Chapter 157 You think you can threaten him with my life? You've miscalculated.
Wan Wanning watched Xiao Yeming's departing figure, her heart filled with shock and fear, her whole body turning ice-cold.
It all started because of her...
If something really happens to Lu Zhaoruo, how could these people possibly let him go?
At this moment.
Dongrou staggered back from the woods.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, her forehead was bruised, and her sleeves were mostly soaked by the stream; she looked utterly wretched.
Dongrou spotted Wan Wanning at a glance and immediately rushed forward to grab her arm, her voice urgent: "Miss Wanning! You...you're back? Where is my wife? Where is she?"
She glanced around anxiously, but couldn't find that familiar figure.
When Lu Bohong saw Dongrou was injured, his heart tightened, and he asked urgently, "Dongrou! What happened? How did you get hurt?"
Dong Rou steadied her breathing and recounted in detail how she and Lu Zhaoruo went to find Wan Wanning.
After speaking, she turned to Wan Wanning, her eyes filled with lingering fear and confusion: "Miss Wanning... why did you choose this time to go to the river alone? You weren't afraid of the danger, but you made my wife and me worry and search for you with great difficulty..."
Her voice choked with emotion, "Since you're here, where is my wife? Why didn't she come back with you?"
Lu Bohong's face grew increasingly grim as he listened, and he said in a hoarse voice, "My little sister has been kidnapped by villains."
"What?"
Dongrou swayed violently, her face turning deathly pale. "My wife... my wife has been..."
She then realized that the atmosphere in the camp was grim. Of the personal guards who were always by her side, only four remained, and Wang Wu, Ban Ling, and Sun Jing were nowhere to be seen.
Lu Bohong's gaze fell on Wan Wanning's face: "Why is it that you returned safely, while those villains precisely kidnapped my little sister?"
Under their relentless interrogation, Wan Wanning trembled with fear and collapsed to the ground with a thud, tears streaming down her face. She sobbed incoherently, “I…I didn’t know it would happen…I just wanted to wash up…I had just finished tidying my clothes when…on the way back, I was suddenly grabbed by some thugs! They deliberately took my hairpin and put it on a rock as bait…When my sister came looking for me, they made me…made me pretend to fall into a pit and call for my sister to come and save me. My sister came running…they knocked her unconscious…and forced me to come back and deliver a message…”
Lu Bohong's eyes turned bloodshot with rage, and he slammed his spear heavily on the ground with a thud: "So! It was you! You lured my little sister into the villain's trap?"
Wan Wanning sobbed uncontrollably, almost collapsing to the ground: "Brother... I know I was wrong... but I really had no other choice... They held knives to my throat..."
She raised her head, her tear-filled eyes revealing a desperate yet fierce look. "If...if anything really happens to my sister this time, I...I'm willing to give my life to pay for it!"
"Shut up!"
Dong Rou interrupted sharply, "Stop cursing my wife! She is blessed with good fortune and will surely turn misfortune into good fortune and return safely!"
Wan Wanning shrank her shoulders as she was scolded, her grievances and fear mingling and turning into even more torrents of tears.
Can.
Why should everyone blame me? Their target from beginning to end was Lu Zhaoruo! I'm the poor, innocent person who was dragged into this!
——
Just as Xiao Yeming reined in his horse at the edge of the cliff, a rough shout came from the darkness, its source unclear: "Dismount! Disarm! And take off all the hidden arrows from your wrists!"
His eyes sharpened, and he did as instructed.
Swords and hidden darts fell to the ground one after another...
Then, step by step, they climbed to the top of the cliff.
Taking advantage of the darkness and the cover of the rocks, Sun Jing was stealthily making his way towards the source of the sound.
Cliff top.
Lu Zhaoruo has woken up.
The sharp blade pressed against her neck, yet she remained remarkably calm, her clear gaze fixed on the leader of the thugs: "I am but a lowly merchant's wife, my life worthless. Why are you all making such a fuss?"
The leader of the thugs raised his hand and took off his straw hat, revealing a bald head with a hideous scar running from his brow bone to his jaw, making him look extremely fierce.
He scoffed at this, his voice rough and hoarse: "Your life is very precious to Xiao Yeming. He's probably on his way up the mountain right now."
Lu Zhaoruo's heart sank, and she instantly understood.
Their target has always been Xiao Yeming.
Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings. Besides the thugs who had taken her hostage, there was the bald man in front of her, and four burly men exuding murderous intent beside her.
And in the dark shadows of the distant woods, who knows how many more people are lurking...
The air was thick with the smell of the sea, and the knife pressed against his neck was a Japanese pirate's sword!
She immediately understood; yes, these must be remnants of the Japanese pirates!
A smile bloomed on her face, and her voice was clear and calm: "Good sir, you have miscalculated. At most, I, Lu Zhaoruo, am just an old acquaintance to General Xiao. You think you can threaten him with my life? You've misjudged the situation."
The bald man chuckled, his tone confident yet tinged with a hint of mockery: "Really? But as far as I know, Xiao Yeming is quite enamored with you."
"absurd!"
Lu Zhaoruo blurted out, "What kind of person is General Xiao? How could he be infatuated with me? You must have arrested the wrong person and made a mistake in your information! He already has... he already has someone he loves."
The bald man spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice laced with mockery: "That night, before he went to war, our men saw everything clearly from outside the embroidered tower. He silently watched you leave, carefully tucking the handkerchief you gave him into his bosom and placing it close to his heart."
“Oh, right,” he deliberately dragged out his words, “he was also holding a hairpin in his hand, stroking it for a long time.”
The wind howled over the cliff, carrying with it the bald man's words, each one striking Lu Zhaoruo's heart.
She recalled that on the eve of her departure, Xiao Yeming had indeed come in the drizzle and stood outside the small building's wall.
His words still echoed in my ears: "Tomorrow we will set out on another expedition. I hereby reiterate my promise—once we have wiped out the bandits and returned in triumph, I will personally visit your boudoir to report our victory to you, my lady, and express my deepest gratitude."
He achieved a triumphant return, but also...
She did give him that handkerchief.
A light rain was falling from the eaves. Seeing that his armor was wet, she handed it to him to wipe the raindrops off.
She never expected that he would tuck it into his bosom and place it carefully in the heart.
But she knew nothing about the hairpin.
Lu Zhaoruo suppressed her chaotic thoughts and tried her best to keep her voice steady: "General Xiao did come to say goodbye that day. It was a gentlemanly gesture, not a personal matter. If you heroes don't believe me, you can investigate further. Don't mistake your target and waste your time."
Even with slim chances, she still wanted to fight for a lifeline.
The bald man chuckled, a mocking glint in his cloudy eyes: "Is that so?"
He slowly took out a roll of Xuan paper from his pocket, and with a flick of his wrist, unfolded it.
The woman in the painting stands sideways, her clothes fluttering slightly, her hair loosely tied up. Although only a few strokes outline her profile, her elegant figure and unique charm are indeed her!
Lu Zhaoruo's heart clenched suddenly, and her breathing abruptly stopped.
Why?
Since he already has someone he loves, why does he keep his handkerchief close to his body?
Why... then secretly sketch your own image?
Such contradictions and concealment.
Isn't this just a dissolute young man?
The bald man clicked his tongue twice, his rough voice interrupting her daze: "Madam Lu is indeed exceptionally beautiful. Now that I've seen her in person, she's even more captivating than in the painting."
His gaze was filled with undisguised scrutiny as he grinned and said, "No wonder someone as cold and hard as Xiao Yeming would harbor such thoughts about you."
He continued, "Xiao Yeming is a cold-blooded and ruthless man, his eyes filled only with killing intent, almost as hard as stone. How many of our brothers have perished at his hands! We've been lying in wait until now, yet we still haven't found even the slightest weakness in him..."
His voice suddenly turned cold, tinged with a triumphant grin: "Now, we've finally caught you."
Lu Zhaoruo's heart skipped a beat, as if she had been gently bumped by something, a feeling that was both sore and numb.
so……
Does he truly admire her?
Once the thought surfaced, it could no longer be suppressed.
His figure suddenly flashed before my eyes.
He had an upright posture, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, fair skin, and sharp, angular features of his brow bone and nose. He exuded a calm and resolute temperament, honed by the battlefield and with a restrained sharpness.
He was usually serious and aloof, appearing cold and distant.
But there were a few times when, when he looked at her, the icy coldness in his eyes melted away, and the corners of his eyes lifted slightly, revealing a hint of youthful brightness.
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