Lu Qiqi's hands were tied behind her back, a piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth, and she sat leaning against the cart with the grain stolen by the robbers beneath her.
Eight men arrived at the gate of the stronghold. One of them shouted to the bandits on the high ground, "Brothers, open the gate!"
Before long, the gate of the village was opened.
Lu Qiqi was pulled into the village.
In the village, a tall, thin bandit walked over and shouted at "Wang Erlaizi," "Why are you so late?"
"Wang Erlaizi" walked ahead and replied, "I was delayed a bit on the way."
The tall, thin bandit took two more steps forward and looked 'Wang Erlaizi' up and down again. "What's wrong with you? Why are you wearing a mask?!"
Wang Erlaizi chuckled, "This woman is quite shrewish; she scratched me a few times."
Upon hearing this, several nearby bandits burst into laughter. The tall, thin bandit grinned lewdly, lifting Lu Qiqi's face to examine it. "Oh, she's quite pretty, with delicate skin. How does this woman taste?"
Lu Qiqi forcefully turned her head away, and the tall, thin bandit's hand immediately missed its target. The bandit was not angry at all; instead, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. "It really is spicy, I like it! Send it to my room later so I can try it too."
Wang Erlaizi was a little unhappy. "Go away, go away, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
After chasing the people away, "Wang Erlaizi" led the donkey cart into the village.
Reaching a deserted, dark alley, Lu Qiqi quickly untied the rope, got out of the car, and said, "Proceed according to plan. Three people go and deliver water to the guards, and put the poison I gave you in there. The poison will take effect in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The other three people go find the villagers and tell them not to eat anything from the village, and not to make any rash moves. Wait for us to rescue them. Song Yanqing and I will go to the kitchen to poison them. Remember to ensure your own safety first."
The six middle-aged men kept their heads down and remained silent. Although they had knives at their waists, they were still afraid of these desperate bandits after the recent robbery.
Lu Qiqi could see their hesitation and fear. "Uncle, your family, friends, and neighbors have all been captured by the bandits, and their fate is unknown. If you hesitate any longer and miss tonight, the bandits will find us by tomorrow morning, and we will be the first to die."
In less than a breath, an old man clenched his fists and walked out of the dark alley; "I'm going all out. I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well try to find a way out before I die."
The others, seemingly encouraged by this sentiment, also followed suit and came out of the alley.
After the six people left, Song Yanqing pulled off her mask, revealing her delicate face. "Let's hurry up and leave too."
Lu Qiqi and Song Yanqing found the kitchen; it was already completely dark.
A meaty aroma wafted out from inside. Lu Qiqi tiptoed and peeked through the window. There were four men inside.
The three were cooking in perfect harmony. One was adding firewood and working the bellows, another was chopping meat on the cutting board, and the fat one was stirring the broth in the pot with a large ladle.
The remaining man, with a fierce face, sat by the door, holding a knife and staring at the cook.
Lu Qiqi guessed that the three cooks were probably chefs who had been captured and brought up the mountain, and the one with the knife was a bandit who was keeping a close watch on them to prevent them from causing trouble.
Lu Qiqi whispered to Song Yanqing, "Go distract the guy with the knife, then tie up the cook. Don't hurt anyone yet. I bet they were also captured and brought up the mountain. If not, we'll deal with them together."
Song Yanqing looked at Lu Qiqi with his dark eyes for a few seconds, then said, "Be careful in everything you do."
As "Wang Erlaizi" walked into the kitchen, a delicious aroma of meat wafted out. He patted the bandit on the shoulder and said, "I'm here to relieve you."
The bandits saw "Wang Erlaizi" without thinking much, got up, grabbed a handful of peanuts, and left.
Then, "Wang Erlaizi" tied up the three cooks.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lu Qiqi sneaked into the kitchen. She grabbed a butcher's knife from the cutting board, held it to the fat cook's neck, and threatened, "Don't scream, or I'll kill you!"
The fat cook was so frightened that sweat poured down his forehead. He whimpered and nodded frantically, as if afraid that his head would roll off the ground at any moment.
Seeing that he was quite frightened, Lu Qiqi guessed that he wouldn't dare to resist, so she pulled the rag out of his mouth. "Tell me, how many bandits are there? Where are the captured people being held? What do the bandits want with so many people?"
The fat cook, his voice trembling with tears, said, “There are over 180 of them, all of them escaped from exile after committing crimes. All those arrested are locked up in the large shed on the west side. The bandits arrest people to avoid the authorities coming after them, to use them as scapegoats in the army. The pretty girls are sold to the Jiangnan region as prostitutes, and the older ones are sold to brothels. My lady, everything I've said is true. If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!”
Lu Qiqi interrupted his pleas for mercy, "What's your name? How were you captured and brought up the mountain? How long have you been here?"
The fat cook said, "My name is Liu Tong. I was fleeing to Heshun Prefecture with my fellow cooks to seek refuge with my relatives. We were captured as soon as we reached the foot of the mountain. They took me in because they saw that I could cook. It's been half a month now."
Lu Qiqi used both kindness and threats: "If you can help us rescue people, I will take you with me to escape. If you dare to report this, I will kill you first."
Liu Tong could stay in the village for half a month, which shows his excellent cooking skills. It's also possible that he didn't want to escape. Lu Qiqi had to make her harsh words clear beforehand, otherwise they wouldn't be able to save others, let alone protect themselves.
Upon hearing that he could leave, Liu Tong was more than willing to help, even if it meant diving into the ocean to catch turtles. He didn't want to stay here a moment longer. "Alright, alright, I will definitely follow your orders."
Lu Qiqi had Song Yanqing untie them, put the poison into the broth, and then stirred it with a large spoon to mix the broth and poison.
She found the poison among the things the pawnshop owner had given her. She didn't know why a pawnshop owner would have such a thing, but thinking that the journey to escape the famine was long, it was better to be prepared. She never expected it to actually come in handy today.
After doing all that, Lu Qiqi said, "Liu Tong, take your men to deliver the food. Song Yanqing will be with you."
He then said to Song Yanqing, "I'm going to find my third uncle. We'll meet at the village gate later."
After saying that, he ran out, not giving Song Yanqing a chance to refuse.
Song Yanqing watched Lu Qiqi's disappearing figure, pursed his lips. He knew that Lu Qiqi was no ordinary peasant girl, otherwise she would not only know medicine but also have poisons on her side, and she would have been able to hunt down two big wild boars back then.
Even so, a sense of unease still arose in his heart, for he was clearly not that kind of person.
Lu Qiqi was unaware of Song Yanqing's thoughts. She left the kitchen and walked westward. She saw a room locked and took out a silver hairpin to unlock it.
The lock opened, and Lu Qiqi pushed the door open. It was pitch black inside. Lu Qiqi called out softly, "Is anyone home?"
Her response was a rooster crowing and a strong stench of feces.
Lu Qiqi took out a tinderbox and used its dim light to see the house clearly. Inside were all the livestock and poultry that the bandits had taken up the mountain: dozens of chickens and ducks, six cows, and twelve sheep.
Lu Qiqi put all these animals into her space and packed them all up to take away.
We've struck gold! Now we won't have to worry about running out of meat on the road!
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