Though this stuffed dog toy was very dirty, it was the only completely intact toy.
Wrapped in the bloodstained red thread, the toy twitched slightly.
"Tongtong, wake up! Your mom is looking for you!"
Lu Fei carefully tugged at the red string.
Outside the kindergarten gate, upon receiving the prompt, Guo Yu immediately shouted loudly.
"Tongtong! Tongtong, come back quickly! Mom is here..."
The mother's voice carried through the night, distant yet clear.
The stuffed puppy suddenly trembled, and then a pale child's spirit emerged from it.
The little boy rubbed his eyes and anxiously looked around.
"Mom..."
Lu Fei quickly tied the red thread around his tiny wrist.
With the connection of maternal blood, as long as the red thread does not break, there is no need to worry about him being taken away by the ghost doll again.
"Great! We found the living soul, the next step is to find the body!"
Lu Fei and Jing Jian smiled at each other happily.
Now, they can use the living soul to search for the body.
Every soul has an instinctive sense of its own body, but when overly frightened, it may forget the existence of the body.
As long as the soul of the little boy is soothed, it will automatically seek out its own body.
"Tongtong, be a good boy. Mommy is calling you! Let's go back to find mommy, okay?"
The little boy looked at the two strangers timidly, a bit scared.
"Don't be afraid, little one. We are good people!" Jing Jian showed a smile and held out the Ultraman toy in his hand, "Look, what's this?"
"Ultraman!"
The little boy's eyes widened with delight, reaching out to grab it, but his translucent little hand went right through the Ultraman.
"Ah! My Ultraman...."
The little boy was so upset that he almost cried.
As the sky grew darker, those ghost dolls were likely to come out soon.
Lu Fei hurriedly comforted, "Don't worry, Tongtong. Tell your big brother where you got lost, and lead me there. I'll not only give you the Ultraman but also help you find your mommy."
The little boy pouted, ultimately holding back his tears, rubbing his eyes to cheer himself up.
"Tongtong isn't afraid! Tongtong is brave!"
"That's right! Tongtong is the bravest!"
The little boy clenched his small fists and gently floated up in the kindergarten.
Lu Fei and Jing Jian followed him step by step, carefully observing their surroundings.
The kindergarten grew darker and darker.
The air around them gradually became colder.
Occasional sounds came from the playground, but it was unclear whether they were caused by the wind or something hiding there.
The small figure passed through the hallway and finally stopped in front of a cabinet in the kitchen.
"Is it inside?"
Lu Fei and Jing Jian were startled.
Jing Jian immediately got to work, opening the stainless steel cabinet which was piled with numerous stainless steel trays and dishes. Just by looking at it, one couldn't see anyone inside.
He struggled to reach into the cabinet, pushing aside the dishes, and discovered a little boy lying in the corner of the cabinet.
Only a child could hide in such a place; an adult would never fit in there.
"He's in here!"
He strained to reach the child and pulled him out.
The little boy had his eyes tightly shut, was as pale as a sheet, and his body was particularly cold.
Jing Jian hurriedly checked for a breath and then took his pulse, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, he's still alive! But after three days without food or water, this child is extremely weak."
"Tong Tong, go back now!" Lu Fei urged.
The little boy's spirit, half-awake, glanced at the body and instinctively walked over, merging with it in an instant.
"We need to get the child to the hospital right away!"
Lu Fei stuffed the Ultraman toy into the child's arms and nodded to Jing Jian.
The air around them grew increasingly cold, and the ghost dolls could appear at any moment.
The two immediately began to take the child outside.
The kindergarten wasn't large; beyond the corridor was the playground.
It was just a short distance.
But when they reached the end of the corridor, both of them suddenly stopped in their tracks.
The pair of red-clothed ghost dolls stood there, hand in hand, just outside the corridor.
Behind them was the group of pale, small ghosts.
All the little ghosts glared at them with especially hostile and hateful expressions.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy!"
Jing Jian's gaze darkened as he tightened his hold on the little boy in his arms.
A red line extended from the little boy's hand all the way to outside the kindergarten, where Guo Yu stood at the front gate, her voice hoarse as she continually called out the child's name.
But between them stood the doll-ghost and the pale little ghosts.
"You just focus on getting the child out; I'll cover you!"
Xiao Hei slipped into the backpack, and Lu Fei took out the thunderstruck Chinese jujube wood stick, positioning himself beside Jing Jian.
"Alright!"
Jing Jian nodded once.
Lu Fei then quickly rushed towards the pair of doll-ghosts.
The magical power surged, and a flash of electricity shot out.
The ghost doll's figure flashed by and vanished instantly, leaving a cluster of nails on the ground.
"Watch out for the ground!"
Lu Fei shouted a warning. Jing Jian, holding the child, dodged the nails and ran quickly toward the gate.
"Bad guys!"
Pale little ghosts swarmed over, their distorted and sinister faces lunging at him.
Boom!
A flashing bolt of electricity flew in.
Just as it was about to hit the group of little ghosts, the red-clothed doll suddenly appeared, grabbing the little ghosts and vanishing with them.
However, Jing Jian managed to escape, rushing to the entrance with the doll in his arms.
"Tongtong! Tongtong!"
Under the dim light of the street lamp, Guo Yu immediately saw the motionless child in Jing Jian's arms.
"Tongtong..."
Her throat choked up, her heart clenching to the extreme.
"He's still alive, get him to the hospital quickly!"
Jing Jian shouted as he handed the child over to her.
"Still alive..."
Tears instantly welled up, and Guo Yu felt a moment of weakness, but she pushed herself to reach out and take her child.
But at that moment.
The red-clothed dolls appeared again.
They were right between Guo Yu and Jing Jian, the deformed little hands reaching out towards the little boy.
"No!"
Jing Jian's eyes widened, his heart instantly stuck in his throat, as he struggled to pull the child back.
"Don't touch my child!"
Guo Yu let out a heart-wrenching scream, throwing herself at the ghost dolls without any hesitation. Having just found her son, how could she bear to see the ghost dolls take him away again?
But as an ordinary person, how could she possibly stop the ghost dolls?
The deformed little hands grabbed the little boy's arm, pulling him gently, and then they both vanished.
Guo Yu lunged but hit the ground hard, missing her target.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the child disappear from his hands, Jing Jian was so furious that he started cursing, drawing out the Seven Stars Magic Sword and searching everywhere.
"Return the child, and I'll spare your lives!"
"Brother Jing, stay calm! Look what that is?" Lu Fei shouted to him and ran in one direction.
Jing Jian was taken aback.
In the night, he saw a red line soaked in blood.
One end of the red line was tied to Guo Yu's wrist, the other stretching in the direction where Lu Fei was running.
"That's right, there's a red line! No matter where they take the child, it will be connected by a red rope."
Jing Jian suddenly remembered, feeling both shocked and elated, and then helped Guo Yu up.
"Sister, it's too dangerous here. Go wait outside the door."
"But Tongtong..."
Guo Yu, regardless of her torn knee, was full of tension.
At this moment, those pale little ghosts surrounded them again.