CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: HUO YAN IS IN DANGER II

"I will go with you," Yue Ning rose to her feet without hesitation.

"No." Huo Feng rejected reflexively. "You are still injured. If you move around constantly, you won’t get healed quickly."

Yue Ning stared at him with a pleading look in her eyes. But Huo Feng had decided. It would be better for her to stay home. She needed to recuperate properly.

"Ning Ning, Young Master Huo is right. You are still injured, if you accompany him, you might slow him down. This might slow down his search, and I’m sure you don’t want that." Yun Li tried to convince her.

"Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back. That’s a promise." Huo Feng vowed.

Hearing this, Yue Ning couldn’t bear to keep him in the house again. The more time they wasted, the more Huo Yan would be in a precarious situation.

"I will have to trouble Miss Li to please watch over her." Huo Feng said to Yun Li who hurriedly shook her head.

"It is no trouble."

Huo Feng smiled gratefully, gave Yue Ning one last look, before he walked outside.

Outside, the driver was already waiting by the car, his hands twisting nervously as if he had been standing on pins the entire time. When he saw Huo Feng, he rushed forward, his voice tight with guilt.

"Young Master..."

Huo Feng’s sharp eyes narrowed at once, catching the tremor in the man’s tone. "Speak."

The driver’s face turned pale. He lowered his head and stammered, "Miss Huo... Miss Huo is missing."

The night air instantly grew heavier and colder.

Huo Feng’s expression didn’t shift much, but the faint crease between his brows deepened. His voice, however, was steady. "Explain. From the beginning."

The driver swallowed hard, his whole body trembling as though the weight of his words were about to crush his body.

"I stopped at a tea stall on the southern outskirts," he stated, guilt evident with each word .

"The road back was long, and I thought to buy a quick drink. Miss Huo agreed to wait inside the car. I was gone for only a short while, but when I returned..."

His breath hitched. "She was gone. The car door was ajar. I searched the nearby woods, the stall, even asked around, but no one saw her."

A long silence stretched.

Though his face remained composed, a storm had already begun to stir in Huo Feng’s eyes. "You left her alone?" His tone was quiet, but the weight behind each word made the driver’s knees buckle.

"I—I..." The man plopped his knees to the ground, his voice breaking. "I was careless, Young Master. Punish me however you wish, but please... please save Miss Huo!"

Huo Feng’s gaze lingered on him for a beat before shifting toward the dark stretch of road ahead. His mind was already calculating—time, distance, possibilities.

"Get in the car," he ordered curtly. "You’ll show me the exact place."

"Yes, Young Master!" The driver scrambled up, relief and dread mingling in his chest.

Huo Feng slid into the driver’s seat himself, not trusting anyone else with the wheel. The car roared to life, its headlights illuminating the dark night as they sped toward the outskirts.

Huo Feng’s hands tightened around the wheels while several thoughts flashed through his mind.

After what seemed like an hour, Huo Feng arrived at the supposed stall.

Ah Si had already arrived beforehand.

"Boss, I have asked around. They claimed to have not seen Young Miss." He informed him respectfully when Huo Feng approached him.

"I don’t buy it, have you checked if there are cameras around? Even if we are in the outskirts, there should be cameras."

"You are right Boss, I looked around, and found out there are cameras at the tea stall." Ah Si gestured toward the dimly lit stall. "Boss, I checked with the owner. He says the security camera outside hasn’t worked for weeks."

Huo Feng’s gaze darkened. "Convenient."

The driver shivered at the single word.

Huo Feng thought for a while before a thought flashed through his mind.

Without waiting for more explanation, Huo Feng strode toward the car he had left for Huo Yan earlier. He crouched beside the door, running his fingertips along the handle. A faint scratch mark caught his attention. His eyes narrowed.

"This wasn’t opened from inside," he muttered.

Ah Si bent closer, his expression grim. "Forced?"

"Most likely."

The stall owner approached timidly, wringing his hands. "Sir, forgive me, I—I didn’t see anything strange. Just... there was a white van parked across the road earlier. I thought it belonged to travelers. It left about the same time your lady disappeared."

Huo Feng’s head snapped toward him. "Which direction?"

The man pointed south, toward a stretch of unlit road that led deeper into the outskirts.

"Check the nearby traffic cameras along that route," Huo Feng ordered sharply. Ah Si immediately pulled out his phone, already contacting his men.

The driver paled further. "Young Master... if it really was a van—"

"Silence." Huo Feng’s voice cut through the night, cold and final. His sharp gaze remained fixed on the road ahead, his mind calculating each second slipping away.

Within moments, Ah Si returned, his expression taut. "Boss, one of the highway cameras picked up a white van heading south fifteen minutes ago. But..." He hesitated.

"But what?" Huo Feng’s voice was low and deadly.

Ah Si swallowed hard. "The plates were covered." He answered after a few moments of hesitation.

The night air seemed to grow colder. Huo Feng straightened, his jaw tight. Whoever took Huo Yan had planned this very carefully and deliberately.

"Keep tracing it," he commanded. "Every camera, every junction. They can’t stay hidden forever. We have to bring her back."

As Ah Si hurried off, Huo Feng’s gaze lingered on the empty stretch of road where the van had disappeared. For the first time in years, his calm façade wavered slightly.

Huo Yan... wait for me.

Meanwhile, Yue Ning was feeling restless. The injury on her leg caused her to be unable to walk properly, and it only added to her anxiety.

"Ning Ning, you need to remain calm... Rest assured, she will be found." Yun Li assured her, unable to see her feeling anxious.

Yue Ning nodded. She felt terrible within. She wasn’t able to do enough.