Chapter 111: The Lost Child

  Lu Fei tried hard to recall the child's head he saw in the woods, but unfortunately, it disappeared too quickly for him to see clearly.

  It was just his intuition that made him feel it was somewhat similar to the child in the photo.

  Could it be that what Liu Fugui saw at that time was actually a child?

  Lu Fei looked at the information on the missing person notice. The child had been missing for a month, and the location of the disappearance was a park.

  That park is so far from the Wangyue Villa, could it be possible?

  "But what if?"

  Thinking it over, Lu Fei couldn't fall asleep at all.

  He went to the guest room and woke up Liu Fugui, who was sound asleep.

  "Old Liu, take a good look. Is the little face you saw in the woods the one in this picture?"

  "What? I just fell asleep."

  Liu Fugui, still drowsy, held the missing person notice under the light and took a look.

  "It looks like it, but it doesn't look like it..."

  "What do you mean by 'it looks like it, but it doesn't look like it'? Look closely!" Lu Fei shook his shoulder vigorously.

  "Alright, alright, I'll take a good look."

  Liu Fugui rubbed his eyes and looked closely, and couldn't help but be surprised.

  "It seems to be the same one."

  "What do you mean 'seems to be'? Be more certain!" Lu Fei said anxiously.

  "I can't be sure, my dear brother," Liu Fugui said helplessly. "There were no lights in the woods, and I didn't see clearly at that time. Moreover, when I took a second look, I was so scared that I ran for my life. How could I dare to take a closer look?"

  "The child in this photo has a mole on their chin. Think again, did the face in the woods have one?" Lu Fei said, looking at the photo.

  "A mole that small, who could see it?" Liu Fugui looked at Lu Fei strangely. "Where did this missing person notice come from? Do you know the child on it?"

  "No, someone on the street handed it out. I thought if I came across any clues, I would let them know," Lu Fei sighed.

  "Children are the apple of their parents' eyes. It must be heartbreaking to lose them. If my daughter went missing, I wouldn't want to live anymore," Liu Fugui said with empathy.

  "How about we make a call just to be sure? Maybe I was wrong, and it wasn't four legs, but a child crouching there. After all, what animal in this world has a human head?"

  Lu Fei hesitated, "I'm afraid of making a mistake and giving them false hope, only to disappoint them later."

  "No, no, no, Brother Xiaolu, you can't say that. You haven't been a parent, so you don't understand. When a child goes missing, the worst thing is not disappointment, but having no hope at all."

  Liu Fugui's plump face, for once, showed a serious expression.

  "If anyone could provide some clues right now, they would be more than grateful. Moreover, even if it's not their child, but someone else's, wouldn't it still be a good thing if the parents found them?"

  Lu Fei couldn't help but think that his own feelings while searching for his grandfather were no different.

  "Alright, I'll let them know, but it's a bit late now..."

  "Do it now! When it comes to finding a child, not a single minute can be wasted."

  Encouraged by Liu Fugui, he dialed the number on the missing person notice.

  The call was quickly answered, and a weary man's voice came through.

  "Hello, who is this?"

  "Hello, is this Mr. Yu?"

  "Yes, that's me. Do you have any leads on my child?" The other party, sensing something from Lu Fei's tone, became noticeably tense.

  "We saw a child somewhere tonight who looked a bit like the one in the missing person notice, but we didn't get a clear look, so we're not sure if it's the same person," Lu Fei said truthfully.

  "Could you tell me where? Whether it's the same person or not, we need to check it out." The other party became agitated.

  "Alright, I'll send you the address right now."

  "Thank you! We'll go there immediately. No matter whether we find the child or not, we are so grateful to you!"

  Lu Fei sent the address and put down his phone, sighing deeply.

  "I hope they can find him soon."

  "We've already informed them of the information; the rest is up to fate," Liu Fugui patted his shoulder, "Let's hope that good people will have good luck."

  "Let's hope so."

  With this matter on their minds, neither of them slept well that night.

  When dawn broke, Lu Fei finally received a call from Mr. Yu.

  "How about it, did you find anything?"

  "No." Mr. Yu's tone was despondent, "We hired a search and rescue team to look for the entire night, but they said there were no traces of a child in these mountains."

  Lu Fei's heart sank, and he sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help."

  "Don't say that, we should thank you! No matter what others say, we believe our child is still alive. We will find him one day. If not here, we'll search elsewhere. We won't give up, no matter what!"

  This was a persistent father.

  Putting down the phone, Lu Fei shook his head at Liu Fugui.

  Liu Fugui also looked regretful.

  But, in fact, this was expected.

  A child of seven or eight years old who got separated from their parents and did not seek help, what would they be doing in the mountains? The situation itself was illogical.

  "If the child is not in the mountains, then what did we see last night?" Lu Fei was still very puzzled.

  "Who knows, maybe it really was a sheep or some other animal like Huzi said. I got scared at that moment and thought it was a monster."

  Liu Fugui couldn't explain it clearly either; after all, it was too dark in the woods, and he didn't see it clearly.

  "Enough, don't think too much about it. We've done what we could. Sometimes, this is just fate."

  They sighed for a while.

  Lu Fei composed himself and stopped thinking too much, as he still had his own matters to attend to.

  "Huzi, it's time for us to go out."

  "Where are we going, boss?"

  "To have tea!"

  The two of them left, and Liu Fugui returned to his antique shop.

  Old Street.

  An antique tea house with a classical charm.

  Above the main entrance, there hangs an artistic plaque with exquisite calligraphy, reading 'Sanwei Teahouse' in bold, cursive script.

  Lu Fei stood at the entrance, gazing at the plaque above.

  Before his grandfather went missing, he had visited two places.

  One was the Tianlong Auction House, and the other was the Sanwei Teahouse.

  It was said that this place was a gathering spot for members of the mystical community, and Lu Fei had long wanted to come here to try his luck. However, he had been so busy lately that his feet hardly touched the ground.

  Only today did he find the time.

  He took a deep breath and stepped into the teahouse.

  "Two handsome gentlemen, you look unfamiliar. What would you like to drink?"

  A fragrant breeze wafted by as a beautiful young woman in a cheongsam approached them.

  Huzi instantly felt his eyes light up.

  It wasn't because the young woman was exceptionally beautiful, but because she was adorned with jade necklaces and golden bracelets, shimmering and dazzling.

  "The bright moon illuminates the clear breeze, seeking kindred spirits in the three flavors."

  Lu Fei smiled.

  "Sanwei Teahouse only serves Longjing, Tieguanyin, and Dahongpao. I hear that Longjing is the most fragrant, so let's have a pot of Longjing."

  The previous line was the secret code for people from the Xuan Sect to enter the teahouse. With this code, the owner would allow you to enter.

  "Oh, it turns out these two handsome men are fellow practitioners, please come in and take a seat," the young and beautiful woman immediately became enthusiastic, leading them to a table.

  "Little handsome man, is this your first time here? I haven't seen you before. May I ask where you are from?"