu Xinci. "Xinci, why did you let this old beast down?" They had searched all over but couldn't find the vine's head.
Fu Xinci replied with a soft "Oh," and the old dog fell with a thud, landing face first.
Hearing the muffled groan, no one paid any attention. They pulled it up and headed in the direction of the Commander's office.
Ning’er watched Qi Ge's retreating back and tugged at his sister's sleeve. "Sister, let's go home too."
"Ning’er doesn't want to play anymore?"
"No." Ning'er was a bit scared. He had seen the way Jin Zhong and Zheng Nan were released from the sacks by their two cousins.
Fu Xinci also feared that this incident would leave a shadow on her little brother's heart. Before the onlookers had all dispersed, she took her younger brother's hand and headed back.
After crossing the small bridge and entering their own territory, Fu Xinci saw that there were no outsiders nearby. She then picked up Ning’er and activated her wood-element ability, her body swaying forward like a willow branch drifting in the spring breeze.
"Wow," the little boy's eyes gradually brightened, and he softly negotiated with his sister. "Sister, can we go faster?"
Fu Xinci didn't answer, but with her actions, she showed Ning'er what speed meant.
"Wow, wow wow!" The little boy wrapped his arms around his sister's neck, feeling the gentle spring breeze caress his small face, his mouth happily unable to close.
Seeing her younger brother happy and seeming to have forgotten the unpleasantness, Fu Xinci took him for a long run around their yard.
Feeling quite tired, she finally put Ning'er down on the ground.
The moment Ning'er's feet touched the ground, he felt dizzy and quickly reached out with his chubby hands to hug his sister's leg.
"What's wrong, Ning'er?"
"Sister, Ning'er is going to fall."
"..." Looking at Ning'er's reaction, Fu Xinci realized she had overlooked his dizziness. She squatted down and stayed with Ning'er for a while until the little boy said he wouldn't fall anymore. Then, hand in hand, the siblings entered the courtyard gate.
Fang Shi pretended to be angry, looking at the siblings. Ning'er, however, ran forward first, hugged his mother's leg, and with a jumble of words, pieced together a kidnapping case.
Fang Shi was also startled by her younger son's words. She wished her son was mistaken, but her eyes kept on her daughter.
"Mom, Ning'er and I had just crossed the small river when those two kidnappers came."
Fang Shi: ...
"If Ning'er and I had been a moment later, Jin Zhong and Zheng Nan would have been abducted by those two kidnappers."
Fu Xinci didn't dare tell her mother that those two kidnappers had also set their sights on her and Ning'er, otherwise they might have succeeded if they had just left.
"Are Jin Zhong and Zheng Nan okay?" Hearing that the two children were almost abducted, Fang Shi also felt a sense of dread.
They had watched those two children grow up. What if… how could they live?
"They're fine. They just scared Auntie and Cousin Yulian badly."
"And what about you two?" Fang Shi finally noticed something was amiss.
"Sister hung the bad guys up on a tree, and another bad guy was beaten down by Sister and became toothless."
When talking about his sister beating the big bad guys, Ning’er gestured with his hands and feet, explaining it vividly.
Fang Shi's face grew increasingly grim.
Fu Xinci thought, "Little ancestor, please stop talking."
However, Ning'er did not receive his sister's plea and continued to extend his little arms, lift his little legs, and demonstrate to Fang Shi how his cousins beat the bad guys.
"Mom, haha, Uncle Qishan and the others are so stupid. Sister hung the bad guys up, and they couldn't untie them."