This was a picture of a child who did not seem very big yet. He was about five to six years old, and he was really skinny. He was incredibly bony, and one could really describe him to be as thin as a matchstick. His face curved in, and a pair of amber eyes could be seen. In those eyes, there was depression and fear. He was like a skeleton who barely had any muscle or flesh. Shen Qianshu held the photo frame quietly, and her eyes turned red.
She thought to herself, Was this Master?
Was this Master when he was young?
How could he be this skinny? He looks even worse than the children living in poverty in South Africa.
“Mommy, stop crying.” Tong Hua stood beside Shen Qianshu obediently and hugged her. Shen Qianshu nodded. Her heart really ached. She put down the photo frame and wiped her tears away. Nearby, Tong Hua found another picture. In that picture, the young boy seemed a little younger, maybe around two years old. In the photo, the boy was pale and pump, and he looked really lovable. Tong Hua looked at the picture, feeling confused.
He felt that… the child in the picture really looked like him!
“Hmm?” Tong Hua frowned. Do all children look the same?
Shen Qianshu turned around. “What’s wrong?”
A strong gust of wind blew by suddenly, blowing the picture in Tong Hua’s hand away. A familiar voice came from downstairs. “Miss Shen, Young Master, are you here?”
It was Zhong Ran’s voice.
Shen Qianshu was elated. She dragged Tong Hua down immediately. Tong Hua turned around and looked at the picture as it got blown downstairs. Zhong Ran looked pale as he stood in the hall. He was happily surprised to see the mother and son coming down.
Tong Hua forgot about the photo instantly.
“Zhong Ran, how are you? What about Ah Da?” Shen Qianshu asked.
Zhong Ran seemed to be in bad shape, and his face was pale, but he struggled to stand up. He had bloodshot eyes. Shen Qianshu immediately asked, “Where’s Master?”
“Master’s nowhere to be found,” Zhong Ran said. “I found Master’s watch in the ore mountain. This was our plan. If something goes wrong in the ore mountain, we would meet here and wait. I have been here for four hours. I was almost losing hope, and I had been coming here to and fro several times. I had only just walked out for about 1 km when I noticed that the lights in the castle had lit up, so I knew that someone from the ore mountain had come out.”
“Miss Shen, Master has definitely been captured. However, we had sent people to search for him around the entire city. Don’t worry,” Zhong Ran said.
Shen Qianshu was really anxious, but she did not dare to put more pressure onto Zhong Ran.
“Where did you and Ah Da go that day?”
“Sorry. Someone took us away. Ah Da and I were shot and abducted, but we managed to escape in the midst. Ah Da is badly injured, and he needs to rest for a while. Nonetheless, I’m glad that both of you are fine. No matter where Master is, he can find a way to escape as long as he knows that the two of you are fine.”
Zhong Ran had an unspeakable sense of confidence on Ye Ling. He did not think that Ye Ling would be dead in the enemies’ hands nor in the ore mountain.
“Zhong Ran, where is this place?” She asked.
“This is… Master’s mother’s old house,” Zhong Ran said. “Though… Master has never come here before.”
“Never?”
Zhong Ran shook his head. “I had never come here before either. All along, Butler Luther cleans this place. There has always been a pathway in the ore mountain that leads to this castle. This ore mountain belonged to Old Mistress from decades ago, but someone took it away. Eventually, Master took it back again, but he hated Old Mistress, so he never came here even once. No one has used the secret passageway either.”
Shen Qianshu felt insecure. She thought of the oil painting.
They really look alike. They clearly looked blood-related!
Ye Ling and his mother.