Chapter 319 - Chapter 319: Chapter 306: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain (1/2)
Chapter 319: Chapter 306: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain
Translator: 549690339 |
With increasing twilight, the sky gradually darkens. Shi Bao, who was driving the carriage, whipped the horses a few more times.
However, the carriage could not surpass the speed of approaching nightfall. Soon the darkness descended, making it increasingly difficult to see ahead. Shi Bao lit a lantern, which was held by Shen Quan, and they unavoidably had to slow the pace.
“I apologize for the late return, Miss Zhuang, given all the trouble you went to today,” Ding Gaochang said, his face full of remorse.
“No trouble at all,” Zhuang Qingning answered with a laugh, “I was engrossed in discussion with Village Chief Miao and lost track of time. It’s dark outside, we need to be cautious on our journey. It won’t hurt us to return a bit late.
Safety first.
“Yes.” Ding Gaochang lifted the curtain and instructed Shi Bao to drive more carefully. He then took out a mung bean cake that he brought specially for the journey and offered it to Zhuang Qingning.
Given the mediocre culinary skills of Village Chief Miao’s wife, Zhuang Qingning found the midday meal unappealing and, therefore, ate very little. At this time, she was quite hungry and accepted the mung bean cake from Ding Gaochang without hesitation.
The mung bean cake was sweet, glutinous, yet not greasy. It tasted good even when eaten with the water from their flask, making her half-full.
After eating, she casually started a conversation with Ding Gaochang.
The moon rose and cast its bright light all over the land, making it resemble dawn. The route ahead became more visible and Shi Bao was able to guide the carriage slightly faster.
Suddenly, a scream pierced through the tranquil night.
Startled, Shi Bao quickly yanked the reins.
The horse neighed and came to a halt.
There was a rustling sound and a faint light visible in the nearby bushes.
“Help!”
A cry for help abruptly rang out but was quickly drowned by the rustling sound.
No other cries followed.
Shi Bao exchanged glances with Shen Quan. Instantly, they grip their weapons tighter.
Ding Gaochang, inside the carriage, also heard the noise and lifted the curtain to ask, “What happened?”
“Not sure. There was some noise over there and someone cried for help; but it’s now quiet again,” Shi Bao answered, hopping off the carriage, “Should we go check it out?”
Ding Gaochang immediately furrowed his eyebrows.
Recently, there have been cases of young girls being kidnapped in Zeng County, which drove the county magistrate and the county lieutenant to desperation. Although we haven’t heard of similar incidents here, we share a border with Zeng County, so Xu Zhengping and I have been worried. We’ve already put our teams on high alert to prevent any occurrences.
It sounded like a young woman cried for help earlier, could there be kidnappers here?
“Shi Bao, stay here and guard Miss Zhuang. Shen Quan and I will go investigate,” Ding Gaochang hopped off the carriage and told Zhuang Qingning, “Miss Zhuang, please wait here. Shi Bao is quite skilled, you’ll be safe.”
“Be careful, Master Ding,” Zhuang Qingning nodded her head in agreement.
She had seen Shi Bao in action before; he was indeed talented. Although she didn’t know kungfu, she had strength and agility on her side, making it difficult for ordinary people to harm her.
Comparatively, she was safer with Shi Bao than Ding Gaochang and Shen Quan were.
After repeatedly instructing Shi Bao to stay with Zhuang Qingning, Ding Gaochang grabbed another lantern and headed towards the wooded area where the noise had come from.