“Wait a moment!” A voice came from upstairs, and Jing Hengbo looked up in surprise. Standing on the second floor were Cui Jie, Jing Yun, and a little maid who seemed vaguely familiar.
It was Cui Jie who spoke. Ignoring Jing Yun desperately pulling at her clothes from behind, she loudly exclaimed, “Hey, Bai Wuchang, I have no objection if you take people away, but Da Bo still owes me a few new dresses. Tell her to hurry up and bring them to me!”
A parrot peeked out from behind Jing Yun’s head, screeching, “There is a bright moonlight under the bed, two pairs of shoes on the floor. If you want to sleep with Da Bo, ask me first!”
Having finished the quick recitation, it quickly ducked back.
Jing Hengbo burst into tears – a friend in need is a friend indeed! Although it sounds a bit ugly.
Sister Cui ran down the stairs, followed by a frightened Jingyun and the little maid.
“Give me my clothes!” Cui Jie stepped forward, ready to tug at Jing Hengbo’s arm.
Jing Hengbo was overjoyed. Cui Jie had martial arts skills. As long as she could be pulled over, she would have the hope of teleporting again.
A hand reached out, clearly positioned on the right, but somehow it bypassed Jing Hengbo and pressed down on the left sleeve of Cui Jie’s clothes.
“Clothes?” The man in white said indifferently, “Her clothes have been sorted and placed on the carriage. Since that’s the case, come with me to get them.”
Jing Hengbo’s heart sank.
Jing Yun desperately pulled at Cui Jie’s clothes from behind, and Cui Jie raised her head, “Just take them!”
The man in white seemed to chuckle lightly, or perhaps not. Turning around, he walked away leisurely, and as he turned, a gust of wind lifted his hat slightly.
But not many people saw it.
The tall and thin man held Jing Hengbo’s arm and followed him. Sister Cui was stunned, hesitated, and followed. After walking a few steps, she turned around and saw Jingyun in a daze. She said coldly: “Don’t you dare to leave? No. If you dare, go back quickly. Anyway, the money Da Bo left for you is enough for you to eat ginseng for a while.”
However, Jing Yun seemed a bit absent-minded, gazing blankly at the figure of the person in white. A rare blush gradually appeared on her face, complementing her usually slightly pale skin, making her look as charming as the dawn.
Cui Jie was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, Jing Yun had already stepped forward and held onto her arm, saying, “How can we not go? Da Bo and that young master seems a bit off. It’s better not to be abducted by someone. Let’s go together as sisters and at least figure things out.”
Cui Jie then smiled, assisted her outside, and the little maid followed suit.
The brothel madam wanted to intervene but moved her lips without speaking. Those outsiders were not easy to deal with. Cui Jie and Jing Yun couldn’t bring in money, and the little maid, who refused customers, had just been saved by Da Bo yesterday. Feng Laiqi Inn had no use for them, so she let them go.
Sure enough, outside Feng Laiqi’s gate, there are two carriages. One was a simple ox cart, covered with straw, emitting a sour smell. The other was a horse-drawn carriage, adorned with carved saddles and decorative wheels, exuding an exquisite and luxurious air.
Jing Hengbo naturally walked towards the carriage. As a queen, she had a conscious appreciation for privilege.
In the next instant, she soared into the air, twirling in the hazy starry sky. With a thud, she landed on the thick layer of hay.
The old ox let out a low “moo,” flicking its tail, playfully brushing against her face.
“Damn it! Why did you drop me? I don’t want to get on the ox cart! The carriage is mine…” Jing Hengbo shouted for a while, suddenly paused, and then realized she could speak.
“Help…” She immediately shouted for help.
“Thud.” A soft object heavily collided with her chest, and she almost thought her heart had been knocked into her throat.
“Help…” The thing on her body moved, seemingly a person, and seemed to be the voice of the little maid.
“Thud.” Another one came down, followed by Cui Jie’s loud yell, “Let go of me!”
“Thud.” The last one in the human stack descended, it was Jing Yun. Her scream was different from the others, soft and delicate, singing and sighing, “Oh, oh, young master, please have mercy on this fragrant and precious jade—”
Jing Hengbo couldn’t scream in agony anymore.
She rolled her eyes, her stomach contracting, “Quick… get… me… down…”
Cui Jie pushed Jing Yun down, rolled herself off, and casually pulled down the little maid, successfully rescuing Jing Hengbo from the fate of being crushed in the human stack.
The four of them squeezed into the ox cart, surrounded by hay, and looked at each other in bewilderment. They thought there would be some verbal disputes, but unexpectedly, this person was rough, capturing one or three made no difference.
The ox cart was already locked, and a short and chubby man, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, was driving it. At the front, a skinny man was driving the horse-drawn carriage, and the person in white must have entered the carriage.
There were knights in front and behind the ox cart, of different ages and appearances, but with one striking similarity: a murderous aura.
Wherever they went, the temperature dropped sharply, and the gaze of these knights was filled with the killing intent of nocturnal wolves. They were nothing like the humorous guards Jing Hengbo had encountered in Dahuang earlier; they were an entirely different breed.
Jing Hengbo saw the chubby man gently cracking the whip, making a series of explosive sounds in the air. The ox’s back shook, and it ran fast without needing much urging.
She saw the skinny man walk a short distance, waving his hand, and a segment of willow branches from a tree three zhang away appeared in his hand.
She saw a young man with fuzz still on his face flick his finger and shoot a dog by the roadside, which was about to bark madly. The shot was made using the remaining crumbs of a bun that the young man hadn’t finished.
Jing Yun was trembling, the little maid was still in a daze, not understanding what was happening, but Cui Jie’s eyes sparkled. She clung to the side of the cart, staring intently at those guards without blinking.
Jing Hengbo sighed.
She had initially hoped that the local authorities would not allow such a group of people to enter and leave the city freely. However, seeing these people having both wealth and power, where couldn’t they go?
She had wanted to ask the guards about how the mighty could know she would teleport to the hall and how they could intercept her there. But looking at the uncooperative attitude of these people, getting answers might have to wait for another lifetime.
Sure enough, miraculously, they hadn’t encountered any patrolling soldiers along the way. When they reached the city gate, it was already locked. The vehicles stopped at a distance, and the skinny man stood up, returning after a while with a bunch of glittering keys in his hand.
Immediately, she stretched lazily and glanced around.
Everyone was on the road, the horse-drawn carriage ahead showed no signs of movement, Cui Jie beside her was already sleeping carefreely, the little maid was half-awake leaning against the cart door, and only Jing Yun was nervously staring at her with an unusual look.
The restrictions on her body had already been lifted, and this ox cart couldn’t restrain her at all. With a single teleportation, she could escape…
As for the three people and a bird inside the ox cart, she thought for a moment and felt it should be fine. These three people were trapped in the ox cart because of her. Once she escaped, this group of people wouldn’t have any use for them and would likely release them.
Having made up her mind, just ahead, there was a wooded area with a slope behind it. If she moved behind the slope, the chances of escape would be high.
Jing Hengbo was about to close her eyes and teleport when suddenly there was an “oh” sound from behind.
Instinctively, she turned around and saw Jing Yun clutching her stomach, her face pale. Jing Hengbo was momentarily surprised, quickly turned around to support her, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I… my stomach hurts…” Jing Yun broke out in a cold sweat, her eyes filled with fear, and she clutched Jing Hengbo’s clothes tightly with pale fingers.
Jing Hengbo immediately forgot about her plan to escape. She turned around and shouted, “Hey! Stop the carriage! Stop!”
No one paid attention to her. Not only the horse-drawn carriage ahead, which showed no signs of movement, but even the chubby man driving the cart nearby didn’t turn around.
“Stop the carriage! Stop! Someone is sick!”
The entire procession fell into an eerie silence. The oxen and horses continued to move forward, but the people on horseback remained still. All gazes were fixed ahead, resembling a formation crafted from steel, controlled solely by a central mechanism. Jing Hengbo’s shouts seemed to sweep past them like a gust of wind, then dissipated.
Cui Jie and the little maid were startled awake, joining in the yelling. However, faced with the indifferent crowd, the three gradually felt a chilling unease.
It seemed that no matter how loud they screamed, it was useless if no one ahead responded.
Jing Hengbo looked back at the increasingly pale Jing Yun. This young lady was frail. When Jing Hengbo entered the brothel, she coincidentally encountered Jing Yun, who was critically ill and about to be carried out. Passing by her, Jing Hengbo was shocked by the pleading look in her eyes. She immediately took out some silver gifted by an old wealthy patron and saved her life. After consuming several ginseng roots, Jing Yun gradually recovered.
Spending so much silver to save a life, leaving it in this desolate wilderness would be too wasteful.
Jing Hengbo sighed.
She didn’t want to reveal her teleportation ability in front of these guards. She hoped to keep this skill as an ace to escape. Once someone discovered this ability, she would surely be closely watched, making it even harder to leave.
Alas, she didn’t want to…
Sighing, she blurred and disappeared.
The next instant, she appeared on the roof of the carriage.
Everyone looked up simultaneously, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Jing Hengbo slapped her thigh in frustration, “Darn it, wrong again!”
It’s all that damn iceberg, so cool that he has no friends, leaving a shadow on her, and even being able to teleport to the wrong place.
Jing Hengbo closed her eyes and silently recited a few words before blinking again.
With a thud, she landed on the roof of the horse-drawn carriage.
Jing Hengbo stomped forcefully on the roof, “Stop the carriage! Stop it! I command you to stop immediately! Someone is sick!”
Her high heels, embedded in the wooden seams, made a few taps. She simply took off her high heels and knocked on the roof forcefully. Dust should fall from the roof, hopefully making that heartless person eat some!
Suddenly, the horse pulling the carriage neighed loudly, its steps hesitated, and due to inertia, the carriage surged forward. Jing Hengbo, wearing only silk stockings, couldn’t stop herself and slid forward. With a swish, she slid out from the side of the carriage.
If she fell, she would either be trampled by the startled horse or crushed by the carriage wheels!
“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Shrill screams pierced the darkness. Jing Hengbo, in mid-air, desperately tried to grab onto something to save herself. Unfortunately, the skinny man in the driver’s seat had already leaped into the air to check on the horses, leaving her about to fall under the carriage wheels.
