The chieftain calmly surveyed his unconscious subordinates and the beautiful woman, then chuckled, "I underestimated you."
Ye Wenxue sat lazily on the chaise longue, one leg propped up, and raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "The chieftain doesn't seem surprised."
As she spoke, Ye Wenxue had already thought of Aunt Wang, who had inexplicably appeared at the banquet.
She had been wondering before that Aunt Wang's timing in speaking was perfect, and even Aunt Wang's appearance was quite inexplicable.
If Aunt Wang's appearance was deliberately arranged by the village chief, then it wouldn't be surprising.
The chieftain chuckled softly. He wasn't as rough and fierce as other bandits, nor as ordinary and unassuming as common people. Instead, he possessed an indescribable madness.
“You guessed right. When Baldy led you up the mountain, someone came to report it. I specifically asked Aunt Wang, who works in the kitchen, to check and confirm your identity.”
He looked up at Ye Wenxue and said cryptically, "I've seen you before. The first time I saw you in the village, I knew you weren't here for money."
Before he became a bandit, he made a living by carrying goods at the town's dock, eating only two steamed buns a day, and had no hope for the future.
He even thought about dying more than once, so that he could be with his family in the afterlife sooner.
But one day, a strange woman came to the place where they were taking jobs.
In times of turmoil, there have been women who have competed with them to do the dirty, tiring, and hard work, but this woman was different.
No matter how well she covered herself, how dirty her face was, or how many layers of burlap were tied under her clothes, you could still tell that she was different from them.
She could have made money with her looks and body, but she didn't.
It wasn't that no one wanted to take her as a concubine, nor that no beasts wanted to humiliate her, but she never compromised. She grabbed a knife and chased after the villains with ferocious madness, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Even when she was ostracized by everyone and forced to do the hardest work, she did not give in.
During her free time, a woman asked her why she didn't choose the easier route. She didn't say anything or explain, and just kept working.
Gradually, no one asked anymore.
The village chief learned of her plight by chance from someone who knew her: her husband had died unexpectedly, and she was struggling to make a living with her five children, facing ostracism and bullying from the entire village...
At that moment, the chieftain suddenly had a change of heart.
There are many people in the world who are worse off than him, such as this woman, or the orphans begging on the street.
Rather than continuing to live a mindless, zombie-like existence, he decided to take a risk and give it a try.
Anyway, he has no father, no mother, no wife, no children, just a wretched life. If he succeeds, he will become famous and make a name for himself; if he fails, his life will not have been in vain.
But he never expected that he would see this woman again.
The chieftain stared at Ye Wenxue, whose eyes looked unfamiliar, and suddenly thought: She must have gone through a lot during this time, otherwise how could she have changed so much in just half a month?
They managed to escape through the stone cave inside the maze, sneak silently into his house, and knock out his trusted subordinate.
Ye Wenxue disliked his gaze, and with a backhand stab, she stabbed him in the leg. A cry of pain rang out: "I want to go down the mountain. I hope the chieftain will be lenient."
The stronghold was guarded everywhere, and unless one jumped off a cliff to reopen it or directly attacked the stronghold, it would be difficult to escape silently.
She needed to bring Sanyuan down the mountain safely, so she couldn't take too many risks.
The chieftain shook his head, enduring the pain, and asked in return, "Why don't you stay and do something big with me?! I don't care about Gou Dan's identity or your relationship, as long as you help me."
"Do big things?" Ye Wenxue scoffed, the dagger in her hand pressed tightly against the skin below the chieftain's neck. "What big things can bandits accomplish?"
"Conquer Tanzhou City and declare yourself king."
"Oh, not interested."
The chieftain choked up, about to continue his persuasion, when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
"Brother Gou Dan, the chieftain is still resting. No one is allowed to trespass!"
"roll!"
Then they heard the bald man's voice again: "If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your wife. Her life is still in the hands of the chieftain!"
"You get out too!"
Su Jiu's voice came from afar: "Hey, hey, don't do anything rash, she'll be fine!"
Sui Ye was unusually irritable: "Get the hell away from me!"
Before Ye Wenxue left, she clearly told him that she would meet him at noon through Su Jiu.
More than half an hour has passed, and it's almost lunchtime, but there's still no news of Ye Wenxue.
Then he saw Sanyuan at Su Jiu's place.
Sui Ye quickly realized that Ye Wenxue had probably acted rashly on her own.
Suiye was furious; this guy was too reckless!
If anything happens, he won't be kind enough to help Ye Wenxue raise her child!
Sui Ye deftly dodged the approaching bandits, kicked open the chieftain's door, and sure enough, saw Ye Wenxue with a bloodstained dagger.
He glared at the village chief, who was clearly at a disadvantage, and said angrily, "You're not following the plan!"
They had clearly agreed to act together, and he was supposed to cover Ye Wenxue, Sanyuan, and Su Jiu as they descended the mountain. How could Ye Wenxue break her promise?
The kidnapped chieftain: "......"
Ye Wenxue glanced at Sui Ye casually, ignored him, and turned to look at the people who rushed into the house carrying weapons:
"If you don't want your chieftain to die like this, put down your weapons."
The bandits looked at each other in bewilderment, then all turned to look at the bald man.
The bald man's eyes flashed, and he slowly gripped his broadsword: "Brothers, charge! Save the chieftain!"
Although it was different from his original plan, as long as the chieftain was dead, he would be the leader of the stronghold, and he would be able to rescue his mother without being threatened by anyone!
The bald man's words were of little use; only a few of his trained men responded enthusiastically and were about to kill Ye Wenxue.
Sui Ye decisively stepped forward and blocked Ye Wenxue's path.
The chieftain felt Ye Wenxue's grip tighten, a sharp pain shooting through his neck, even drawing blood. He couldn't help but shout sternly:
"Baldy, do you still want to see your mother? And Daqiang, your brother is only twelve years old, right? Guanzi, your daughter had a high fever a few days ago, and I had to send someone to bring back a doctor. You two, put down your weapons right now!"
The people whose names were called hesitated.
The bald man gritted his teeth and didn't respond, but kept giving Sui Ye meaningful glances, urging him to urge Ye Wenxue to make a move quickly.
Once the chieftain dies, he will take over the chieftain's men. How could he possibly not find his mother?
Sui Ye stared intently at Ye Wenxue, pretending not to notice the bald man's gaze.
The chieftain sneered, "You'd better think this through. The gatekeeper is a brother I personally promoted. If I die, he'll immediately kill your families and then commit suicide. With them accompanying me on my journey to the underworld, I won't be alone!"
Ye Wenxue wanted to say that she had already knocked out the guards, but the chieftain couldn't die yet; she needed him to keep the bald man and the other bandits occupied, so she kept quiet.
Upon hearing the chieftain's words, the bandits exchanged bewildered glances, and none of the leaders dared to make a move.
The bald man clenched his fists, his expression shifting repeatedly. After struggling for a long time, he finally dejectedly put down the knife.
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