The mountain road is difficult to walk, and it's even more difficult to walk in the dark.
Driven by their will to survive, none of the children complained of being tired; they all mustered their strength and supported each other as they descended the mountain.
Xiao Yunying, who was walking at the back, kept talking to Chen Yuanxuan so that he wouldn't fall asleep.
"I heard that a child almost drowned last night. Young Master Chen, could it be you?"
Chen Yuanxuan hummed softly, a little embarrassed: "It was me. I was only thinking about running away. Who knew the box couldn't be opened and water just kept pouring in through the cracks."
"It really is you! No wonder your clothes were damp. What happened between you two last night? Tell me about it."
Chen Yuanxuan buried his face in her back: "It's too embarrassing, let Brother Luo Yang tell you."
Xiao Yunying also wanted to know what had happened to them: "Luo Yang, tell me about your experiences these past two days."
Luo Yang said, "That day we went to buy books, and just as we turned the corner, we heard a carriage pass by behind us."
It was perfectly normal for a carriage to pass by, so we weren't on guard. But then we realized the side of the carriage could be opened, and two men suddenly leaned out at the same time, grabbed us, covered our mouths, and dragged us into the carriage.
There was another person in the carriage who quickly tied our hands and feet, gagged us with cloth, and blindfolded us with strips of cloth. His movements were practiced, and I don't know how many times he had done this before.
We didn't know where we were taken; all we could sense was that there was another child in the place where we were being held.
After a long time, I heard them moving something, and then they let us out and onto the carriage. I couldn't see any light through the gaps in the cloth, so I guessed it was late at night.
With my hands and feet bound, it would be difficult for me to save myself. So I thought it would be good to leave some clues. After thinking it over, the only thing I could leave as a mark was the silver lock I was wearing.
I asked Yuanxuan to help pull out the silver lock and loosen the blindfold strip a bit.
When he heard the sound of the night watchman's drum coming from afar, he pretended to beg for mercy and let the bandits driving the carriage in to see Yin Suo.
After he became greedy and took the silver lock, she seized the opportunity to bump into him hard, bit his wrist, made sure the silver lock fell to the ground, and then shouted for help.
Unexpectedly, I was lucky. The bandit who was keeping watch at the alley entrance ran over and said that some soldiers on patrol had heard the cries for help and were on their way.
They were more panicked than I expected, taking only the three of us with them, abandoning even the carriage, and completely forgetting about the small silver lock.
Xiao Yunying praised Luo Yang without reservation: "Brave and resourceful, he truly lives up to his name, Luo Yang."
How did Mother know we were here?
She briefly explained: "Naturally, it was thanks to your cry for help that the officials noticed something amiss and reported it. We discovered that there were many boxes and a jar of melted wax in the small courtyard next door. They must have forgotten to take them with them in their panic."
The white wax could seal the seams of the box, leading to the assumption that they might have traveled by water. They eventually found a simple wooden plaque with a one-eyed wolf at the bottom of the river at the end of the city, revealing that it was the bandits who had done it.
Chen Yuanxuan weakly praised her from behind, "You're so smart."
"You flatter me. Oh, so how did you hit your head?"
Luo Yang continued, "I was afraid of being overheard, so I didn't tell Yuan Xuan my thoughts in detail. He probably really thought I wanted to break free and escape, so he struggled as well. But because he was blindfolded and couldn't see, he just lurched forward and fell off the carriage."
"Haha...cough cough."
Xiao Yunying quickly stopped laughing, and heard Chen Yuanxuan say in a muffled voice, "Laugh if you want to, don't worry about my feelings."
Xiao Yunying said, "Young Master Chen, don't you think about it? You're only six years old. Under normal circumstances, you can't possibly outrun an adult, let alone with your hands and feet tied. What are you thinking?"
"When I heard that Brother Luo Yang was going to run away, I naturally wanted to run away with him without thinking much about it. Who knew that Brother Luo Yang was just leaving clues to deliberately distract them, and didn't really want to escape."
Luo Yang comforted him, saying, "I was just lucky to attract the soldiers."
If it were just a night watchman, the bandits probably wouldn't have panicked enough to forget about the silver lock and only take us away.
If the night watchman is too afraid to come over, or if he's greedy and keeps the silver lock instead of reporting it to the authorities, anything could happen. This is just a last resort, a desperate attempt to try and hope for success.
Xiao Yunying comforted Chen Yuanxuan: "Actually, you are very brave, at least you dared to try to escape."
Chen Yuanxuan sighed softly, "I was brave twice, and both times I almost killed myself."
Xiao Yunying took the opportunity to teach him: "That's why I don't really agree with confronting them head-on, especially when your strength is far inferior to theirs."
Sometimes courage alone isn't enough; you need to use your clever little brain.
Chen Yuanxuan nodded: "I've learned my lesson this time. If something like this happens again, I'll wait for the right opportunity and then find a way to save myself. I won't be reckless again."
"Indeed, this child is teachable."
Chen Yuanxuan suddenly said awkwardly, "Um...am I very heavy?"
Xiao Yunying lifted his little bottom and bounced him up slightly: "A little."
"Thanks a lot."
Xiao Yunying said bluntly, "It was a bit tiring. When you get back, find some interesting things for Xin'er as a way of thanking me, okay?"
Chen Yuanxuan said earnestly, "I remember."
Eager to get home, the group hurried down the mountain. As they neared the bottom, Chen Yuanxuan, perched on her back, asked:
"Did you come alone? Didn't my older brother come?"
Xiao Yunying stopped in her tracks: "Oh my god, this is terrible! I forgot to ask someone to come and meet me."
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