in2ebook Chapter 309 Captive
Chapter 309 Captive
Ping An took the small bottle given by Lin Chuyi and went straight to the group of prisoners who were chained.
He stopped in front of a group of young men dressed in similar styles, bent down, uncorked the small bottles, and then held the bottles under the noses of each of them for a breath.
Not long after the bottle was moved away, a dozen people who had smelled the quick-acting recovery potion at close range woke up from their slumber one after another. They opened their eyes in confusion and saw two men and women wearing silver masks and dressed as knights, each holding a sword, standing in front of them.
Some people subconsciously shrank back, but some people noticed something unusual in the square. They knew that the two people in front of them might be the culprits who caused their collective coma. Instead of feeling scared, they became more excited than the other.
Because they realized that this might be their only chance to leave this bandit den.
Soon someone bravely spoke up, "Two heroes, we are not bandits. We are poor people who were abducted by bandits and forced to work as laborers here. We hope that you will lend us a hand and help us out of this hellhole, considering our plight. I kowtow to you two heroes."
After he finished speaking, the man really moved his body, knelt down in front of Lin Chuyi and the other two, and started to kowtow. Seeing this, other people around him followed suit, changing their posture and starting to kowtow to the two of them.
Lin Chuyi has lived in this era for a year at most, but she is still not used to the way things are done here where she has to kowtow to others at every turn.
Lin Chuyi felt a little overwhelmed seeing them like this, but she also understood in her heart that these people did this just to save themselves. When there was no interest to use as bargaining chips, all they could give up was their dignity.
Thinking of this, Lin Chuyi sighed and said, "Alright, stop kowtowing. We know you are not bandits. Not only will we not take your lives, but we can also save your lives within our ability. But before that, I have to ask you a few questions. You must tell me the truth, otherwise don't blame me for being blind with the sword in my hand."
After Lin Chuyi finished speaking, he showed a sword blade. The blade sparkled in the sunlight, so bright that they dared not look directly at it, and it also made them feel alarmed.
Everyone tensed up and listened attentively to the question Lin Chuyi was going to ask next, for fear that they would miss something or give a wrong answer, which would result in losing their head.
"Ma...Madam, please tell me, we will tell you everything we know and will not dare to lie or hide anything." The person who spoke first still answered.
"Okay." Lin Chuyi glanced at the man, sheathed his sword, and asked, "Then you answer the first few questions. Tell me your name, how you were captured and brought to the mountain, and how they treated you after you entered the mountain village."
The man was choked for a moment, and then he replied respectfully: "In reply to the lady, my name is Lu Fang, I am from Kyoto, and I was hired by my employer to become a member of the caravan. I went south with my employer to do business. When I passed through Tujun Mountain, I encountered this group of bandits who blocked the road and robbed me."
"When our employer saw that things were not going well, he told us to flee separately, so we fled separately. However, there were too many bandits, and we were ultimately unable to escape their attack and were taken to Fufeng Village."
"After entering the mountain stronghold, we were put in chains to control our movements. We were also forced to work for them. If we were disobedient or did not finish the assigned work, we would be whipped. In addition, each of us only had one mixed steamed bread and a bowl of clear soup a day. We had to work on an empty stomach every day. There were always times when we could not hold on. As a result, each of us had several whip marks on our bodies. Our lives were worse than those of the slaves in other people's homes..."
While speaking, Lu Fang did not forget to straighten up and raise his wrist so that Lin Chuyi could see more clearly the blood marks from the whip and the iron chain hanging on his wrist, to prove that what he said was true.
Lin Chuyi, who had the ability to read minds, had already determined through their psychological activities that these people were the ones who were missing from Wang Fugui's caravan.
Lin Chuyi sighed in his heart: It is really true that after searching for a long time, I finally got it without any effort!
Lin Chuyi was wearing a mask, and Lu Fang, who was kneeling, could not see the changes in her expression. Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, he felt uneasy, wondering if he had said too much and made the noble unhappy. Just as he was thinking about how to make amends, he heard Lin Chuyi's voice.
"Your employer's name is Wang Fugui?"
"How do you know?" Lu Fang looked up in astonishment and blurted out a question. He regretted it right after he asked it. He wanted to slap himself twice. Was he really that bold? He actually dared to ask back. Was he going to save his life?
Lin Chuyi did not get angry as Lu Fang expected. Instead, he chuckled and said, "Because the two of us were hired by Wang Fugui to avenge you."
Not only Lu Fang, but all the people around him who had regained consciousness raised their heads and faced Lin Chuyi with surprised expressions. It was obvious that none of them had expected the truth of the matter to be like this.
Now that things have been said, Lin Chuyi doesn't mind doing Wang Fugui another favor and helping him gain favor in front of these people.
So, she continued to explain: "After Wang Fugui escaped from the bandits on horseback, he went to the government to ask for help, but the government refused to help. He was worried about you, so he went back to Tujun Mountain alone to look for you. He didn't find you, but only found four bodies."
"After he buried the body, he waited for a month in Tujun Mountain. When he didn't see you, he concluded that you had all died at the hands of the bandits, so he didn't stay in Tujun Mountain any longer."
"Later, by chance, he met an old friend, who is also a good friend of ours. My friend recommended us to your employer, and then your employer spent a lot of money to have us take action to wipe out the bandits in Fufeng Village and avenge you."
"We have been idle lately, so we agreed to this deal, so you can see us here."
Lu Fang and his companions were stunned when they heard what they heard. After they came to their senses, they were so moved that they burst into tears. They never expected that their employer, who only had an employment relationship with them, would do this for them.
Lu Fang suddenly choked up and said, "Zhao Liang, Zhou Mu, Chen Shisan, and Wang Er, the four of them were hacked by the bandits while they were escaping. After we were caught, the bandit leader saw that they were seriously injured and it would cost a lot of money to save them, so he ordered his men to hack them to death. It was precisely because of their brutality that we completely gave up the idea of resisting."