Xiao Yunying remained at the back, leading the children deeper into the woods.
He casually picked up the trampled weeds to use as cover, put Chen Yuanxuan down, and they both lay down together. Finally, he whispered some instructions.
"Keep your breathing quiet. Remember, if you don't want to be caught and sold again, no matter what happens, you are not allowed to make a sound."
She was once again thankful for her decision not to light a torch to guide her, otherwise she would have definitely been discovered.
Sure enough, my intuition and premonition were quite accurate.
The distant firelight gradually drew closer, accompanied by the sounds of men laughing and talking.
Xiao Yunying crouched even lower and, through the gaps in the grass, saw about thirty people leading several oxcarts loaded with goods up the mountain.
Xiao Yunying was cautious and waited until the firelight and sounds were completely out of sight and sound before letting the children get up.
"Hurry up, hurry up."
She stopped and said to Luo Yang, "You take Yuan Xuan away first. I'll set up a trap here. If those bandits go back and find out we've escaped, they'll definitely come after us. Setting up a trap will buy us some time."
Luo Yang hurriedly said, "I'll stay and wait for you."
The young woman in front also said, "Our benefactor, how can we leave you alone?"
Xiao Yunying said to them, "It's still quite a distance from here to the village on the mountaintop. It will take them some time to catch up, so don't worry about me."
The children have short legs and walk slowly. Besides me, you're the only adult here. You lead them first, and I'll catch up with you soon.
The girl wanted to say something more, but Xiao Yunying said impatiently, "Stop arguing and hurry up and leave. Luo Yang, you go too. I told you, I can catch up with you in a little while."
Luo Yang guessed that his mother was probably going to do something she didn't want anyone to see again, and said, "Then you have to be careful."
Xiao Yunying walked into the bushes: "It's alright, let's go."
After they left, Xiao Yunying took out a hemp rope and tied it to the trees on both sides at knee height.
She muttered to herself with a hint of schadenfreude, "I hope you only break your legs, but don't knock out your teeth. There's no place to get dental work done here."
This rope cannot stop everyone. As long as the person at the front is caught, the rest of the group will slow down because they will become more cautious.
After making this simple tripwire, Xiao Yunying quickly headed down the mountain.
It didn't take long for them to catch up, and they carried Chen Yuanxuan on their backs again.
Chen Yuanxuan felt embarrassed to let her carry him the whole time, but Xiao Yunying lectured him, making him realize that in his situation, not letting her carry him was just holding him back.
Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain, they saw a wide road, which boosted the children's confidence, and they quickened their pace.
But his joy was short-lived, for he soon heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him.
Then a gruff male voice rang out, shouting, "Found them! They're here!"
Xiao Yunying was startled: "Run! Split up and run towards the city gate. Watch your step! Don't fall or twist your ankle!"
Another male voice shouted, "These little brats are quite capable, they run pretty fast, hurry up and catch them back."
Xiao Yunying cursed under her breath, "Damn it, I didn't expect them to come chasing us on horseback. They came way too fast."
There was a rather steep section of the mountain road; weren't they afraid of them falling to their deaths?
She glanced back briefly and saw that there were quite a few people approaching, probably thirty or forty, with several of them riding horses and quickly getting closer.
Luo Yang glanced back and said, "I guess the people on the mountain discovered that we had escaped, so they rode after us on horseback. They ran into the group that was going up the mountain, so they came back together to chase us."
Xiao Yunying bit her lip nervously. Oh no, she had miscalculated. If only she had arranged for someone to meet her, at least she would have had the strength to resist.
What are we going to do now? This group of weak, sick and disabled women is definitely no match for those big men.
"Sister Yunying, put me down and run by yourself."
Xiao Yunying said, panting, "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I put you down, I still can't outrun a four-legged horse. But Young Master Chen, you really should lose some weight."
"Okay, when I get back I'll definitely find a way to lose weight."
"Stop talking for now," Luo Yang said anxiously. "What should we do now?"
"Let me think about it."
She quickly searched the supermarket for inconspicuous items that were either dangerous or had a large area of damage, but the more anxious she became, the less she could think of anything.
The sound of hooves behind her was already very close. The rider must have seen her clothes clearly and cursed.
"Damn it, I was wondering how someone could sneak in undetected, drug the brothers in the village, and let these little brats go. Turns out there was a traitor in the village."
Xiao Yunying sighed inwardly, "Well, this outfit was useless in the bandit stronghold, and it's causing misunderstandings here. How ridiculous."
The children, whose legs are already short, were exhausted after walking for more than an hour along the mountain path.
The little girl who had been comforting Xiao Yunying on the mountain path earlier accidentally stepped on a stone, twisted her ankle, and fell to the ground.
The young woman beside her stopped to help her up. Xiao Yunying, watching from behind, grew anxious and, hearing the very close sound of horses' hooves behind her, said to Luo Yang:
"Keep running, don't look back, ignore the little girl who fell, prioritize your own safety."
His tone was stern, leaving no room for argument.
Luo Yang gritted his teeth and ran forward. He could only trust that his mother had a solution. If he didn't listen to her, he might end up holding her back.
Xiao Yunying slowed down and deliberately lagged behind.
A menacing voice came from behind: "Once I catch you, I'll make sure you know how the village treats traitors."
Xiao Yunying estimated the distance between them based on the sound, stopped, turned around, and threw a balloon filled with chili oil at his face.
"Mind your own business first, watch out for my hidden weapon!"
The man hadn't expected the traitor to throw a hidden weapon at him, and instinctively used his knife to slash at the object thrown at him.
The balloon burst, splattering chili oil everywhere, but the horse kept running forward, resulting in the man getting his face covered in chili oil.
Chili oil got into his eyes, and he rolled off his horse, covering his face, cursing incessantly.
The riders following behind him, unaware of what had happened and fearing their horses might trample their companions on the ground, all pulled on the reins and stopped.
Seeing that he had been hit, Xiao Yunying did not hesitate and turned to continue running forward.
He shouted as he ran, "My hidden weapon is poisonous and will corrode flesh. If you don't want to die, don't chase after me."
The little girl who had just fallen had already gotten up, but because she had twisted her ankle, she was limping and running even slower.
The young girl didn't abandon her and helped her run. Xiao Yunying caught up with them and helped the little girl on the other side.
"Bear with it. If you get caught this time, it won't be so easy to escape again."
The group behind them paused for a moment, probably realizing what was happening, and then chased after them at an even faster pace.
"You brat, don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive."
Xiao Yunying knew that this wasn't a joke an elder made to scare a naughty younger generation; it was a real threat, and she couldn't help but feel a little scared.
Oh no! Making an example of them didn't work; it just angered them instead.
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