CHAPTER 94 — The Hunt Begins
The storm outside had nothing on the storm inside Shi Yunxi's chest.
Rain hammered the windshield of the armored SUV as it tore down the mountain road, tires spitting mud, engine snarling like a beast.
Mu Lingchen drove with both hands locked on the wheel, jaw tight with a fury he hadn't felt in years. Beside him, Yunxi sat rigid, headset on, hands clenched in her lap to stop herself from shaking.
Behind them, three black cars full of police and Mu family security followed, lights off, engines roaring low in pursuit.
"Units 3 and 4, seal the east slope," the chief's voice crackled.
"Unit 6, hold position at the lower ridge—do NOT move until command says."
But everyone knew—
Command wasn't the police chief.
It was Yunxi.
Her voice sliced through the radio, clear and cold.
"All units, slow to stealth speed. Roulan is paranoid. If she hears engines, she'll panic."
A flurry of copy echoed.
Lingchen glanced at her. "The rain helps us. She won't hear us approach."
Yunxi didn't answer immediately. She stared out the window, watching the streaks of water blur into silver lines.
"Lingchen," she whispered.
"Rui… he doesn't like thunder."
His chest tightened. "We'll reach him before the storm worsens."
But Yunxi's nails dug into her palms.
"Roulan won't comfort him. She'll yell. She always yells when she's scared. Rui must be terrified."
She shut her eyes, and a tremor rippled through her body.
Lingchen reached over and took her hand.
A small, broken sound escaped her—not quite a sob, but close.
He squeezed.
"I promise you," he said, voice raw, "we will take him home."
Her breathing steadied. She opened her eyes again—clear, sharp, deadly.
"Turn left," Yunxi said suddenly. "The old quarry path splits ahead."
"You saw it on the footage?"
"No," Yunxi said. "I remember this place."
Lingchen's brows knitted. "You've been here before?"
She let out a bitter laugh.
"The Shi family brought me here once—when I tried to run away at fourteen."
Silence filled the car.
"They said no one would find me if I disappeared."
Her voice remained eerily calm.
"That's why Roulan chose it too. She remembers."
Lingchen's grip on the wheel tightened.
If the Shi family were here right now, he would level them with his bare hands.
"Yunxi," he said, "after Rui is safe—after all this—we're never letting any of them near you or the children again."
Her gaze softened just a fraction.
Then—
The radio crackled sharply.
"Unit 3 reporting! We found footprints near the side path—small ones. A child's."
Yunxi jerked forward. "How recent?!"
"Still visible. Couldn't be more than ten minutes old."
Her lungs froze.
Rui was close.
Lingchen hit the accelerator, and the car shot forward.
The old quarry loomed ahead—vast, jagged, and silent except for the hiss of rain striking stone. Tall cliffs surrounded the excavation site, forming a natural cage.
Perfect for hiding.
Perfect for desperation.
Lingchen parked behind a line of boulders.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Yunxi shook her head. "I'm faster."
"I'm not negotiating."
"And I'm not asking," she snapped.
They stared hard at each other, breathing shallow, eyes blazing with the same impossible fear.
Finally, Lingchen exhaled shakily.
"Fine. But don't go out of sight."
Yunxi nodded once. "Deal."
They stepped out into the downpour.
Cold water drenched Yunxi instantly, but she barely felt it. Her mind had gone razor-sharp.
Rain = noise cover.
Wet ground = slippery footing.
Visibility = low advantage for ambush.
She scanned the rocks.
Then her eyes narrowed.
There—fresh tire tracks leading down into the quarry floor.
"Lingchen," she whispered, "this way."
They moved quickly but quietly between the rocks, police and security fanning out behind them.
A tiny shoe print appeared in the mud.
Yunxi froze.
Her breath caught.
That was Rui's.
She knelt, pressing her trembling fingertips to the indent.
The little shape of his sneaker—
Her vision blurred with tears she refused to let fall.
Lingchen touched her shoulder gently.
"He's alive. He's walking. Roulan didn't carry him—good. That means he's not injured."
Yunxi nodded, swallowing hard.
They followed the prints until—
A voice split the air.
A woman's voice.
Shrill. Hysterical.
"STOP CRYING! SHUT UP! YOU'RE MAKING ME NERVOUS!"
Yunxi's heart stopped.
That was Roulan.
And the tiny, terrified wail following it—
Rui.
Yunxi surged forward, but Lingchen grabbed her wrist, pulling her behind a boulder.
"Not yet," he hissed. "If she sees us, she'll use him as a shield."
"I don't care—!"
"I do!" Lingchen snarled. "You rush, she panics. If she panics—"
Yunxi flinched.
She forced herself still.
For Rui.
Only for Rui.
She slowly peeked over the rock.
There—
In the rain-slick darkness of the quarry—
Roulan stood near the crumbling edge of a pit, hair wild, mascara running, clothes soaked. She held Rui by the arm, yanking him close whenever he tried to move.
Rui was crying—loud, desperate sobs shaking his tiny body.
"M-Mama… Mama…" he whimpered.
Yunxi clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
Roulan shook him harshly.
"SHUT UP! If you don't stop crying, I'll—!"
Yunxi's heart exploded with rage.
Lingchen tightened his grip on her hand.
"Wait. One mistake and Rui—"
Yunxi nodded, chest burning, body vibrating with fury.
Roulan paced in frantic circles, muttering to herself.
"It's all her fault… Yunxi ruined my life… she stole everything… everyone always loves HER—never ME!"
Rui sobbed harder.
Roulan snapped.
She raised her hand—
To hit him.
Yunxi's vision went red.
Her scream ripped through the rain.
"ROULAN! DON'T YOU TOUCH MY SON!"
Lingchen swore under his breath.
Police surged forward but held position on his signal.
Roulan froze.
Then turned slowly.
Her eyes widened when she saw Yunxi standing there—soaked, shaking, eyes burning like knives.
"You…" Roulan hissed. "Of course you came. Good. GOOD! Now you get to watch everything fall apart!"
She yanked Rui closer, pulling him against her chest like a shield.
Rui wailed louder.
"Mommy! Mommy help me!"
Yunxi's heart shattered.
"Let him go," she said. Her voice was quiet—too quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
Roulan laughed, unhinged.
"Or what? You'll hack me to death?!"
"No," Yunxi said, stepping forward.
"I'll end you myself."
Roulan's eyes flicked around—nervous.
She was cornered.
Desperate.
Unpredictable.
Lingchen slowly stepped beside Yunxi.
"Roulan," he said calmly, "listen. Let the boy go. You're outnumbered. You're surrounded. This can still end without—"
"SHUT UP!" Roulan shrieked. "DON'T TALK TO ME!"
She backed toward the unstable cliff edge.
One wrong move—
One slip—
And Rui would fall with her.
Yunxi's blood turned to ice.
"No," she whispered. "No no no—Roulan, STOP! Don't move!"
Roulan's foot slid on the wet gravel.
Her eyes widened.
Rui screamed.
Yunxi lunged forward—
"RUI!!!"
The cliff crumbled beneath Roulan's heel.
Yunxi's heart stopped.
Everything froze.
Rain.
Silence.
Then—
A horrific sound of shifting stone.
And the world tilted.
Roulan's body slipped backward.
Rui's tiny hand flailed, reaching out—
"MA—MA!!"
Yunxi's scream tore through the storm.
"RUUUUUI!!!"
And then—
The cliff gave way.
Roulan and Rui fell.
Down.
Down.
Into the darkness below.
Yunxi's knees gave out.
Her voice broke.
And the world shattered.