Since Lu Heng’s murder, Bai Cheng, who had never paid much attention to the news, started following it closely, hoping to hear updates about the case or any leads on Muddy Eel. However, after being helped by his accomplices to escape, Muddy Eel had disappeared without a trace.
On this day, like usual, Bai Cheng opened the city’s news channel on her tablet. There was still no news about Muddy Eel, but a different report caught her attention—a child trafficking case. The news reported that there had been several recent child abductions in the city. The police had captured the last sighting of a kidnapped child on a street camera in front of a small convenience store. A short woman wearing a headscarf led the child to the store, bought a remote-controlled car, and then disappeared from the surveillance footage.
The convenience store was located on a narrow residential street that connected two major roads at either end. The street was lined with apartment buildings, with the first floors occupied by restaurants and small shops. Delivery drivers frequently rode through the busy street. There were also many narrow alleyways leading off the street, twisting and turning to connect to other nearby apartment buildings.
The news report showed a picture of the abducted child. Bai Cheng recognized the child. There was a kindergarten near her neighborhood, next to a large artificial lake park. Whenever Bai Cheng felt overwhelmed, she would take walks in that park. Since the park was less popular compared to a busier park on the main road at the other end of the neighborhood, she had often seen this child playing alone.
Bai Cheng continued listening to the report. The child was mute. His parents worked out of the province, leaving him with a mute grandfather. Though he was old enough for kindergarten, his family hadn’t enrolled him in school yet. He never spoke, and no one had ever heard him say a word. The neighbors said the mute grandfather had raised a mute child.
Bai Cheng thought for a moment and then called Luo Tian. The call connected quickly, and Luo Tian’s voice came through the receiver: “Hello, Miss Bai?”
“I think I might have some information about the child trafficking case,” Bai Cheng said.
“Miss Bai, can you come to the police station?”
“I can come right now.”
“Great, I’ll be waiting at the station.”
When Bai Cheng arrived at the police station, Luo Tian was wearing his police uniform, just like when they had first met. Seeing him, Bai Cheng couldn’t help but recall the image of Luo Tian in casual clothes, driving her home that Sunday morning.
“They really are like two different people—one looks like the grim reaper, the other like an easygoing guy,” Bai Cheng thought to herself.
Luo Tian gestured for her to sit down. “Miss Bai, what can you tell me about the case?”
“That child isn’t mute,” Bai Cheng said. “I’ve seen him a few times at the park near my neighborhood. At first, like everyone else, I assumed he was mute. Whenever I saw him, he’d be squatting on the grass by the pavilion, playing quietly with something. After a while, he would run over to the kindergarten’s fence and peer inside. At that time, the children in the kindergarten were still in class, so the playground was empty. He’d just stand there, watching the swings and slides. But when the children came out to play, he would let go of the fence and run back to the grass. Every day at 4 p.m., the kindergarten would play a song over the loudspeaker, Farewell, as the dismissal bell. One time, I heard the boy humming along with the music. So, Captain Luo, he’s not mute.”
Luo Tian listened, slightly frowning—a habit he had when he was deep in thought. After a moment, he nodded and said, “Thank you for the information, Miss Bai.”
“Will it help solve the case?”
“We’ve identified the general area where the suspect is hiding, but we haven’t pinpointed her exact location yet. If the traffickers think the boy is mute, that could be a breakthrough. However, we’re not completely sure.”
“If there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Miss Bai.”
As Bai Cheng turned to leave, Luo Tian called after her, “Miss Bai, would you like me to have a female officer take you home?”
Bai Cheng shook her head and left the station.
A few days later, one early morning, Bai Cheng woke from another nightmare. Unable to fall back asleep, she sat up in bed and glanced out the window. Her eyes caught the cross necklace hanging on the wall. She found the situation somewhat amusing. If faith was supposed to work, the cross hadn’t chased away her nightmares. Yet, that day in the church, she had slept peacefully for the first time in a long while.
With nowhere else to go, Bai Cheng found herself heading to the church.
She sat in the last row and scanned the congregation. She spotted Miss Wu in the third row, and then, in the front row, she saw Luo Tian. She didn’t greet either of them, choosing instead to sit quietly in the back.
The priest was giving a sermon on 2 Corinthians 5:17. Bai Cheng’s mind began to wander, and she soon drifted off to sleep again. When she woke up, the service had ended, and the church was almost empty. Only Luo Tian remained, standing behind the altar, tidying up the platform after the service. Bai Cheng stood up to leave, but before she could exit, Luo Tian called out to her from a distance.
“Miss Bai, wait a moment. Let me drive you home.”
Bai Cheng didn’t have time to refuse before she saw Luo Tian grab two chairs and carry them into a side room behind the altar. Moments later, he reappeared, quickly making his way over to her. “Let’s go,” he said.
It was the same gray Citroën as before, and once again, Bai Cheng sat in the passenger seat.
“Miss Bai, you came to church again. After the last time I saw you here, I didn’t expect you to return,” Luo Tian said.
Bai Cheng hesitated, wondering if she should tell him the truth—that she came because she couldn’t sleep. In the end, she decided not to lie. “I haven’t been sleeping well. But last time at the church, I managed to sleep well after dozing off during the sermon. So, I guess I’m here to catch up on sleep.”
Luo Tian laughed heartily. “Miss Bai, you don’t seem like the type to fall asleep in the middle of a sermon.”
“Neither did I. I thought I’d pass out after a few minutes, but I actually made it halfway through. I didn’t even catch the end of today’s story. All I remember is one line: ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ It sounds so easy when written like that. A few words and the past is wiped away, and a person is reborn. But reality isn’t that simple, is it? I didn’t catch the end of the story last time, either—the one from Exodus.”
Luo Tian slowed the car slightly and pulled a Bible from the compartment in front of him, handing it to Bai Cheng. “Here, take this Bible. If you want to know how the stories end, you can read them yourself whenever you feel like it.”
Bai Cheng was about to refuse, but Luo Tian continued, “If you can’t sleep, try listening to the sound of rain. It works for me. Maybe it’ll help you too.”
Bai Cheng nodded, saying, “I’ll try that,” and thought to herself, Do you often have trouble sleeping too?
The car fell into silence again. Bai Cheng, seeking to break the quiet, asked, “What’s the latest on the trafficking case?”
“We’ve questioned some locals and reviewed the city’s surveillance footage again. We’ve narrowed down the area where the trafficker is hiding, but we still don’t know the exact building or apartment. The area is full of narrow alleys, and we’ve had officers disguised as delivery workers stationed at various exits, watching for any sign of her. Once she leaves, we’ll track her movements.”
Bai Cheng pondered for a moment before turning to Luo Tian. “What if there was a way for the boy to tell you his location?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you disguised someone as a street vendor and played Farewell through a loudspeaker while walking through the areas where the trafficker might be hiding, couldn’t the boy hear the song and start singing along? If you listen carefully, you might be able to pinpoint his location.”
Luo Tian furrowed his brows, considering her suggestion for a few seconds. “It’s possible, but if the boy has already spoken to the trafficker, she might have silenced him. And even if he does sing along, we might not hear it, and it could alert the trafficker.”
“But it’s worth a try, isn’t it?” Bai Cheng’s expression was serious and earnest.
“Miss Bai, thank you for the idea, but I’ll need to discuss it with the team first.”
Bai Cheng nodded. “Okay.”
