“Dream on! This kind of goods is worth a fortune. Get out of here!”
Shooing his underling away, Qiao An looked at the delicate, alluring face in front of him. His desire flared. If he didn’t get his hands dirty immediately, at least he could satisfy himself a little first. He reached to undo Ning Xi’s buttons.
“Hehe, brother will take care of you.”
Ning Xi felt a dull ache at the back of her head. A pair of hands was fumbling over her body. She suddenly opened her eyes and instinctively swung her arm hard.
Smack.
Qiao An was struck squarely across the face. He was momentarily stunned, then grinned wickedly.
His laughter echoed in the dim, cramped room, oddly sinister.
“Heh, didn’t expect it… still a little firecracker.”
He laughed instead of getting angry.
Beneath his lenses, his eyes glowed a faint green.
“It’s you!”
Ning Xi never imagined that the person who had knocked her out was Jiang Yanyan’s city boyfriend.
A line of thought quickly connected in her mind.
Jiang Yanyan had used the excuse of human traffickers attacking in broad daylight to lure Jiang Chengbei away. Left alone, Ning Xi had heard a child crying in the alley across from the supply store. When she went to check, she was ambushed from behind.
If her guess was correct, there had been no child at all.
From beginning to end, their target had been her and Jiang Yanyan had been an accomplice.
What a perfect distraction!
“You’re a human trafficker.”
“Yes.”
Qiao An stared at Ning Xi, swallowing with desire, grinning wildly and arrogantly.
“But don’t blame me. Without Jiang Yanyan’s help, I wouldn’t have gotten you so easily. Bad luck, huh? You chose the wrong man. If you were with me, you’d be living in luxury, money to spend every day.”
He reached to touch Ning Xi’s face.
A wave of disgust surged in her. She bent her knees and thrust hard.
A pig-like scream escaped Qiao An’s mouth.
He had been struck in the most vulnerable spot. The pain contorted his face. In a fit of rage, he lifted his leg and delivered a heavy kick to Ning Xi’s stomach, using all his strength.
Ning Xi didn’t have time to dodge. Her slender body, combined with being on her period, was instantly wracked with pain. Her vision blurred, organs twisting together, cold sweat soaking her back.
“You dare attack me? I’ll kill you!”
Qiao An, furious, wanted to strike again, but the pain between his legs was too intense. He bent over, grabbed some rope, and in a few swift moves tied Ning Xi up.
“I’ll let you live for now, but I’ll deal with you later!”
Damn woman thin and weak, but strong enough to hurt him. He couldn’t let her ruin his plan.
Clang.
The iron gate was locked from the outside.
The dark room was left with only Ning Xi. She was drenched in cold sweat, lying on the icy cement floor. It took her a long while to struggle upright.
Her hands were tightly bound with coarse hemp rope. She tried moving them.
The more she struggled, the tighter the rope became.
Her wrists were soon scraped raw, burning with pain.
She couldn’t just wait to die she had to find a way out.
Leaning against the wall, ready to move into the shadows, Ning Xi suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The iron gate creaked open, and a small man entered.
It was one of Qiao An’s underlings.
The moment he entered, his eyes glued to Ning Xi.
“Impressive. That kick nearly killed our boss. Let me tell you the truth any woman who comes here can’t escape, even with wings. If you’re obedient, you’ll suffer less… otherwise”
He laughed wickedly, moving his hands closer.
“I have plenty of ways to handle you!”
He just wanted to take advantage of the situation while Qiao An “healed.” Seeing Ning Xi’s big almond-shaped eyes mist over with fear, she seemed even more delicate and beautiful than a celestial fairy he felt dizzy with desire.
Ning Xi stared at the underling, frozen.
Tears streamed down her smooth cheeks, and her body trembled.
She pleaded softly, “Big Brother, I don’t want to run. It’s just this rope hurting my hands so badly… they’re bleeding. Can you please untie me? I promise I won’t run. Please…”
The underling’s mind was thrown into chaos by her soft, pleading voice.
He looked at her suspiciously. “You really won’t run?”
“I can’t… my feet hurt.”
“Alright, I’ll loosen it a bit, but you owe me something in return.”
“Okay…”
Ning Xi lowered her head shyly, patiently waiting for him to free her.
The hemp rope around her wrists was gradually undone. At last, her hands were free.
Once she regained her freedom, she gathered her strength and delivered another crippling kick.
“Ah!”
A scream of agony.
The underling clutched his groin, curling into a ball, wriggling on the ground like a worm.
Ning Xi didn’t hesitate. She grabbed a wooden stick from the corner and struck again and again. The underling groaned and passed out.
One problem solved.
She quickly tied him up with the rope and dragged him to the corner.
Then she slipped into hiding, drinking some spring water to restore her strength, quietly waiting for the next threat.
Soon, Qiao An hurried over, holding his pants at the waist.
He must have heard his underling’s screams and assumed something had happened.
Sure enough.
Inside, the underling was curled up in the corner, clearly beaten badly, breathing shallowly.
Qiao An cursed him.
Worthless fool couldn’t even control a woman.
Seeing Ning Xi gone from the room, Qiao An instinctively thought she had knocked out the underling and escaped. He turned to give chase. But just a few steps out, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
Before he could turn.
A gust of force struck him.
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy blows hit the back of his neck.
Ning Xi, holding the wooden stick, watched as Qiao An fell forward without even a sound…
Meanwhile, Jiang Chengbei found the hiding Jiang Yanyan at Cao Xinrou’s house.
He grabbed her and demanded fiercely, “Where’s Ning Xi?”
Jiang Yanyan didn’t expect to be found so quickly. She trembled all over and stammered, “I-I don’t know… Second Brother, Ning Xi disappeared, you should go find her… why… why are you grabbing me?”
The truth had already come out.
Her second brother would never forgive her, so she decided to make sure he could never find Ning Xi.
As long as she didn’t confess, with her parents protecting her, could he really kill her?
Jiang Chengbei wouldn’t, but he had plenty of ways to torment her.
“Jiang Yanyan, so you’re going to play tough, huh? Don’t think I care if you’re a person if you were a rock, I’d still find a way to pry your mouth open. Do you know how spies used to be interrogated?”
He suddenly smiled, radiating terrifying murderous energy.
“Pulling nails with pliers, stabbing with needles… that’s nothing. The worst is using a sharpened bamboo stick in the nail beds ten fingers, one pain connected to the heart. Most people can’t handle it and confess. Tell me, little girl, can you endure that?”
The man’s face smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
His second-brother persona was gone he was a hellish king of souls.
Jiang Yanyan’s eyes widened in horror. She already felt the pain in her fingers.
She burst into tears, “I’ll tell everything! I’ll tell everything!”