Chapter 10: The Murderer on the Train

Aunt in the blue clothes stuffed the money into her inner pocket as she spoke, secretly calculating that she had originally planned to make a tidy sum from delivering this child, and now she had even earned an extra ten yuan—this trip had turned out very profitable. The more she thought about it, the harder she could hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

The aunt in gray clothes, who had witnessed the entire scene, looked tense and uneasy. She tugged at the blue-clothed aunt’s sleeve, pulling her back toward the seat while lowering her voice:

“Keep your voice down. Don’t be so conspicuous. What if something goes wrong?”

The blue-clothed aunt, reminded in this way, stiffened for a moment and quickly scanned her surroundings with shifty eyes. Seeing that no one was paying particular attention to them, she exhaled in relief. She sat back down, hugging the still-sleeping child in her arms, putting on a nonchalant expression.

Fang Yingyue, heart racing, hurried back along the narrow aisle, replaying the tense encounter with the aunt in her mind. Her only thought was to get back to Jiang Qingzhou as quickly as possible.

“I was just about to come looking for you,” she said, her heart still pounding violently in her chest, adrenaline from the scare clinging tightly. Taking a deep breath, she hurried to Jiang Qingzhou’s side.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Don’t be afraid—tell me slowly,” he said, drawing her close. Fang Yingyue recounted everything in detail: the suspicious children she had seen in the other carriage, how she had pretended to spill hot water, and the aunt’s over-the-top reaction.

Jiang Qingzhou’s expression grew increasingly serious as he listened. His normally gentle eyes flashed with anger, quickly replaced by worry. When she finished, he looked solemn.

“This was extremely dangerous. What if they have accomplices nearby? How could you have handled it alone? If they had bad intentions, the consequences could have been unimaginable.”

Fang Yingyue shivered as she recalled the scene, realizing the truth of his words.

“I promise there won’t be a next time. If I encounter anything unusual in the future, I will come to you immediately. I won’t act alone again—I don’t want to make you worry,” she said.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at her and sighed helplessly. His tense expression softened slightly. Though there was still a trace of lingering fear in his voice, it was mixed with relief.

“All right. Remember what you said. This time it was a close call, but next time, don’t be reckless,” he said firmly. He knew very well that the train was full of hidden dangers. Aside from the two suspicious aunts, there could be other predators lying in wait, ready to harm her. He could not leave Fang Yingyue alone, even for a short moment. In this chaotic carriage, if other child traffickers had already taken notice of her, leaving her unattended could put her in grave danger. Only by keeping her close could he feel at ease.

The two of them hurried along the narrow aisle until they reached the train management office. Jiang Qingzhou’s expression was solemn as he took out his ID from his pocket. He handed it to the attendant, speaking firmly:

“Comrade, I am soldier Jiang Qingzhou. There is an urgent matter I need to report.”

The attendant glanced at the ID quickly, his expression immediately turning respectful. “Please wait, I’ll go find the train conductor right away.”

Moments later, the train conductor arrived, walking briskly with a straight posture and an air of decisive efficiency. Upon entering, his gaze fell on Jiang Qingzhou, and he first gave a standard salute.

“Hello, Comrade Jiang!”

Jiang Qingzhou returned the salute, then gently drew Fang Yingyue in front of him, his face full of warmth and protection. He solemnly introduced her:

“Conductor, this is my wife. She just noticed some highly suspicious individuals on the train.”

Hearing this, the conductor’s expression immediately turned grave. He quickly called the train police together. The small office filled with tense, serious energy.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Fang Yingyue took a deep breath and recounted the harrowing experience in vivid detail: from her initial accidental observation, to testing and maneuvering around the suspicious adults, and finally her hurried escape.

When she finished, the conductor slightly nodded, admiration and respect evident in his eyes.

“Comrade Fang, your calm and clever response in such a dangerous situation is impressive—you truly are a soldier’s wife! Thanks to your vigilance, if any traffickers had tried to act on this train, the consequences could have been unimaginable.”

He turned to the train police, his gaze sharp as an eagle, issuing a series of strict instructions to search thoroughly and strengthen vigilance, determined to root out the hidden threat and ensure the safety of all passengers.

Time was pressing—only thirty minutes remained before the train reached the next station, and no one knew at which stop the traffickers hiding in the carriage would disembark. Missing this chance could mean they would vanish with the innocent children, leaving disastrous consequences. In this critical half-hour, they had to be caught.

Jiang Qingzhou gathered his energy and coordinated closely with the train staff and police, meticulously searching every carriage and every hidden corner.

Soon, they arrived at the carriage where the two aunts were.

“Aunt, my wife was truly careless earlier when the hot water spilled on your leg. We felt terrible about it, so I brought her over to apologize properly,” Jiang Qingzhou said.

After speaking, Jiang Qingzhou’s gaze seemed casual but in fact carefully swept over the two children, all while he continued making polite small talk.

“Aunt, your two little ones are really fair-skinned and adorable. How old are they this year? They must be hungry after such a long journey. I’ll go buy them some food to fill their tummies.”

The blue-clothed aunt’s expression stiffened noticeably at these words. Her smile looked strained, and she stammered, “Ah, the burn isn’t serious, she already paid, it’s all fine, really, it’s fine.”

But when asked about the children’s age, her eyes immediately went wide with panic. Her hands unconsciously gripped the children’s clothing tightly, and tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She stammered, “4… 4 years old. The kids aren’t hungry, they’re sleeping soundly—don’t disturb them.”

In that instant, Jiang Qingzhou’s mind cleared. Such a flustered and evasive answer, such apparent indifference to the children—this was nothing like a mother who cared for her kids. From the children’s facial features and contours, there was no resemblance to the aunt at all. Looking at their clothing, which didn’t fit properly, every detail confirmed it: these were definitely not her children.

The gray-clothed aunt, already feeling guilty, immediately sensed that the situation was critical after Jiang Qingzhou’s questioning. She glanced nervously at the blue-clothed aunt, signaling that it was time to try to slip away.

Jiang Qingzhou observed everything calmly and subtly gave a signal to the train police nearby.

Just as the gray-clothed aunt stood up, preparing to pick up the child and blend into the crowd, the train police moved like lightning, swiftly surrounding the two women.

The blue-clothed aunt panicked, shouting, “What are you doing? On what grounds are you arresting us?!”

The gray-clothed aunt went pale, her body trembling slightly.