But was the person before her even normal? Ren Yaohua felt she had encountered a madman. At this moment, she was immensely grateful to Ren Yaoqi. If she had truly married such a man, she suspected that with her temperament, there would come a day when she would end up perishing together with him.
Seeing Ren Yaohua remain silent, Zeng Kui waved a hand in front of her eyes: "Well? Do you want to bet or not?"
Ren Yaohua sneered coldly and gritted her teeth: "Bet! I hope you keep your word!"
Zeng Kui grinned cheerfully: "Naturally."
He even kindly cut the rope binding Ren Yaohua's hands with a dagger. "I still quite like this face of yours, so make sure to protect it well later."
Ren Yaohua flexed her stiff hands. Her wrists had been bound the entire journey, and due to poor blood circulation, they had lost almost all sensation. Fortunately, her arms and elbows still had some strength left.
Glancing at the slope about thirty or forty paces away, Ren Yaohua gritted her teeth and painstakingly began crawling toward it.
After crawling a dozen or so steps, Ren Yaohua was already exhausted. The wound on her leg continued to bleed, and the friction against the ground along the way had worsened the injury on her left leg, causing such intense pain that it nearly numbed her senses. A long trail of blood snaked across the ground.
Zeng Kui leaned against the carriage wall, watching with great interest and occasionally clapping to encourage Ren Yaohua. The attendants selected by Zeng Pu from the military to protect Zeng Kui could hardly bear to watch. No normal person would take pleasure in seeing a beautiful young woman tortured like this, yet Zeng Kui watched without blinking.
Ren Yaohua lay on the ground for a moment to catch her breath, spat out the sand and dirt in her mouth, and was about to continue crawling forward when an unexpected turn of events occurred.
Five masked heads suddenly emerged from below the slope. With an almost unbelievable speed, the five of them leaped up from the slope. It was unclear whether they had been hiding there earlier or had climbed up from below.
Ren Yaohua was startled, but she had already encountered enough unexpected events today. Uncertain whether these sudden arrivals were friend or foe, she cautiously rolled to the side, keeping a sharp eye on both Zeng Kui and the newcomers.
Seeing the sudden arrivals, Zeng Kui frowned: "Who are you? Did Wu Yiyu send you?"
Zeng Kui's attendants reacted swiftly, immediately surrounding him in the center.
The last of the five to arrive glanced at Ren Yaohua, then at Zeng Kui and the two large sacks on their horses. Ignoring Zeng Kui's question, he spoke in a hoarse voice, quickly saying: "I'll take this girl first to complete the task. You go rescue Big Brother and Second Brother."
Hearing this, Ren Yaohua's heart, which had held a glimmer of hope, instantly sank. Were these people in league with the other two? Were they all Wu Yiyu's men?
Zeng Kui also heard this and narrowed his eyes, smiling: "Miss Wu does have some skill, managing to hire so many people."
One of the masked men let out a strange laugh: "Young Master Zeng, you should worry about yourself. The employer has spoken—she wants not only this girl but also you..." The man paused, casting a malicious glance at Zeng Kui's crotch, "and a certain part of your body, Young Master Zeng."The masked men all burst into laughter.
Wu Yiyu had indeed made such remarks before, having previously declared that if the Zeng family dared to marry her, she would ensure they had no descendants.
Upon hearing this, Zeng Kui’s expression darkened, the earlier smile vanishing from his face. His grim look, paired with his ghostly visage, sent a chill down one’s spine. Those who had once complained about the ugliness of Young Master Zeng’s smile would surely wish he would smile more often if they saw him like this now.
Seeing their master insulted, Zeng Kui’s attendants could not stand idly by. One of them drew his sword and said, “You’re nothing but cowards who dare not even show your faces. It seems your employer has made a grave misjudgment.”
A masked man replied, “When immortals fight, mortals suffer. We are merely wandering martial artists trying to make a living, taking money to do our jobs. We all have families, young and old, and we truly fear offending the immortals and facing retaliation!”
Ignoring the back-and-forth bickering, the masked man who had spoken first walked straight to Ren Yaohua’s side and crouched down. His gaze swept over her right leg, and he frowned slightly before bending to pick her up.
Ren Yaohua immediately slapped the masked man across the face. Though the blow was cushioned by the cloth covering his face, it still carried some force. Without a word, the masked man lifted Ren Yaohua by the waist.
Ren Yaohua, frantic and furious, kicked and struck at him. The masked man grunted softly as a kick landed in his abdomen, but his grip did not loosen in the slightest.
Zeng Kui ordered his men to intercept the one trying to take Ren Yaohua away, but the other masked men simultaneously attacked, fighting while attempting to seize the two sacks containing the captives. There were four masked men left, while Zeng Kui’s side had six. However, as soon as the fighting began, Zeng Kui’s men realized these four were exceptionally skilled. They were all held back, unable to stop the other masked man from taking Ren Yaohua away.
Watching helplessly as Ren Yaohua was carried off, Zeng Kui sneered coldly. Sheltered within the protective circle of his attendants, he retrieved a bow and arrows from his saddle, nocked an arrow, drew the string, and took aim. Though he lacked martial prowess, having been born into a military family, his archery was decent. He fired three consecutive arrows toward the back of the masked man carrying Ren Yaohua away.
The masked man was also highly skilled. Without even glancing back, he easily dodged the first two arrows. As the third arrow flew, Ren Yaohua happened to bite down hard on the masked man’s wrist. Seemingly caught off guard by her attack, he froze for a moment. In that split second of distraction, Zeng Kui’s arrow struck. Reacting swiftly, the masked man shifted sideways with Ren Yaohua in his arms, but the arrow still pierced the back of his right forearm.
Ren Yaohua was determined not to be taken to Wu Yiyu, and in her desperation, she resorted to any means necessary, scratching and biting without mercy. Seeing the masked man injured, she felt a surge of triumph and was about to kick him again to break free when she heard him whisper, “Are you a dog, by any chance?”
These words struck Ren Yaohua like a thunderbolt, leaving her momentarily stunned. She realized this voice was entirely different from the hoarse one she had heard earlier—it was deep and magnetic, unmistakably belonging to a young man.Most importantly, this voice sounded extremely familiar to Ren Yaohua.
Seeing that Ren Yaohua had stopped struggling, the masked man breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted her onto Zeng Kui’s horse, ducked to avoid another arrow shot from behind by Zeng Kui, then agilely mounted the horse. With one hand, he steadied Ren Yaohua, positioning her so as not to press on her wound, while his other hand grasped the reins.
“Hold on a little longer. The carriage is parked at a farmstead not far ahead, and there are medical supplies inside,” he said softly, lowering his head only after the horse had put some distance between them and Zeng Kui’s group.
After a moment’s thought, he added, “Although we can’t find a doctor nearby right now, I’m quite skilled at dressing wounds. I promise your leg won’t be crippled, so don’t be afraid.”
Listening to these clumsy words of comfort, Ren Yaohua couldn’t help but shed tears. She hadn’t cried when she realized she had been kidnapped, nor when she shared a carriage with a corpse, nor even when she was forced to roll down a slope, uncertain whether she would live or die. Yet now, she couldn’t hold back and sobbed uncontrollably in the masked man’s arms.
The masked man glanced down at the woman crying more pitifully and unrestrainedly than a child, opening his mouth but unsure what to say. In the end, he could only gently pat her back. However, with only two hands—one controlling the horse and the other steadying Ren Yaohua—it was rather inconvenient.
Fortunately, by the time they reached the farmstead he had mentioned earlier, Ren Yaohua had finally stopped crying.
The masked man carefully lifted Ren Yaohua off the horse and carried her directly into a farmhouse built of yellow earth and thatch.
Throughout the journey, Ren Yaohua had been remarkably docile, like a disheveled and pitiful red-eyed rabbit. She didn’t struggle as the masked man held her, only occasionally sniffling. Where was the fierce woman who had kicked and bitten earlier? If Xiangqin were here, she would surely think her young mistress had been frightened out of her wits or possessed by Ren Yaoying.
After placing Ren Yaohua on the only earthen kang in the room, the masked man glanced at her. Ren Yaohua tentatively called out, “Lei… Master Lei?”
Once Ren Yaohua was settled, the masked man looked at her and replied, “Hmm.” He raised his hand and pulled down the cloth covering his face, revealing a handsome, well-defined face—none other than Lei Ting, the head of the Lei Family.
Ren Yaohua finally relaxed completely and was about to say something when Lei Ting stood up and walked toward the door.
Instinctively, Ren Yaohua grabbed his sleeve.
Lei Ting paused and turned to look at her.
Blushing, Ren Yaohua released her grip.
Knowing that Ren Yaohua had truly been frightened today, which explained her behavior, Lei Ting softened his voice and said, “The medical kit is in the carriage outside. I’ll go get it to dress your wound.”
Ren Yaohua nodded, embarrassed. “Thank you… thank you.”
As Lei Ting turned to leave, Ren Yaohua noticed a large bloodstain on the back of his right arm. She finally remembered that Lei Ting had been shot by an arrow earlier and injured—and he had been wounded because she bit him, causing him to fail to dodge the arrow from behind…
Now that she was safe, Ren Yaohua’s senses gradually returned, and she recalled the entire incident in detail.Recalling how she had kicked, stomped, scratched, and bitten Lei Ting, leaving who knows how many injuries on his body, Ren Yaohua felt a wave of guilt and self-reproach. She knew better than anyone just how hard she had struck.
Update for January 7th...
Don’t wait for updates after midnight—staying up late is bad for your health~.
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