This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Wang Xiaoer and Zhang Chen hadn't even had time to process the information when they saw the words "100,000 yuan reward" on the news.

Ah Yue's eyes lit up instantly.

She snatched Zhang Chen's phone, her slender fingers almost poking into the screen.

"That's 100,000! That's a lot of money!"

Ah Yue's voice was full of surprise. She quickly calculated in her mind, "How many gold coins could I buy with this!"

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes at her and took his phone back.

"You money-grubber, this is a matter of life and death!"

Although he said that, he couldn't help but start planning in his heart.

Since the firm opened, it has spent a lot of money, but the income has been meager, well, it should be said that it has been meager.

Therefore, this amount of money is indeed very attractive.

Wang Xiaoer's gaze did not linger on the reward amount, but instead fell on the news photo.

In the photo, a mother is being held by her relatives, but she struggles towards the river, crying her heart out, and almost collapses.

That heartbroken face gently pierced Wang Xiaoer's heart.

He couldn't bear to see such a human tragedy.

Money doesn't seem to matter that much anymore.

"Shall we go take a look?" Wang Xiaoer suddenly asked.

Zhang Chen and A Yue both looked at him.

Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and said, "It would be good to go and take a look. Since there are annotations on that map, there might really be something strange about it."

A-Yue was much more straightforward: "Go! Why wouldn't I go if I can make money!"

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

A ride-hailing car stopped at the entrance of a village committee compound near Moon Bay in the eastern suburbs.

With the intention of "watching the excitement" and "scouting the location," the three entered the place that had been temporarily requisitioned by the police as a contact point.

A number of people had already gathered in the courtyard.

The air was stifling, thick with the smell of sweat and a sense of oppressive despair.

Several middle-aged men and women, some sitting and some standing, all had red and swollen eyes and looked haggard.

They are the family members of the three missing college students.

Several uniformed police officers were trying to calm them down, but to little avail.

The intermittent sobbing mingled with the noisy chirping of cicadas on a summer morning, making one feel irritated.

Wang Xiaoer's gaze quickly settled on a middle-aged woman in the crowd.

She was dressed simply, her hair a little disheveled, and she was the mother crying the most heartbroken in the news photo.

At that moment, she was being supported by a relative, muttering something repeatedly, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string.

"My son... my Mingming..."

She seemed to have cried all her strength away; her voice was hoarse, and each breath was accompanied by painful sobs.

Wang Xiaoer and his two companions did not approach; they simply stood a short distance away and watched quietly.

Just then, the mother, who was called Aunt Liu, suddenly became agitated again.

She abruptly pushed away the person supporting her and staggered towards the outside of the courtyard.

"I'm going to find my son! I'm going to find him! If you can't find him, I'll find him myself!"

Two police officers quickly stepped forward to stop her.

"Ma'am, please calm down! The search and rescue team is on the water. We'll let you know as soon as we have any news!"

"Calm down? How can I calm down! My son is still in the water!"

Aunt Liu cried out in a shrill voice. Perhaps it was due to excessive grief, or perhaps it was the morning heat that made her dizzy, but her vision went black and she couldn't catch her breath.

He fell straight backward.

Several villagers who were watching behind her were so frightened by what they saw that they took a step back.

Nobody wants to get into trouble.

Unfortunately, she fell right in the direction where Wang Xiaoer was standing.

Wang Xiaoer almost instinctively took a step forward, reached out, and steadily supported her body as she was about to fall.

A scent of motherhood, mixed with tears and sorrow, wafted over me.

Everyone around breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much, young man," a relative who came over to help her said quickly.

Wang Xiaoer shook his head and helped Aunt Liu stand up straight.

After a few seconds, Aunt Liu's blurry vision finally refocused.

She looked up and saw a young and clean face.

The young man supporting her had clear eyes and a kind face, without a trace of frivolousness as if he were just watching a spectacle.

In that instant, it was as if a drowning person had grabbed a piece of driftwood.

Aunt Liu's tears flowed again, and she grabbed Wang Xiaoer's arm with surprising strength.

"Young man...young man..."

Her voice trembled uncontrollably, as if she were placing all her hopes on this unfamiliar young man.

"My son... my son's name is Liu Ming, and he's an excellent swimmer! He grew up by the river, and he could swim back and forth with his eyes closed! The police said he might have drowned due to cramps, but I don't believe it! I absolutely don't believe it!"

Her fingernails were almost digging into Wang Xiaoer's flesh.

"That place is unclean! There must be something unclean there... Let's drag him down there..."

Her words were incoherent and filled with superstition, but neither the police nor her relatives present interrupted her.

They knew that a desperate mother needed an outlet for her emotions.

Wang Xiaoer listened quietly.

The words "unclean things" reminded him of the annotations on that map.

Evil spirit.

Aunt Liu stared intently at Wang Xiaoer through her cloudy, tear-filled eyes, as if trying to confirm something.

She saw a hint of sympathy on Wang Xiaoer's face; it wasn't just a perfunctory gesture, but a genuine expression of empathy.

She grasped at this last straw as if it were her last lifeline.

"Young man, you look kind and don't seem like a bad person."

Her voice was filled with a desperate, tearful plea.

"Please, you young people are clever, help me find my son!"

She released Wang Xiaoer's arm and suddenly wanted to kneel down.

Wang Xiaoer quickly caught her.

Aunt Liu tilted her head back, tears streaming down her haggard face. Her voice was as soft as a breeze, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"I want to see him alive, or... if he's dead, I want to see his body!"

These words struck Wang Xiaoer's heart like a hammer blow.

The entire noisy village committee compound seemed to fall silent at that moment.

All eyes were on the young man.

They knew that the mother had lost her composure and was resorting to desperate measures.

"Aunt Liu, what are you doing... How can a young man like him help you...?"

A policewoman stepped forward and tried to dissuade him.

However, faced with such a heavy plea from a mother, any refusal would seem pale and cruel.

Wang Xiaoer fell silent.

He couldn't make promises lightly because he knew that what was in Moon Bay might be far more troublesome than an ordinary water ghost.

But he couldn't refuse.

Those eyes, filled with despair and longing, made it impossible for him to look away.

He glanced at Zhang Chen, who was not far away.

The usual laziness was gone from Zhang Chen's face.

He nodded very slightly at Wang Xiaoer.

This action gave Wang Xiaoer his final decision.

But he couldn't say anything outrageous in front of so many people, so he looked at Aunt Liu in front of him again.

He said solemnly, "Auntie, don't worry."

"We...will definitely help you find your son!"

No one noticed the moment he agreed.

The small golden insect that had been lying quietly on Wang Xiaoer's shoulder, in the folds of his collar, suddenly vibrated its wings uneasily.

It emitted two extremely low humming sounds.