Chapter 53: Guiding the Way

As evening fell, Jiang Zheng walked along the road back home, pondering what he might eat later. Suddenly, he overheard a young couple arguing by the roadside.

“Look at the hotel you booked! It looks nothing like the pictures,” the girl fumed.

“How was I supposed to know? It looked fine to me,” the boy replied.

“I don’t care, you have to change it for me.”

“Alright, alright...”

A slight smile appeared on Jiang Zheng’s lips. It seemed they weren’t the only ones deceived by pictures.

At that moment, a flash of realization lit up his mind—hotel, middle-aged woman, bumping into someone!

He finally remembered why the human trafficker he saw at noon today had seemed so familiar. The previous night, he’d actually met her outside the very first hotel they’d visited. Jiang Zheng had been bumped into, and the person who collided with him was that very trafficker.

That brief encounter was why she had felt somewhat familiar to him.

Jiang Zheng’s mind raced. If he’d met the trafficker at the hotel, had she stayed there the previous night? Or was she just lurking nearby, looking for a target?

A wave of regret washed over him; if only he’d remembered this at noon. But soon, Jiang Zheng sighed—recalling it earlier might not have changed anything. Perhaps she’d already fled the city with the child. In situations like this, once the child was taken, the trafficker would surely run immediately. Once they left the city, catching them would be nearly impossible. Staying behind would be far too risky.

So, whether he remembered sooner or later, the outcome would likely be the same.

With this thought, Jiang Zheng let go of his regret and continued toward the hotel.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks—he could go back to that hotel and have a look! He didn’t need to catch the trafficker himself; if he could find any information related to her, it would be a great help to the police.

A kidnapped child meant a family torn apart. Whether he could actually find anything useful, Jiang Zheng wasn’t sure. He had only seen the middle-aged woman outside the hotel the previous night; he didn’t know if she had actually stayed there. Still, he decided it was worth a try.

If he found something, all the better. If not, so be it.

He hailed a cab and returned to the hotel, entering to make inquiries. Unfortunately, he quickly hit a wall—the reception desk refused to answer his questions.

The problem wasn’t that the trafficker hadn’t stayed there, but that the staff declined to divulge any information, citing guest privacy. If Jiang Zheng could provide the woman’s name and description, they might have helped him check. But if he knew her name, he wouldn’t have come to the hotel in the first place.

Jiang Zheng’s plan was to review the surveillance footage; if the woman had stayed there, the cameras would have caught her. From there, it might be possible to trace her identity and gather more information. But the hotel would never allow him to view the surveillance footage—guest trust was at stake, and if just anyone could see it, the hotel wouldn’t last long.

Thwarted, Jiang Zheng slipped out of the hotel, feeling rather deflated. The idea had been good, but reality was harsh.

Since he couldn’t obtain any useful information, Jiang Zheng decided to leave. He’d only come to give it a try, so now, with nothing to gain, there was no reason to linger.

He stepped out to the curb to hail a cab.

At that moment, two men with their caps pulled low walked past him, carrying a bag. The longer Jiang Zheng looked, the more uneasy he felt. The bag was a rectangular travel bag—nothing strange in itself—but its shape was odd. Normally, a travel bag stuffed with clothes would keep its form, but this one sagged and was somewhat misshapen.

The more he looked, the more the shape suggested a small child.

On any other day, Jiang Zheng would have dismissed this as his imagination running wild, but after today’s events, he was especially sensitive.

A car pulled up beside him, the window rolling down. “Hey, buddy, did you order a cab?” the driver called out.

Jiang Zheng paused, then said, “No.”

He took out his phone and canceled the ride.

“Why’d you cancel your order?” the driver asked, puzzled.

Jiang Zheng ignored him and walked toward the two men.

He had to find out the truth; otherwise, he wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight.

Quickening his pace, Jiang Zheng caught up. The two men ahead, sensing someone approaching, also sped up involuntarily.

Jiang Zheng didn’t run—he didn’t want to spook them. If they weren’t traffickers, all would be well, but if they were, chasing after them might scare them off.

The two men didn’t run either, not wanting to draw attention.

“Why are they walking faster and faster?” Jiang Zheng wondered.

“Damn, why is this guy walking so fast?” the two men thought nervously.

Jiang Zheng quickened his pace again—if this kept up, the men would get away.

Their eyes met, and just as they were about to bolt, a hand reached out from behind and patted their shoulders.

They jumped, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

“Excuse me, can I ask for directions?” Jiang Zheng said.

Their necks stiff, one of them managed a strained smile. “Where do you want to go?”

Jiang Zheng asked suspiciously, “Why are you two so nervous?”

He looked at them, eyes filled with doubt.

The other man spoke up, “Buddy, you startled us, appearing out of nowhere at night like this.”

“Sorry, that’s my fault,” Jiang Zheng replied, apologetic.

“It’s fine, just tell us where you want to go,” the man said.

Jiang Zheng named the hotel where he and Zhou Quanyi were staying—deliberately choosing a place he was familiar with.

“Oh, that hotel? I know it—it’s over there. Just go straight, turn right, and then walk about a hundred meters more,” the man pointed.

Jiang Zheng narrowed his eyes. He was lying.

The direction the man indicated was nowhere near the hotel, and the actual hotel was some distance away—Jiang Zheng had planned to take a cab back.

Realizing he’d been lied to, Jiang Zheng’s senses sharpened. Why had they lied? Did they have something to hide and want to send him away?

A flood of thoughts raced through his mind.

He’d mentioned a place he knew specifically to test them. Otherwise, if someone gave him random directions, he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.