Upon hearing about the presence of a kidnapper in the town, the cup in his hand nearly crashed to the ground out of fear. Without bothering to change his tea-soaked clothes, he hastily summoned two people to accompany him to see what the situation was.
The town had previously experienced incidents of children and young girls being kidnapped. At that time, the county magistrate had been furious, berating him for ineffectual governance as pavilion chief, that such atrocities could happen under his watch.
Gong Qingsheng also felt greatly humiliated, as his dignity and authority in the town seemed to have diminished somewhat.
In short, the incident of a kidnapper appearing in the town during the Lantern Festival greatly disturbed him.
Now, little over two months later, a similar incident had occurred. Gong Qingsheng took it very seriously, resolved in his heart that he would capture the kidnapper at all costs.