Chapter 137: Kidnapping (I)

“What do we wan’? We’ll kill you, of course! We specialize in scalpin’ and skinnin’ and pullin’ out yer tendons. We’ll have a few rounds with you stinkin’ women when we get back an’ then peel yer skin off to make lanterns! We’ll slice the rest of you up for the dogs!” The man roared with laughter as he excitedly described what he wanted to do. It was almost like he could see the grisly scene in front of him. His companions guffawed as they too began to get excited.

Bingtang was trembling in fear, but she drew deep from within herself as she forced herself to keep from fainting. On the other hand, Lu-mama was not as strong-willed, fainting at the thought of such atrocities. Her eyes rolled up, and as she fell, she brought the already fainted Cao Yuqing down to the ground with her in twin thumps.

The man could tell that although the color had drained from Qin Yining’s face, there wasn’t the slightest ripple of emotion in her eyes. In fact, she seemed to be even calmer than before instead of showing any fear. He patted her face with one callused hand.

“Tsk tsk, lil girl, aren’t you afraid at all? Go on, cry some so we can have a good laugh!”

Qin Yining jerked away from the man’s hand and retorted coldly. “Aren’t you simply fine men after money? If you really wanted to kill us, you would’ve done so back in the carriage. Since you didn’t, that means you think you have a use for us. But you won’t get silver if the hostages are harmed. You’ll have gone to all this effort for nothing!”

“Aren’t you an interesting one! You’re that old fox’s daughter alrigh’!”

Another bandit called out to him. “Shaddup and quit jawin’. Just knock ‘er out and take ‘er back!”

Qin Yining tensed all over warily. Even though her hands were bound behind her, she hadn’t given up thinking furiously on how to get free. However, the bandit seemed to see through her thoughts and brought his hand down sharply on the back of her neck before she had the chance to attempt anything.

The girl trembled violently once and fell to the ground in a dead faint. The man hauled her up and threw her face down over his shoulder. Bingtang panicked and tried to struggle free, but her little bit of strength was nothing to these bandits. She too was quickly knocked unconscious.

……

When Qin Yining opened her eyes next, she found herself in a dusky, simply lit room. The scent of straw, fresh firewood, and mildew immediately filled her nose. The moist dirt on the ground gave off its own unique scent, mixing in with the smell of mold. It was a scent that was very familiar to her, bringing to mind memories of the childhood straw hut she’d lived in with her foster mother.

A scrap of a rag was stuffed into her mouth, and her hands and feet were bound by hemp ropes. She cautiously peered around and noted that she and Cao Yuqing seemed to be locked in a small woodshed. She could hear low voices outside the door if she listened closely. The sound of chickens and ducks close by confirmed her budding theory; this was the woodshed of a farm.