Chapter 106: Going up the mountain and being caught

Following Qin Xiangnuan's instructions, Wang Qiang slowly made his way up the mountain along the path below. The path at the top of the mountain was very flat, with two shallow ruts on the ground, likely from frequent foot traffic. But the surroundings were very quiet, with no one in sight. Wang Qiang sensed something was amiss. He stopped and surveyed his surroundings warily, eyeing several stone pestles. He sensed something was amiss and was about to pull out a smoke signal to alert Qin Xiangnuan.

The next second, a black bag grabbed him from behind.

Bang! Wang Qiang felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. His vision went dark, and he passed out. The signal smoke in his hand also fell to the ground. Several men who were ambushing in the dark dragged Wang Qiang by his ankles and dragged him away.

A long time passed, and Qin Xiangnuan looked in the direction of the mountain road from time to time, squinting her eyes.

No, according to Wang Qiang's pace, no matter what happened on the mountain, he would have returned by now! Unless he was in danger. This thought popped up in her mind, and Qin Xiangnuan immediately stood up, walked to Qin Yi's side, and told him what happened. "Uncle, I think there's something strange on the mountain." Qin Yi frowned and looked ahead. "Not far away is the village. Maybe there really is trouble. I'll go and take a look..."

"No, I'll go."

Qin Xiangnuan stopped Qin Yi. As a secret agent, she was good at lurking in the dark. "Grandma and mother need help here. You and cousin should stay and let me go. I will definitely be very careful. If there is any danger, I will come back and tell you immediately!" Qin Xiangnuan raised her right hand to her ear and swore to Qin Yi. Qin Yi was still worried until Jiang Lin came over, "I will go with him."

Prince? Qin Xiangnuan turned around and saw Jiang Lin had appeared behind her without her noticing.

"An Feng told me everything." Jiang Lin stood beside Qin Xiangnuan with his hands behind his back, explaining lightly. Qin Xiangnuan raised an eyebrow, looked at An Feng who was a little embarrassed not far away, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "He does have a sharp ear."

Jiang Lin seemed not to understand her sarcasm and continued, "Of course. An Feng is my best eavesdropper."

"His ears can hear the voices on the other side through the wall."

Qin Xiangnuan raised an eyebrow in understanding. With Jiang Lin's protection, Qin Yi, no matter how worried and reluctant he was, could only nod and repeatedly urge Qin Xiangnuan to be careful. The two walked up the mountain side by side, and Qin Xiangnuan deliberately chose a different path to avoid Wang Qiang's route.

All the way, she looked at the ground.

Seeing a few very shallow footprints on the ground, Qin Xiangnuan bent down and squatted, using her fingers to feel the temperature of the soil. She said to Jiang Lin, "There must be someone on the mountain, more than one or two. These aren't Brother Wang's footprints. He has a lopsided foot, so his footsteps are sometimes deep and sometimes shallow." Jiang Lin looked at her skillful movements and felt a little puzzled. "How... do you know all this?"

Oops, I forgot Jiang Lin is a smart guy!

Qin Xiangnuan crushed the dirt between her fingers, threw it to the ground, clapped her hands and continued forward, "I like reading. I have read a few of the military books that my father brought back, and finally I remembered something. Could it be that the prince thinks that I only care about love and romance and follow Gu Mingqi around?" She deliberately belittled herself with self-deprecating ridicule, and a bit of sadness appeared on her face.

As expected, Jiang Lin was speechless and stood still.

He stopped pursuing the matter and instead racked his brains for words of comfort, "You... are amazing."

Qin Xiangnuan was walking in front, almost unable to hold back her laughter, her voice trembling from trying to hold back, she responded with a smile, "Thank you. The prince's words of praise are really... hard to describe." Now she began to believe what Anliu said. Jiang Lin really had not had much contact with women. After all, what woman would like such a straightforward man who didn't say sweet words?

"I don't know what to say."

Jiang Lin frowned, thinking that Qin Xiangnuan was crying, and raised his hand to put it on her shoulder to express his feelings with action.

But before he could even finish his move, Qin Xiangnuan's gaze became sharp. She quickened her pace, rushed to a depression in the hillside ahead, and picked up a piece of cloth from a hidden place. "This is Brother Wang's clothes." Qin Xiangnuan turned around and said to Jiang Lin, "This is a mark that Brother Wang left for us. This definitely didn't fall by chance."

Jiang Lin took the cloth and saw the neat, forceful tear marks on it. He nodded and said, "Be careful."

Following Wang Qiang's markings, the two slowly came to the back of the hill. In the distance, there was a rather large brick house with two courtyards, which looked like a palace built by a high official in the past. Qin Xiangnuan lay on the ground, picking up some dead leaves to cover her body for concealment. Jiang Lin did the same, and the two of them lay side by side on the slope. "Do you know where this is?"

Jiang Lin shook his head. "Maybe someone in the Zhou family embezzled money and did this."

Qin Xiangnuan agreed, and soon they saw someone pushing Wang Qiang in the yard in front, walking towards the small house in the east.

"There!" Qin Xiangnuan narrowed her eyes, calculating the route. The terrain here was open, and if they wanted to sneak through quietly, they would have to wait until night. "Let's go back and tell Second Uncle what's going on, and then rush back at night. Judging from their attitude towards Brother Wang, they don't seem to want to kill him to silence him. There's still time... Prince, what do you think?" Qin Xiangnuan talked for a long time, but Jiang Lin didn't respond.

She turned around curiously, and her body suddenly froze in place.

Several rugged bandits, swords pressed against Jiang Lin's neck, surrounded them. The bandit leader, looking at Qin Xiangnuan, mistook her for a frail scholar, grinned and answered for Jiang Lin, "Good plan, but you'll have to come with me and visit the village!" He turned around and motioned for his men to rush over and tie Qin Xiangnuan's hands.

"Don't worry, our people will report the news for you. We will definitely reunite you..."

After the bandit leader finished speaking, several bandits, each armed with a somewhat dull machete, shoved Qin Xiangnuan and Jiang Lin towards the village. Qin Xiangnuan frowned and looked at Jiang Lin, her eyes full of confusion. She exchanged glances with Jiang Lin silently and asked, "What's wrong with you? Why are you surrendering?" These people didn't seem to have any martial arts skills, relying solely on brute force.

With Jiang Lin's skills, he could knock down those bandits in minutes.

But he was willing to be captured. What was the logic behind this? Could it be that the dignified prince of Xiaoyao Marquisate had a hobby of sneaking into bandit dens? Qin Xiangnuan really didn't understand, but Jiang Lin glanced at the bandit leader, hinting that Qin Xiangnuan should pay attention.