Luo Guangying gave him a quick glance before explaining, "She went for a short trip with Kai Xin's mother and Sima Erden. Since An Qiyan and Sima Erden are not joining us tomorrow, they decided to take a road trip, so they invited her."
"I'm glad that she's opening up more..." Han Ye said. He recalled how flighty she was back when they found her and "rescued" her from the clutch of Luo Guangying's uncle. He was about to say something when Callum walked in with the small broom and dustpan.
Han Ye watched as Callum stood rooted to the spot as he was on the way to the dustbin. The latter looked at Luo Guangying, and there seemed to be a lot of things that he wanted to say, but in the end, he merely shook his head. With a confused expression, he then walked to the dustbin.
Once he dumped out the content in the dustpan, he walked out of the kitchen so as to give Luo Guangying a little space.
Han Ye frowned. He had never seen them acting in this manner before. "Seriously, what is wrong with you two?"
"Nothing," Luo Guangying said gruffly, yet the pained expression on his face betrayed him.
"Did something happen between you and Callum when you guys were at the Shenlong Mansion?"
Luo Guangying shook his head, but he clenched his fists tightly, to the point that his bandaged hand was bleeding again.
"Hey, your hand!" Han Ye warned as he reached out to touch him.
However, the moment his finger touched Luo Guangying's hand, the latter pulled his hand back so fast that it shocked both of them slightly.
Luo Guangying stared at Han Ye for a few seconds before saying, "Nothing happened. I don't want to talk about that. I called you here today is to tell you that we didn't find much. However, Callum's uncle confirmed, after much pestering, that there was such a thing... that Shenlong Yanhuang brought a kid back with him after a mission."
"The timeline matches?"
Luo Guangying nodded. He stood up and walked to one of the kitchen windows, where he could look outside. After a while, he added, "I don't think you would like anything that we found."
"What?" Han Ye asked as he walked over to the window as well.
Luo Guangying shook his head with a sigh. He then glanced at Han Ye and said, "According to Shenlong Feihuang, at the beginning of that year, Shenlong Yanhuang participated in a mission, which was commissioned by the president of our country at that time."
Han Ye frowned. "The president of our country hired the Shenlong Family to do something?"
Luo Guangying nodded. "He found something, and because of the seriousness of the issue, he wanted it to be done secretly and urgently. What's more important was that he wanted everything to be done professionally."
"What was it?"
"To raid his vice-president's house and get rid of the guy if what he found out were true." Luo Guangying folded his arms together and said, "If news of this were to get out back then, not only would the president's position be affected, but the entire country would as well."
Han Ye was surprised by it. It made him curious about what it was. He did not say anything and just let Luo Guangying take his time.
Luo Guangying continued after a while, "Once the Shenlong Family got the answers that they wanted, Shenlong Yanhuang and his team were sent to eradicate the vice-president as well as all his allies."
Luo Guangying stared at Han Ye and said with a serious expression, "The vice-president, as well as his close friends who made up to 40% of the high-ranking officials at that time, were found to be involved in an underground s*x ring."
"What?!" Han Ye gasped. However, everything made sense then. He could see why the president of their country at that time would want his vice-president to be taken out secretly.
"Not only that," Luo Guangying said with an angry expression, "but the underground s*x ring did not trade a.d.u.l.ts, willing or not."
Han Ye's eyes widened at the news. His brain moved fast, and he connected all the dots. "No... No way..."
Luo Guangying spat, "Child s*x ring... Those b*stards used children! Very young children!"
When he heard about that from Shenlong Feihuang, he always wished that those men were still alive so that he could skin them alive with his own hands. Shenlong Yanhuang told them that they found a group of malnourished children locked in a dark bas.e.m.e.nt with only one small window.
What these children told them after being rescued made their rescuers choose a longer way of getting rid of the people that they were hired to get rid of. Instead of a clean kill, they tortured and flooded the floor with the blood of every a.d.u.l.t that they found in the mansion.
As per the president's order at that time, the Shenlong Family sent this group of children overseas so that no one would know about what they went through. On one hand, they could protect the stability of the country. On the other hand, they hoped that the children could start anew at their new homes.
However, despite all the help that was given to these children, including intensive therapy and being placed in good homes, most of them did not manage to get out of their nightmares. Some of them ended up replicating what was done to them while others took their lives prematurely.
Han Ye could feel his blood boil when he heard Luo Guangying's words. He clenched his fists and asked with difficulty, "The Jie boy? If what you said was true, and if Xiao Yunjie and Jie were the same person... then..."
Luo Guangying nodded while clenching his teeth. "Callum's father found a boy, who was locked in a small room all by himself. According to Shenlong Feihuang, when he saw the boy, he had thought that he was a girl because of the clothes he was dressed in as well as his long hair. The boy did not talk at all; it was as if his soul were taken away from him."
Luo Guangying stared out the window and continued with a heavy tone, "Despite Shenlong Feihuang's protest, as it was against their protocol, Shenlong Yanhuang took the child in with him. And the rest is... history."
There was a moment of silence before Han Ye cursed, "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!"
He then slammed both his fists down on the kitchen island. "Argh!"
"Did she know?" he thought. He recalled how she was so reluctant to give him any more information than necessary. Having known what he knew now, he would not blame her for that. If it were him, he would not want others to talk about his past as well.
Han Ye felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Luo Guangying standing next to him.
"Do you think that Xiao Lei knew about it?" Luo Guangying asked.
"There's a high chance that she knew..." Han Ye admitted. He then stood up straight and asked, "Did Shenlong Yanhuang tell you anything that might help us find Xiao Yunjie?"
Luo Guangying shook his head. "Callum's father was adamant to keep the child he found out of any records. As far as anyone was concerned, Xiao Yunjie had always been the child of Mr. and Mrs. Xiao, and that they had never mentioned anything about him being adopted. To avoid prying eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Xiao moved across the country, and when anyone asked, they would say that because Xiao Yunjie's health had been bad since birth, they left him under the care of their friend."
"Basically, those who knew most about Xiao Yunjie's past were gone. The only ones left were Shenlong Feihuang and that... old man," Luo Guangying added. His tone changed a little when he said "the old man", which prompted Han Ye to wonder if something happened between those two.