Chapter 18.1: Portrait
The group mounted their bicycles and sped toward Dragon King Temple.
Dragon King Temple was a Taoist temple located on the outskirts of the city, where the urban and rural districts met.
During the Japanese invasion, the temple’s Taoist priests had voluntarily tended to wounded soldiers of the Chinese forces. Some had even taken off their Taoist robes, enlisted in the army, and fought the invaders, ultimately dying as martyrs.
Because of that history, Dragon King Temple had always enjoyed a distinguished reputation locally. Even during the upheavals a decade earlier, it had escaped demolition. The temple itself had been preserved, though it was forbidden to carry out repairs, accept new disciples, or hold religious activities.
Under those restrictions, Dragon King Temple should gradually have faded into obscurity.
But in recent years, as government policy relaxed, local farmers found themselves needing a place to hold a market, and people began thinking of the temple once again.
The temple grounds had traditionally hosted temple fairs and market stalls, so the location already had the space and experience for such gatherings. Its position was ideal as well, sitting midway between the city and the surrounding countryside, making it convenient for everyone.
No one remembered exactly who started it, but before long, farmers from nearby villages began setting up stalls there every fifth and tenth day of the lunar month. City residents also enjoyed stopping by to buy fresh produce, and the market steadily grew larger and busier.
Today happened to be a Sunday as well.
The crowds were even bigger than usual.
Long before they arrived, Jiang Xia could already see a sea of people.
Fertilizer sacks were spread across the ground as makeshift displays, piled high with fresh green vegetables that stretched in neat rows as far as the eye could see. Interspersed among them were stalls selling fish and woven baskets, while nearby someone called out, advertising knife and scissors sharpening.
More than a dozen officers in olive-green uniforms stood at the southern end of the market.
Several people who appeared to be family members of the missing children were clutching at every police officer who arrived, sobbing uncontrollably.
The group immediately pedaled over.
Chen Dong had been scanning the area when he spotted another group arriving and immediately walked over to meet them.
Seeing that it was someone he knew, the corners of his mouth instinctively twitched upward into the beginnings of a smile—but it vanished just as quickly.
Keeping a straight face, he habitually pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and offered it to Chief Wu.
“Chief Wu, you got here fast.”
“A case involving missing children? Of course we’d hurry.”
Chief Wu accepted the cigarette, but instead of lighting it, tucked it behind his ear as usual.
“What’s the situation?”
Chen Dong’s expression darkened even further.
“Three children are missing now. All boys, around five or six years old. They didn’t know each other and disappeared from different parts of the market. Looks like someone carried them off.”
The moment Jiang Xia heard those words, three words flashed through her mind.
Child traffickers.
It really was the worst-case scenario.
Chief Wu frowned deeply.
“Why are there three now? I thought there were only two!”
“We found the third while organizing the search.”
The mention of it brought a trace of anger into Chen Dong’s voice.
“The mother wasn’t thinking at all. She brought her kid along while selling vegetables. Fine, bring him if you have to—but she never kept an eye on him. She was too busy selling produce. We only found out the boy was missing after we questioned her. She’s over there crying her eyes out now. But what’s the point of crying at a time like this?”
“If they don’t find those kids… who knows what kind of suffering they’ll endure for the rest of their lives?”
Jiang Xia gave a faint shake of her head.
‘Suffering’ hardly begins to cover it.
In her previous life, she’d watched countless television programs about families searching for abducted children. Every child who’d been trafficked had lived through a heartbreaking ordeal.
And those were only the ones whose stories made it onto television.
What about all the others?
These days, there were still criminals who kidnapped children for mutilation and forced begging.
There wasn’t a moment to waste.
“Do we have any leads yet?” Jiang Xia asked immediately.
“None.”
The question made Chen Dong look even more agitated.
“We’ve questioned practically everyone here. All we’ve learned is that the person who took the children was a woman wearing a gray jacket and black pants. That’s it. Nobody can even agree on how old she was!”
That was a serious problem.
The market was packed with people.
The stalls weren’t permanent, and almost no one knew anyone else. Women dressed in black pants were everywhere.
How were they supposed to pick out a child trafficker from that crowd?
After taking a breath, Chen Dong continued,
“Deputy Chief Duan is coordinating things back at headquarters, while Captain Tan is directing operations on-site.”
“There are already plenty of officers searching the market. The traffic police are on their way to set up checkpoints at all the major intersections, and the police dogs should be here soon. We have enough manpower here, but this area connects in every direction. There are just too many roads, and the traffic police definitely don’t have enough people to cover them all.”
“Captain Tan said that once you arrived, your team should head to the road leading into the city and set up a checkpoint there. After that, split up and search along the route, asking whether anyone has seen a woman in a gray jacket and black pants carrying a five-year-old boy.”
Jiang Xia nodded inwardly.
It seemed Deputy Chief Duan from the Municipal Bureau and Captain Tan were both men of action.
There had been no hesitation.
The golden window for finding a missing child had never truly been twenty-four hours.
The odds of rescue were highest the moment the child disappeared, then declined with every passing minute.
Time was critical, the situation urgent, and they had no other leads.
Under the circumstances, deploying large numbers of officers was the most effective strategy available.
If the trafficker was still at the market, they might be able to catch them before they escaped.
And if the trafficker had already left…
Unless they had somehow flown away, they would inevitably have left behind traces that could be followed.
The problem was…
There were simply too many traces.
Jiang Xia swept her gaze across the bustling marketplace.
Quite a few parents and vendors had brought their children with them. At a glance alone, she spotted several boys around five or six years old.
Then she took another quick look around.
At least a quarter of the women present were dressed in gray jackets and black pants.
It couldn’t be helped.
Fabric choices were limited these days.
Jiang Xia couldn’t help saying,
“There are way too many people dressed in gray jackets and black pants. If that’s our only identifying feature, the search area is just too broad.”
“Tell me about it.”
Chief Wu shook his head, his brow so deeply furrowed it could have crushed a fly.
“A trafficker might be able to carry off one child alone, but three? If they managed to take three, they almost certainly had accomplices. Besides, kids that age—four or five years old—aren’t that big. They’d fit in a basket or a burlap sack. For all we know, they’ve already been hidden inside one and smuggled out.”
Well…
That expanded the search area severalfold.
The case had just become even harder.
Chen Dong let out a long sigh.
“But we don’t have any better options. All we can do is search as thoroughly as we can. The faster we move, the better the chances of getting those kids back.”
Jiang Xia frowned.
Searching blindly wasn’t going to work.
It would waste far too much time.
The best solution would be to produce a composite sketch of the suspect.
Searching with a picture would be far more efficient.
The problem was…
She’d never actually practiced forensic sketching before.
Jiang Xia couldn’t help sighing.
You never realize what skills you’re missing until you actually need them.
If she’d known something like this would happen, she would have spent some time practicing instead of being forced into it at the last minute.
There’s really no better way…
Chief Wu glanced at Jiang Xia out of habit.
Seeing that she was frowning just as deeply, he paused, then smacked his forehead.
I’ve really lost my head.
The Municipal Bureau’s experienced detectives were all here, and even they hadn’t come up with a better solution.
How could he expect a fresh university graduate like Jiang Xia to have one?
Even if she had a few unusual talents, they wouldn’t help in a situation like this.
Forget it.
At a time like this, the old-fashioned methods were still the most reliable.
Now that they understood the situation and had their assignments, Chief Wu wasted no more time.
“All right. We’ll head to the road and set up the checkpoint now. If you get any new information, let us know immediately.”
As he spoke, he turned to call for the officers from his station to move out.
Before he could say another word, Jiang Xia spoke up.
“Master.”
Chief Wu stopped and turned around.
“What is it, Xiao Jiang?”
Her right hand hung naturally at her side, fingers brushing the notebook inside her shoulder bag.
“I’d like to try drawing a composite sketch of the suspect.”
“Hm?”
No one appreciated Jiang Xia’s portrait-drawing skills more than Chief Wu.
The reason he hadn’t brought it up earlier was because he remembered what she’d told him before: she could only draw people she’d seen with her own eyes. If she had to rely solely on someone else’s description, the likeness would be poor.
Now that Jiang Xia had raised the idea herself, instead of feeling pleased, he became even more worried.
“But you’ve never seen the children. Can you really draw them?”
If she produced inaccurate portraits, they would only create confusion.
And if the children weren’t found, there was every chance someone would shift the blame onto her.
The senior officers from the Municipal Bureau were certainly watching this case closely. If they saw her trying to show off at a time like this, what if they concluded she was overestimating herself and acting recklessly?
“I can at least give it a try.”
Although she’d never practiced forensic sketching before, Jiang Xia had absolute confidence in her drawing skills.
After all, this was her true strongest ability.
And it had just been enhanced a few days ago.
“Besides, we don’t have any better ideas right now. As long as there’s even a chance it’ll help find the children, it’s worth trying. One less person helping at the roadblocks won’t make much difference. But if I can produce usable sketches, even just giving everyone a face to look for will make the search much easier than it is now.”
That made sense.
Seeing that Jiang Xia had already made up her mind, Chief Wu finally nodded.
“All right.”
He turned to Chen Dong.
“Old Chen, Xiao Jiang’s good at portrait drawing. Bring the children’s families over and let her draw the boys’ portraits.”
“Oh?”
Chen Dong looked surprised.
“So she’s got that skill too?”
But looking at Jiang Xia’s youthful face, he couldn’t help feeling skeptical.
The art teachers at school were all in their thirties or forties, and even when they drew from life, their portraits often looked awkward.
Jiang Xia was so young.
And she hadn’t even seen the children herself.
How good could her drawings possibly be?
He was about to refuse, but then thought better of it.
It wouldn’t hurt to let her try.
Just as she’d said, if it didn’t work out, they’d only be short one person on the search.
No great loss.
But if she really could produce a likeness—
Even if it was only sixty or seventy percent accurate—
It would still make the search far easier.
With that thought, Chen Dong nodded.
“All right. I’ll go bring someone over.”
Just then, Detective Wang Leihu walked over when he saw the group still standing around.
“What are you all dawdling for?” he demanded. “Why aren’t you setting up the checkpoint on the main road yet?”
“We’ve just finished getting the briefing. We’re leaving now.”
Chief Wu answered before calling the officers from his station to move out.
Just before he left, he turned back and said,
“Old Chen, I’m leaving her in your hands!”
For some reason, Chief Wu suddenly felt uneasy.
It was as if he were handing over a freshly steamed meat bun—piping hot, fragrant, and somehow destined to attract trouble.
Chen Dong waved him off.
“Don’t worry!”
Jiang Xia took out her notebook, pencil, and eraser.
Seeing that everyone else had left while she remained behind, Wang Leihu frowned.
“Why aren’t you going?”
“Chief Wu said she’s good at drawing portraits,” Chen Dong explained. “He wants her to see if she can sketch the missing children.”
As an experienced officer himself, Chen Dong had no intention of letting Jiang Xia shoulder all the pressure alone. He deliberately framed it as Chief Wu’s idea before adding,
“I don’t think being one officer short will make much difference. Might as well let her give it a try.”
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