TSWPF -Chapter 208 Fainted

One had to admit—they really seemed to meet under the worst circumstances. Li Qingling’s lips pressed into a tighter line, her expression growing even colder.

Just now, she had overheard part of the men’s conversation. These three men intended to capture them and sell them. If they hadn’t been prepared in advance, who knew where they might have been sold?

People like them were unforgivable.

“Uh… Miss, maybe there’s been a misunderstanding? Could you put down that arrow in your hand? We can talk this through properly and clear up the misunderstanding, okay?”

The tall man lowered his gaze and glanced at the crossbow aimed at his neck. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He hadn’t expected to fall into such a trap, threatened by this brat of a girl.

He had to find a way to save himself.

Li Qingling snorted coldly at his words. “Don’t try any tricks on me. I won’t fall for them.” She raised her left hand and gestured to Liu Zhimou, signaling him to fetch some rope to tie the men up.

Liu Zhimou nodded. After instructing Liu Zhiyan and Li Qingfeng to look after the two younger girls, he quickly ran to the carriage, found some ropes, and returned. He approached the tall man from behind and tied his hands behind his back.

“You little… bitch! Let my brother go!” The man known as Third shouted furiously when he saw the tall man bound, leaping up as if to rush over and help.

When had they ever been treated like this? Tonight, they had fallen at the hands of these barely-grown kids. He was full of resentment.

“Consider this a warning. Take another step, and I’ll turn your brother into a corpse. Do you believe me?” Li Qingling pressed the crossbow harder into the tall man’s hands, forcing a pained cry out of him.

The tall man couldn’t help himself, stammering, “Th… Third, stop… don’t come any closer.” Seeing the icy expression on Li Qingling’s face, he had no doubt she would follow through.

Sure enough, Third was about to charge forward, convinced that this brat might actually kill his brother.

Seeing the blood running down the tall man’s neck, Third’s eyes turned red with fury, glaring at Li Qingling, wishing he could tear her apart for treating his brother like this.

Yet he had no choice but to stop. He feared that one wrong step could really get his brother killed by that little brat.

He swore to himself that he would take revenge for everything tonight, and it would come back to her. He would remember this little brat for the rest of his life for daring to treat his brother this way.

“Wh… what exactly do you want? Just say it. We’ll satisfy your demands, anything you want,” Third gasped heavily, teeth gritted, glaring at Li Qingling.

Li Qingling ignored him and instead looked at the carriage driver, signaling him to tie Third up as well.

After giving the instructions, she turned back to Third and warned him, “You’d better cooperate. Don’t try anything. Whether your brother lives depends entirely on you.”

Third ground his teeth, but seeing the increasing blood from the tall man’s neck, he reluctantly extended his hands, allowing the driver to bind him.

Liu Zhimou brought another rope to assist the driver, tying Third’s hands behind his back. To prevent escape, they tied his feet as well. Once secured, a kick to the knee sent him collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Seeing the men handle this so efficiently, one could tell they had done many cruel deeds before.

People like this deserved to die.

Once Third was dealt with, Li Qingling finally lowered the crossbow. “Zhimou, tie his legs too. Don’t let him escape.” At first light, she planned to deliver them to the authorities. This time, she would be a do-gooder, ridding the world of evildoers.

Liu Zhimou nodded, quickly tying the tall man’s legs and then pushing him next to Third so they could keep each other company.

Li Qingling gently twisted his wrist and said with some worry, “The short one went out with Uncle Zeng. I wonder if Uncle Zheng is okay?” After thinking for a moment, she decided to go look for him. “Zhimou, stay here. I’ll go check on Uncle Zeng. You guys stay put.”

She feared the short man might have hurt Uncle Zeng.

Hearing this, Liu Zhimou shook his head. “No, you stay here. I’ll go check.” He didn’t give her a chance to argue and strode out.

“Ah…” Li Qingling raised her hand and called after him, then sighed in helplessness and turned to the driver. “Uncle, please follow him. Be careful of the short one; don’t let him hurt you.”

She felt safer with the driver accompanying Liu Zhimou.

After searching outside for a while, they found Zeng Tietou fainted on the ground. Alarmed, they hurried over, shaking him and calling out loudly.

“Master… is… is something wrong with my husband?” Zeng Tietou’s wife, Aunt Zhong, panicked, trying to run outside.

Li Qingling’s reflexes were sharp; she grabbed her hand and shook her head. “Aunt, don’t run. Zhimou and the others will bring him back safely.” She couldn’t risk Aunt Zhong being threatened by the short man if she ran outside.

Aunt Zhong was in a panic, clutching Li Qingling’s hand, choking back tears. “But… but my husband… he won’t be hurt, right?”

If her husband died, what would happen to her and the children? Her mind ran wild with worry.

Li Qingling’s hand ached from Aunt Zhong’s grip, but she stayed silent, patting her hand gently. “Aunt, don’t scare yourself. Uncle will be fine. Stay here calmly, alright?”

“Okay… we’ll listen to you, Master,” Aunt Zhong said, slightly reassured by Li Qingling’s composure. With the Master present, nothing could go wrong.

After a short while, Liu Zhimou and the driver carried Zeng Tietou inside. Aunt Zhong rushed over, seeing him unconscious, and burst into tears, as did her children.

Li Qingling rubbed her temples. “Uncle…”

Liu Zhimou held her slightly cold hand and spoke softly, “It’s nothing serious. He just fainted. He should wake up soon.”

Hearing this, Li Qingling let out a small breath of relief. If something had really happened to Zeng Tietou, she would have blamed herself forever.

“Where’s the short one?”

“We don’t know where he ran. We didn’t see him outside—only Uncle Zeng fainted on the ground.”

Fortunately, the short man hadn’t taken Uncle Zeng hostage; otherwise, exchanging him for the tall man and Third would have been trickier. This was a small mercy.

Soon, Zeng Tietou opened his eyes amid the cries of his wife and children. “Wha… what happened? Why are you crying?” He wasn’t dead yet—why all the crying?

Seeing him awake, Aunt Zhong and the children cheered. “Husband, are you okay? Do you feel any pain?”

Only then did Zeng Tietou notice the ache at the back of his head. He gasped and held it. “My… my head hurts.” What had happened? He’d only gone outside briefly…

He turned to the spot where the three men had been, and they were gone. Alarmed, he jumped up. “Master… where… where did the three men go?”

Seeing his sudden movements, Aunt Zhong worried. “Husband, be careful! Don’t move too much—you’re still hurt.”

“It’s fine. Just a bit of pain at the back of my head, nothing serious,” he waved it off, embarrassed. “Master, sorry… I didn’t watch them properly. We… we didn’t lose anything, right?”

Li Qingling pointed to the corner behind him. “Two of them are over there; one got away. Uncle Zeng, before you fainted, you didn’t notice anything?”

Seeing the two men tied up in the corner, Zeng Tietou finally understood—he had been knocked out.

He touched the swelling on the back of his head and frowned. “I just went out briefly, and when I turned back, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head, and then I remember nothing.” He regretted letting his guard down, seeing the three men apparently asleep.

If not for the Master and the others being alert, who knows what could have happened?

From now on, he vowed to be fully vigilant in such situations, never daring to rely on luck again.

Li Qingling glared at the two tied men. “The short one attacked you, but we don’t know where he’s hiding now.” Her brow furrowed. “Stay alert until dawn. Don’t let him catch you off guard.”

She worried the short man might bring reinforcements. Driving in the dark was unsafe, so they would have to wait here until sunrise.

“All right. This time, I’ll make sure everything’s safe,” Zeng Tietou nodded firmly, determined to make amends.

No more mistakes could happen this time.