The squared-face man was shaking, staring at Xiao Luo in absolute terror. The last thing they would have expected was to run into such a beast. It was for good reason that the old adage had been spoken to many a man: “Do not bully the weak and fear the strong.” If one behaved haughtily and constantly preyed on the weak, inevitably one day, he would run into someone more able than himself. Fate has a funny way of biting one in the behind when least expected.
Zhang Dashan had now gotten out of the vehicle and was heading over to Xiao Luo.
As he walked, he picked up a bar lying on the ground then roared at the squared-face man, “F*ck, you wanted to smash my car? Let me smash yours first!”
He strode to the van, then swung the bar back and brought it down heavily onto the windscreen.
SHATTER!
As the bar smashed into the tempered windscreen, it visibly cracked the surface, producing a webbed pattern around where the bar struck. Another hit punched a hole in the windshield, shattering it into little mosaics of glass that littered the front seats before the screen fell apart.
Zhang Dashan was so enraged that he repeatedly thrashed the van, breaking windows and causing dents all over the vehicle. Thumps and screeches resounded from the thrashing and sounded like painful screams of an abuse victim.
“You *sshole stop it, if you dare to hit one more time, I’ll kill your whole family!”
The square-faced man yelled loudly at Zhang Dashan. His blood-shot eyes bulged with rage, and he looked a grim sight with blood running down his face. Some say that a car is equivalent to a man’s mien and even his “other wife,” so seeing Zhang Dashan smashing his van up, the squared-face man reacted angrily despite being in such dire circumstances.
As the words left his mouth, Xiao Luo walked up and stomped hard on his left hand with his right foot.
Crack~ crack~ crack~
The grisly sound of cracking bones could be heard as all five fingers in his left hand were mangled under Xiao Luo’s right foot. Splintered bones protruded from the broken skin, and the hand trembled as blood oozed out, contrasting starkly with the exposed bones.
The squared-face man howled, his face twisted in agony. He was now lying on the ground writhing from the excruciating pain.
He raised his head and stared at Xiao Luo from where he lay, and his eyes were filled with dread. The rest of the men could not stop trembling and tried their best not to attract his attention. They had always thought themselves as fearsome characters, but in the presence of this man, their courage left them, and they felt like helpless little girls.
Xiao Luo did not have to say a word, he just smiled at the squared-face man and shook his head, suggesting that he had better stay put, or be greeted with more pain.
The squared-face man, of course, hardly dared to breathe, nodding to acknowledge that he understood. In his eyes, Xiao Luo was a demon in human form.
“Old Xiao, we have a situation, come over here!”
Zhang Dashan had stopped bashing the van and called out to Xiao Luo.
As the squared-face man and his gang watched, their faces changed all of a sudden. They looked pale and panicky as if they had been exposed for doing something illegal.
Xiao Luo frowned and walked over.
Zhang Dashan was pointing at the backseat of the van, and when he glanced over, he saw that there was a sack lying on the floor of the vehicle. The sack was moving about, and evidently, something alive was within it. Then, they heard a faint crying sound.
“What do you think is inside?” Zhang Dashan looked very serious.
“We’ll know it once we’ve opened it.”
Xiao Luo slid the door of the van open and was about to untie the sack.
Zhang Dashan hurriedly stopped him and said with caution in mind, “Old Xiao, don’t be so brash, what if there’s a bunch of venomous snakes inside? If you open it, wouldn’t you be at risk?”
“You think it could be snakes?”
Xiao Luo rolled his eyes at him as it was obvious from the shape of the sack, whatever was inside would surely not be like snakes.
“Even if it’s not snakes, what if it’s a beast? These four guys surely don’t look like decent people, and it’s possible that they could be exotic-animal traffickers. Anyway, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s be careful in every task we do.” Zhang Dashan was still concerned as it was his nature to fear the unknown.
“Stay away if you’re scared.”
Xiao Luo could not understand Zhang Dashan’s fear. It was just opening up a sack, was it even necessary to be that careful?
He reached out his hands to undo the retaining knot that tied up the sack. Both their jaws dropped as they stared wide-eyed at its contents.
These were neither venomous snake nor ferocious beasts but a beautiful and cute little “loli.” [1]
She looked about three to four years old, with a pair of beautiful, clear eyes so bright that stars seemed to reside within. Her hair was black and soft, just like a waterfall that flowed down to her shoulders. She had a soft fringe in wispy bangs, a tiny delicate nose, fair skin,, and long eyelashes. She looked like an adorable little fairy that had descended to the mortal world by chance.
However, the hands of this little angel were tied up, and her mouth was gagged with a piece of white cloth. She looked helpless and stared at Xiao Luo and Zhang Dashan, frightened. She had calmed down nevertheless after she had a good look at Xiao Luo’s face.
“These motherf*cking bastards actually kidnapped a little girl!” Zhang Dashan was very pissed.
Even though Xiao Luo had never considered himself to be a decent person, memories of that little girl who was forced by Dragon Gang to beg for a living made his blood boil with rage. This adorable girl was undoubtedly kidnapped and had they not chanced upon her, she would ultimately be living a wasted life in a bottomless abyss.
He remained silent as he untied the rope that had restrained her and took out the piece of white cloth from her mouth.
“Daddy!”
Xiao Luo was taken aback.
Zhang Dashan said in a kind voice, “Little girl, you’ve mistaken him for someone else, okay. This is not your daddy.”
He knew better than anyone that Xiao Luo, his own brother, cannot possibly have a daughter. He did not even have a girlfriend to begin with, let alone a wife.
The loli looked up timidly and remained silent, then she hugged Xiao Luo tightly as if he would vanish into thin air the moment she let him go.
Xiao Luo knew that she had suffered from a traumatic experience, which caused her to behave strangely.
He carried her out from the van as she clung onto him tightly like an octopus. She chirped, “Daddy, Bei Bei has finally found you. Mommy did not lie to me, daddy’s really in this city.”
Xiao Luo smiled at her, then turned to Zhang Dashan, and said, “Call the police, let the police handle the case!”
Zhang Dashan immediately nodded in agreement. Even though they had saved a kidnapped child, they couldn’t possibly be taking care of her for the rest of her life. In addition to that, they had a reunion to go to, and that didn’t give them much time to clean up the mess.
After the interrogation, the squared-face man and his gang provided all the details. They were not kidnapping but trafficking. The four of them earned a living through child trafficking. This loli, whose name was Bei Bei, looked as divine as a little fairy, so she would naturally be worth a lot of money. They had been tracking her for a while, and when they had the opportunity, they snatched her from her parents and sped off in their van.
“We’re wrong, and we apologize. Big brothers… please let us go…”
The squared-face man was now broken, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone, as he begged Xiao Luo for mercy. If the police were to come, he and his men would be jailed for a long time. They had committed this crime multiple times; if they were to be prosecuted, they would probably be spending the rest of their lives in jail.
“Let you guys go? Don’t dream about it, scumbags like you guys deserve a death penalty, f*ck!” Zhang Dashan screamed at them. He hated human traffickers terribly, he was greatly influenced by the movie, “Lost and Love.”
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[1]: Loli: in this chapter, refers to a cute, pre-school girl with exceptionally beautiful features.
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Not long after, the police arrived. The square-jawed man and four others were handcuffed. Their expressions were desperate. Had they known earlier that Xiao Luo and Zhang Dashan were not people they could mess with, they would have held their tempers in. However, there were no what-ifs in the world. Everything was too late. Karma had caught up with them.
“We don’t have time to give a statement, and we have told you everything necessary.” Zhang Dashan declined the police’s invitation. He pointed at the young girl beside Xiao Luo and said, “Oh yeah, this little girl is the one they kidnapped. Please help her find her family.”
“Alright!”
There was basically no cop in Jiangcheng that didn’t know who Xiao Luo was. His name was like a religion, instilling wariness, fear, and respect in them. How could they dare force Xiao Luo and his companion to give their statements at the police station?
A policewoman walked up to Xiao Luo. After nodding at Xiao Luo as an acknowledgment, she bent down and waved at the girl. She gave the girl a friendly smile and said, “Little girl, I’ll take you to your parents, alright?”
The little girl wrapped her arms around Xiao Luo’s thighs and shook her head forcefully. She hid behind Xiao Luo and warily looked at the policewoman.
Xiao Luo smiled resignedly and looked down to persuade her. “They are the police, and the police are the good guys. They will help you find your parents. You can go ahead and follow her.”
“You are Beibei’s father.”
The young girl lifted her head as she seriously spoke. Her big, shining, onyx-like eyes blinked.
Hmm?
The look in the eyes of the policewoman and the other cops immediately became contemplative. Xiao Luo the devil cop has a daughter? How could they not know?
Xiao Luo quickly explained, “I am not your father.”
“You are Beibei’s father.”
The little girl spoke in a very sure tone. Her childish voice was very pleasant to the ears.
“Little girl, you have recognized him wrong. Maybe he just looks like your father, but he definitely isn’t your father. He doesn’t even have a wife yet.” Zhang Dashan spoke up and agreed with Xiao Luo. What is happening? He’s even getting pestered by a little girl?
The little girl looked at him sheepishly but didn’t reply to him. Her tiny hands were still holding on tightly to Xiao Luo’s thighs. She pressed her porcelain-doll-like face closely to Xiao Luo’s thigh. Her face looked flat as the muscles were being compressed. She pouted and looked very cute.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the man before her was Xiao Luo the devil cop, even the policewoman would have failed to suppress her liking of the girl and go forward to pat the girl on the head. She was too cute. She made one feel an impulse to hug her and show her some love.
Xiao Luo didn’t argue with the little girl any further, but he said to the policewoman, “Take her.”
Regardless of whether the cops were able to coax her away or take her forcefully, they had to take the little girl with them. It had nothing to do with him.
At Xiao Luo’s behest, the policewoman walked up and tried to coax or trick the girl. “Little girl, do you want to have some cotton candy? How about I bring you to buy some fluffy and sweet cotton candy?”
The little girl was slightly tempted, but she thought of Xiao Luo, so she shook her head.
The policewoman took out her phone. “Then, do you want to watch clips of Logger Vick, Briar, and Bramble? I have some here.”
As she spoke, she directly clicked on the video clips of Boonie Bears and played it for the little girl.
The little girl was tempted. Most kids were unable to resist cartoons. She walked out from behind Xiao Luo and took the phone from the policewoman. She stood where she was looking down and started watching the show with pleasure.
“Is it nice?” The policewoman tried to get the girl to trust her more.
The little girl nodded. Not shifting her eyes off the phone, she replied, “It’s nice!”
“How about you come with me? I still have a lot of nice cartoons at my place.” The policewoman smiled.
Unexpectedly, the little girl immediately exited the state of being completely focused on the cartoon. After warily glancing at the policewoman, she once again hugged Xiao Luo’s thighs tightly. “Beibei doesn’t want to leave Dad!”
Eh?!
The policewoman was momentarily shocked. Obviously, her tactics of coaxing and tricking had failed.
There was no other way but to take her by force. She grabbed the little girl’s hand. “Little girl, he isn’t your father. I will help you find your actual parents.”
The little girl began wailing. “I won’t go! My dad is here! He is my dad, boohoo…”
The policewoman, who was afraid of hurting her, didn’t dare tug at her forcefully now that she was crying, so she let go of her hand.
The little girl immediately hugged Xiao Luo’s thighs firmly and tightly, hiding behind him.
“Damn, what’s going on? Old Xiao, be honest to me, surely this girl can’t really be the daughter of you and some woman?”
It was the first time Zhang Dashan had encountered something like this throughout his life. Saving a little girl by chance and having the little girl claim Old Xiao as her dad was surely only something that happened in novels, right?
Xiao Luo rolled his eyes at him and reprimanded, “Don’t say anything if you don’t have anything to say.”
The little girl was at least three years old. He would have just graduated from university when she was born. He was in a relationship with Zhao Mengqi, so why would he have sex with other women and have a daughter?
When he saw the little girl crying, Xiao Luo didn’t know why, but he felt indescribably sorry for her. Even though it wasn’t a very strong feeling, it was clear as day.
He squatted down and extended a hand to wipe away the tears on her face. He patted her on the head. “Don’t cry, you will look like a tabby cat if you keep on crying.”
“Beibei has finally found Dad! Beibei doesn’t want to leave you!” The little girl’s eyes were red. Drops of tears were pooled on her eyelashes. She looked so pitiful that even God would have been moved.
Xiao Luo drily laughed. “You are Beibei?”
“Yup.”
The little girl nodded quickly like a chick pecking at rice.
“Why are you calling me Dad?”
Xiao Luo was very curious about it. “Is it that I look like your dad?”
The little girl shook her head. “You are Beibei’s dad.”
Xiao Luo was speechless. He realized that he couldn’t communicate with the girl. How could he be her dad? There was no chance of it being true at all.
The policewoman sheepishly suggested, “Xiao… Xiao Luo, since she relies on you so much, let her follow you for now. I will bring her family over to find you when they report her missing. Is that alright?”
She was actually thinking that the girl would be a huge trouble if she kept on wailing loudly and making noise after they took her away.
“It is your duty as cops to help her find her family,” Xiao Luo calmly said. “What does it have to do with me?”
“About that…”
The policewoman laughed awkwardly but did not say anything more. She feared Xiao Luo, this devil cop, from the bottom of her heart.
Suddenly, the little girl, whose tears had stopped, began crying again. Tears streamed from her eyes. As she pouted she wailed, “Dad, Beibei has finally found you, why don’t you want Beibei? Boohoo…”
Seeing her cry, Xiao Luo couldn’t describe what he felt. He even subconsciously frowned.