CHAPTER 586: CHAPTER 108_2

A pair of chopsticks, placed vertically in the bowl by her.

This was not solid rice; the dish was more of a soup, it couldn’t hold the chopsticks upright.

Yet as soon as she let go, the two chopsticks stood up straight.

...

Tan Wenbin first returned to his room, shouldering his backpack.

On the bed, Hu Yiwei was still sleeping soundly, the dark red stain at his groin gradually turning black.

Although he clearly sensed something was amiss in this house, the danger level was still within bearable limits.

Better to meet up with Brother Xiao Yuan first.

Tan Wenbin left the room, walked out of the alley, and headed onto the main street.

While Min’an Town didn’t compare to the population size of Shigang Town situated on the plains, it was nonetheless a town, and it was normal not to recognize every town resident.

Tan Wenbin located a small shop in the town, bought a drink, and then asked the shop’s aunty about Xue Liangliang’s family.

However, the aunty’s response left Tan Wenbin astonished.

The aunty said she had never heard of a Xue family living in the town.

A thought immediately flashed through Tan Wenbin’s mind: Could it be that Liangliang’s father was a live-in son-in-law who only later asserted himself and reverted to the Xue surname for Liangliang?

Even Tan Wenbin himself found this speculation somewhat far-fetched.

After leaving the small shop, Tan Wenbin continuously asked around among the town residents; he thought the Xue family should be quite well-known here since Brother Liangliang was supposed to be "someone’s successful child."

But the result was, no one knew of such a family in town.

At that moment, Tan Wenbin finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

Not being able to find the Xue family meant he couldn’t locate Brother Xiao Yuan and Run Sheng, who had supposedly gone to the Xue family’s house ahead of him.

He pulled out his pager from his waist. There were no paging records.

This shouldn’t be happening; it was already ten in the morning.

Last night, Brother Xiao Yuan might have thought it was too late and since the small shop had closed, did not page him, but by this time, having not seen him, he definitely would have had Run Sheng page him at the earliest opportunity.

Tan Wenbin returned to the small shop and started to dial the affordable store’s number.

"Beep... Beep... Beep..."

The phone just rang, with no one answering.

This was impossible; even if Lu Yi was teaching and not in the store, there should definitely be someone there during daytime business hours.

He dialed two more times; still, no one answered.

Hesitating, Tan Wenbin dialed his own father’s office: "Beep... Beep... Beep...", it indicated the call went through, but still, no one answered.

He even tried calling Aunt Zhang’s small shop in Si Yuan Village, but it was the same.

Lastly, he called the pager station.

During this period, there were many pager stations across the country, and being an operator at a pager station was a very popular job.

Yet this time, no one answered at the pager station either; he couldn’t hear the sweet voice of the operator.

Hanging up the phone, Tan Wenbin clenched his fist and lightly thumped the counter.

"What’s wrong?" asked the aunty, somewhat confused as she looked over her phone display, which had shown no answered call despite the long duration.

"Aunty, could your phone be broken?"

"Broken?" The aunty pressed the speakerphone button, dialed a number herself, and promptly someone answered. She advised the other side in dialect to deliver more goods next time, and after agreeing, she hung up.

"It’s not broken, it’s working fine."

The aunty chewed on sunflower seeds, sizing up this young man. If it weren’t for his decent appearance and the fact he was wearing a backpack, she might suspect he was just there to amuse himself early in the morning.

Tan Wenbin picked up the phone again, dialed the affordable store, and still, no one answered.

After hanging up, he took out some money and bought some bagged snacks.

The aunty smilingly served him; the snacks were not past their expiration date, though the bags were dusty. In town, bulk fried goods still sold better.

Tan Wenbin walked out of the small shop and sat down in a riverside pavilion.

A few tables of elderly people were there drinking tea, and a storyteller was narrating a tale.

Speaking in the local dialect, he didn’t understand.

Looking toward the serene river surface, beyond were the farms and green hills—a beautiful scenery, but he was not in the mood to appreciate it.

Either there was something wrong with this town, or something wrong with him.

Maybe now, the most sensible option was to leave this town immediately, to at least go somewhere where he could make phone calls.

But he had come here specifically for this problem; if he ran away at the first sign of trouble, then what was the point in coming at all?

After the storyteller finished a segment, Tan Wenbin stepped forward to chat with him, leaving behind the Zeng family’s location, and gave the storyteller some money, promising to give more if someone found him through the storyteller.

Then, Tan Wenbin pulled out pen and paper and began writing notes, a lot of them with his name and address, which he distributed to the shop owners.

After completing this, Tan Wenbin didn’t rush back to the Zeng family’s house but began wandering around the town like a tourist backpacker.

He had arrived late last night when it was too dark to see clearly; now he could observe and explore in detail.

However, while the architectural style of the Huizhou region was indeed culturally rich and beautiful, when there is unease and fear in your heart, the environment only amplifies these emotions.

Every household with an open door seemed to hold secrets, each alley exuding an eerie atmosphere.

After wandering until nearly one in the afternoon, Tan Wenbin decided to return to the Zeng family. Before going back, he stopped at a shop to cut some meat and bought some grains and oil.

Carrying these items, he stepped into the house and saw Zeng Yinyin standing there.

"I thought you had already left."