Seeing that Cheng Zhuang didn't seem to be faking it, and that the steward looked very anxious, Jiang Dong knew that something serious might have happened to the Cheng family, so he immediately took them to see Xu Zifan.
Jiang Dong still wanted to find Jiang Tianxin, but Xu Zifan glanced at him, held up a cup of hot tea, and said with a smile, "Xinxin has something to do and won't be back for a few days."
"Where did she go?" Cheng Zhuang asked, his face showing disappointment and a hint of annoyance.
Xu Zifan touched the rim of his cup, looking at him with a half-smile. "I heard Mr. Cheng had something urgent? It doesn't seem so urgent now. I still have patients waiting in line. If Mr. Cheng doesn't want to say why he's here, perhaps he can come back when he wants to?"
Cheng Zhuang's face darkened. The butler beside him hurriedly said, "Master Qingfeng, my young master and I have come to ask for your help." He glanced around to make sure no one else was there before lowering his voice, "My young master has been kidnapped. We paid the ransom last night, promising to return him this morning, but we haven't heard a word. My eldest young master said that you, Master, are very capable and can predict the future. Could you please find my young master? If you can bring him back, the Cheng family will reward you handsomely!"
Jiang Dong glanced at Cheng Zhuang and sneered, "Your younger brother is missing and you're not even saying anything? Why all the nonsense? What a good older brother."
"Jiang Dong!" Cheng Zhuang gritted his teeth, but he knew this was not the time to make a scene. He frowned and looked at Xu Zifan, saying, "I was possessed by a vengeful ghost that day, and I know you and Tian Xin are truly capable. I beg you to help me find my brother. As long as he comes back safely, the reward is negotiable."
This was indeed a matter of life and death, especially since Chengjia's youngest son was only six years old. Xu Zifan wouldn't ignore such a young child if he found out. He suppressed his smile and explained the situation at the Taoist temple to Jiang Dong, leaving Jiang Dong and Luo Chen to handle everything. Then he went back to his room, grabbed a black backpack, and carried it on his back, asking Cheng Zhuang to take him to the place where the child had disappeared and where the ransom was to be paid.
The butler was driving, and he secretly glanced at Xu Zifan a few times in the rearview mirror, his expression quite unpleasant. Xu Zifan was carrying a bag and looked exactly like a student. If Xu Zifan hadn't been so sharp-eyed, the butler wouldn't have wanted to take this trip.
Although Cheng Zhuang swore that he was possessed by a ghost and saved by Jiang Tianxin, he always felt that Cheng Zhuang was deliberately trying to make Jiang Tianxin look good in his eyes and get his father to agree to their relationship.
Cheng Zhuang's insistence on seeing Jiang Tianxin just now made him even more certain of this idea. Cheng Zhuang must want to take this opportunity to get Jiang Tianxin to do something for the Cheng family. That way, no matter whether the young master can be found or not, Cheng's father will look up to Jiang Tianxin who has worked so hard.
The butler turned his attention back to driving, sighing inwardly. They weren't brothers born of the same mother after all; no wonder the eldest young master wasn't as anxious about the younger one. He could only hope the younger young master would be blessed with good fortune; he was still so young.
Xu Zifan ignored the butler's scrutiny, sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed to rest. He had Shaohua compare the child's photo provided by Cheng Zhuang with footage from all the surveillance cameras. This was a huge project, and it would take a while to get results, so he looked at various spells and methods for finding missing persons on the virtual screen.
As they approached their destination, Cheng Zhuang broke the silence, "Is Tianxin happy learning these things?"
Xu Zifan didn't move, only replying, "This is not a matter for Mr. Cheng to concern himself with."
"Tianxin and I are friends!"
"Then please ask Xin Xin yourself, Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Zhuang was seething with anger, feeling that Xu Zifan was being incredibly tactless, so he simply kept quiet and brooded alone.
The car stopped, and the butler gave Xu Zifan a detailed account of the young master's disappearance. Xu Zifan instructed Shao Hua to focus on checking the surveillance footage in the vicinity, and then walked around looking at the surroundings. The black cat followed him, sniffing here and there, before stopping in one spot and patting the ground with its front paws.
That was the place where the child disappeared, and Xu Zifan sensed a faint, lingering ghostly aura. This wasn't an ordinary kidnapping; things were complicated now.
He took a compass and placed it there, wrote a talisman on it and pasted it in the center of the compass, then made a hand seal with one hand and chanted incantations.
The talisman suddenly burst into flames, and then the compass needle spun rapidly at a high frequency. Cheng Zhuang and the steward took a few steps closer, their faces showing surprise.
Half a minute later, the pointer pointed in one direction. Xu Zifan sat cross-legged on the ground and said to Shao Hua, "[Find the nearest surveillance footage in that direction and check how many cars drove away in that direction during that time period the housekeeper mentioned.]"
[Shaohua: Host, there are twelve vehicles in total.]
[Xu Zifan: Investigate all city surveillance footage, trace the origin and destination of these twelve vehicles, and eliminate any vehicles without suspicion.]
[Shaohua: Host, we've ruled out ten suspicious vehicles; only two have left the surveillance area.]
[Xu Zifan: Mark the last locations of these two vehicles for me.]
While talking to Shao Hua, Xu Zifan did some calculations. Then he opened his eyes, took out paper and pen, and said, "Each of you write down a character. While you are writing, keep in mind the whereabouts of your young master."
Cheng Zhuang and the butler exchanged a glance, frowned, and pondered for a moment before hesitatingly writing down the words that came to mind. Even though Cheng Zhuang had witnessed Xu Zifan's abilities firsthand, he couldn't help but wonder what could be gleaned from a casually written character.
Xu Zifan looked at the two words and, combined with the two locations marked by Shaohua, directly selected one, took out his phone to show the location to the butler, and said, "Go here, go now."
The butler asked anxiously, "Have you found anything? Is the young master here? I'll inform the master and the others to send someone..."
"No need, the person isn't here. This is where we investigate clues." Xu Zifan got into the car and closed his eyes again. "I'm a Taoist priest..."
Even if someone is a deity, their investigation would be based on evidence, not just a simple calculation. However, your young master is not in any immediate danger, so don't worry.
Before the butler and Cheng Zhuang got into the car, the butler hesitated for a moment and whispered to Cheng Zhuang, "Young Master, is this person really capable? Don't waste time and miss the chance to save the young master."
Cheng Zhuang frowned. "It should work. He did catch the vengeful ghost that day. My dad already called the police, right? There are still police investigating, so it won't delay anything."
The butler sighed, full of worry. "The kidnappers repeatedly asked us not to call the police, and even warned us that they would kill the hostage if we did. If we hadn't not seen the young master all morning, the master wouldn't have called the police. But I'm afraid it's too late now. I hope the Taoist priest's words about the young master's safety are true."
Just as the two of them were about to get into the car, the car that only had Xu Zifan in it suddenly got a flat tire and started to drop down!
The two men took a few steps back in surprise and disbelief. Even if a tire had a nail puncture, it shouldn't be like this, right? And all four tires at once, what happened?
Xu Zifan got out of the car helplessly. He was in trouble again. He carried his backpack and walked straight to the main road. "Let's take a taxi. Don't waste time."
The butler and Chengzhuang had no choice but to follow, glancing back at the car as they went, completely baffled. When the butler called a tow truck, he specifically instructed the driver to thoroughly inspect the vehicle to find out what the problem was.
Xu Zifan knew he was in trouble. Cheng Zhuang's ghostly aura from being possessed hadn't dissipated yet, leaving him pale and with dark circles under his eyes. His luck wasn't going to be any better, so he told the butler to go further away and hail a taxi. Sure enough, all the cars that passed by them were occupied, and the butler quickly managed to get one after moving a little further away.
They arrived at the location Shao Hua had indicated. The black cat searched around and sat down, meowing at Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan went over and sensed a ghostly aura. He took out his compass again, used the same method to find the direction, and then continued searching in that direction. After searching through two intersections, they encountered a jeep coming from the opposite direction.
The people in the car stopped as soon as they saw her, and Jiang Tianxin got out of the car. "Master? What are you doing here?"
Xu Zifan smiled and approached her. "The Cheng family's youngest son is missing, so I've come to look for him. What about you? Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the Taoist temple. I've solved that case and even rescued someone in the mountains. Uncle Liao gave me a few days off, and I was just thinking of going back…" Jiang Tianxin was startled when Cheng Zhuang rushed up in front of her before she could finish speaking.
"Tianxin! Tianxin, you have to help me this time. Can you help me find my younger brother?"
Cheng Zhuang was a little excited, but Jiang Tianxin just assumed he was worried about his younger brother and didn't think much of it. She nodded and said, "Of course I'll follow Master. Master, would you like to take a ride? This is the car that Uncle Liao arranged for me."
Xu Zifan patted the car and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. I'll build a garage behind the Taoist temple later. Achen and Xiaodong always drive, so a garage will be more convenient. Let's go, let's take this road."
After Xu Zifan finished speaking, he got into the passenger seat, and Jiang Tianxin followed. Cheng Zhuang couldn't speak to Jiang Tianxin and sat in the back seat with the butler, looking very submissive. He watched Jiang Tianxin and Xu Zifan talk about their experiences over the past few days, chatting and laughing. He tried to interject several times but couldn't, and his frustration grew.
Xu Zifan taught Jiang Tianxin how to find her way, and then made her do it at every intersection. Jiang Tianxin obeyed him without question, which infuriated Cheng Zhuang.
After a few times, Cheng Zhuang couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Master Qingfeng is really arrogant. He makes his disciple do everything and is too lazy to move an inch."
Before Xu Zifan could speak, Jiang Tianxin frowned and said, "Do you have something to say? My master is finding me a chance to practice, what's it to you? If you don't need us to find you, then please leave. Qingfeng Temple is very busy. To be honest, if it weren't for my master's compassion, you really wouldn't be able to get him to come."
Cheng Zhuang felt a lump in his throat, and the butler quickly said, "Young Master, finding the young master is more important. We can talk about the rest later."
Cheng Zhuang snorted coldly and turned to look out the window. Jiang Tianxin found his behavior inexplicable. If it were anything else, she would have definitely gone back with her master, but the disappearance of a six-year-old child, who might be killed, was something she couldn't bear. So she ignored Cheng Zhuang and continued searching.
After driving for another hour and changing seven intersections, we finally saw the car that Shaohua had found in the surveillance footage, and a few hundred meters away there was an abandoned small house.
The butler exclaimed excitedly, "Is the young master here?"
Xu Zifan raised his hand to quiet them down, then walked towards the house for Shao Hua to scan. Shao Hua quickly replied that there were four unconscious burly men inside, and a six-year-old boy sitting opposite them. Shao Hua then projected the scene inside the house onto a virtual screen.
Xu Zifan stopped in his tracks, puzzled. [Check on the child's condition. Was he drugged or just scared? Why isn't he running or moving?]
[Shaohua: Host, his body is very healthy.]
[Could he be possessed by a ghost?] Xu Zifan had a feeling that it wasn't that simple.