The opposing side consisted of four men, one of whom was carrying Chu Ning and running at a breakneck speed. The mountain path was rugged and difficult to navigate, but they seemed intimately familiar with it, moving as if on level ground.
Lu Zhidao followed closely behind, the wind whistling past her ears as she watched the distance between them shrink.
Lu Zhidao decisively drew her sword from its sheath. She exerted force into her legs, preparing to leap, when she suddenly stepped into thin air.
Unexpectedly, she fell into a massive pit nearly two people deep. The walls were smooth—a trap specifically designed for intruders. Lu Zhidao looked up and saw the other three men had returned to the edge of the pit, leaning over to peer down at her.
Lu Zhidao attempted to scale the pit, but there was nowhere to gain a foothold. She jumped into the air, but without support, she fell back down.
“Hmph, with just these few tricks, you want to chase this young master? Save your breath.”
Lu Zhidao didn’t give up. Taking half a step back, she gathered all her strength and leaped upward. Her hands caught the edge of the pit, and she hung against the wall using only the strength of her grip. Just as she was about to use her feet to kick off and climb out—
The man gave her no chance. He stomped down hard on Lu Zhidao’s fingers, grinding them back and forth with his boot.
Lu Zhidao felt a surge of pain but couldn’t pull her hands away. She gritted her teeth and endured, her brows knitting together tightly.
“Heh, it’s a mute,” the man stomping on her laughed, turning to the other two.
“Mute, if it hurts, cry out!” another man squatted down with a grin, tossing stones from his hand and pelting them at Lu Zhidao.
A deep gash opened on Lu Zhidao’s forehead, and blood immediately began to flow.
“Qi San, haul her up.”
Hearing this, the man who was stomping moved his foot. Lu Zhidao’s hands lost their strength, and she fell to the bottom of the pit once more.
Lu Zhidao wiped the blood from her eyes with her wrist, only to realize her fingers were filthy, swollen, and trembling uncontrollably. Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on her sword hilt.
She leaped upward again, thrusting her sword deep into the pit wall to use as a lever. She vaulted out of the pit, but a large net immediately dropped toward her head.
The moment it touched her, Lu Zhidao flicked her wrist. Her blade tore through the net, and she charged out of the center.
In short order, she knocked the three men to the ground. As they lay there groaning and clutching their chests, Lu Zhidao walked over to the one who had stomped on her.
“Qi San, was it?” she asked coldly.
Before Qi San could answer, she stomped on his chest. The man immediately spat out blood, unable to speak further.
Lu Zhidao glanced sideways at the man who had thrown stones at her. Terrified, he fell to his knees and begged for mercy, kowtowing repeatedly until his forehead bled. Only then did Lu Zhidao haul him up.
“Take me to the girl.”
Trembling with fear, the man led Lu Zhidao toward the mountain stronghold.
At the entrance of the camp, three large characters were carved into a wooden plaque: “Daqi Stronghold.”
Lu Zhidao kicked open the gate with a loud bang. The bandits inside were instantly alerted and began to surround her.
Lu Zhidao threw the man she was holding toward the center of the yard. “Call out your Chief.”
Meanwhile, Chu Ning had been carried all the way back to the stronghold and brought directly before the Chief, Qi Shouyi.
Qi Shouyi looked at the unconscious Chu Ning and asked Centurion Jia, “This is the person you wanted?”
Centurion Jia had never seen Chu Ning before, so he couldn’t be certain. He grabbed Chu Ning’s chin to inspect her face and was about to search her person.
“She’s just a girl, don’t you damn well touch her!” Qi Shouyi casually threw a teacup at Centurion Jia, splashing tea all over him.
Centurion Jia didn’t care. He brushed the tea stains off his clothes and smiled. “You’ve become a bandit, yet you’re still sticking to these formalities?”
“If she’s the one you want, take her and get lost. Leave the money,” Qi Shouyi said impatiently.
“The money will be yours. Bind her first; I want to wake her up for questioning.”
“Hmph,” Qi Shouyi sneered with disdain. “You’re afraid a little girl will run away?”
Centurion Jia’s face grew stiff, but he didn’t push further. Instead, he took a cup of tea and splashed it in Chu Ning’s face to wake her.
Chu Ning snapped awake, instinctively wiping her face and looking around.
“What is your name?” Centurion Jia sat in a grand chair, speaking as if conducting an interrogation.
Chu Ning steadied her nerves and sat up. Remaining cautious, she didn’t answer and instead asked, “Where am I?”
“Daqi Stronghold,” Qi Shouyi replied.
Chu Ning reasoned that this was a bandit’s nest and that the man sitting in the center was likely the Chief. Seeing that he didn’t seem inclined to make things difficult for her, she sat down in the grand chair opposite Centurion Jia.
By sitting down, she no longer looked like someone being interrogated, but rather someone coming to negotiate. Ignoring Centurion Jia entirely, she asked Qi Shouyi, “What do you want?”
Qi Shouyi laughed heartily. “This girl is interesting. I’m just taking money to do a job; if you have questions, ask him.”
Chu Ning followed his finger to Centurion Jia. Though he was in commoner’s clothing, he wore official government boots just like the men she had met at the market. She immediately went on guard.
“Who are you?” Chu Ning asked.
“I am the one asking questions here!”
“Government officials shouldn’t be appearing in a place like this.”
Centurion Jia instinctively glanced at himself and realized his boots had given him away. Unwilling to linger on the subject, he changed the topic.
“It must be her. Tie her up.”
“Tie her up yourself. We’ve already caught her for you.”
“Since you took the money, finish the job.”
Qi Shouyi impatiently called for men. Two large thugs immediately rushed forward and bound Chu Ning tightly without a word.
“How much is he paying you!” Chu Ning struggled and asked.
“What, do you want to raise the price?” Qi Shouyi asked with interest.
Centurion Jia gave a cold laugh and slowly pulled out a stack of silver notes, pressing them onto the table.
Chu Ning glanced at them and silently closed her mouth. All the silver she had on her person likely wouldn’t even cover the fraction of that amount.
“I want to talk to the Chief alone,” Chu Ning said, still trying to find a way out.
“I take money to do jobs; I don’t want to make things complicated. Take her away.”
Just as he spoke, a messenger rushed in to report that someone was causing trouble at the gate, had smashed the entrance, and was demanding to see the Chief.
Qi Shouyi’s temper flared instantly. He grabbed his broadsword, tucked the silver notes into his robe, and said coldly to Centurion Jia, “Take the girl and get out.”
He charged out with his sword before he even finished speaking.
Centurion Jia grabbed Chu Ning. “Miss Chu? Hand over the items, and you’ll suffer less physical pain.”
Chu Ning felt a secret sense of relief that she had hidden the letters elsewhere the night before. Now, aside from the ledger in her memory, she had nothing. As long as she refused to speak, their efforts would be in vain.
“I don’t know any Miss Chu.”
“Then why did you enter the mountains? Couldn’t take a boat so you thought you’d hike out of the province?”
“What is this?” Centurion Jia noticed the small bamboo tube she was carrying and snatched it away.
Chu Ning struggled, but with her hands tied, the tube was easily stolen.
“It’s even wax-sealed.” Centurion Jia sneered. “Lord Chu certainly went to a lot of trouble, didn’t he? A pity he couldn’t even save himself. Did you see how he looked when he died? Quite tragic…”
At the mention of her father, Chu Ning’s eyes involuntarily reddened. When her father had given her those things, he had urged her to leave quickly; she hadn’t been able to stay with him until his final moment.
“And you still say you aren’t Chu Ning!” Seeing her red eyes and tearful look, Centurion Jia was certain. He grabbed Chu Ning and forced her away.
Since the front gate was blocked by Lu Zhidao, Centurion Jia and his party didn’t want to invite trouble and left quietly through the back exit.
They stuffed Chu Ning into a large hemp sack, tied it tight, and carried her off, leaving her no chance to struggle.
Surrounded by darkness, she could only feel the jolting of the journey. They were moving fast, likely descending the mountain.
The bamboo tube had indeed been taken. Chu Ning was glad she didn’t have the letters on her, but she worried that Lu Zhidao might lose the Book of Documents without knowing its importance.
Chu Ning forced herself to stay calm and searched for a way to escape. However, in her current situation, there was little she could do except wait for an opportunity.
She felt a sudden pang of despair; she feared there would be no next step. If they couldn’t find the evidence, there was no telling how they would treat her.
Just as she was thinking this, she felt herself being thrown heavily onto the ground. The impact left her winded for a long time.
Immediately, there was the sound of clashing weapons and shouts. Chu Ning struggled to sit up, but she couldn’t see what was happening outside and could only hear a chaotic mess of noises.
Before long, the sounds of fighting died down. She heard Centurion Jia shout, “I had an agreement with your Chief! Are you going back on your word after taking the money?”
“Slandering our Chief? You’re looking for death!”
“Brothers, attack!”
The voices around her were all unfamiliar. Chu Ning felt panicked, like a fish on a chopping block at the mercy of others.
She forced herself to be steady and simply closed her eyes, calmly reviewing the recent events in her mind to find a possible exit.
Soon, it grew quiet outside. It’s finally coming, Chu Ning thought, wondering who was waiting for her now.
She felt someone untying the rope on the hemp sack. Though her eyes were closed, she could sense the light. Her breathing suddenly became easier as someone behind her began to untie her ropes.
Chu Ning slowly opened her eyes. The ground was a mess, and the people holding weapons in front of her were all strangers she didn’t recognize.
Centurion Jia and his men, who had kidnapped her, were nowhere to be found.
The person behind her moved gently. After a long while, the ropes around her wrists were finally undone.
“Thank you,” Chu Ning said, turning around as she rubbed her wrists.
She discovered that the person untying her was none other than Lu Zhidao.
There was dried blood on Lu Zhidao’s forehead, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her face by the gore.
But for some reason, the moment Chu Ning saw it was her, she felt a sudden, profound sense of peace. She grabbed Lu Zhidao’s hand and smiled at her.
Lu Zhidao’s brow furrowed slightly before her face returned to its usual expressionless state.
Only then did Chu Ning notice that Lu Zhidao’s fingers were red and swollen—one finger was almost twice its original thickness.
“What happened?” Chu Ning held her hand and inspected it closely.
“It’s nothing,” Lu Zhidao said, awkwardly pulling her hand back before turning to the others. “Let’s go.