The leader glanced at Si Hu, leaned forward, and kicked Xiao Yue: "Shut up, don't stir up trouble."

He then said to the other three, "Don't listen to her, she's trying to sow discord."

Xiaoyue could only look at the ground. Occasionally, grass clippings kicked up by Sihu's footsteps would hit Xiaoyue's face. Xiaoyue would turn her head away, but not for long, as her neck couldn't take it.

Seeing that it was effective, Xiaoyue spat out the grass dust from her mouth and tried to speak clearly, saying, "If you don't believe me, you can search within a mile radius of where you met me."

There's a guy I tied up there; he said Fatty Ren gave him a hundred taels of silver.

"Boss, boss, it seems this woman is telling the truth. If we come alone, we might very well fall into her trap," Sihu said anxiously.

The leader smacked Si Hu on the head, "You idiot, just do what you've agreed to. Sending her back to collect the money isn't enough."

The scarred man, carrying the injured man on his back, wiped the mark from his forehead and muttered under his breath, "How much will it cost for the third brother's medical treatment this time? That young woman is ruthless; I'd like to give her ten or eight cuts myself."

He wanted him to experience what it felt like.

The man with the scar on his back silently glanced at the man carrying the person behind the door. "When we took the job, we thought a woman couldn't possibly be that strong. We didn't expect our woman to get injured. This won't do. We need to get paid from the employer."

After they left the woods, they boarded a horse-drawn carriage with a canopy. Sihu sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Boss, where are we going?"

"First, throw the woman into the local temple outside the town and hide her there, then contact the employer."

Scarface took Xiaoyue to the local temple outside the town, while the others took Lao San to the clinic for treatment.

Xiaoyue was thrown into a corner by Scarface. Even though she was tied up, she couldn't cause any trouble. She just closed her eyes and stayed there obediently while Scarface lit a fire next to them.

Chunyue and Shuiyue entered hand in hand. As their footsteps drew closer, Chunyue said, "Why don't you leave some firewood for us too?"

Scarface impatiently waved the stick in his hand and said, "Take it away, get away from here."

When Xiaoyue saw that the brother and sister who came in were Chunyue and Yueshui, she started to twist and turn.

Seeing that Scarface didn't move, he shouted loudly at Scarface, "I need to relieve myself."

Scarface still didn't react, so Xiaoyue moved closer to him and shouted loudly again, "I need to go to the toilet."

Scarface couldn't stand her temper: "Stop nagging! Can't you just stay quiet for a while? Lazy donkeys need to pee and poop, hold it in!"

There was nothing Xiaoyue could do, so she gave up and lay curled up by the fire. Xiaoyue frowned and said, "Big brother, you farted. It stinks."

Scarface grabbed a stick and started whipping Xiaoyue, making her scream. After whipping Xiaoyue, Scarface found a pillar near the fire, leaned against it, and fell asleep.

It was late at night, and Xiaoyue was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep. She kept tossing and turning, but it didn't feel right. She even turned her head towards the fire, but that didn't feel right either. So, she started blowing on the fire and turned her feet towards the fire.

Xiaoyue glanced at the scarred man. When he started to move, the scarred man would lift his eyelids. As Xiaoyue kept moving, he became impatient and simply turned his head away from her.

Xiao lay on her side, stretching her feet toward the fire, and looked up at the rope that was pointing the flames toward her feet.

After burning for a while, the burning sensation became unbearable, and I had to take my feet off the fire for a bit.

Xiaoyue repeated the same movement over and over, her feet aching terribly. She gritted her teeth and persevered for over an hour until the rope finally snapped from the heat. She loosened the rope...

Xiaoyue stood up abruptly, took the broken rope, went around the scarred man leaning against the pillar, and tied his hands with it. Xiaoyue then wrapped the rope around his body once more.

She also tied his neck up. Xiaoyue made a tight knot in the rope and tied Scarface tightly to the pillar. Then she tore a strip from her clothes and stuffed it into Scarface's mouth.

Xiaoyue woke up her sleeping siblings and told them not to stay in the earth god temple, or their lives would be in danger if Scarface's accomplices came.

After giving instructions to the brother and sister, Xiaoyue limped out. She dared not return to Niukou Village, as it was too far and her foot was injured.

Xiaoyue endured the pain and walked faster and faster until she ran towards the city gate. The moonlight shone on the ground, leaving a gray path. When she reached the city gate, it was not yet open, so Xiaoyue could only hide in the shadows.

The gong sounded three times in town, then the city gates opened, and the people carrying the night soil came out. Xiaoyue also slipped inside. At first, walking was still painful.

Xiaoyue gritted her teeth and started running. She ran all the way to Tonghe Medical Clinic. The windows of the clinic were still covered with boards. Xiaoyue knocked on the door with all her might and finally woke up the young shop assistant who lived there.

Upon opening the door, the young man impatiently said, "It's so early in the morning, the door isn't open yet."

Xiaoyue's face was swollen from being slapped, her clothes were torn, and she had knife wounds on her arms. Seeing that the young shopkeeper didn't recognize her, Xiaoyue said anxiously, "I'm looking for Manager Tong. I'm here to deliver Ganoderma lucidum."

"Oh, oh, what happened to you? Come in, come in quickly." The waiter welcomed Xiaopeng into the house.

...

Liang Qi got on the oxcart and hurriedly drove it to the uninhabited area. He went up a slope, tied the cart to a tree by the roadside, entered the woods, and drove for a while...

Upon discovering the man Xiaoyue was tied up, Liang Qi pulled out the smelly sock that was gag the man and anxiously asked, "Have you seen a girl carrying a basket on her back?"

Without hesitation, the man said, "You're looking for Xiaoyue, aren't you?"

Upon hearing Xiaoyue's name, Liang Qi grabbed the man by the collar and glared at him with murderous intent: "You've met Xiaoyue."

When the man saw Liang Qi's fierce appearance, he said fearfully, "I was tied up here by Xiaoyue, and then she left with her basket on her back. Judging from the direction, it should be this road."

After the man finished speaking, he pointed to the path Xiaoyue had taken. Liang Qi immediately followed that path, but when he reached the main road, he couldn't find any trace of Xiaoyue.

He ran to the oxcart again, thinking of going back to the village to see if Xiaoyue had gone home after meeting that person, since he had stayed at Old Man Ge's house quite a bit.

When Liang Qi arrived at Xiaoyue's house, Lu Xiaomei thought Xiaoyue had returned and ran out with a smile. But when she saw it was Liang Qi, her face became unnatural.

"Xiaoyue hasn't come back yet."

"Um,"

At this moment, Yun Xingfei came out of the house. "I'll go look for her."

Liang Qi quickly arrived at the oxcart. "It seems someone else has kidnapped Xiaoyue." Liang Qi suddenly remembered Ge Erping's unusual behavior earlier that day. Liang Qi left the oxcart at home.

Tong Yunxingfei said, "Do me a favor..."