The man shook his head, his tone wary. "No, no, that won't do. You're strong. What if you run away?"
He clearly remembered that if his older brother hadn't been there, he wouldn't have been able to hold Meng Zhao down by himself.
Meng Zhao didn't give up and continued to plead, "Brother, these ropes are tied too tightly. Please loosen them for me. I promise I won't run away. Besides, I don't even know where I am right now. Even if I wanted to run, I wouldn't know where to go!"
Her voice was weak and helpless, and her eyes were glistening with tears. The kidnapper thought for a moment. He realized that he was deep in Skull Mountain. If they hadn't spent their days roaming the mountains, they probably wouldn't have dared to come in. He figured that a young woman like her wouldn't be able to escape. So he nodded.
As the man loosened the rope, Meng Zhao quietly crossed her ankles slightly, still feigning a pained expression. "Brother, loosen it a little more. If you keep tying it like this, my legs will probably be ruined."
The man seemed impatient. "So what if it's useless? You won't need it anymore anyway, so what's all the fuss about?"
Meng Zhao dared not say anything more. While the man was drowsy, she quietly tucked her foot into her skirt, took off the remaining shoe, and slowly loosened the rope. Finally, she managed to free her foot from the rope. Her heart was pounding, but she dared not show any unusual expression on her face.
After a while, she suddenly curled up, a painful expression on her face, "Ouch, my stomach hurts so much, big brother, come and take a look at me."
Hearing her call, the man stood up impatiently and staggered over. Just as he approached and was about to squat down, Meng Zhao suddenly bent her leg and kicked him hard in the groin with all her might.
"Ah—!" The man let out a heart-wrenching scream, his whole body instantly curling into a ball, his hands covering his lower body, writhing on the ground in pain.
Ignoring the injury on his hand, Meng Zhao quickly turned around, grabbed the sharp stone, and, taking advantage of the man's inability to free his hands while he was clutching his groin, stabbed it into his eyes with all his might.
The first strike missed, but the stone grazed his face, leaving a bloody gash. The kidnapper was in excruciating pain, breaking out in a cold sweat, his eyes filled with rage. "You...you bastard! I'll kill you!"
He struggled to stand up, but Meng Zhao didn't give him the chance. She sat down on him, pressing her knees against his chest, and raised the stone in her hand again.
This time, she set her sights on it.
With a "plop," the sharp corner of the stone pierced the kidnapper's eye socket, and blood gushed out, splattering onto Meng Zhao's face as it was pulled out.
The man waved his hands wildly, trying to grab Meng Zhao. Fortunately, she ate and drank well every day and had a large frame, so she had enough strength to suppress him. She then immediately raised her hand and stabbed into his other eye.
The intense pain unleashed unprecedented strength in him, causing him to throw Meng Zhao away. Seeing Meng Zhao curled up on the ground cursing incessantly, Meng Zhao knew that he couldn't kill him without something handy, so he had to escape first.
She rushed to the door and pushed it hard, only to find that it was locked from the outside.
"The door's locked, let's see how you run! Once I catch you, you're dead!"
Meng Zhao kicked the door twice but couldn't open it. Seeing the person coming to grab her from the sound, she quickly turned to the window. The window was dilapidated, but Meng Zhao kicked it open with one kick, climbed out, and left two words for the person inside: "Idiot!"
The night wind swept over him, carrying the chill of the mountains, stinging Meng Zhao's cheeks. He didn't bother to figure out which way to go and just ran out in one direction. Once outside, he realized that the dangers outside were no less than those inside.
She had a sock on one foot but was barefoot on the other. Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, and before she had gone far, her foot was covered in wounds.
She rushed over when she spotted a cave. The cave was dark and damp, but she didn't care. First, she found a sharp rock and used it to break the rope binding her hands. Then she found a small puddle and washed the blood off her hands.
She had a wound on her hand, and had just touched the robber's blood. She didn't know if he was sick or not, and hoped she wouldn't get infected.
At this moment, Meng Zhao faced two choices: stay put and wait for rescue, or go out now and try to get down the mountain. Both choices were fraught with danger.
In the end, Meng Zhao chose the second option. Wei Jinglan was still outside. If she thought he was still in the hands of the kidnappers and went insane, walking right into their trap, then all his injuries would have been for nothing.
She tore off a piece of her skirt and used it to bandage the wounds on her hands and feet. She then found a thick tree branch to use as a weapon for self-defense. However, as soon as she stepped out of the cave, she heard rustling sounds in the distance.
Meng Zhao's heart tightened suddenly. She quickly retreated back into the cave, held her breath, and hid in the shadows. In the desolate wilderness, whether the bandit returned or she encountered some wild beast, her chances of survival were slim.
Only after watching the figure walk past the cave entrance did she dare to quietly step out. She was cold and in pain, but she couldn't stop.
Meanwhile, Shen Qinghe gripped a dagger tightly in his hand and hurried towards Skull Mountain. Although he had never been to Skull Mountain before, he had been to the back mountain of Shenjia Village quite often and was quite familiar with the situation on the mountain.
After walking for about an hour and a half, he finally saw a small wooden house. He quietly approached and heard a man's wailing coming from inside, mixed with intermittent curses.
"Ah, you little slut, don't let me catch you, or I'll definitely eat you alive..."
Shen Qinghe groped along the wall to the window and quietly looked inside. He saw a man sitting facing the window. Just as he was about to move away, he suddenly noticed that the man's face was covered in blood, and the area around his eyes was even worse, with two bloody holes, making him look like a demon.
Her gaze shifted from him, then suddenly fixed on something in the room: a fallen embroidered shoe, stained with blood, lay deflated. It was clearly her sister-in-law's favorite shoe! Shen Qinghe's heart clenched. Her eyes swept across the room; on the floor were ropes used for binding, and two pools of blood. Seeing these, Shen Qinghe's eyes widened in fury, and she leaped into the room.
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