Chapter 257 Killing Intention
It was already the end of October. The early winter chill condensed on the grass and trees, and then rubbed against Lin Hao, making her feel as if the coldest time of year had arrived early.
Her heart is colder than ice.
The man had put away the dagger and was holding her tightly with his hand like a giant clamp as he walked forward, completely ignoring the branches hitting her and scratching her exposed skin.
Lin Hao keenly sensed the murderous intent of her captors.
She took a step back and could clearly see the man's tense facial lines and the coldness in his eyes.
A robber who is just after ransom shouldn't look like this.
She still remembered the robbers she encountered when she escaped from the capital in her previous life. Even those people did not have such a cold and almost indifferent look.
Did he want to kill her?
When Lin Hao thought of this, he felt cold all over.
It is not easy to walk in the mountains. Sometimes birds are startled and fly up, flapping their wings into the sky. Occasionally, you can see rabbits running wildly.
Lin Hao wanted to memorize the route, but found that he couldn't do it.
There were similar trees, rocks and hills everywhere, no impressive sights and no opportunity to mark them.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the man lifted the vines and pushed Lin Hao in.
Lin Hao staggered and managed to keep his balance.
This turned out to be a fairly large cave, narrow outside and wide inside, with straw covering the innermost part, which showed that it had been explored in advance.
The man walked up to Lin Hao in one step.
After entering the mountain, Lin Hao's hands were tied with a sweat towel. Faced with the approaching man, he could only choose to wait and see.
The man walked past her and picked up a rope from the straw.
Before she could even react, Lin Hao was dragged to the ground by the man, who then tied her to a protruding rock with a rope.
After doing all this, the man's cold face showed some relaxation, and he leaned against the stone wall to recover his strength.
Lin Hao's hands, which were tied behind his back, moved. Giving up on his futile attempts, he tried to extract some information from the man: "We have no grudges against each other, why are you holding me hostage?"
The man glanced at her.
Lin Hao showed a frightened look: "My family loves me very much. As long as you don't hurt me, no matter how much money you ask for, it's fine."
The seventeen-year-old girl, with stunning beauty and a gentle voice, could be so pleading that even a heart of stone would be shaken. The man stared at her for a moment, then pulled a cloth from his sleeve, balled it up, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Lin Hao's heart sank.
Even if it was the relationship between the kidnapper and the hostage, the unwillingness to communicate a single word was enough to shatter her fantasy.
Who wants to kill her?
Lin Hao subconsciously thought of Chen Mu, but Chen Mu was still in the Jinlinwei prison.
One speculation after another emerged, all of which were related to Emperor Pingle's side. The person who used such means to kill her could not be a noble lady who had caused a minor friction.
Lin Hao's gaze unconsciously fell on the man's expressionless face. His chaotic thoughts were suddenly cut open by a sharp sword at this moment, and a guess emerged in his mind: Mr. Fox!
It seems that she was not being overly suspicious. She might have guessed correctly in the clinic, which led to this fatal disaster.
Various scenes in the clinic flashed through his mind, and finally stopped at the scene of looking into the eyes of Doctor Gu.
Could it be that just from that one glance, Mr. Fox became suspicious and wanted to nip the hidden danger in the bud?
This sharpness, this decisiveness, and this cruelty are all chilling.
If her guess was correct, why did this man demand a ransom?
New doubts arose, and before Lin Hao could think about it carefully, the man suddenly moved. He strode out of the cave without even looking at Lin Hao.
Lin Hao stared at the cave entrance for a quarter of an hour without blinking, but the man didn't come back.
She moved her hands tentatively, and the ropes binding her hands tightened as she moved.
Lin Hao calmed down. The light in the cave changed quietly, but he never waited for the man to come back.
Baozhu jumped off the speeding carriage before it stopped and rushed in like a whirlwind, leaving the disciples stunned.
"Madam, something happened to the girl!" Baozhu ran to the old lady in one breath, her face full of tears.
The old lady stood up suddenly when she saw Baozhu's appearance: "What happened to Ah Hao?"
Seeing this, the clever maid immediately and quietly told the little maid to go and inform Lin.
Baozhu was panting, her lips trembling as she spoke, "Someone has kidnapped a girl and taken her to Wuyin Mountain. He wants us to pay 10,000 taels of silver to redeem her from the ruined temple in the mountains."
The old lady swayed for a moment, then sat back on the bed to calm herself down. "Didn't Ah Hao go to her cousin's house? Then where did she meet the bad guys? Was she injured?"
Baozhu wiped away her tears, her body trembling uncontrollably with panic and fear, but she forced herself to calm down. "Master Feng took the young lady to the entrance of the alley. She got into a carriage parked by the roadside and said she felt a little stuffy, so she asked me to sit outside. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the villain was actually already in the carriage... When we passed Wuyin Mountain, the villain stopped the carriage and took the young lady into the mountains..."
As she was speaking, Lin rushed in: "Mother, is Ah Hao in trouble?"
The old lady seemed much calmer and recounted the situation.
Lin's face turned pale. She grabbed Baozhu's wrist and asked, "Is that man's injury okay?"
"The girl was not injured at that time, but he kept holding the dagger against her neck..." Baozhu choked.
"Go to the ruined temple on the mountain to look for someone three days later? Why wait until three days later?" Thinking about what her daughter might encounter, Lin couldn't remain calm at all.
"Perhaps the criminals want to buy time to collect the ransom, or perhaps they want to arrange a retreat..." The old lady shook her head. "No one knows what such a vicious criminal is thinking. But one thing is certain: if we want to rescue Ah Hao, we can't lose our composure. Duofu, go to Prince Jing's mansion and ask the prince to come."
The head maid Duofu responded and walked out quickly.
When Qi Shuo heard that the general's mansion had come to invite him, he felt a little uneasy.
Because of the prince's accident, all officials and nobles put weddings and banquets on hold. He and Ah Hao had already discussed postponing their wedding, and if they discussed anything else, it would be a matter between the elders. Calling him over suddenly would inevitably cause people to think too much.
Qi Shuo quickened his pace and soon arrived at the general's mansion, where he saw the pale faces of the old lady and Lin.
It was as if a heavy hammer had hit him in the heart.
"Ah Hao, is there something wrong?" he asked.
Although his heart was being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, his face remained calm.
"Ah Hao was kidnapped."
Qi Shuo clenched his fists tightly and listened to the old lady's explanation of the situation.
"I'll go into the mountains now." He took a deep breath and said this in the calmest tone possible.
The old lady stopped him and said, "Don't be impulsive, my lord. The bad guys said that in three days, only two people from our side are allowed to deliver the ransom. If anyone is found to have gone into the mountains to look for someone during this period, it will be bad for Ah Hao."
Three days——
Qi Shuo frowned tightly. For some reason, this time made him feel uneasy.
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