Chapter 58: Takagi Mine’s Resolute Attitude

After informing Zhou Shiqin of what had happened here, Jiang Xiaofei led the children out of the factory and waited outside.

Half an hour later, headlights suddenly appeared ahead, piercing the night sky.

Soon after, a line of vehicles arrived one after another. The cars stopped, their doors opened, and a large group of fully armed personnel got out. Among them were Zhou Shiqin and Cang Haiyan.

As soon as he spotted Zhou Shiqin, Jiang Xiaofei hurried over and said, “Sister Zhou, you’re finally here. Please, take these children home as soon as possible.”

Zhou Shiqin nodded slightly, then gestured with her hand. Immediately, the members of the Azure Dragon Society behind her moved toward the children.

She then looked at Jiang Xiaofei and asked, “What exactly happened here?”

Jiang Xiaofei recounted the events, omitting, of course, any mention of Xiaoqing.

Despite his explanation, Zhou Shiqin was visibly shocked. Cang Haiyan, upon hearing the story, was furious. “What? You actually let her escape?”

Jiang Xiaofei remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhou Shiqin smiled gently. “President, let it go. I believe Xiaofei did his best.”

“Very well,” Cang Haiyan nodded. “But it is troublesome that we failed to apprehend her.”

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a black suit approached and said, “President Cang, since my daughter isn’t here, this means the case has nothing to do with her, correct?”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaofei frowned and asked Zhou Shiqin, “Who’s this man?”

Zhou Shiqin smiled, “This is Takagi Shu’s father—Mayor Takagi Mine.”

With Zhou Shiqin’s introduction, Jiang Xiaofei looked at Takagi Mine and said, “So you’re Mayor Takagi. I have something to say to you.”

Takagi Mine frowned slightly. “And you are?”

“I am Jiang Xiaofei,” he replied.

Takagi Mine’s tone was cold. “So you’re the one who accused my daughter. What do you want to say? I’m listening.”

Jiang Xiaofei said, “Mayor Takagi, your daughter is no longer human.”

Takagi Mine instantly flew into a rage. “Utter nonsense! If my daughter isn’t human, then what is she?”

Jiang Xiaofei replied calmly, “Your daughter kidnapped children, intending to use their lives to help the Ghost Emperor within her regain its strength. Can you still call her human?”

Takagi Mine shouted angrily, “Ridiculous! How could my daughter possibly kidnap children or help some Ghost Emperor? What are you trying to accomplish by slandering her? Do you believe I won’t shoot you where you stand?”

In his fury, Takagi Mine drew his gun and aimed it at Jiang Xiaofei’s head.

Jiang Xiaofei, facing the muzzle, showed not a trace of fear—only cold determination. He barked, “Go ahead and shoot me if you dare! You won’t be able to kill me anyway.”

Takagi Mine’s anger blazed. “You think I wouldn’t dare?”

Jiang Xiaofei sneered, “Of course you’d dare. You’re the mayor! But if you think you can kill me, then by all means, pull the trigger.”

“You—” Takagi Mine was so enraged that he could barely get the words out.

At this, Zhou Shiqin hurried to intervene. “Mayor Takagi, please calm down and put the gun away. He spoke out of turn, nothing more.”

“Out of turn?” Takagi Mine snorted. “Principal Zhou, do you believe this nonsense from this boy as well?”

Zhou Shiqin said nothing.

Her silence only fueled Takagi Mine’s anger. He gripped his gun even tighter, intent on pulling the trigger.

Seeing this, Cang Haiyan quickly said, “Mayor Takagi, please, put the gun down. Let’s discuss this calmly. Acting in haste will do you no good—such behavior could ruin your reputation, and perhaps even cost you your position.”

At this, Takagi Mine grunted and finally lowered his weapon. “Very well. But this boy cannot be allowed to go free. He must be detained and interrogated thoroughly.”

Cang Haiyan frowned slightly. “I will of course investigate the children’s disappearance to the end and apprehend the culprit, clearing Takagi Shu’s name if she is innocent.”

Takagi Mine immediately retorted, “President Cang, you must not believe this boy! How could my daughter commit such acts? He must have had some disagreement with her and is taking the opportunity to get revenge.”

Cang Haiyan replied coolly, “Please, Mayor Takagi, be patient. I will investigate matters thoroughly and get to the bottom of the truth. There’s no need for you to worry.”

Takagi Mine nodded begrudgingly. “Very well. But it is a fact that this boy took liberties with my daughter. President Cang, what do you propose to do?”

Before Cang Haiyan could reply, Jiang Xiaofei interjected, “It was all voluntary on her part! I did nothing to her—she’s making baseless accusations!”

Takagi Mine snorted. “My daughter is as pure as the driven snow. She would never willingly let you violate her. You must have used some underhanded means.”

Jiang Xiaofei roared, “Pure, my ass! If I’d used any means, your daughter would have been mine long ago!”

Takagi Mine’s eyes bulged with rage at these words.

Seeing Takagi Mine glaring daggers at him, Jiang Xiaofei grew even more incensed. “What? If you have the guts, kill me!”

“Damn it, don’t think I won’t!” Takagi Mine snarled and reached for his gun.

But as soon as he drew it, Cang Haiyan knocked it to the ground with a slap.

“Mayor Takagi, if you still have any respect for our Enforcement Council, I expect you to calm down and let me investigate,” said Cang Haiyan.

Takagi Mine, shaken by her words, responded immediately, “President Cang, you must not go easy on this boy. He must be punished.”

Cang Haiyan replied coldly, “When it comes to this matter, I trust Jiang Xiaofei’s character.”

Zhou Shiqin added, “I can also testify that he did not take liberties with Takagi Shu. That day, I did see Takagi Shu’s clothes were undone, but not by Jiang Xiaofei—it was Takagi Shu herself who undid them.”

Takagi Mine responded with fury, “Fine, just fine! You’ve all joined forces against me. But if you try to act against my daughter without evidence, I swear I’ll fight you to the bitter end!”

Zhou Shiqin quickly said, “Mayor Takagi, you misunderstand—please hear me out.”

Takagi Mine ignored her, snorted, and turned away, heading for his Mercedes and driving off.

Zhou Shiqin frowned and looked at Cang Haiyan. “President, what do we do now?”

Cang Haiyan watched the Mercedes fade into the distance and replied offhandedly, “Let it be.”

Jiang Xiaofei frowned. “So you’re not going to arrest Takagi Shu?”

Before Cang Haiyan could answer, Zhou Shiqin said, “Didn’t you see how determined Mayor Takagi is to protect his daughter? If we act rashly without evidence, he’ll certainly obstruct us, and the higher-ups in the Magisters’ Association will get involved. Things will spiral out of control.”

Jiang Xiaofei said quietly, “Evidence isn’t hard to come by. You could question any of the missing children.”

Zhou Shiqin shook her head. “He’ll just claim you bribed the children to slander his daughter.”

Jiang Xiaofei nodded. “Very well,” he said, saying no more.

Seeing this, Zhou Shiqin comforted him, “Don’t worry. We will arrest Takagi Shu, but we must proceed slowly and carefully, not recklessly.”

Jiang Xiaofei said nothing, gazing up at the stars as if he could see Xiaoqing smiling down at him.