24 Deliverance

After the flight to the Republic of Lin took off, Yu Qingmei immediately contacted her late husband’s business partner. Over the phone, the man promised profusely that he would take good care of Qiao Yuyan for a year.

To her shock, the moment Qiao Yuyan stepped off the plane, he sold her to a human trafficker.

That so-called partner had long coveted the company shares held by Qiao Yuyan. When she was by Yu Qingmei’s side, he had no opportunity to strike, but now that she had delivered herself to his doorstep, he negotiated with the trafficker to sell her to a tribe in Jingu Prefecture, planning to force her to sign a share transfer agreement once she turned eighteen.

At that time, Qiao Yuyan was still nursing knife wounds. She had expected to be taken to a hospital upon arrival, but instead, she was treated like cargo and shuffled from one place to another.

The exhausting journey, the lack of medical treatment for her wounds, and the constant terror proved too much for her; she fell ill the moment she reached Jingu Prefecture.

Qiao Yuyan thought she would die there. Fortunately, fate had other plans. When she woke up, she found herself in a desert in the Republic of Lin.

It was the secret training base for the GSC.

The leader had raided the human trafficking den and rescued a group of children who had not yet been sold. Those with families were sent home; those without were taken to the base to be raised.

Qiao Yuyan, who had been unconscious due to high fever and severe trauma, suffered from memory loss upon waking and was kept at the base.

It was not until five years ago, when her memory slowly returned and she passed the GSC "Gold Hunter" test, that she finally set foot on the soil of the Xia Kingdom again.

Only then did she learn that Jiang Yizu had not died back then. At twelve, she had not possessed the strength to sever his bones and muscles. He had simply gone into shock from blood loss.

After he recovered, no one knew what had transpired between him and her aunt, but the incident was ultimately closed as a case of domestic violence. Both sides avoided prison, and her aunt was finally able to escape that marriage.

Yu Qingmei had spent half a year resolving the issues with Jiang Yizu and the visa. It was a tragedy that when they finally stood on the soil of the Republic of Lin six months later, Qiao Yuyan had already vanished.

They found the business partner, but he flatly denied ever seeing her.

Mother and daughter wandered the streets of a foreign land for three months. Penniless, they resorted to begging to survive until their visas expired and they were deported.

Every year thereafter, Yu Qingmei worked herself to the bone to earn money. The moment her visa was approved, she would fly to the Republic of Lin to search for Qiao Yuyan.

But in the vast sea of people, every search ended in disappointment. Years of exhaustion and psychological torment took a toll on Yu Qingmei’s health, to the point where the hospital even issued a critical condition notice.

Qiao Yuyan drove the car, multitasking as she pulled steadily into the parking lot of the Chenli University residential complex.

She and Jiang Yunxi stepped out, retrieved their reference books from the trunk, and walked into the courtyard. There, they saw Yu Qingmei learning traditional Chinese painting from some professors.

Yu Qingmei wore plain, simple clothes; her hair was graying. The sunlight, filtered through the dappled leaves, cast a peaceful and serene glow upon her.

"The children are back." The old professor painting nearby caught a glimpse of Jiang Yunxi and Qiao Yuyan. With a kind smile, he leaned over and whispered a reminder to Yu Qingmei.

"Excuse me, I'll be back," Yu Qingmei said, putting down her brush and rising to greet the professors one by one.

The professors nodded with smiles.

Yu Qingmei led the two girls upstairs.

As Jiang Yunxi and Qiao Yuyan entered the living room and placed their books on the table, Yu Qingmei asked curiously, "What are these?"

Jiang Yunxi lowered her head, looking a bit nervous as she stammered, "Mom, I’m at home every day now with nothing urgent to do, so I was thinking... could I go back to school for my doctorate?"

"That’s a good thing!" Yu Qingmei clapped in delight. Having spent these years with the professors, she had grown to value education deeply.

However, amidst her joy, she had concerns. "Studying must be exhausting. Will Little Huo agree to it?"

Jiang Yunxi instinctively started to shake her head, but Qiao Yuyan stopped her and improvised, "Auntie, don't worry. If my brother-in-law has a brilliant PhD wife, he’ll be so proud to show you off! But this is a surprise she’s preparing just for him, so you have to help us keep it a secret."

"You young people always have so many tricks up your sleeves," Yu Qingmei teased. "Fine, I won't get in the way of your surprise."

"Thank you, Auntie!" Qiao Yuyan said brightly, thanking her before Jiang Yunxi could.

"You and your mischief," Yu Qingmei pinched Qiao Yuyan’s cheek. As her gaze swept across the books on the table, a thought crossed her mind. "By the way, Nannan, do you want to continue your studies too?"

"Right," Jiang Yunxi chimed in, recalling her senior's suggestion at the hospital. "Yanyan, why don't you come back to school with me?"

Qiao Yuyan looked puzzled. "Study what?"

Jiang Yunxi explained, "It’s not just about the degree. I just think that if there’s a chance, learning more knowledge can never hurt."

Qiao Yuyan was left speechless, caught between laughter and tears.

She felt a headache coming on. How could she explain to her aunt and sister that she wasn't illiterate? Although she lacked a diploma, she had learned everything she needed—and a lot of things she shouldn't have.

"Auntie, Sis," Qiao Yuyan chose her words carefully. "Even though my foster mother didn't send me to school, she hired many tutors for me. Even if I run into trouble in the future, I have ways to support myself. I definitely won't starve."

The year she returned, she had investigated the status of Yu Qingmei and her daughter, learning how they had drained their life savings to find her.

At that time, Yu Qingmei had been on the brink of death. Fearing they would blame themselves, she had fabricated a story about being adopted by a kind-hearted wealthy woman during the years she was missing.

Yu Qingmei sighed in relief. "That's good. I was just afraid you would suffer in the future."

"Don't worry, Auntie, I won't," Qiao Yuyan replied with a smile.

The three of them tidied up the pile of books on the table, categorizing and stacking them neatly.

"You two study at home; I'm going back down to paint with the professors." Not wanting to disturb them, Yu Qingmei left the apartment.

Jiang Yunxi returned to the desk, picking up a long-neglected basic medical text to start studying.

Qiao Yuyan curled up on the sofa and played with her phone. She didn't actually dislike learning, but she was a pragmatist; everything she learned was for the sake of her missions. To force herself through basic courses now would be a pure waste of time.

She opened her photo album and pulled up a picture of two gaunt, elderly men: Jiang Yizu and her father’s former partner.

She had only learned after returning that after her aunt’s divorce, Jiang Yizu had continued to harass her aunt and sister.

But the eighteen-year-old Qiao Yuyan was no longer as helpless as she had been at twelve.

Since he was still being such a nuisance, she decided it was time to send him far away.

On the night she returned to the country, she had sent both Jiang Yizu and the partner to the Republic of Wu, selling them to a local mine owner.

The mine owner, who had a favor to ask of a newly promoted GSC hunter, readily accepted the two men, despite them looking like they couldn't handle heavy labor.

Now, they were required to dig 200kg of raw ore every day, and they only received half a loaf of black bread—alcohol was a luxury they couldn't even dream of.

Looking at their latest photo, Qiao Yuyan curled the corners of her lips.

Sometimes, death is a release. You two should just keep on living.

Closing the album, she was about to play a game to pass the time when a message from Lin Shiyue popped up.

"The client has been found."

Qiao Yuyan’s eyes sharpened. She immediately opened their four-person group chat and sent a message:

"Gather at midnight tonight."

Before even a second had passed, the other three replied in unison: "Received."