“Where did that kid run off to?”
Although Leng Qiongling had followed the child thief at a pace that was fast but not too conspicuous, the gap in their understanding of the city’s layout was like heaven and earth.
The child kept ducking into tunnels, turning into alleys, and climbing over walls until he vanished without a trace.
“Seriously!”
Leng Qiongling stamped her foot in frustration.
Now she faced three diverging paths.
If she chose wrong, she’d basically lose any chance of getting the money back.
“What do I do, what do I do?”
Holding her head, she thought wildly.
Suddenly, she remembered the method Wu Yin had taught her earlier in the desert to enhance her senses.
She crouched down, pressing her ear to the ground, and focused entirely on footsteps, heartbeats, and breathing.
All kinds of chaotic sounds flooded into Leng Qiongling’s ear canal, but none were what she needed.
She had to find the specific sound among them—hurried footsteps, frantic heartbeats, heavy breathing.
Those sounds seemed to trace a line for her.
Following that line, she could locate her target.
“Found it.”
Leng Qiongling leaped up, unhesitatingly ducked into a small alley, jumped onto a wall, climbed onto the roof, and sprinted across the rooftops made of sand and stone.
After running for about three minutes, on the roof she spotted the child thief in an alleyway, constantly looking back to see if anyone was following.
Judging by his expression, he seemed very flustered, and he hadn’t dared to open the wallet to check—clearly not a habitual offender.
‘Is this his first theft?’
She didn’t jump down immediately to stop him.
Instead, she followed him to a dead end.
At the end of the dead end, a tent was set up with ashes from a cooking fire in front, still faintly glowing.
The little boy trotted over to the tent.
Someone inside seemed to hear footsteps, poked their head out, and upon seeing the boy, ran out happily.
It turned out to be a little girl, looking even younger than the boy.
‘Is she his little sister…’
Leng Qiongling hid behind a chimney, peeking halfway out to observe the two children.
“Brother, what’s wrong? You’re sweating a lot! Wipe it off.”
The little girl took out a dirty coarse cloth and handed it to him.
He gratefully accepted it and then handed the wallet to her.
“Brother… this…”
Faced with his sister’s innocent gaze, the boy bit his lip and awkwardly turned his face away.
“This is… this is from a kind sister who gave it to us… she said to buy some good food. Come on, let’s go buy something good!”
“Mm!”
He took his sister’s hand, but as soon as he turned around, he bumped into someone.
Stumbling back a few steps, he saw who was standing in front of him.
“Si… sister…”
Leng Qiongling had no idea when she’d jumped down from the roof.
She stood there smiling, looking down at the two small children.
“Sister? Ah! You’re the sister who gave my brother the money! Thank you!”
The little girl trotted over and hugged her waist.
Leng Qiongling crouched down and gently patted her head.
Because they hadn’t washed their hair in so long, the girl’s hair was all tangled, with grime everywhere, but Leng Qiongling didn’t mind at all, smoothing it out again and again.
Although the two of them were very close, the little boy stood awkwardly alone with his hands behind his back, fingers fidgeting.
Seeing this, Leng Qiongling gave a wry smile.
Ignoring the boy’s startled gaze, she pulled him to her side.
“Come on, let’s go eat something good.”
“Ah…”
She took both children’s hands and led them toward the street.
The boy wanted to say something, but she gestured for him not to speak.
“Let’s go get something to eat first.”
With that signal, he could only follow her silently.
“Wow! Sister, do you smell that? Such a nice smell!”
The little girl hopped and skipped, tugging at Leng Qiongling’s hand as she shuffled forward in small steps, seeking out the delicious food.
“Sister! I want to eat this!”
The little girl pointed at a stall selling rolled crepes.
This suddenly reminded Leng Qiongling that she hadn’t yet reported to Wu Yin, and her own portion was still with him.
“Oh well. Sure, let’s go buy some.”
“Yay!”
The little girl happily ran to the stall, waving her arms and ordering three rolled crepes from the vendor.
“Sister, smell it! It’s really fragrant!”
“Mm, it is indeed. Brother, take one and eat too.”
“Ah… okay.”
The boy took the rolled crepe his sister gave him and tore off small pieces of the dough.
In contrast, his sister ate very heartily, stuffing her mouth full with every bite, and before finishing, she ran off to the next stall.
“Hehe, let’s follow her.”
Leng Qiongling took a step, but noticed the boy standing still.
Then, as if making up his mind, he suddenly lunged forward, prostrating himself on the ground—forehead touching the dirt, hands flat beside his head, knees supporting his body.
This posture before Leng Qiongling startled her so much she didn’t know what to do.
“Hey, hey?! Little brother, don’t do that! And where did you learn that? I don’t recall Bola City having this custom.”
“I learned it from a merchant who came from outside. Later I heard that when people sincerely apologize, they make this gesture. So, please forgive me, sister. I shouldn’t have stolen money from you.”
“Alright, alright, get up first. We’re still on the main street, and everyone’s watching.”
She pulled him up, awkwardly nodding to passersby, then followed the little girl who had already run a block away.
“So, sister, have you forgiven me?”
The boy kept insisting, apologizing repeatedly, as if he wouldn’t stop until he got a clear answer.
Leng Qiongling patted his head and said with a smile, “Instead of apologies, I prefer thanks. I treated you to food, so shouldn’t you say thank you first?”
“Ah… thank you… sister…”
“Mm! Now let’s hurry up and catch up, or your little sister will run off somewhere.”
Cannons roared, screams arose, and a block away, buildings began to collapse.
Swirling black smoke carried a pungent smell.
“Hurry, hurry! Evacuate from here! Don’t panic!”
“Ahhh! What’s going on?! Why are they suddenly attacking?!”
“My child! He ran off somewhere!”
The sudden upheaval threw everyone into panic.
The crowd fought for the narrow space to escape.
Some tripped and were trampled by countless feet.
Others stood frozen, searching for their children.
‘An attack?!’
Realizing what was happening, Leng Qiongling immediately signaled the boy to stay back, while she dashed straight toward the black smoke.
No longer caring whether she drew attention, she sprinted at full speed, shooting through the street like a bullet.
‘Why is it so close?’
She entered the street that had been shelled.
Nearby residents were fleeing, terrified screams ceaseless, but only a few scattered soldiers were organizing the evacuation.
But this wasn’t the time to focus on that.
She realized the little girl who was supposed to be there was nowhere to be seen.
If she had run away with the crowd, that would be best.
But she was so small—if she were in the crowd, she might be knocked down.
And she might have run into some corner in a panic.
Leng Qiongling had to find her quickly.
Dazzling flashes of fire rained down from the sky, like stardust in the evening sky, but far from being something beautiful.
Gunfire rang out all around—explosions, shots, horrifying screams.
The war had begun.