She was startled and, without thinking, pushed Shaoyao and Muyue into the crevice in the rocks, then smeared her face with black paint and walked over.
Before them stood the beautiful woman and girl from before. Perhaps because the dog hole was too smelly, neither of them wanted to pass through, which is why they were discovered by the bandits!
"Big brother, please let us go! I'll give you whatever money you want, please!"
The bandit leader was not the one-eyed man from before, but another strong man. When he saw the woman begging for mercy, he kicked her away without showing any of the one-eyed man's pity!
"Get lost! I don't like middle-aged women!"
The girl next to her cried out in alarm when she saw her mother being kicked away. Before she could say anything, the burly man picked her up and laughed wildly.
"Haha! Little beauty, you're so pretty!"
The girl was terrified and began to struggle desperately, but this man didn't have Qin Qing's patience! Seeing that she wouldn't give up, he slapped her across the face, grabbed her buttocks, and his disgusting gaze swept over her body!
"You bitch, you better behave! I don't have the patience to coax you! If you keep making a fuss, I'll sell you to a brothel!"
After saying that, the girl glanced at him in horror, but then smelled the burly man's foul breath. Her face turned completely pale, and she reflexively vomited!
This action directly angered the burly man. His eyes were filled with shame and anger, and after a furious roar, he slapped the girl across the face.
"What the hell is this reaction? You dare to look down on me? You want to vomit?! You bitch, I'll make you vomit!"
As he spoke, the burly man tore the girl's outer garment to shreds, and the surrounding people cheered excitedly. They had already drunk some alcohol, and coupled with the anger of losing a hostage, everyone had lost their minds!
The girl looked at everyone in horror, struggling desperately but to no avail. The woman on the ground had already fainted. Qin Qing stood at the back, his face extremely pale.
Although she disliked the mother and daughter, she still felt ashamed of the bandits' behavior. Seeing that almost all of the girl's clothes had been torn to shreds and that a large area of her exposed skin was about to be exposed, Qin Qing couldn't help herself. She gently retreated to the crevice in the rock and whispered.
"Peony, what do you think?"
The question seemed rather absurd, but it made Peony freeze. She also heard the girl's terrified screams, which meant that the person had reaped what they sowed.
She then choked up.
"That's enough. From this day forward, the peony is dead!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Qing nodded, feeling a slight pang of sympathy for Shaoyao, and then ran to the side, shouting in alarm.
"We found the boss; he's in the bedroom. He's summoning everyone over; it seems he's been castrated by that woman..."
Before she could finish speaking, a bright light appeared in the distance, seemingly confirming her words!
Seeing this, she quickly turned her back to everyone and pretended to run to the bedroom to put out the fire. Sure enough, having been controlled by the leader for a long time, the burly man in the lead immediately raised his head excitedly, thinking that the one-eyed man was about to die, and quickly led most of the people to run over!
Upon seeing this, Qin Qing quickly said.
"Lock her up. If the boss finds out, I'm afraid..."
The burly man frowned, eager to know what had happened to the leader, so he handed the man to Qin Qing and ran away quickly.
Without further ado, Qin Qing, after confirming that most of the people had left and only two remained to guard the area, swiftly drew his scalpel and sliced them one by one! The two bandits didn't even have time to react before they were dead!
The bloody scene terrified the girl, causing her to tremble with fear, tears of humiliation streaming down her face, and she nearly fainted several times from shock.
In ancient times, people valued purity highly. Even if nothing much happened, in a young girl's eyes, she had already lost her purity and had been molested by many people!
Seeing her kneeling on the ground in despair, Qin Qing didn't bother with her and summoned Shaoyao and Muyue without saying a word.
Even upon hearing the name Peony, the girl remained still, her eyes filled with shock and fear. Peony glanced at her, her expression full of satisfaction at having avenged her great grudge, and without saying a word, she was about to crawl through the dog hole!
The girl on the ground seemed to finally come to her senses and saw who it was. Her terrified eyes caught sight of Qin Qing, and she quickly grabbed Shaoyao's hem, shaking her head and pleading.
"Peony, no...don't leave me, please take me with you!"
Peony coldly shook her off, her eyes bloodshot.
“Miss, do you know why I never thought of abandoning you even when we were on the run? It's because I always believed that you truly considered me your sister. So I searched for food for you, suffered for you, and took care of you and the madam with all my heart. But what did you do? You tricked me into going out and almost killed me in order to delay being discovered!”
After saying that, she bit her lip and tears streamed down her face. Without saying another word, she turned and crawled into the dog hole. Xiao Muyue followed closely behind. After Qin Qing relaxed a little, he kicked the unconscious woman again. He left only after seeing her wake up.
After all, she had already provided an escape route, and there was no immediate danger. If they wanted to live, they would definitely escape through the dog hole! If they hesitated any longer, their lives or deaths would be none of her concern!
After a whole night of turmoil, they finally managed to get away from the bandits' den before they dared to relax a little. Qin Qing was also exhausted!
Holding her almost weightless granddaughter in her arms, she ran for an unknown amount of time before finally spotting the oxcart that had been parked in the grass during the day.
On the way, Xiao Muyue was sleeping soundly, but Qin Qing, holding her, looked at Shaoyao.
"Young lady Peony, what are your plans for the future?"
The girl, who was immersed in her own world, suddenly came back to her senses, glanced at her, and could only say bitterly.
"Auntie, what can I do?"
After saying that, she looked at the little girl in Qin Qing's arms with a hint of envy in her eyes.
"If it weren't for your guidance, I would probably have hanged myself long ago. If you don't mind, I'm willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"
In this era of male chauvinism, she had seen many people sell their daughters for personal gain. The fact that this man dared to venture alone into a bandit's den to save his granddaughter was enough to prove his magnanimity and benevolence! As she thought this, Peony's eyes brightened even more.
That night, the once blind peony suddenly saw the light.
Qin Qing was taken aback, never expecting her to say that. She herself was also homeless, having fled here with her family during a famine, and the future was uncertain. With another person added to the mix, the future would likely be even more uncertain.
But the words of refusal stuck in her throat. The despair and fear in Shaoyao's eyes at that time floated into her mind. Seeing her firm yet helpless eyes now, Qin Qing finally softened and said gently.
“Silly child, there’s no need for me to serve you. I’m just a country woman from the mountains. I have three sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandsons. Why don’t I take you in as my goddaughter? It’s fate.”
Upon hearing this, Peony's tense mood finally relaxed a little, and tears of excitement streamed down her cheeks again as she reached out to take the reins.
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