It was nearly dawn.
The pitch-black sky had already begun to pale faintly with white.
The sound of hoofbeats gradually faded into the distance.
Father and daughter both let out quiet sighs of relief, though neither immediately emerged from hiding.
Lin Zhiyue took out some eggs, and the two of them each ate two. Then they waited another half hour before finally stepping back onto the official road.
The road was eerily silent now, without a single person in sight.
She wondered whether others, like them, had hidden by the roadside and narrowly escaped disaster.
Lin Zhiyue returned the electric baton to the space and eventually even tossed their bundle inside as well, keeping only the water pouch.
Father and daughter were filthy and ragged, their hair disheveled and clothes torn.
Lin Zhiyue didn’t even know how long it had been since she’d last bathed.
In circumstances like this, all she could do was endure.
She was genuinely afraid of getting lice.
Before continuing onward, she entered the space again to touch up her disguise makeup. Looking at the shower room, she had to resist temptation again and again.
Her life was more important.
She could wait until things were safer before bathing.
Close to noon, a fork in the road appeared ahead, and the two stopped.
“Dad, is this the fork the village chief mentioned yesterday? One road goes to Yiyang, and the other to Mingshan?”
“It should be. I just don’t know which road leads to Yiyang.”
Lin Yan frowned as he examined both roads.
There wasn’t even a signpost.
The two were still discussing which way to go when suddenly the sound of approaching hoofbeats echoed from afar again.
Lin Yan tried to pull his daughter aside to hide near the road, but it was already too late.
Within moments, two horses arrived before them.
The riders were rough-looking men with fierce expressions. At a glance, they clearly didn’t look like good people.
“Well now, after all those people behind got robbed clean, two still managed to slip out.”
One of the men, covered in a thick beard, spoke mockingly.
“Honored heroes, my son and I have already lost everything. We don’t have a single coin left. Please show mercy.”
Lin Yan bowed repeatedly as he spoke.
Just then, another horse carriage approached from behind and stopped nearby.
“What’s going on?” the carriage driver asked.
“Hah, looks like this one’s even a scholar.”
The bearded man carefully examined Lin Yan for a few moments.
As for Lin Zhiyue hiding behind him, he barely bothered looking.
Just a ragged little brat.
“Tie them up,” the bearded man ordered the other rider.
Inside the carriage, Pei Heng sat with his hands tied behind his back, eyes closed, though he listened carefully to every movement outside.
At that moment, a child was suddenly thrown inside.
Lin Zhiyue felt the world spin as she was tossed violently into the carriage compartment.
Ouch—
Her back seemed to slam against someone’s knees.
When she finally reacted and looked up, she found a young man glaring fiercely at her.
He looked around fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin, a straight nose bridge, sharp features—
And eyes blazing with anger as he stared at her.
His hands were bound tightly behind his back as he sat cross-legged against the carriage wall.
Lin Zhiyue had landed directly between his knees.
Startled by the glare, she jerked and hurriedly rolled aside.
“Mmph—”
Another muffled groan sounded.
Who had she crushed this time?!
Lin Zhiyue felt like crying.
She scrambled awkwardly to one side and finally noticed another man inside the carriage, probably in his twenties, tied up like a dumpling.
The man appeared unconscious. Even after being smashed by Lin Zhiyue, he merely groaned without waking up.
At that moment, Lin Yan was also shoved into the carriage with his hands bound behind him.
“Tiezi, are you alright?”
Well.
She had become “Tiezi” again.
Lin Zhiyue shook her head toward her father.
The father and daughter silently sat beside the young man. With the large unconscious man sprawled in front of them, there was nowhere else to sit.
The carriage soon began moving again.
Outside, one of the men spoke.
“Boss, why’d we bring these two back? Waste of food.”
“What do you know? If we hand over the one inside, we’ll get at least thirty thousand taels.”
“Once we get that money, the stronghold can expand again. Besides, that man looks like a scholar. Scholars know things. Plenty of uses for him.”
“As for the kid, we can send him to serve the young master of the stronghold. Which rich young master in the city doesn’t have a servant boy?”
Listening to their conversation, Lin Zhiyue quietly relaxed.
As long as they weren’t in immediate danger of dying, everything could still be worked out.
These men didn’t seem to be from the same group of bandits as yesterday.
They appeared even more high-level.
After all, one job brought in thirty thousand taels.
Lin Zhiyue secretly glanced at the “thirty thousand taels” beside her.
Tsk tsk.
Rich people.
Her father’s entire fortune amounted to only two taels.
She wondered whether this road even led toward Yiyang.
Quietly, she reviewed the usable weapons inside her space.
A dagger.
Pepper spray.
An electric baton.
None of them could handle three people at once—especially if those men knew martial arts.
No.
Too difficult.
Lin Zhiyue glanced sideways again.
She’d have to work together with these people.
The man lying on the floor definitely looked skilled in martial arts.
And not weak, either.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have tied him up from shoulders to ankles so thoroughly.
If the ropes were replaced with cloth strips, he’d practically resemble a mummy.
Pei Heng kept his eyes closed, ignoring the little child beside him who kept sneaking glances over.
He found it rather surprising.
This child had been kidnapped and tied up, yet hadn’t cried or screamed once.
At that moment, the carriage jolted violently several times.
The unconscious man on the floor had his head repeatedly slammed against the wooden boards.
Slowly, the man regained consciousness and opened his eyes groggily, about to speak—
“Shut up.”
A low voice coldly warned him.
The man immediately closed his mouth obediently, casting a wronged look toward the youth before turning curiously toward Lin Yan and his daughter.
The man had dark skin and looked around six feet tall.
Dressed in tight-fitting clothes, lean but muscular, he clearly looked like a martial artist.
Apparently uncomfortable being tied up this way, he wriggled slightly.
Couldn’t move.
He shifted.
Still couldn’t move.
After resting briefly, he tried even harder to adjust himself.
But aside from his head, not a single part of his body could move.
Watching the man struggle with sweat pouring down his face, Lin Zhiyue once again thought of a mummy.
She desperately wanted to laugh.
Though she knew it was terribly rude.
Quickly, she buried her head against Lin Yan’s arm, trying not to look at the man anymore.
She feared she wouldn’t be able to hold it in.
Couldn’t he just lie still quietly?
“Hey! You little brat!”
The man glared furiously at Lin Zhiyue.
“My apologies, my apologies. The child was being disrespectful.”
Lin Yan hurriedly apologized.
“Sorry.”
Lin Zhiyue also apologized softly.
If she’d behaved rudely, she should apologize herself instead of letting her father take responsibility for her.
The youth beside them glanced at Lin Zhiyue before coolly turning toward the man.
“So. You’ve got plenty of strength now? Recovered already?”
“Young Master, I—”
The man was about to say something more when he noticed the youth’s gaze sweep toward him.
Immediately, he shut up.
“N-not yet.”
The carriage fell silent once more.
The youth closed his eyes again.
Slowly, the sky darkened.
During all that time, the carriage never stopped moving.
Eventually, it seemed to enter a narrow mountain path.
Lin Zhiyue’s backside had long since gone numb from the constant jolting.
Cramped inside the carriage, she couldn’t even properly move, only shift her hips slightly now and then.
She desperately wanted to get out and stretch her legs.
Finally, the carriage stopped.
Through the swaying curtain, she could see a forest outside.
Judging from the sounds, the three men outside were dividing dry rations among themselves.
Clearly, the four prisoners inside the carriage had not been considered at all.
“Fourth Brother, when the chief sends people down tomorrow to meet us, drive the carriage to Old Peng’s place. We’ll head up the mountain first.”
“Got it,” the driver answered.
“We’ll make do here tonight. Stay alert.”