Chapter 51: Deceit and Betrayal

Perhaps it was Yu Zhiyan's persuasion, or perhaps the initial shock had passed. Maybe Hu Li's deceptive appearance played a role. Regardless, after staring at her for three minutes, Ying Ning finally reached out a trembling hand to stroke her soft, silky fur.

The touch was smooth, like the finest silk, without a hint of roughness.

Ying Ning bent down, lifted the white fox, and held it level with her eyes. "You..." She opened her mouth, struggled for words, and finally hugged the fox, sitting down on the sofa before the black-clad girl.

"Are you also... a demon?" Ying Ning asked, recalling the unusual reaction from her first meeting and the respect Hu Li and others showed the girl. It was hard to believe she was an ordinary person.

As expected, the girl nodded without hesitation, then proudly said, "I am an ancient demon, Zhulong."

Ying Ning: "..."

Though she didn't know what kind of creature a Zhulong was, it sounded grand. She stiffly looked at the girl, then bowed deeply, her posture humble and reverent.

"Please, save my child."

"Granted."

Ying Ning felt as if she had heard a heavenly sound, pulling her from the dark, muddy pit of despair.

At that moment, she finally understood why Yu Zhiyan had brought her here. She also realized why people in desperation turn to gods and prayers.

Ten minutes later, after witnessing the fox transform into a human, Ying Ning's emotions stabilized completely. "This is what happened..."

Yesterday, there was an issue at her company. She had the nanny pick up An'an from kindergarten. On the way home, they passed a park where some people in costume were handing out flyers and balloons.

An'an received a balloon and was so happy that they stayed in the park a little longer.

And in that short time, she disappeared.

"What about the nanny? What was she doing?" Xing Miao poured her a cup of calming tea and asked softly.

Ying Ning took the tea, sipped it, and found it sweet with an indescribable freshness that seemed to wash away her bitterness. "The nanny ran into a friend in the park and chatted for a while. In a moment of distraction, the child vanished."

"She reacted quickly, contacted the park staff to search, and called me immediately."

"I was stunned by the call, and the next moment I rushed out, meeting Yu Zhiyan as he was leaving work."

Ying Ning glanced gratefully at Yu Zhiyan, who patted her hand and continued, "I immediately used my connections to block the park entrances and sent people to search every inch. We found one of An'an's shoes by the lake."

"So, I called a rescue team to search the lake, but we didn't find her."

It was as if An'an had vanished into thin air.

"In the past, I might not have thought much of it. But knowing there's a more mysterious, fantastical world beyond ours, I naturally considered that possibility when logic failed."

"You suspect someone used magic to take her?" Ling Ji understood her implication. "It's not impossible."

"Moreover, we found a suspicious woman at the scene."

Yu Zhiyan pulled a photo from his bag. Due to the angle, it only showed half of her face and was somewhat blurry. It was an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman, worn by life.

"She..." Bai Luan frowned at first glance. "Do you have a full-face photo of her?"

"She seemed very camera-shy. This is the only photo showing her face. I had the tech department reconstruct her full face from skeletal proportions. It should be done soon." Yu Zhiyan checked his watch as his phone on the coffee table lit up.

"It's here." Yu Zhiyan opened the message and displayed the reconstructed image. "It's her."

"It's really her." Bai Luan's eyes turned cold, a flash of realization crossing her face.

"You know her?" Ying Ning asked urgently.

Bai Luan nodded. "By blood, she's my half-sister."

"But she looks older than you by at least a decade," Xing Miao noted, examining the photo. It was hard to believe she was a sister.

"She's been through more of life's hardships." Bai Luan sneered, the coldness in her eyes visible even to the grief-stricken Ying Ning.

"Did she offend you?" Ling Ji, eager to support her loyal followers, flexed her fingers, ready to offer her assistance.

Bai Luan, seeing the little girl ready to back her up, felt a warmth in her heart, dissipating some of her coldness. "I've already avenged myself." Her face was proof.

"But you're right to suspect her. If it's her, she might be involved in An'an's disappearance." Bai Luan recalled her past and scoffed. "She once sold me to human traffickers. I almost didn't come back."

If not for meeting Ling Ji, her plan would have succeeded.

"A dog can't change its habit of eating shit."

Ling Ji, unaware of these details, asked concernedly, "What happened?"

Bai Luan glanced at Ling Ji, then at the pale Ying Ning, and began her tale. "This happened ten years ago."

When Bai Luan was in college, she dated a man. He was from a modest background but had a great personality—sunny, warm, and attentive. In a white shirt, he resembled a fairytale prince.

But this prince conspired with her best friend to sell her to human traffickers right when they were about to marry.

When the police brought her back, she had no idea of his involvement. Certain behaviors of her friend aroused suspicion, leading Bai Luan to report these to the police. Soon, her friend was arrested.

In the detention center, Bai Luan saw her friend through the bars and learned the truth.

Her friend had been in love with her boyfriend for years, from college to now, but he chose Bai Luan, which she resented deeply.

"Other than being born lucky, how are you better than me? Why do people always notice you when we're together, while I am always in your shadow?" Her friend's jealousy and hatred were clear through the bars.

Bai Luan looked at the unfamiliar face opposite her, her voice dry.

"So you decided to harm me? I never forced you to stand with me. You did it willingly."

"Yes, willingly," her friend laughed maniacally, eyes red, pressing her face against the glass, her gaze twisted and cruel.

Bai Luan felt a chill, an intense foreboding of unbearable pain to come.

"Did you know?" Her friend's voice was icy through the phone, sending a shiver down Bai Luan's spine. "Your boyfriend planned all of this. He came to me first. I just loved him too much to refuse."

"Impossible." Bai Luan denied it immediately. "He wouldn't do this to me."

"Seems you're still in the dark, clueless about everything." Her friend's voice was like a devil's whisper. "You're stupid, deserving to be deceived."

"Do you think Wei Jin loves you? Madly in love with you? Let me tell you, he loves someone else. And that someone is your half-sister."

"Lies. My parents only had me. I don't have a sister."

"Your mom had only you, but your dad didn't. Ask him about Bai Nian. She's his illegitimate daughter."

"Oh, and your mom was as foolish as you, never knowing her husband had another family. She died oblivious, deceived her whole life."

"Ha, you mother and daughter are both laughable and pitiful."

Bai Luan hung up, stumbled home, intending to confront her father. She overheard his phone conversation.

"Did you have a hand in Bai Luan's kidnapping?" His tone softened slightly at the response. "Better not have. Don't blame me for being ruthless otherwise. And stop filling Nian Nian's head with unrealistic ideas. The Bai family is for Bai Luan. When Nian Nian marries, I'll give her a dowry."

Bai Luan didn't remember how she left home. She only remembered the heavy rain, the icy drops colder than her heart.

She fell ill, sleeping in her mother's old house for three days and nights. When she awoke, her heart was as hard as iron.

She lured her friend into confessing with a lighter sentence, got her boyfriend to implicate Bai Nian's mother, and sent them all to prison.

Unfortunately, Bai Nian's mother took all the blame, sparing Bai Nian.

Bai Nian, lacking her mother's cunning, pathetically knelt before the Shen family, begging Bai Luan to forgive her mother.

When Bai Luan's father intervened, Bai Luan said, "Dream on."

Then she walked away with her luggage.

Bai Nian lunged at her, but Bai Luan sidestepped. Bai Nian fell, screaming, and grabbed Bai Luan's father's arm. He caught her, but the momentum sent him tumbling down the stairs, leaving him a vegetable.

Bai Luan then had Bai Nian imprisoned for intentional injury.

She remembered the sentence was twelve years. How did Bai Nian get out early?

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