A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 969 Tracking Ouyang Bao

"I just want to meet him. He's my friend, but I'm not close to his family. I want to get his family's contact information so they can help me find a solution."

“You should ask Ouyang Bao for help with this,” Long Xing waved his hand. “Please go back, I can’t help you with this.”

If she were to ask Ouyang Bao for help, he would probably force her to become his mistress again, but Gui'er couldn't bring herself to say it.

She had no choice but to turn and leave dejectedly.

After leaving the police station, Gui'er was at her wit's end. She guessed that it would be about the same if Lin Peishan contacted Meng Haoliang, otherwise Xu Jing would have been released long ago.

After much deliberation, she went to Juzhen Pawnshop.

Wu Mingqiang was checking accounts behind the counter when he saw her walk in at this time, looking rather unwell. He quickly stood up and asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"

"Brother Wu, let's talk in private." The two entered the private room and drew the curtain. Gui'er then whispered, "Brother Chen has been arrested by Ouyang Bao. I think he saw that I was close to Brother Chen and Lin Peishan, and since he needs money for his police chief election, he wants to extort money from me. I can't ignore this."

Wu Mingqiang frowned: "Is Ouyang Bao using him to force you to comply?"

“I don’t know, but he absolutely can’t be in any danger.” Gui’er grabbed his arm. “Brother Wu, you’re well-connected in Hong Kong and Kowloon, can you find a way to find out where he’s being held? Even if… even if you have to spend money to pull some strings so I can see him.”

Wu Mingqiang was silent for a moment, then tapped his finger on the counter: "This Ouyang Bao is too much of a bully, and he's gone too far. If this were back in Shanghai, I would have killed him long ago. Miss, don't worry, I'll find someone to follow Ouyang Bao, and that should be enough to find Mr. Chen's whereabouts."

"Really? Then be careful." A glimmer of light appeared in Gui'er's eyes.

"Don't worry, Miss, wait for my good news," Wu Mingqiang said.

Gui'er checked the time and realized she still had class, so she decided to go back to school.

Ah Cheng quickly said, "Miss, let me take you home. In the current situation, we should be extra careful."

Gui'er agreed.

Back at school, Lin Peishan was already back, and Gui'er quickly asked her, "How did it go?"

Lin Peishan shook her head helplessly and said, "Professor Meng Haoliang is also very anxious. Now, not only Professor Xu, but also Brother Chen has been arrested, and we can't find where he is. He has worked with Professor Xu's family and school leaders to negotiate with the police station many times, but they have been passed around and dealt with. He doesn't know what to do now."

After she finished speaking, she glanced around and whispered, "Moreover, Professor Meng and Professor Xu also contacted Brother Chen through a single channel, and they couldn't reach the other comrades in our organization."

Gui'er sighed: "Then we'll just have to figure it out ourselves."

Lin Peishan looked bewildered and helpless: "What can we do?"

Gui'er comforted her, saying, "My men have some experience in the underworld. I'll have them find someone to follow Ouyang Bao. If Ouyang Bao wants to extort them, he'll definitely have to meet with them. That way, we'll find them, right? Once we find the place, we can mobilize students to protest and demonstrate, or get the newspapers to write reports exposing them. It's all a matter of finding them first. I'm just afraid that Ouyang Bao might do something extreme in desperation. Although he's after money, he won't get anything out of Brother Chen."

Upon hearing this, Lin Peishan felt a glimmer of hope and quickly asked, "Will this work?"

Gui'er remained silent. She knew that doing this was extremely dangerous, but she had no other choice but to pray silently that Ouyang Bao wouldn't find out.

Wu Mingqiang made a special trip back to the pawnshop, made up an excuse to talk business with some boss, and tricked Chen De into going there before leaving the pawnshop.

He changed into a light gray coarse cloth outfit typical of coolies, found a bicycle, and put on a straw hat, making him look like someone who was slightly better off working in a factory.

He checked the time; it wasn't yet time for Ouyang Bao to go home. So he rode his bicycle to the vicinity of the police station, squatted behind a banyan tree diagonally opposite the police station building, the shadow of the leaves covering half of his body, leaving only his eyes staring intently at the building entrance.

After waiting for about 20 minutes, just as Wu Mingqiang was wondering if Ouyang Bao was not at the police station, a black sedan stopped at the entrance of the police station. Soon after, Ouyang Bao walked out of the entrance. The police officers guarding the door even bowed and scraped as they went to open the car door for him. Ouyang Bao looked very proud. He glanced around and then got into the car.

Wu Mingqiang quickly followed on his bicycle. Fortunately, the street was crowded with people, so the car wasn't going particularly fast. Wu Mingqiang pedaled with all his might until he saw the car turn into the narrow alley of Yau Ma Tei and stop in front of the moss-covered arcade.

When Ouyang Bao got out of the car, he glanced around warily. Wu Mingqiang quickly stopped the car and pretended that the car had broken down and he was checking the rear wheel.

After a while, when he looked up again, Ouyang Bao had already gone inside.

Wu Mingqiang parked his car in a corner and quietly walked over. Through the crack in the door, he saw a long table in the dim light inside. Several men in short-sleeved shirts were playing dice around the table, cursing and shouting numbers, their spittle splattering on the greasy tabletop.

With his hands tied behind his back, Chen Zhongyu was squatting in a corner. One of the bearded men reached out and touched his chin, but Chen Zhongyu shoved him away. In return, Ouyang Bao kicked him harder in the back of the knee, making him fall to his knees with a thud.

"Damn it, still dare to be stubborn." Ouyang Bao spat, took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, unlocked Chen Zhongyu's handcuffs, and then took a thick hemp rope from his waist, tied his arms behind his back tightly, and said, "Lock him in the attic. Don't give him a drop of water without my permission."

Wu Mingqiang's heart skipped a beat. So Ouyang Bao had been illegally detaining Chen Zhongyu. In that case, rescuing Chen Zhongyu himself wouldn't be considered a violation of the law.

However, he feared he might not be able to handle things alone; he needed to find some help. He quietly took two steps back, his back against the rough trunk of the banyan tree, rubbing his fingertips against the seam of his trousers, his hands covered in tree bark fragments. He needed to remember the location of this building—the third arcade building at the end of Sai Yeung Choi Street in Yau Ma Tei, the address "No. 17, Wing On Lane," with a pair of stone lions with missing corners at the entrance, the left one even having a chipped ear.

Just as he was about to move closer to see where the attic window was, Ouyang Bao suddenly poked his head out from inside the door, his gaze sweeping across the alleyway like a knife, the cigarette dangling from his mouth glowing uncertainly. Wu Mingqiang quickly shrank back, burying himself even deeper, and even his breathing became shallow.