Chapter 836: Hijacking
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Huang Wenxian naturally checked out of the room. He left the inn with his “daughter”, three carriages of supplies, and a group of servants and escorts. They left the city and traveled towards Anshan.
The carriage traveled and stopped. On the second day, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Yu Youyao followed the plan and broke a small hole in the sachet tied to her waist. As the carriage jolted, some spices were released.
The carriage drove for another two hours. Yu Youyao frowned. “According to my deduction, we’ve already entered the range of the bandits. Why haven’t the bandits appeared yet?”
Yin Shi said coldly, “After we left the inn, there were two suspicious people around the inn. One of them was a beggar with a dirty face, and the other was a waiter at the inn. The waiter brought over a basin of dirty water and splashed it on the beggar, cursing at him to leave. The beggar ran away dejectedly and followed our carriage for a while. He should be an informant arranged by the mountain bandits in the city. We’ve already been noticed by the mountain bandits. The mountain bandits will appear sooner or later.”
As the two of them spoke, the carriage suddenly stopped. Immediately, the neighing of horses came from outside.
The bandits were here!
“Whether they’re men or women, capture them all and bring them back to the village. The men will be sent to do manual labor, and the women will reward us brothers. Have fun. If they resist, kill them all…”
With this loud and cruel order, the bandits rushed forward.
Outside, there were sounds of killing and shouting. Yu Youyao’s heart tightened. Even thieves had their own principles.
When they encountered a robber on the way, the other party might shout some jargon, such as, “I’m the one who opened this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to pa.s.s by, leave some money to buy this road.”
This meant that the other party only wanted to receive a small sum of money and would not harm anyone’s life. As long as the person in charge of the convoy negotiated with the leader of the bandits and offered a suitable amount of money, they could pa.s.s through safely. Furthermore, as long as they were within the other party’s territory, the other bandits would not continue to rob them.
This was a more moral approach.
There was also a more ferocious type that would change their words to, “Leave some money to save your lives.”
This meant that the other party had a huge appet.i.te. It was good to give up money to save their lives. It was best if there was an escort accompanying them. In that case, they could use the escort flag to negotiate with the other party.
Escorts traveled extensively and had a wider network. Mountain bandits were usually not easily offended, so the other party might still show mercy.
However, they could not anger the other party, or someone would die.
For example, these mountain bandits had no morals. People who didn’t use the robbing jargon and didn’t care about the rules of robbing were basically outlaws. They wanted money, people, and lives.
Ordinary escorts did not dare to fight head-on.
A powerful escort who believed in righteousness would definitely attack the mountain bandits to protect his employer. If one encountered an untrustworthy escort and immediately fled, the employer could only blame himself for being unlucky.
Just like this moment, the mountain bandits rushed up, and the “escorts” retreated in fear. The two sides fought for a short time. When the escorts realized that they were no match for the bandits, they threw down their weapons and turned to escape.
The servants, who had originally wanted to resist a little, were stunned by their escape. They also scattered and fled.
The bandits were used to it and only treated it as if it was normal. Seeing that all of them were running faster than rabbits and even laughing smugly, they did not plan to chase after them. Stealing money was the most important thing.
The convoy was surrounded by bandits. “All of you, get down. If anyone dares to disobey, I’ll kill you one by one.”
Yu Youyao looked horrified. She quickly did not forget to help her “young miss” out of the carriage. Chun Xiao followed behind. The three of them were close together, their heads lowered and trembling. They did not even dare to breathe loudly.
The man in the lead was tall and strong. He was wearing a tiger leather jacket with a slanted lapel, revealing half of his arm and bulging chest. It was obvious that he was a martial artist.
He stared at Yin Shi lecherously. “Oh, you look really lively. It seems that I’m going to be a groom again today. Let’s go. Bring everyone up the mountain.”
Yu Youyao’s hands and feet were tied and she was pushed up the mountain.
They had also captured five “servants” who couldn’t escape in time.
Yu Youyao was deep in thought. According to the records in the government office, almost every time this group of mountain bandits committed a crime, their methods were very cruel. The men were killed, and the women were kept.
This time, the men were captured and sent to do manual labor.
There were hundreds of mountain bandits in the stronghold, and not everyone went down the mountain to rob. For example, this time, they had only brought a few dozen people. Could it be that those who didn’t come out to rob didn’t have to work and were taken care of?
If there was work to be done, how much work was there in a stronghold? Could it be that hundreds of bandits couldn’t finish it, so they still needed to capture strong men?
This was very problematic.
The You army, who were probably disguised as escorts and servants, might have also sensed that there was a problem, so they were deliberately captured.
Yu Youyao was thinking about something and was a step slower. A mountain bandit walking beside her immediately pushed her hard and said fiercely, “What are you waiting for? Walk faster. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re a woman, I would have cut you down.”
Yu Youyao staggered from the push, and there was a sharp pain in her ankle. She staggered and almost fell to the ground, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.
Yin Shi, who was beside her, subconsciously wanted to pull her back. Only then did she realize that her hands were tied behind her back, so it was not appropriate for her to act rashly. She suddenly clenched her fists, and a murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Chun Xiao opened her mouth and almost couldn’t help but cry out, “Young Miss.” Fortunately, she was pushed by the mountain bandit beside her and swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
However, she couldn’t help but worry.
As she had sprained her ankle, the rest of the journey was especially difficult for Yu Youyao. It was originally just a slight sprain. After applying medicine and a few good ma.s.sages, she would be fine after recuperating for a day or two.
However, at this moment, she could only grit her teeth and force herself to walk. The mountain path was rugged and difficult to walk. Soon, her face turned pale. She felt as if every step she took was on the tip of a knife. Her ankle bones were swollen and in unbearable pain. She endured it and felt numbness. Her legs felt like they were filled with sand, and they became heavier and heavier.
From time to time, she could hear the bandits scolding her.
After an unknown period of time, Yu Youyao heard someone shout, “We’re here!”
She subconsciously looked up. Yu Youyao was standing on a cliff. There was a wooden suspension bridge in front of her, and there was also a mountain opposite it. There should be people proficient in fortification construction among the mountain bandits. They had built sentries and arrow towers on the cliff, and there were people guarding inside. Once someone attacked, the people opposite would first cut off the suspension bridge to stop them from crossing the cliff. Then, the mountain bandits in the arrow tower would shoot arrows at the enemy.
It was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Yu Youyao was pushed onto the suspension bridge. She had already sprained her ankle. As soon as the suspension bridge shook, she felt a little dizzy. Fortunately, the bridge was only about 150 feet (50 meters), so she quickly reached the other side.
Then, Yu Youyao realized how special this mountain was.