·"Whose child is missing!"
This loud shout—years later—still remains fresh in the memories of the people in the small village situated between Provincial City and Xu City.
First, it was the sheer volume. Many thought it had to have been broadcasted over loudspeakers, while others verified it wasn't, with two little kids as witnesses. They swore the person was standing there yelling, without using a megaphone.
It was the off-season for farming, and though the sky was still light, rural folks had no pressing concerns and were either tidying up the house or still sound asleep. Being abruptly woken up by such a yell—feeling puzzled—was completely understandable.
Kids as young as five or six can articulate a few things, but these two little ones were in a state of confusion and fear. What they could say wasn't much, and their experience was too bizarre to be believed. Just like Yan Fei imagined, no matter what the kids said, adults simply filled in the blanks with their imaginations.
