Zhou Yue was extremely anxious. He suddenly turned around and leaped up. Just as the boulder was about to hit the carriage, he rushed in, pulled Su An out, and shielded her with his own body.
"Boom!" The boulder crashed heavily onto the carriage, instantly shattering it into pieces.
The impact of the boulder shook Zhou Yue so violently that it felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, staining Su An's clothes red.
"My lord!" Su An's mind went blank for a moment, and she managed to support him.
"Forget about me, run as far as you can!"
Zhou Yue coughed violently and tried to push Su An away, but Su An gritted her teeth, supported him, and they turned and ran away together.
“If this continues, we won’t be able to leave…” Zhou Yue glared, his face turning several shades paler from running so fast, but Su An refused to let go of him no matter what.
"Don't give up as long as there's hope!" Su An shouted anxiously, but what she really wanted to say was that if everyone was dead, she, a useless person with no strength, couldn't run very far!
Dust billowed along the entire official road, and with enemies attacking from both sides, Su An had no time to choose. He plunged into the jungle and ran blindly, unable to distinguish directions.
"Chase them! Don't let those two big fish escape!"
The shouts of battle quickly caught up from behind, and Su An's heart jumped into his throat.
But soon, the scene before her eyes filled her with even greater despair: "It's all over, there's no road ahead—"
Ahead, the river was rushing, with white waves splashing high and crashing against the riverbank. This was the moat that she and Zhou Yue had recently cleaned up by deploying waterwheels.
But unexpectedly, it has now become a dead end for the two of them!
Su An turned his head with a pale face and saw that the black-clad assassins behind them were rapidly closing in on them in a fan shape.
"We're going to die either way, my lord. We have no choice but to take this chance. Let's jump into the river!"
Looking at the surging river behind him, and then at the vicious assassins behind him, Zhou Yue nodded resolutely, his eyes flashing with determination: "It's better to leave it to fate than to die at the hands of these rats in the gutter!"
After saying that, he and Su An immediately took a deep breath.
Holding each other tightly, they closed their eyes, steeled their resolve, and leaped into the turbulent river.
The river water instantly submerged the top of her head, and Su An felt a bone-chilling cold spread throughout her body. Under the impact of the water, she and Zhou Yue were swept away in the blink of an eye.
"Lord Marquis? Pfft cough cough..." Su An struggled and thrashed in the water, trying to call out, but he overestimated his physical strength.
Is it really going to be sent like this?!
Su An cried out inwardly, but as her breathing became increasingly difficult, her consciousness gradually became blurred.
She didn't know how much time had passed before the feeling of drowning in her chest made her suddenly open her eyes, coughing violently with a pained expression.
"Cough cough cough! Where...where is this?"
Su An shook his groggy head, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and his vision gradually cleared after a while.
Looking around in confusion, I found myself in a cabin on a ship, where everything seemed both unfamiliar and luxurious.
The air was filled with the scent of perfume and a faint aroma of wine, while the sounds of laughter and music drifted in from outside.
She stared in disbelief, then a possibility flashed through her mind—this was… a pleasure boat?!
Before anyone could react, a brothel madam dressed in a flamboyant manner heard the noise and pushed the door open to enter.
The woman appeared to be around forty years old, dressed in a bright red silk dress, her face adorned with vibrant makeup, yet she couldn't conceal the deep crow's feet around her eyes and the shrewdness and meanness in them.
"Oh, young lady, you're finally awake!" The madam's voice was high-pitched and thin, as grating as fingernails scraping a blackboard. "I'm the madam here, you can call me Qiu Niang."
Su An choked, inwardly cursing but forced a smile, saying, "Qiu... Qiu Niang, you saved me, right? Thank you so much..."
Qiu Niang's smile grew even more alluring, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, which were full of calculation.
"That's right, you're lucky you bumped into my pleasure boat. If I hadn't had someone pull you out of the river, you would have drowned!"
"But you're so pretty, you're a real gift from God!" she said, smiling as she reached out to touch Su An's face.
Feeling the smooth, serpentine hand, Su An was startled and retreated repeatedly, his eyes showing a hint of wariness: "Qiu Niang saved me, and I will return with gifts to repay your kindness when I get back."
"Hehe, you came and you think you can leave?" Qiu Niang covered her mouth and laughed as if she had heard a joke.
"Girl, once you're on this ship, you're mine. If you want to repay my kindness, just do as I say. Look at your delicate skin; as long as you behave, you'll have a good life ahead of you."
"If you don't listen..." She raised an eyebrow and smiled fiercely, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Su An was startled. Looking at the door again, he saw two tall servants rubbing their hands together and walking in.
Knowing she was in a dangerous situation, she couldn't act rashly and could only suppress her anger as she asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Qiu Niang smiled with satisfaction: "That's more like it! As long as you serve the distinguished guests on the ship and make them happy, you'll be rewarded handsomely. You can have as much gold and silver as you want."
Su An clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.
I wish I could leave this awful place right now, but I have to keep this madam in line first.
So her eyelashes fluttered, and she feigned a helpless sigh, yielding, "I...I promise you, but you can't hurt me."
Qiu Niang laughed so hard her body trembled: "Haha, that's right, young lady, you really know what's good for you. Someone, come and give this young lady a good dressing down."
"The new girl is here tonight, the old men must be really looking forward to it!"
As soon as she finished speaking, several maids came in and quickly dressed and styled Su An.
Before long, Su An saw herself in the mirror, heavily made up, and a look of shame, anger, and resentment flashed in her eyes.
She was changed into a light, frivolous light blue gauze dress, the neckline of which was embroidered with delicate lace and opened wide, revealing her full and graceful figure.
Her hair was styled into a beautiful updo, adorned with gorgeous jewels, which made her face even more gentle and charming.
Hold on, you have to hold on!
Let's get out of this awful place first, then we'll see if we can escape!
Su An frantically tried to comfort herself before taking a deep breath and being cheerfully pulled outside by Qiu Niang.
Along the way, I saw men and women in the cabins either embracing and laughing together, or shouting and beating around the gambling tables, a scene of extravagance and debauchery.
Qiu Niang swayed her hips and clapped her hands in front of the flower windows: "Gentlemen, look! Our flower boat has a new bride today. Look at her! Tsk tsk tsk, she's like a fairy descended from heaven, and a beautiful young maiden!"
As she spoke, she secretly pulled Su An aside, displaying Su An's posture to everyone, and said in a seductive voice, "Tonight, whoever bids the highest, this beauty will accompany him!"
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