The man’s grip was too strong. Jiang A Yao’s body was jerked backward and slammed hard against him.
As she got close, the pungent smell of blood assaulted her nostrils, making the already nauseous Jiang A Yao completely lose control—she vomited directly.
She sprayed it all over the man.
The man froze, his face stiffening. It took a moment before he instinctively shoved Jiang A Yao away.
Jiang A Yao stumbled and fell to the ground. However, after vomiting, she felt much better. Although she was still uncomfortable, she was no longer as dizzy as before.
She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, staggered to her feet, and hurriedly found a piece of ragged cloth from the room to hand to him.
“Here… wipe yourself.”
These men were all carrying knives and looked fierce and menacing. Jiang A Yao was genuinely afraid they might fly into a rage and cut her down.
The man didn’t speak, glaring at her viciously. At that moment, Scarface seemed to take pity and said, “She just saved our master. With so much blood, even some men would have weak knees at the sight. It’s not easy for her to hold on until now. Don’t give her a hard time. Clean up and hurry to buy the medicine.”
Another chimed in, “Yeah, if you hadn’t yanked her like that earlier, she wouldn’t have thrown up on you.”
Hearing this, the man gritted his teeth, took the cloth from Jiang A Yao, and walked out while wiping himself off.
After vomiting, Jiang A Yao’s mouth felt truly awful. She wanted to find some water to drink in the room, but the men misunderstood, thinking she was trying to run again.
“Miss, you can’t leave now. Stay in this room. Our master needs a physician to keep an eye on him,” Scarface said in a low voice. “But you don’t need to be afraid. We’re not bad people.”
Jiang A Yao didn’t believe that last part at all.
What bad person would admit to being bad? When away from home, everyone claims to be good.
“I… just wanted to find some water to drink.”
Jiang A Yao’s voice was hoarse, and her steps were unsteady. The men knew she couldn’t escape, so they agreed.
The water jar in the room was by the window. As Jiang A Yao scooped water, she peered through the window to assess the situation outside.
The villagers were still squatting on the road, guarded menacingly by the men.
Thinking of Mingzhu inside the house, Jiang A Yao’s eyes darkened. The Lu family lived at the very end of the village. If Lu Da hadn’t been worried about her, he wouldn’t have gotten involved.
Now, with Mingzhu left alone in the room, it was truly worrying.
Jiang A Yao thought for a moment, then turned and walked toward the men.
She crouched in front of the injured man and carefully checked his pulse. Although his pulse wasn’t strong, given the circumstances, managing to save his life was already quite an achievement.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “Your master has suffered severe injuries and can’t be moved for now. He needs at least a few days of rest before he can ride in a carriage. Those villagers outside can’t just squat there indefinitely, can they?”
Scarface frowned at her. “What are you trying to say?”
Jiang A Yao replied, “There’s only one road out of the village. Let them go home to eat and sleep as they should. As long as you guard the entrance, no one will be able to leave.”
Scarface’s face darkened instantly. “How do you know we’re not letting anyone leave the village?”
Jiang A Yao looked up at him, unafraid of his stern expression. “If you were letting people leave, why would you hold us at knifepoint?”
“It was a decision made in the heat of the moment. We won’t harm anyone,” Scarface retorted, though he faltered slightly. “But you’re right. We’ll let them go.”
After speaking, he glanced at his subordinate and signaled him to go out and relay the order.
The villagers were allowed to return home but were forbidden from leaving the village.
Hearing the commotion outside, Jiang A Yao breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Lu Da could go back to watch over Mingzhu, who was critically ill and couldn’t withstand any disturbance.
However, before her heart could fully settle, she heard Lu Da’s voice outside.
“She’s my wife! What have you done to her? Why won’t you let me see her?”
“I said no visits, so no visits. Get out of here now, or don’t blame me for being rough.”
The tone was fierce, and a conflict seemed imminent. Jiang A Yao’s heart trembled, and she quickly stood up and rushed outside.
“Where are you going? Stop!”
“Don’t use force.”
Two voices spoke at the same time, but Jiang A Yao had already hurried out of the room.
By then, the men outside had surrounded Lu Da, and the atmosphere was tense. Jiang A Yao ran over.
“This is my husband! What do you think you’re doing?”
She dashed in front of Lu Da, spreading her arms to shield him.
The group stared coldly at Jiang A Yao, showing no intention of going easy on her just because she was a woman.
At that moment, Scarface also walked to the doorway and said sternly, “Stand down.”
As the leader, his command was obeyed without question. At his order, everyone sheathed their blades.
Jiang A Yao turned to Lu Da and urged anxiously, “Go back. Mingzhu needs someone to watch over her. Don’t worry about me.”
Her clothes were stained with blood, her sleeves and skirt smeared in crimson. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was pale, making her look utterly disheveled.
Lu Da was startled and quickly asked, “Are you hurt?”
Jiang A Yao shook her head. “No, it’s not my blood.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine for now. You should go back.”
If the situation turned bad, he should flee immediately and not come looking for her.
Sensing that Lu Da still wanted to say something, she firmly grasped his hand and said, “Go back now.”
Her expression was resolute, and Lu Da had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Jiang A Yao thought that once he left, that would be the end of it, but she had underestimated the situation. The men had sent someone to follow Lu Da. The villagers’ houses were clustered closely together, and most had already left. Only his home’s location remained unknown.
Suppressing her worry, Jiang A Yao thought that since Lu Da had some martial skills, if anything went wrong, he could carry Mingzhu and hide in the mountains. Surely, they wouldn’t be caught so quickly?
As she pondered this possibility, the man beside her snapped coldly, “Get inside.”
His tone wasn’t friendly, but it was still better than when he had held a blade to her neck.
Knowing she couldn’t escape, Jiang A Yao had no intention of trying. She turned and walked unsteadily back into the house.
Having worked for hours without any food at noon, Jiang A Yao was starving by the afternoon. She curled up in a corner, leaning against the wall, unwilling to move or waste energy.
Just then, someone from outside entered, bringing some food.
There were flatbreads, wild vegetable buns, and coarse rice porridge with wild greens—a motley assortment clearly scavenged from the villagers’ homes.
Scarface himself ate wild vegetable buns but handed Jiang A Yao two pieces of flatbread.
“Eat up. Our master still needs you to tend to him. Don’t starve to death.”
Though hungry, Jiang A Yao didn’t reach for the bread.
Scarface saw the disgust hidden in her eyes and tossed the flatbread onto her. “We paid for this. We didn’t steal it.”
“If you don’t believe me, have someone take you to ask.”