Chapter 60 The Origins of Coal Balls

"Xiaxia, what's the plan?"

"Hey, just you wait!"

With a slight twitch of his fingertips, a sharp pencil sharpener appeared. With a few slashes, the rope snapped, freeing his hands. He leaned forward, crawled on the ground, reached for the crystal bear, and returned to his original position.

He tucked the knife into his sleeve and bent down to carefully wipe the dust off the bear.

"Xiaxia, you... you always carry a knife with you?"

Yunxia smiled as she looked at the astonished boy. "I brought a lot of things. The knife is just one of them. Luckily, the ground wasn't paved with blue bricks. Here, after wiping it clean, it's still a perfectly crafted crystal bear. Where should I put it?"

"Aren't you going to help me untie the ropes?"

"Bear with it for now, wait until night to untie it. It's too early to escape in broad daylight. Wait, that's not right either. Maybe Uncle will pay the ransom today."

"Xiaxia, you can keep the crystal bear for now. I'm afraid the bandits will use it to blackmail me. My dad... went south to discuss business and won't be back for at least a week!"

Damn, the due diligence on the kidnappers isn't working!

He tucked the teddy bear into his sleeve, grasped the broken end of the rope, reverted to his bound state, leaned against the wooden stake, and drifted off to sleep...

Upon realizing the little girl had fallen asleep, Bai Ye was stunned for a long time before accepting her 'carefree' attitude. He smiled indulgently, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought.

Yunxia's survival rule: You can skip meals, but you can't skip work!

At this moment, he was in a fertile field, bending over and picking vegetables and fruits. When his consciousness returned to his body, the warm orange light reflected from the sunset illuminated the entire room.

Coo coo coo! Coo coo coo!

My stomach is protesting loudly.

"Hey, have you no humanity? Are you really planning to starve us for a week?"

...

The roar attracted the henchmen, who pounded on the iron gate and yelled, "What are you yelling about! Just you wait!"

He cursed a few times, dragged his shoes on the ground, and gradually walked away. After a while, a dirty and thin child came in, bringing cornbread that was as hard as a baguette and as hard as steel.

"Kid, how are we supposed to eat with our hands tied?"

The child timidly shrank back, but finally, he held up a steamed bun in each hand and presented it to the two of them.

The yellowish cornbread was covered in muddy handprints, but Yunxia didn't mind and took a bite.

"It's so hard it hurts!"

The frightened child quickly withdrew his hand and hugged the hard cornbread tightly to his chest.

"Kid, could you have some water? The cornbread is too hard, I can't chew it. Could you soak it in water?"

Click!

The hard cornbread had a bite taken out of it, but the child demonstrated that it wasn't hard at all.

A stunned Yunxia was at a loss for words.

"Little girl, she's a girl and her health is weak, unlike boys. Could you please get her some water?"

The skinny child blinked, held up the steamed bun in front of Bai Ye, and stared at his teeth without moving!

The boy guessed what he meant, narrowed his eyes, took a big bite, held it in his mouth for a long time, and then began to chew.

Now the child believed him and got up to find water!

"Coal Ball, I told you to deliver food, not water! You disobeyed, you deserve a beating!"

As the henchmen beat the kidnappers, they kicked over the rice porridge. Yun Xia narrowed her eyes and stared at the kidnappers with hostility.

The child curled up on the ground, enduring the beating. When the kidnapper got tired, he shook his wrist and left, locking the three of them together behind a large iron gate.

"Hey, kid, are you... alright?"

Yunxia felt very guilty for watching him get beaten up while she was busy with her escape plan that night, unable to step forward to help.

Despite the pain, Coal Ball crawled to the little girl's side and lightly licked the 'steamed buns and porridge' on the ground, suggesting that he had experienced hunger.

"I'm sorry, you... have no more food!" he said timidly after licking the food from the child squatting beside him.

"It's alright. Skipping a few meals will help boost your immunity. Kid, were you kidnapped here too?"

The child shook his head slightly and recounted his tragic past in a cold tone.

He was abducted at the age of 6. Because his skin was as black as charcoal, no one wanted to buy him, so he was forced to become a beggar. All the money he begged had to be handed over. If he failed to complete his quota, he would be starved and beaten.

By chance, the bandit leader saved him. He thought he had met a good person, but he never expected that he would fall into another wolf's den after escaping one. He was beaten and scolded every day, and his old wounds were not healed before new wounds were added.

Sometimes, I really want to jump off the cliff, but... but I don't dare! Waaah...

His experience was even more tragic than the original owner's. Yunxia couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She took out a piece of milk candy from her sleeve, peeled off the coating, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

"What...is this?" It smells and tastes sweet, is it an elixir?

"You...you...how did you untie it?"

His dark face, paired with his big, black grape-like eyes, was absolutely hilarious.

"A mere hemp rope is no challenge for you, sister!"

After saying that, he took out a knife from his sleeve and cut the ropes binding him and Jiang Chao in a few quick movements.

"Shh! Kid, keep your voice down. Your sister and brother will help you escape in a bit, and the police will help you find your parents."

His memories of the time before he was abducted are long gone, but he still remembers the warmth and fragrance of his mother's embrace.

Upon hearing this, his eyes suddenly brightened by a third, as if grasping at the last straw, and he said firmly, "Okay, I know the factory well, let's escape together!"

Escape is physically demanding; you can't do it without a high-calorie supply!

The little girl pulled out a large pile of candies and chocolates from her cuffs, trouser legs, and inner pockets. After distributing them evenly, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Let's eat!"

The extremely bitter chocolate stimulated his taste buds, and Bai Ye finally came to his senses. He stared at the girl's cuffs and trouser legs with a complicated expression, thinking to himself... she really knows how to hide.

"Xiaxia, eating too many sweets can cause cavities. In the future... you should eat less of them."

With green water in hand, there are no worries about teeth.

"Phew, don't worry, I brush my teeth twice a day, look how white they are!"

Even though she was covered in chocolate sauce, you could still see her bright white teeth. The boy smiled helplessly, "White, really white. When it gets dark, we'll sneak out the window."

"good!"

After saying that, they picked up the hemp rope from the ground, tied it into a tight knot, and as night fell, the three of them used the rope to go down to the first floor.

"Phew, thank goodness I was locked on the second floor, otherwise it would have been terrible if I were on the third floor!"

With Coal Ball pointing the way, the three of them crouched down and walked close to the wall. When they reached the corner, Yunxia poked her head out to check the surroundings. She caught sight of a dozing henchman, immediately pulled her head back in, and started gesturing wildly with her fingers.

Coal Ball pointed in the opposite direction, indicating with his eyes that there was another long way to go. Yunxia nodded quickly, and the three of them crouched down and walked along the wall again.

After navigating through the garbage-strewn alley, winding and turning, Yunxia arrived at the red brick wall. She looked up slightly, realizing that there was no broken glass and she could climb up.

Without further ado, he rolled up his sleeves and leaped up, but the wall was covered in moss, and he slipped for a long time before finally stabilizing himself on the top.

"Xiaxia, jump without worry, I'll catch you from below!" the boy said softly, opening his arms.