Chapter 82 He Chases 3 You despicable beast!

However, their hopes were like a candle flickering in the wind, extinguished in an instant.

The robber reacted with astonishing speed!

There was no trace of panic on his face, only a cold indifference that suggested he was in complete control.

He didn't even fully lift the curtain to reveal what was inside; he simply took a quick sidestep to the doorway, using his tall, muscular body and fierce face to block the gap in the curtain, only peeking out half of his body.

He shouted impatiently, almost roaring, at the outside:

"What are you doing buying alcohol! Stop making a racket! Business is good today, all the alcohol is sold out! Not a drop left! Come early tomorrow! Get out of here! Don't get in my way of packing up!"

His voice was extremely loud, like a thunderclap, and his tone was full of arrogance and an unquestionable sense of driving him away. He even deliberately shook the machete in his hand, letting the cold light of the blade flash in front of the newcomer's eyes.

The man buying wine outside seemed to be choked by the sudden appearance of the fierce-looking man and the gleaming knife. He only managed to let out a muffled, frightened gasp before his footsteps hurriedly and almost tumbled away, without a word of argument or question.

Hope was utterly shattered, replaced by a deeper sense of powerlessness and chill.

Fangru's heart sank completely. This robber was not only strangely ruthless, but also so experienced and fierce in dealing with emergencies, completely blocking any possibility of rescue.

Having gotten rid of this unexpected "interference," the man seemed more composed.

Instead of leaving this "place of trouble" immediately, he forcefully tied the tent flap shut from the inside with a leather rope, completely blocking the view from both inside and outside.

Then, seemingly quite familiar with the place, he pulled out a simple wooden sign with Northern Di script written on it, indicating "Closed Today," from under the counter, skillfully extended it through the gap above the curtain, and hung it in a conspicuous position outside.

After doing all this, the man seemed to have become the temporary master of the tent.

He strolled back behind the counter with a leisurely air and began to rummage through the items with great interest.

His rough fingers traced the clutter on the counter before finally landing on a thick, greasy, worn-out leather ledger.

He picked it up casually, and using the few faint beams of light cast through the gaps at the top of the tent, he stood there and began to roughly flip through it. The rustling sound of the pages turning was particularly clear in the silence.

What exactly is he trying to do? Why hasn't he left yet?

Fangru, Chen Jian'an, and Ha Dan were filled with immense doubt and unease. This was completely inconsistent with the behavior of a robber eager to flee after a successful robbery!

The atmosphere inside the tent became even more eerie, with a sense of impending doom spreading through the air.

Suddenly, the man's fingers, which were turning the pages of the ledger, stopped.

He lowered his head, leaned closer, and carefully examined a certain page of the ledger. On his ordinary yet fierce face, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

He raised his head, his gaze like a cold probe, piercing the trembling shopkeeper in the corner. His voice carried a deliberately lowered, yet chillingly calm tone:

"Oh ho? Interesting..." He tapped the page of the ledger with his finger. "General □□... is he a regular customer here? Ha, he sends someone to collect wine at the same time every day without fail?"

Upon hearing the name "General [name omitted]", the shopkeeper trembled violently, lowered his head even further, and dared not utter a sound.

The man didn't seem to need his answer.

He closed the ledger and tossed it aside with a soft "snap".

Then he began to search more carefully and purposefully behind the counter and around the tent. His eyes swept over the piles of leather goods, wine jars, and miscellaneous items, and finally settled on an inconspicuous low cabinet in the corner that seemed to be used to store old blankets and empty wine bladders.

The cabinet was dark in color, almost blending into the shadow of the tent, but a small, polished brass lock hung on the cabinet door, somewhat out of place with the simple environment.

The man walked over and tapped the sturdy cabinet door lightly with the hilt of his knife, producing a dull thud. He turned his head and beckoned to the shopkeeper with a finger, a gesture that carried an undeniable air of command.

"You, come here. Turn this thing on."

The shopkeeper's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his lips trembled violently, and he could barely speak: "Good...good man...there...inside really are...just some unwanted old things...tattered blankets...empty...empty bags...worthless..."

"Don't try that on me!" The man's eyes flashed, his voice suddenly rising, and he raised the machete in his hand menacingly, its cold light gleaming. "I'll count to three. If you don't open it, you'll end up like this cabinet! One!"

The intense killing intent pressed down on them as if it were a tangible force.

The shopkeeper was terrified and, disregarding everything else, scrambled over and pulled a bunch of keys tied with a leather cord from his inner pocket. His hands trembled like leaves in the wind from extreme fear. After several attempts, he finally managed to insert the key into the lock and, with a "click," opened the small brass lock.

The cabinet door was pulled open by the man.

In an instant, even Fangru, who was a few steps away, could clearly see that the cabinet contained no old or broken junk at all!

Inside were several neatly stacked snowflake silver ingots, gleaming with a heavy, alluring cold light in the dim light! Next to the silver ingots was a small wooden box, its lid half-open, revealing several exquisitely crafted gold jewelry pieces inside!

This was clearly the shopkeeper's true fortune, accumulated little by little from Hadan over many years and hidden very deep within his coffers! It was his lifeblood!

A predictable glint of mockery and greed flashed in the man's eyes. He sneered, "Old man, you're quite good at hiding your true colors!"

Without any hesitation, he pulled the already heavy cloth bag to his front again, opened the bag wide, and then, as if sweeping away garbage, roughly swept all the silver ingots and goldware in the cabinet into the bag!

The silver ingots collided with each other, producing a dull yet alluring sound, and the cloth bag visibly swelled and became heavier.

The shopkeeper watched as the reward he had earned for risking his life to do things for Hadan was snatched away in an instant. As if all his energy had been drained, he collapsed to the ground, his cloudy old tears streaming down his face, letting out suppressed, desperate sobs.

He stretched out his hand in vain, pleading for mercy in a broken voice: "Hero... Hero... Please have mercy... You've taken so much money... Enough for you... You've been living a carefree and happy life for most of your days... Please... Go now... I swear... I swear to the Eternal Heaven... I won't tell the patrolling soldiers anything... Not a single word... Please spare us... Spare this old man..."

However, the man ignored the shopkeeper's tearful pleas, as if they were nothing more than the annoying buzzing of mosquitoes.

He slung the now enormous and heavy cloth bag back over his shoulder, even adjusting the straps to accommodate its astonishing weight.

Then, he did something that shocked Fangru, Chen Jianan, and Ha Dan, leaving them completely bewildered.

Instead of leaving immediately, he squatted down, approached the limp, tearful shopkeeper, his face, bearing the harshness of the marketplace, almost touching the shopkeeper's. Lowering his voice, he asked a startling question in a tone that was almost casual, yet tinged with cold interrogation:

"Old man, stop crying. I have a question for you. You just wrote in the ledger... General [name omitted], does he send someone to collect wine every day? Today... approximately what time will he arrive?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's crying stopped abruptly. He abruptly raised his head, his tear-streaked face filled with extreme astonishment and disbelief. It was as if he was seeing the robber for the first time. He stammered, "Almost...almost...there's still...an hour left...Why...why are you asking this? You...you don't...even dare to...attempt against General [name omitted]?!"

These words struck Fangru, Chen Jianan, and Hadan like a thunderclap!

A strong sense of incongruity and immense astonishment overwhelmed them instantly, like a tidal wave!

Something's not right!

This is so wrong! It makes absolutely no sense!

If they were truly desperate criminals driven solely by greed, after robbing such a huge sum of money, including the considerable valuables on the three of them, especially the potentially priceless jade pendant, and the shopkeeper's enormous amount of gold and silver that was clearly the culmination of many years of savings, their most instinctive and rational reaction would be to immediately flee the scene as quickly as possible, avoiding any potential risks and pursuit.

Every moment you linger increases the risk of being discovered.

But instead of leaving, he closed the shop and put up a sign, creating an undisturbed environment; he flipped through the account books as if searching for specific information; he forced the shopkeeper to reveal his hidden gold, yet he still seemed unsatisfied; and now, he's even inquiring about the whereabouts of the powerful Northern Di general, who commands a large army?!

How could an ordinary bandit who only cares about money have such audacity?

This is beyond audacious; it's downright suicide!

Unless... his goal from the very beginning was not just about money!

The innkeeper's trembling, tearful question echoed in the tent: "You...you even dared to plot against General [name omitted]?!"

The man didn't answer, but only glanced at the shopkeeper with a cold look. The meaning in that look silenced the shopkeeper instantly. He scrambled back to the corner, lay prostrate on the ground again, and his body trembled with fear.

Fangru's heart pounded like a drum. The name of the General exploded in her mind. If these bandits were truly audacious enough to attack a general of the Northern Barbarians, regardless of success or failure, this matter would surely cause a huge uproar.

At that time, martial law will definitely be declared in Shaou City, and the deal with Prince Arslan will likely be affected!

She couldn't just sit idly by; she had to do something to stop this man from escalating the situation, or at least... buy some time, or create chaos.

At this moment, the man continued to press the shopkeeper, his voice lower but carrying an undeniable ruthlessness: "Explain clearly, how many people from the General's Mansion usually come to collect wine?"

The shopkeeper's voice trembled: "Usually...there are three close attendants...plus the general himself, that's...that's four. Every time they come, they get that special mutton wine from over there."

His trembling fingers pointed to several sealed earthenware jars, slightly smaller than ordinary wine jars, piled up on one side of the tent.

The man's gaze followed the direction the shopkeeper pointed, but the spot where Fangru and the others had been lying just now blocked his view of the wine jars.

"Get in the way!" The man spat impatiently and yelled at Fangru, Chen Jian'an, and Hadan, "You three, get up! Get over there in the corner! Don't block my view!"

The three of them did as instructed and slowly stood up.

The prolonged prone position had impaired blood circulation, causing her to stagger when she stood up. Fangru's heart was in her throat; her chance might be just around the corner!

She noticed that on the shelf next to her, besides leather goods, there were some odds and ends scattered around, including a small, palm-sized, rather heavy copper flask, which seemed to be used for tasting samples of wine.

Just as the man's attention was completely focused on the shopkeeper and the mutton and wine, Fangru took advantage of her turning to walk towards the corner to quickly and discreetly scoop up the small copper wine pot and hide it behind her wide sleeves, her heart pounding wildly with tension.

However, just as she steadied herself and prepared to find an opportunity to strike the man on the back of the head, the man seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He suddenly turned around, and his cloudy yet sharp eyes caught her arm movements, which she hadn't had time to completely conceal, as well as the fleeting determination on her face!

"You're asking for death!" the man roared, his movements as fast as lightning, giving Fangru no chance to react. He stepped forward and grabbed Fangru's wrist, which was hiding the wine pot, with his left hand like an iron clamp, twisting it forcefully!

"Ah!" Fangru cried out in pain, her fingers involuntarily loosening, and the small copper wine pot fell to the ground with a "clatter".

Immediately afterwards, the man exerted force with his right arm and delivered a brutal over-the-shoulder throw, slamming Fangru hard onto the hard ground!

"Bang!" The heavy impact made Chen Jian'an and Hadan's hearts tighten.

The fall was extremely powerful. Fangru felt as if her internal organs had shifted, her vision went black, and excruciating pain instantly swept over her entire body.

The ordinary wooden hairpin that held her hair in place, meant for a man's hairstyle, snapped with a "crack" as she fell, and her long, black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, spreading across the dust.

In an instant, an eerie silence fell over the tent.

Looking down at Fangru, whose long hair was disheveled and who was curled up in pain, making her appear even more delicate and frail, the man's eyes, which had previously held only ferocity and greed, suddenly erupted with a mixture of surprise and undisguised lewdness.

He licked his chapped lips, a nauseating, greasy, and drooling smile spreading across his face.

"Heh...so she's a little wench! And she's pretty, damn it!" His rough voice was now filled with a chilling undertone.

Fangru saw the familiar yet disgusting desire in his eyes and instantly understood his intention. Overwhelmed by immense fear and humiliation, she was overwhelmed.

"No! Please! Take all the money... I can give you more money! Don't touch me!" She struggled to back away, her voice filled with desperate sobs.

"Money? Of course I want it!" The man chuckled, his smile twisted and cruel. "But a pretty young lady like you, with meat practically offered to me, why wouldn't I take it?"

He ignored Fangru's pleas and turned to Chen Jian'an and Hadan, yelling, "You two! Get the hell into that little room!"

He pointed to the small room partitioned off with felt where Fangru and Hadan had previously met.

Anger and struggle flashed across Chen Jian'an's face. Just as he was about to speak, the man's machete was already pointed at him, his murderous intent palpable: "Do you want to see her die right now?"

Hadan's face was ashen. He clenched his fists tightly, and the wound on his arm still throbbed, reminding him of the vast difference in strength between him and this man.

He glanced at Fangru, who lay on the ground in despair, then at the gleaming machete, and finally, he lowered his head in shame, walking silently towards the small cubicle first.

Seeing this, Chen Jian'an could only grit his teeth and follow, his eyes filled with helplessness.

The man followed them over, roughly pulled the felt curtain of the cubicle shut, and then used a thick wooden stick, usually used for setting up tents, to brace it from the outside, completely locking the two inside. He then threatened menacingly, "You two better stay quiet! If you make a sound, I'll kill this woman first, then I'll go in and kill you both!"

Now, in the main space of the tent, only the man, the innkeeper who is slumped on the ground, and Fangru who is desperate and helpless remain.

The man turned around and approached Fangru step by step, his eyes like those of a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.

"No! Don't come any closer! Get away!" Fangru moved backward in terror, using both her hands and feet, but the man easily grabbed her ankle and roughly dragged her back. Then his heavy body pressed down on her, pinning her firmly to the cold ground.

"Let me go! You beast! You vile beast!" Fangru struggled desperately, crying and cursing, her nails scratching bloody marks on the man's arm, but her strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree in front of him.

The sound of fabric tearing rang out sharply, accompanied by the man's heavy breathing and Fangru's desperate cries and pleas, sounding particularly clear in the empty tent.

Inside the cubicle, Hadan and Chen Jianan could clearly hear everything that was happening outside.

Fangru's shrill cries, the sounds of her struggles, the man's vulgar and obscene language, and the nauseating sounds of their collisions pierced their eardrums and their dignity like the sharpest awls.

Hadan closed his eyes tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. As Prince Arslan's advisor, when had he ever suffered such a humiliation, having to watch helplessly as a woman from Xia was violated under his "protection" without being able to stop it!

Chen Jian'an was ashen-faced. He had been ordered to meet Fangru, but she had suffered such a misfortune. He was filled with guilt and anger, yet he was also deeply tormented by the powerlessness he felt in the face of reality.

At this moment, Fangru was suffering from excruciating physical pain, and her mind was being consumed by boundless humiliation and despair.

Why...why is this happening?

She came to seek refuge with the officials of the Northern Di, and Hadan, who was just a curtain away, was helpless!

Zhou Muchen's subordinate Chen Jian'an was also there, but he was equally useless!

They just let her be humiliated by this ugly, greasy, and despicable robber!

Her consciousness was on the verge of collapse as unbearable memories of her past life flooded back like a tidal wave.

In her previous lives, she was also forced to submit to Zhou Ling, the emperor who held immense power and was incomparably handsome! Even if it was coercion and torture, at least... at least his status and appearance didn't make her feel so utterly filthy and disgusted!

But now... what's on her is this middle-aged man with an ordinary, even sleazy, face, a vulgar air about him, and despicable and vile methods! His rough hands, his murky, lustful eyes, his nauseating aura... all of these make her feel extremely disgusted and humiliated!

This sense of loss, this feeling of being utterly trampled into the mud and defiled by the most despicable people, was more unbearable for her than simple pain and coercion.

Tears blurred her vision, her cries gradually became hoarse and weak, leaving only the instinctive convulsions of her body and a cold, deathly silence deep within her heart.