TSWPF -Chapter 209 Escape

They waited until dawn, but the short man still hadn’t appeared. Li Qingling and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

If the short man had really brought people, their group wouldn’t have had much chance of winning.

Luckily, he didn’t come…

“Let’s go. We’ll first take these two to the yamen, then continue on our way,” Li Qingling said as she walked over and gave a small kick to the tall man and Third Brother. She truly couldn’t understand these two—how could they sleep so soundly in a situation like this? Their mental fortitude was extraordinary.

“Ah… it’s morning…” Third Brother opened his eyes, stretched, and yawned. As he tried to stretch his back, he suddenly realized he was tied up. Immediately, he recalled what had happened in the middle of the night. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted angrily, “You little brat, what do you think you’re doing? Let us go, or you won’t get off easy!”

They had been far too careless, which was why they fell into this little brat’s trap.

Once they were safe, how could they punish her?

Li Qingling, who had been speaking with Liu Zhimou, turned to Third Brother after hearing his furious shout and sneered coldly. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just taking you to the yamen.” She wouldn’t overstep her bounds—these criminals were meant to be handled by the authorities.

Besides, they still needed to continue their journey and didn’t have the time to waste on these two.

Hearing that Li Qingling planned to take them to the yamen, Third Brother’s eyes nearly popped out. He bellowed, “You dare?” Without Sixth Brother there to intervene, who knew what punishments awaited him and the eldest in jail?

No way—they absolutely could not go to prison.

“Do you see if I dare?” Li Qingling replied coldly. Given what they had done, should she really just let them go without handing them over? Such a good thing—don’t even think about it.

“You…”

“Third Brother…” The tall man interrupted him in a calm voice. He looked at Li Qingling and asked coolly, “Miss, what must we do for you to let us go?” In his mind, people all have desires—if he fulfilled Li Qingling’s conditions, perhaps they would be released.

Li Qingling glanced at the tall man. Among the three of them, he was clearly the leader and had the most authority.

“Do you have a thousand taels? If you can produce a thousand taels, maybe, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you go.”

“Dong—” Aunt Zhong exclaimed nervously, trying to warn Li Qingling not to be deceived by these two bad men.

But before she could finish, Zeng Tietou covered her mouth. “Don’t say a word. Master knows what she’s doing.” Their master wasn’t one to be tempted by money.

Aunt Zhong nodded slightly, acknowledging she wouldn’t speak recklessly. Zeng Tietou finally relaxed his grip.

Li Qingling cast a glance at them before turning back to the tall man. “Judging by your faces, you don’t have a thousand taels. Then there’s no choice—I’ll have to take you to the yamen.” She shrugged carelessly and, after saying that, turned on her heel to leave.

Third Brother looked at her in disbelief. “If we really had a thousand taels, would you really let us go?” He couldn’t fathom that this little brat could be so merciless. She wouldn’t take their thousand taels and still refuse to release them, would she?

Li Qingling tapped her arm lightly and smirked at Third Brother. “That depends on my mood. Maybe I’ll be in a good mood, feel a bit soft-hearted, and let you go?”

“You… you little brat! You’re playing with me!” Third Brother shouted belatedly. When had he ever been so humiliated in his life? Today, a little brat had dared to trick him!

Li Qingling pouted mockingly and said, “Ah, you noticed. How boring.”

Watching her deliberately tease them, Third Brother’s anger only grew. “You little bitch! I will never forgive you! Just wait!” He swore he would escape and come back to take revenge. This grudge must be settled.

Liu Zhimou strode forward, and with a loud slap, smacked Third Brother, then shoved a foul-smelling cloth into his mouth. “Your mouth is so foul, maybe you shouldn’t speak.” He couldn’t bear to let anyone insult the person he cared about.

The man known as Third Brother was lucky that Liu Zhimou’s temper was decent. Otherwise, he might have had his tongue cut out.

“Wuuu…” Third Brother couldn’t speak, only muffled in protest. The stench of the cloth nearly made him faint.

Damn it! He was going to kill these people, absolutely…

“You…” The tall man tried to speak but had the same cloth shoved into his mouth. He glared at Liu Zhimou with pure hatred.

Liu Zhimou brushed off the dust on his hands and said coolly, “Quiet now.” He stood, smiled at Li Qingling, and ruffled her hair. “Let’s go!” It was time to depart.

Li Qingling nodded and had the coachman bring the carriage out. They boarded outside.

Without waiting for Li Qingling to speak, Zeng Tietou quickly tossed the tall man and Third Brother into the carriage. There was no way he could let his master stay with these two villains.

Seeing this, Li Qingling had Zeng Tietou’s three children join them in the carriage as well, fearing it wouldn’t fit otherwise.

Before Zeng Tietou could hesitate, Li Qingling had Li Qingfeng help bring the three children aboard.

Once everyone was on, Li Qingling could only thank her. She waved off the thanks, got into the carriage with Liu Zhimou, and had the coachman head straight to the city yamen.

What they didn’t know was that as soon as their carriage left, the short man emerged from the temple.

His eyes darkened as he watched them disappear into the distance. Spitting toward the direction of the carriage, he turned and walked another way.

The eldest and Third Brother had been captured; he had to figure out a way to rescue them.

Earlier that night, he had seen them taken. He had wanted to rescue them immediately, but he wasn’t a match for the other gang members, so he had to restrain himself. If he were captured too, there would be no one left to save them.

His first priority now was to gather some money to grease the yamen, making life easier for the eldest and Third Brother, then he could plan their rescue.

“Wuuu…” On the carriage, Third Brother and the tall man exchanged a glance and started wailing again. They twisted their bodies, kicking Zeng Tietou’s feet.

Zeng Tietou looked at Third Brother and barked, “Behave yourself. Stop these little tricks.” Having seen the cruelty of these three men, he would show no mercy.

“Wuuu…” Third Brother continued to writhe, pretending he urgently needed to relieve himself.

“Master, could he… be wanting to go?” Aunt Zhong peeked at Third Brother, guessing from his movements that he needed to use the restroom.

Hearing this, Zeng Tietou frowned, pulled the stinking cloth from Third Brother’s mouth, and asked, “What do you want?”

“Brother… can I just relieve myself? I really can’t hold it.”

Zeng Tietou scrutinized Third Brother, frowning in thought. Just when Third Brother thought he would agree, Zeng Tietou coldly shoved the cloth back into his mouth. “If you can’t hold it, wet your pants. I don’t care.” He was crafty and wouldn’t let them trick him—his loyalty was to the master.

Damn! Third Brother panted with anger, kicking Zeng Tietou’s foot and craning his chin out, crying “Wuuu…” again.

Zeng Tietou didn’t move, adjusting his position so Third Brother couldn’t touch him again. “You look desperate. Don’t hold it—just go!” He leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes to rest.

Having stayed up all night, he was exhausted. “Auntie, keep an eye on them. Don’t let them get out, understand?”

“Yes…” Aunt Zhong nodded. She would obey his orders.

Seeing Zeng Tietou asleep, Third Brother and the tall man exchanged a glance, grinning. Their chance had come.

While Aunt Zhong wasn’t paying attention, they carefully moved closer together.

Out of sight, Third Brother kept trying to reach the ropes binding the tall man’s hands, attempting to untie them.

Aunt Zhong yawned and wiped her eyes, exhausted from staying up the second half of the night. The carriage rocked, lulling her to sleep.

Seeing her close her eyes, the tall man and Third Brother grew even happier.

“Move faster,” the tall man whispered to Third Brother.

Third Brother understood and whispered back, “These ropes are strong. It will take time to loosen them. My hands aren’t that dexterous.”

The tall man nodded, signaling patience—they could untie the ropes when they reached the yamen.

Third Brother bit his lip, enduring the pain in his hands and tugging harder on the ropes, hoping to free them as soon as possible.