kingnovel Chapter 137 Rescued
Chapter 137 Rescued
Li Xiaonuan was crying her heart out when suddenly something appeared in front of her. She opened her tear-blurred eyes and looked up. But because she was in front of the light source, it was difficult for her to see who was above the cave entrance.
After hearing that call, she tentatively asked, "Brother Zhao, is that you?" Her voice was weak and feeble, sounding even more ethereal than when she was in the dilapidated house.
Upon hearing Li Xiaonuan's voice, Zhao Wangchuan knew she was in a very bad state. He handed the luminous pearl to someone nearby and personally climbed into the pit to carry Li Xiaonuan out. Li Xiaonuan hadn't gained much weight recently.
When Zhao Wangchuan jumped onto the ground, he asked, "Little Nuan, don't you have any food at home?"
The moment she was pulled out of the pit, Li Xiaonuan finally realized she was saved. Her tense nerves relaxed, and she instantly felt exhausted and dazed. Hearing Zhao Wangchuan's joking question, she replied in a daze:
"There were indeed several years when we couldn't afford to eat."
Zhao Wangchuan felt a pang of heartache seeing Li Xiaonuan looking so listless in his arms. He gently lifted her up and said to the other two, "Let's go back first. Someone else will take care of the rest."
After saying that, Zhao Wangchuan took the lead and walked down the mountain. The two who remained looked at each other and followed.
They hadn't gone far when they encountered the village head and his group, who were also heading up the mountain. Of course, Xiao Yang was among them. Previously, the village head and his group had been stopped at the foot of the mountain until Zhao Wangchuan appeared, at which point they were allowed to ascend.
Xiao Yang arrived at Wutong Temple just as the village head and his men were preparing to go up the mountain. At that time, Zhao Wangchuan's men were escorting two men down the mountain when Xiao Yang stumbled upon them. After inquiring, Xiao Yang learned that the two men had been running down the mountain in a panic, which was why they had been captured.
As clever as Xiao Yang was, he immediately guessed that the people in front of him were two of the masterminds behind his sister's kidnapping. Unable to contain his rage, he stepped forward and kicked each of them with all his might.
Those two were cowards too. After being kicked down, they quickly got up and knelt down, spilling the beans like beans from a bamboo tube, explaining everything completely. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Li Xiaonuan had managed to escape on her own.
But the thought of Li Xiaonuan, a frail woman, wandering in the mountains late at night was extremely dangerous. Led by Xiao Yang, the village head and the others hurriedly went up the mountain to search for her.
Knowing that people were already hunting down those despicable villains, Xiao Yang and the others felt relieved and continued calling out Li Xiaonuan's name. Because of this, Li Xiaonuan finally woke up just as she was about to fall asleep.
She struggled to get out of Zhao Wangchuan's arms, enduring the excruciating pain in her feet, and weakly replied, "Xiaoyang, Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, I'm here."
Hearing Li Xiaonuan's voice, so faint it was almost inaudible, Zhao Wangchuan smiled helplessly and with a pang of heartache. He helped Li Xiaonuan to her feet and called out loudly, "Xiaoyang, Uncle Li, Xiaonuan is here."
Hearing Zhao Wangchuan's shout, Xiaoyang and the others quickly ran towards the source of the sound. When they saw Li Xiaonuan standing there so weakly, Xiaoyang finally couldn't hold back his tears. He hugged Li Xiaonuan tightly, choking back sobs as he asked, "Sister, thank goodness you're alright, that's so good. Let me see, where are you hurt?"
As he spoke, Xiao Yang released Li Xiaonuan and, using the light from Li Dagong and the others' torches, looked her over from head to toe. Seeing that Li Xiaonuan's hands and feet were a bloody mess, a truly gruesome sight, he angrily cursed:
"Those bastards, don't let them fall into my hands. Otherwise, I'll chop off their hands and feet and feed them to the dogs."
Before Xiao Yang could finish speaking, Wei Yu's voice rang out: "Alright, I'll grant your wish. These three people, plus the two who escaped earlier, you can chop off their hands and feet as you please. As for feeding them to the dogs or whatever, that's up to you."
Hearing that there were only three people, plus the two in front, making five, Li Xiaonuan looked at Wei Yu in confusion: "Second Young Master Wei, I remember there were clearly six people. Did you miss one?"
Wei Yu avoided Li Xiaonuan's gaze, remaining silent. Qi Ji snorted and walked past him, then came to Li Xiaonuan's side, glanced at her, and said, "You seem to be in good spirits. Your hands and feet should only have superficial injuries. It's nothing serious. Go back to the clinic to wash them, apply medicine, and bandage them. They'll be fine in a while."
Xiao Yang thanked Qi Ji, bent down to put down his small basket, and took out a small blanket to drape over Li Xiaonuan. Only then did he let Li Xiaonuan climb onto his back, and he carried her down the mountain. Qi Ji didn't even glance at the neglected Wei Yu before following. Zhao Wangchuan patted Wei Yu's shoulder knowingly, smiled, and caught up with Qi Ji.
Li Xiaonuan lay on Xiaoyang's back, thinking about Wei Yu's reaction just now. If she still couldn't guess who the mastermind behind Ni Chang and her servant kidnapping her was, she would be a complete fool.
There's probably only one person who could make Wei Yu avoid him and unconditionally protect him, and who also has a grudge against Li Xiaonuan. Looking back now, Wei Yu really isn't worth getting close to. Even if I still have to cooperate with him, it can only be a formality.
The square in front of the main hall of Wutong Temple was filled with people searching for Li Xiaonuan, especially those from Xinzhou Village. Now that Li Xiaonuan had been found and the culprit had been caught, and since Li Xiaonuan was unharmed, the village head immediately dismissed the people, letting them go home.
Xiao Yang promised that he would definitely host a banquet for everyone at the Yingkelai Restaurant in the city the day after tomorrow to thank them for their sincere help. Seeing that Li Xiaonuan was really alright, the people started joking and told Xiao Yang to prepare plenty of good wine and meat.
Aunt Zhou and Aunt Huang weren't in a hurry to go home. They accompanied Li Xiaonuan to the clinic with Xiao Yang. After a flurry of activity, Li Xiaonuan put on Fei Fei's new clothes and fell soundly asleep.
She didn't even wake up when Xiao Gang carried Li Xiaonuan onto the carriage. Wei Yu stood at the entrance of the clinic, watching Li Xiaonuan's carriage drive out of the city, a sense of powerlessness spreading through him.
When Zhao Wangchuan came out of Prince Jing's place, he saw Wei Yu sighing. He chuckled and punched Wei Yu's chest, asking, "Cousin, you've wronged Xiao Nuan again. Knowing her as I do, she'll definitely try everything to stay away from you from now on."
Wei Yu glared at Zhao Wangchuan with a bitter expression and said irritably, "Don't talk about me. I think Li Xiaonuan doesn't want to deal with you either, to avoid getting into trouble."
Zhao Wangchuan did not refute, but instead expressed his deep agreement, saying, "That's right. Little Nuan rarely goes out in the village these days. Even when she goes out, she goes out of her way to avoid me when she sees me from afar. I really miss the way she used to be when she was little. The way she would cling to me all the time back then was so pleasing to the eye."
Wei Yu snorted coldly and said in a stern voice, "Cousin Chen, I have important matters to attend to at home, so I won't see you off. I'll head back to my residence first."
Watching Wei Yu suddenly change his expression and leave, Zhao Wangchuan shrugged at Qi Ji, who came out to see him off, and said helplessly, "My cousin's personality really hasn't changed at all. He's still exactly the same as when he was a child, turning on you in an instant."