kingnovel Chapter 132 Escape
Chapter 132 Escape
Hearing the woman's words, the two men without torches stepped forward to grab Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaonuan watched them approach, utterly despairing. Suddenly, she pointed to a corner of the roof and screamed.
"Ah~ ah~ ahhh... How scary! There's a snake there, a huge snake."
Startled by Li Xiaonuan's actions, the two men stopped in their tracks and hesitantly turned to look at the corner she pointed to. At that moment, Li Xiaonuan swiftly picked up the rope that had bound her earlier and pounced on Ni Chang and her maid, who were also looking back.
The hooded woman was already anxious and wanted Li Xiaonuan to get away as soon as possible, so she didn't believe her words at all. When she saw everyone looking at her head, she also doubted whether Li Xiaonuan was telling the truth. But when she saw Li Xiaonuan's next move, she knew that Li Xiaonuan was lying.
"Don't believe her nonsense, she's lying. Ni Chang, watch your back!" the hooded woman shouted.
But those people completely ignored the hooded woman's words, still staring strangely at the roof above her head. The woman looked at the group with suspicion, a chill running down her spine. But she kept her eyes fixed on Li Xiaonuan, hesitating whether to step forward and make a move herself.
Finally, Li Xiaonuan successfully ensnared Ni Chang. Before Ni Chang could react, she kicked her in the knee, sending Ni Chang sprawling to her knees. As Ni Chang fell, another chilling scream echoed from the dilapidated house.
"Ah~ a snake! Please help me get it off, quickly. Ah~ it bit me. I've been bitten by a snake, please take me back to the city to find a doctor, quickly. Ahhh..." The hooded woman was curled up on the ground, a black snake coiled around her left shoulder.
After falling to the ground, the woman's hood slipped down her head, revealing a small, unfamiliar, and delicate face. The three men stared, somewhat mesmerized, at the sight of such a lovely girl. The girl looked helpless and pitiful, a sight that tugged at their heartstrings.
The burly man who had said he didn't mind Li Xiaonuan's disheveled appearance immediately grabbed the snake off the woman's shoulder and slammed it to the ground. Seeing this, the other two men also rushed forward and stomped the snake to death.
In an instant, the dilapidated house became quite noisy. Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Xiaonuan tightly bound the struggling Ni Chang. Then she kicked away the little maid who lunged at her. As the torches flickered, she found a corner where no one would notice and ran straight out. Her mind was now blank, with only one thought in mind.
She had to run, run as fast as she could, hide somewhere no one could find her for the night. When those looking for her arrived, she would be saved. She believed Prince Jing and the others wouldn't abandon her.
Just as Li Xiaonuan ran out the door, the little girl, struggling to sit up from the ground, shouted loudly, "You guys hurry and chase after Li Xiaonuan! She's run away! Hurry, she's gone!"
Hearing the commotion, the men looked at the trembling woman sprawled on the ground. She was only crying in fear, begging them to take her to a clinic. One of the burly men simply squatted down, pulled open her clothes, and examined the wound on her shoulder. He also took the opportunity to grope her.
The woman was probably genuinely terrified and didn't realize how shameful the man's behavior was. Seeing this, the other two men also squatted down, using the pretext of checking the wound to take advantage of her.
With the help of the maid, Ni Chang was finally freed from her bonds. Standing up, she saw this scene. Enraged, she shouted, "You shameless bastards! What time is it now, and you're still thinking about such filthy things? Li Xiaonuan has already run away! Aren't you going to chase after her? Are you waiting for her to send people to arrest us?"
The men finally remembered their business and said sheepishly, "Yes, yes, we have to go after someone. Hurry up, go right now, go immediately."
The man holding the torch said to the woman, "Girl, the snake that bit you was a mud snake, it's not poisonous. The wound will just hurt for a few days, but some medicine will do the trick."
Upon hearing this, the woman got up from the ground, straightened her clothes, and slapped each of the three men once. The men, though angry, did not retaliate, as they were in the wrong.
While the woman was tidying her clothes, Ni Chang and her maid had already taken lanterns and chased after her. Ni Chang's plan was that if she couldn't find Li Xiaonuan, she would take the little maid and escape towards the mountains. This area was her childhood territory, and she knew it very well.
They only needed to cross a mountain ridge and rest at a hunter's rest stop. The next day, they could continue eastward to reach the neighboring county of Gui. There, they could rent a carriage and escape to another place.
Before leaving home, Ni Chang had taken all her savings with her, just in case. Over the past two or three years, she had deceived and flattered many wealthy merchants, obtaining a considerable amount of money, enough for her and her servant to live comfortably for ten years.
Why did she run away with the little girl?
Only Ni Chang herself knows the reason.
After successfully escaping the door, Li Xiaonuan rushed forward like a headless fly, her biggest weakness being her inability to distinguish directions. She fell several times but quickly got up again, not even having time to feel the pain.
Because it was the end of the month, there was no moon at all. Li Xiaonuan could only run tirelessly, relying on the sparse and faint starlight. Of course, the consequence of running like this was that she fell down more and more severely each time.
The last place Li Xiaonuan fell was beside a stream; she was carried into the creek by a rolling stone. Fortunately, the water wasn't deep, and Li Xiaonuan struggled for a few moments before standing up. Seeing that the water only reached her waist, Li Xiaonuan gritted her teeth and continued downstream. She walked nearly two hundred meters before reaching the other side and fleeing into the dense forest.
Not long after Li Xiaonuan reached the shore, Ni Chang and her maid arrived at the stream. Looking at the murky water, the maid said, "Miss, I clearly heard someone fall into the water just now. It must be Li Xiaonuan. Let's search along the stream; we'll find her soon enough."
Ni Chang, however, pulled the little girl back and said calmly, "Dan'er, let's run away. Don't chase after them anymore. I have a feeling this is a bit risky. If we keep chasing, we might be the ones who get into trouble."
The little maid, Dan'er, trusted Ni Chang completely and nodded, saying, "Yes, Dan'er will listen to Miss. Miss, when we left, I took all our jewelry and silver with me, so we won't go hungry even if we escape." That was the pocket money that Ni Chang usually gave to the little maid.
Ni Chang smiled, pulled Dan'er across the stream to the other side, and headed into the dense forest. By the time the three men, leading the hooded woman, stumbled back to the stream, the water had already calmed down.
Enraged, the hooded woman slapped the man closest to her again, yelling, "You're all useless! How could I have married people like you? Hurry up and find someone else!"
The beaten man, his eyes red, looked at the woman who had put her hood back on, clenched his fists, and said through gritted teeth, "Girl, I advise you to think about your current situation before you act. We'll help you find the person, but we'll demand double the money. If you're not willing, we brothers will leave immediately."