She ran into the yard and saw clearly the people standing there.
The man wore a half-mask, was tall and thin, and dressed in riding attire, suggesting he was a long-time martial arts practitioner.
Sun Miao'er glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, finally fixing her gaze on the bronze plaque at the man's waist, which had a bird pattern on it. She guessed that it probably represented some kind of identity.
It's no surprise that this man is someone from the imperial court, but why would someone from the imperial court be secretly involved in such human trafficking?
Besides, would high-ranking officials in the imperial court be so short of women that they would bother coming to this rural area to look for them?
She felt it wasn't that simple.
As she sized up the man, he also glanced at her.
Then, quite satisfied, he nodded, took two steps forward, and asked in a stern voice, "How old are you?"
"Sixteen." Sun Miao'er's voice was barely audible, still trying to glean some useful information from the man's attire.
The man paced back and forth. "Your age is just right. What's your birthday?"
Sun Miao'er had a sudden inspiration and said, "My mother had many children and said that it's not necessary to remember a daughter's birthday. She doesn't know either. Maybe it's June 16th."
"June 16th?" The man nodded. "Is she a virgin?"
Old Jin stepped forward and chimed in, "She must be a virgin. Don't worry, a girl this age is perfectly clean!"
To everyone's surprise, the man replied irritably, "Don't try to fool me. A few of them had children a few years ago! How dare you try to pass yourself off as someone else! If I could find someone else, I wouldn't be looking for you!"
Judging from the man's tone, there weren't many women handed over to him by Old Man Jin; they were mainly unmarried girls. Could Song Shi be among them?
Could Old Man Jin have other suppliers? What exactly does this man intend to do with the girls he's taken?
As Sun Miao'er was thinking this, the man suddenly pinched her shoulder, and she gritted her teeth in pain.
"Hmm, her physique is acceptable, just a bit thin." The man appraised Sun Miao'er as if she were merchandise.
Old Man Jin chuckled awkwardly, "Then, could you give me this medicine?"
"Take it!" The man took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and threw it into Old Man Jin's hand.
Granny Jin hurriedly took the medicine and went into the house.
"I'm not eating, get out!"
Inside the room, Jin Lao Er's low growls continued, followed by a violent coughing fit.
Then there was silence.
"Second son! Don't scare your mother! Second son!" Granny Jin suddenly burst into tears, then ran out of the house like a madwoman, "Husband, come quick, go see, second son, second son is gone!"
Old Man Jin was shocked and turned to Sun Miao'er, glaring at her fiercely. "Was it you who did something to the second son! He was perfectly fine during the day, it must have been you!"
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Sun Miao'er by the neck.
Before anyone could react, the man pulled Sun Miao'er behind him. "Old man Jin, this isn't how business is done. I've already given you the medicine. Now you want to touch my things? What do you say to that?"
Old Man Jin was devastated and roared, "But the two old folks are already gone! There's no use keeping this medicine!"
"Then don't blame me!" The man hoisted Sun Miao'er up and threw her onto the horse. "Since you can't use this medicine anymore, our business can end here!"
After saying this, the man mounted his horse, cracked his whip, and rode away.
Sun Miao'er hung sideways on the horse's back, panting from the jolting. "Where are you taking me?"
She never knew that unexpected complications could be so outrageous: the Jin family's seriously ill son, the masked man who suddenly appeared, and herself being inexplicably kidnapped.
The horse headed north and disappeared into the woods. Sun Miao'er knew something was wrong; they were about to leave Yingzhou.
Further north, she reached the territory of Huizhou, a place she had never been before, only knowing that it was very chaotic.
In the chaos, the horse suddenly tilted, lost its balance, and its hind legs buckled and fell to the ground.
Sun Miao'er was caught off guard and could only hold on tightly to the saddle to avoid falling off the horse.
She peered out and saw a short arrow deeply embedded in the horse's hind leg.
The masked man leaped off his horse and casually pulled Sun Miao'er down with him.
She fell heavily to the ground, the pain in her back intense and clear. Luckily, it was the man who threw her off; if she had fallen from the horse herself, she probably would have lost her life long ago.
The man steadied himself and warily eyed the woods behind him. "Who's there?"
The sound of rustling footsteps echoed in the woods, and the figure gradually became clearer under the moonlight, a familiar indigo blue.
Sun Miao'er stared blankly at that figure, lost in thought for a long time. She couldn't remember how many times this had happened.
"master."
She called out softly.
Fu Yuchi put away his short crossbow, stepped over the broken leaves, and smiled, "Feiyu, how have you been?"
The masked man was equally stunned into silence upon seeing Fu Yuchi, and it took him a long time to recover. "I didn't expect you to still be alive? Did you come here to die today?"
Fu Yuchi's lips curled into a smile, his thin lips gleaming softly in the moonlight. "You think you can kill me now just because you couldn't back then? Unbelievable! A king of a nation, raising a bunch of useless fools who can't even kill me. How laughable!"
He was using reverse psychology, and the man named Feiyu was successfully provoked. He drew his soft sword from his waist and thrust it straight forward.
Sun Miao'er was secretly worried for Fu Yuchi.
What did Master just say? The emperor of a country? Is this man working for the emperor? Are those women meant for the emperor?
But I just can't understand it. What kind of woman can't a king have? Why would he need to look for these women?
Fu Yuchi casually transformed the short crossbow in his hand into a weapon, blocking the fatal blow from the soft sword and wedging the soft sword into the gap of the short crossbow. "Don't be delusional. Even if the entire Feather Camp came today, they might not be my match!"
"You!" Fei Yu was furious and almost killed with every move. He drew his short sword and stabbed several more times.
But without exception, they were all easily snatched away by Fu Yuchi.
They were no match for him at all.
Cold sweat was already seeping from the man's forehead. If the stalemate continued, even though Fu Yuchi only had one hidden weapon, he would eventually be exhausted by Fu Yuchi.
"If you couldn't kill me back then, you certainly can't now."
After saying this, Fu Yuchi leaped back several feet, aimed at the right moment, pressed the trigger of his crossbow, and the short arrow flew out, hitting Fei Yu squarely on the left shoulder.
Fei Yu injured his left shoulder, and the short sword in his hand fell to the ground.
He's lost; he can't stay any longer!
Realizing his predicament, he decisively abandoned the fight, whistled, and the injured horse limped over. Fei Yu mounted the horse and disappeared into the dark woods ahead without looking back.
Beyond the woods lies the territory of Huizhou.
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