Unfortunately, the child was not familiar with Chen Chaojiang, and even cried when he saw his pale and cold face.
On the contrary, Ye Wan, who has a rather bad temper and gets easily exasperated when the child cries or fusses, is quite popular with the child. After all, mother and child are connected at heart, and the little guy prefers to be held by his mother.
During their stay in Jiangjing City, Chen Chaojiang and Ye Wan cherished the time their family spent together. Every day, they would hold their child and lead their parents, who had never traveled far from home, to visit the scenic tourist attractions in Jiangjing City.
Spring arrives earlier in the south than in the north.
By the end of February, the weather was already sunny and warm, with a gentle spring breeze and rippling blue water.
That day, Chen Chaojiang and his family of five drove to Xihu City, which is adjacent to Jiangjing City, for sightseeing.
Qiantang Lake, located west of the city, is a nationally renowned tourist destination. A dozen not-so-tall peaks stand on either side, embracing the vast expanse of the lake. The peaks are uniquely shaped, the rocks are beautiful, and the forests and springs are serene. The northern and southern peaks stand facing each other, piercing the clouds. Along the shores of Qiantang Lake, willows turn green in spring, swaying gracefully. Tourists throng the area.
Traveling in such a scenic place makes it hard to lose interest and brings joy.
We ate at a nearby restaurant at noon, rested for a while in the afternoon, and then went to visit a nearby mountain temple.
However, before they even started climbing the mountain, the child became sleepy, and the grandparents also felt quite tired. So they decided to let Chen Chaojiang and his wife go hiking, while the elderly couple found a pavilion at the foot of the mountain to sit down. Zhu Cui wrapped the child in her coat and held him in her arms to lull him to sleep.
The elderly couple smiled and told the young couple to go and enjoy themselves, while they waited there.
Climbing the mountain and visiting the temple wouldn't take too much time, so Chen Chaojiang and Ye Wan went up the mountain to explore.
Chen An and his wife chatted idly under the pavilion, holding their child.
The afternoon breeze was gentle, and the sun shone brightly, creating a warm and comfortable atmosphere that made the elderly couple feel a little sleepy. However, since they were still outside, they could only force themselves to chat idly, thinking that they would go back to the hotel to rest after their son and daughter-in-law returned. They could continue their activities tomorrow.
Chen An and Zhu Cui now feel that life is sweeter than honey. Their second son, Chen Chaohai, is studying abroad, their eldest son, Chen Chaojiang, is successful, their daughter-in-law comes from a wealthy family, and they have a big, healthy baby boy... They are living a blissful life. Is there anyone in the world who is happier than them?
In the afternoon, there are few tourists. Even those who are there mostly walk slowly or simply rest under nearby pavilions or on benches by the roadside.
A slightly worn white Santana slowly drove up from a distance and stopped about seven or eight meters from the pavilion. Two men and a woman got out of the car. The two men looked to be around forty years old, and the woman looked to be in her thirties.
The two men, one wearing sunglasses and the other wearing a baseball cap, had neat short hair.
Judging from their clothing and accessories, it's obvious they're not from the city; they have a distinctly rural feel to them.
Chen An and his wife didn't pay much attention to the three people. When you're traveling, there are strangers everywhere. You can't be on guard against every single one of them for having malicious intentions, can you?
Chen An felt an urgent need to urinate, so he got up and went to the public restroom not far away. Zhu Cui leaned against a pillar, gently patting the coat wrapped around her grandson, humming a soft tune.
The three people seemed to be tired from their travels, so they walked towards the pavilion where Zhu Cui was.
Zhu Cui, a villager who rarely goes out, couldn't help but feel more wary. She tightened her grip on her grandson's arm and didn't look at the three men.
After the three entered the pavilion, the woman, acting as if they were old friends, walked up to Zhu Cui and said with a beaming smile, "Oh, auntie, is this your granddaughter?"
One shouldn't hit a smiling face. Since the person was being polite, Zhu Cui naturally couldn't ignore them. Besides, as a grandmother, she was obviously more willing to introduce her grandson when someone asked about him, so she smiled and said, "It's a boy, hehe."
"Oh, a baby boy? He's so handsome." The woman said as she sat down next to Zhu Cui.
Perhaps because the noise was a bit loud, it woke up Chen Zihan, who was almost one year old. The little one opened her eyes and pouted with some dissatisfaction, but with her grandmother gently coaxing her, she didn't cry and curiously looked at the stranger in front of her.
"Those big eyes, so beautiful!" The woman seemed to really like children, saying, "Sigh, my child is already in elementary school, but thinking back, he was so cute when he was little. Auntie, come and hold him..." As she spoke, the woman reached out as if to hug the child. However, she didn't actually reach out to hug him, but instead smiled and looked at Zhu Cui.
Zhu Cui tightened her grip on the child's arms, but seeing that the woman in front of her didn't immediately reach out to take the child but instead politely asked for permission, she hesitated for a moment before finally smiling and handing the child over.
The woman smiled and took the child in her arms, making soft, babbling sounds to amuse him.
Just then, Chen An came out of the public restroom and saw three strangers with his wife, and the child was being held in the arms of a stranger. Chen An felt uneasy and quickly hurried over.
The two men initially made no move. They simply smiled and casually looked around.
Seeing Chen An walking towards them, the two men suddenly stood up, and the man wearing a baseball cap took a step forward and blocked Zhu Cui and the woman's path.
Zhu Cui was slightly taken aback when the woman got up, picked up her child, and ran out of the pavilion toward their car.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Zhu Cui suddenly stood up, but was unexpectedly pushed by the man who blocked her way. She lost her balance and fell off the low railing of the pavilion.
The two men also hurriedly ran to the front of the car.
Chen An shouted, "They're snatching a child! Help!" and rushed over in a panic.
When he rushed to the Volkswagen Santana, the two men and the woman had already gotten inside. Chen An desperately reached out and grabbed the side of the car door, but unexpectedly, the man wearing sunglasses suddenly pulled the door open, and the door slammed heavily against Chen An's hand with a loud bang.
Chen An winced in pain and involuntarily released his grip.
The Volkswagen Santana sped away into the distance, turned onto the main road, and disappeared from sight.
Zhu Cui, with a bloody scratch on her forehead, ran over crying, while Chen An, ignoring the pain in his hands, chased after dozens of people while screaming, but the car had already disappeared from sight.
This scene is a long story, but it only lasted for a few dozen seconds.
Some of the tourists in the vicinity were stunned by the sudden event, while others stood by and watched with the attitude of "it's better to mind your own business" and "it's none of my business."
Kind-hearted tourists realized what was happening and quickly called the police, while others came over to comfort Chen An and his wife.
Zhu Cui sat on the ground and burst into tears, and no matter how much the crowd tried to persuade and pull her, they couldn't stop her; Chen An, on the other hand, was so angry that he kept jumping up and down, cursing through his tears...
After everyone finally managed to calm Chen An down, he suddenly remembered to call his son. Trembling, he took out his phone with his uninjured left hand and dialed his son's number, saying in a panic, "Chaojiang, Chaojiang, hurry, Xiao Zihan has been kidnapped."
"What?" Chen Chaojiang was taken aback, then said to Ye Wan, "I'll go down and take a look first."
Before the words had even faded, the person had vanished like lightning. By the time Ye Wan recovered from her shock, Chen Chaojiang's figure had already disappeared around the bend at the foot of the mountain.
Ye Wan realized something serious had happened and quickly ran down the mountain.
When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they saw the elderly couple sitting on a roadside bench surrounded by a crowd and several police officers, crying and saying something, but the child was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Wan was taken aback. She rushed forward, pushed through the crowd, and asked anxiously, "Dad, Mom, where's Zihan?"
"Xiao Wan, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault!" Zhu Cui burst into tears the moment she saw Ye Wan, collapsing to her knees with a thud. She slapped her own face repeatedly, sobbing, "I didn't watch my child properly, someone snatched Zihan away... Waaah..."
At the same time, Chen An also lowered his head and pounded his head with both hands, cursing himself.
Police and bystanders rushed forward to comfort the child, while the crowd outside cursed the scum who had snatched him.
Ye Wan stood there, stunned, unable to hear the words of comfort from those around her. She felt as if the sky had fallen... Her child had been taken away? Gone?
Don't those people know who I am?
Don't you know who my husband is?
Are they tired of living?
Ye Wan felt a buzzing in her head, her vision went black, and she fainted. People around her quickly supported her, and a policeman hurriedly put her into the police car.
...
After rushing down the mountain at an extremely fast speed, Chen Chaojiang only said a few words of comfort to his parents as he passed by: "Don't worry, everything will be alright." Then he disappeared like lightning.
The onlookers thought they were seeing things; there hadn't been a thin, pale, and cold-faced young man at all.
As Chen Chaojiang descended the mountain, his divine sense quickly retrieved the escape route of the criminals using the state scroll he held.
At this moment, his mind was completely filled with rage.
How long has it been since he last lost his temper like this? In his youth, he was impulsive and had a ruthless and violent temper. Over the years, he seems to have been worn down by his status and life, losing his edge. Although he is still as cold as ever, he has become rounded and shiny.
However, this time, he lost his mind again and went mad!
He didn't drive his own car or take a taxi; instead, he raised his divine power to its limit and chased after the car into the city as swiftly as a cheetah on the hunt.
After quickly leaving the scenic area, the Volkswagen Santana changed its license plate at a location without surveillance cameras. The woman then got into another van with her child, while the other two men drove the Santana quickly along a back road towards their hideout.
Chen Chaojiang stopped briefly at the intersection, then chased after the van towards the city center.
Save the child first.
However, no matter how fast Chen Chaojiang was, he couldn't keep up with a speeding vehicle. Moreover, once they entered the city, there were many intersections and intersections. If he kept chasing after them, a traffic accident was inevitable.
Therefore, Chen Chaojiang's speed slowed down considerably.
Quite by chance, a traffic jam occurred at a busy intersection in the city.
The van was stuck in traffic.
However, the driver and the woman holding the child were not worried. They were very skilled in this line of work and knew that it was absolutely safe.
However, they didn't know that this time they had truly run into the line of fire—no, they had run into death itself.
Chen Chaojiang weaved rapidly through the stopped traffic, and soon appeared like a shadow next to the driver's side door of the van.
The driver caught a glimpse of someone outside the car window out of the corner of his eye, and he instinctively turned his head to look to the side.
Then there was a loud thud, and amidst the crashing sound of shattering car windows, a pale fist appeared in front of the driver, followed by a tremendous impact that slammed into his forehead!
The driver involuntarily tilted his head back, and his head shattered.
Blood splattered between his brains.
The woman holding the child in the back seat was terrified.
Xiao Zihan burst into tears.
The side door was pulled open with a whoosh, and Chen Chaojiang's cold, pale face appeared before the woman. Then, Chen Chaojiang stretched out his pale hands and took the child from the stunned woman's arms.
Holding the child firmly in one arm, Chen Chaojiang grabbed the woman's long hair with his other hand and dragged her out of the car.
A piercing scream suddenly rang out over the congested intersection.
Under the horrified gazes of both women, Chen Chaojiang slammed the woman against the median barrier with one hand. With a cracking sound, the barrier twisted and deformed, and the woman's screams came to an abrupt halt. Her body lay limp beneath the barrier, which had been cleaved open by a human body.
Blood was everywhere, and the person looked as if he had been cut in two.
In an instant, it seemed as if all the vehicle engines had shut off, and the intersection fell silent.
Only the baby's clear cry echoed in the air, carrying far away.
Chen Chaojiang paused for a moment, then sent a wisp of his divine sense into his son's mind, slowly calming his son's terrified consciousness.
Xiao Zihan quickly calmed down.
Chen Chaojiang frowned, turned his head to look at the surveillance video above the intersection, and his heart trembled.
Then, carrying the child, Chen Chaojiang dashed through the congested traffic like the wind, heading into the distance. He knew he had gotten himself into serious trouble this time…
Chen Chaojiang moved very quickly; by the time the police began to arrest him, he had already reached the gate of the Qiantanghu District Public Security Bureau where his parents and Ye Wan were located.
He took out his phone and dialed Ye Wan's number:
"Wan'er, the child is alright. I've brought him back. Don't tell anyone yet. I'm right outside at the street corner. Take the child with you; I have things to do."
After saying that, Chen Chaojiang hung up the phone.
Waking up from her unconsciousness, Ye Wan, filled with rage and anxiety, had just called her mother when she heard that her child had been snatched. She was so angry that she immediately contacted the leaders of the Xihu City Public Security Bureau, saying, "Our child is lost in your area, and you can't find our child. You people should all be dismissed!"
Upon receiving Chen Chaojiang's call, Ye Wan was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that her husband was a god and nothing could defeat him.