Beijing National Day
Aruo opened her eyes and saw the whole world was red. She was stunned for a moment before she realized that she was lying on a chaise longue with a red scarf covering her head.
She reached out and pulled down the red silk on her head. "Strange! I clearly saw a tiger when I fainted... Could it be that I was dreaming?"
The last thing she saw was what seemed to be a familiar tiger pattern.
Ruo rubbed his aching neck, sat up from his chair, and looked around. He saw an elegant room, decorated with bright red silk cloth and decorated with red wedding characters on the windows. Ruo stirred, his hands and feet still feeling a little weak. He wondered if he had been drugged, but he was conscious.
She struggled to stand up. The woman in the bronze mirror was wearing a bright red wedding gown embroidered with gold thread and a pearl and jade phoenix crown on her head. Her pretty face was even more gorgeous against the backdrop of the red gown.
With such a big phoenix crown, no wonder her neck hurts.
"Is this a forced marriage? Then here comes the question," Aruo threw away the heavy phoenix crown, touched his chin and thought of the key point, "Who is the groom?"
Suddenly, there were faint footsteps at the door. Aruo's dark eyes flashed, and he quietly picked up the lightest mahogany stool, walked to the back of the door on tiptoe with holding his breath, and raised the stool ready to go.
“Little brother!”
Suddenly, the window behind her opened, scaring Aruo so much that she almost screamed.
She turned around hastily and saw the man wearing a white tiger waistcoat with half of his strong chest exposed at the collar. It was Bai Yong, the owner of the gambling house who had caused her to spend a night in jail.
"It's you!" Aruo almost dropped the wooden stool in his hand. Then he realized it and his legs went weak. He put the stool down and sat down. After the shock, his anger rose. "Why are you here?"
It turned out that she was not mistaken. The last thing she saw before she fainted was really tiger skin!
"Little brother, I'm here to find you," Bai Yong jumped in from the window and carefully turned around to close the window and door.
Aruo looked down at her bright red wedding dress and suspected that the man was blind. "Are you blind? I'm not a brother."
"Men and women in the martial arts world don't care about trivial matters. My little brother, you were able to escape from the hands of those people from the Ministry of Justice. You are indeed capable. You are indeed not an ordinary woman. You are worthy of being a member of our Menghuzhai." Bai Yong looked so proud that Aruo felt helpless.
Fortunately, the Tiger Village was long gone, and the grass on the graves of those leaders was even taller than hers. She accepted this awkward compliment with peace of mind. Aruo nodded calmly and asked, "Bai, Brother Bai, why are you here?"
Bai Yong's expression changed, and he looked at her seriously, "I just saw someone being carried in, and I wanted to find out what was going on. I didn't expect to see you when I came in."
Is it a trend among older men to lie openly these days? Who brought her in? Doesn't this timid guy have any idea?
Taking a deep breath and suppressing his complaints, Aruo raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, "Brother Bai, if you consider me a brother, then tell me the truth. Otherwise, if you don't have a gift of ten million taels, don't expect me to invite you to the wedding for a drink."
"Alas!" Bai Yong looked embarrassed and clasped his fists towards her with difficulty. "It's a long story..."
He crossed his legs neatly, narrowed his eyes, and said with a cold and imposing look, "Let's make it short!"
"Three months ago, our shopkeeper took some extra money out of a moment of confusion." Bai Yong was so shocked that he stood at attention and reported obediently.
"Hey, wait a minute, you guys are running a gambling house and trying to make extra money?"
Gambling is a vicious business. Aruo stared at him with her eyes wide open, her expression clearly expressing her shock and suspicion.
"Alas, little brother, you don't know that the imperial court has been cracking down on people recently, and business is not doing well." Bai Yong rubbed his hands, feeling a little short of breath.
"There is such a thing? What kind of extra income?" Aruo would never miss the opportunity to make money. She also wanted to get a job or something.
"It's just a small business. I was asked to help find a few... people." Bai Yong pulled at the white tiger skin waistcoat uncomfortably, not daring to look her in the eye.
Business? Aruo suddenly remembered what Su Zirui said in the gambling house, as well as the recent baby case investigated by the Ministry of Justice in Beijing. He stood up suddenly and asked, "Did you kidnap those children?"
She just wanted to trick Su Zirui last night, so she said something about Bai Yong being related to Huan Niang. She didn't expect it to be true?
"This, isn't this just getting on a pirate ship?" Bai Yong said this with a bitter look on his face, even his words were less confident. "At first, they just said they were going to find a few babies born during the Yin period, and when they found them, they said they were going to capture them..."
"You are kidnapping! You are a human trafficker!" Aruo hated human traffickers the most in his life. He stood up and kicked him hard.
Screw the orphan from the mountain village, screw the leader of the □□ Hall! Human traffickers like this deserve to be torn into pieces regardless of the past or present! Where did Su Zirui die? It would be a shame to the people if such a serious criminal wasn't apprehended and severely tortured!
"Tell me! Were you the one who cut open the woman's caesarean section earlier?" Holding his tiger skin in one hand, Aruo glared at him fiercely. If he dared to say yes, Aruo swore to kill him immediately when no one was around.
Bai Yong's eyes widened like copper bells, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, it's not me. How could I do something that would shorten my life?"
"Really?" Aruo grabbed his tiger skin and asked viciously.
"Ouch, little brother, listen to me!" Bai Yong was so frightened by her outburst of anger that he didn't dare to rub his knee. He had never felt so cowardly in his life, but the other party stood on the moral high ground, and he felt guilty. "I just opened a gambling house to scare gamblers. How could I do something so shameful and that would get me targeted by the government? If the Third In Command knew about this, he would scold me to death. As for these children, if I don't arrest them, they will be in even greater danger!"
Bai Yong wasn't a truly vicious person, nor was he a fool. After finding a few suitable children, he sensed something was amiss. He secretly investigated and discovered that the village's clan leaders were all secretly burying children alive with their dead. He had initially been reluctant to intervene, but the underworld was plagued by the number of people who took bribes to commit crimes. The innocent looks in the children's eyes made him unbearable, and the shopkeeper still had some conscience. The two of them, facing a dilemma, had no choice but to forcibly abduct the two or three children who met the requirements and secretly protect them from harm.
"Did you send those children to Furong Tower?" Aruo suddenly asked, a light bulb going off in his head. "Is Huan Niang the one behind this?"
Bai Yong's face froze, and he said vaguely, "She wasn't, but... the child was indeed sent there. She might have been paid to do the job."
Then why was Minister Liu's grandson hidden in the well by Master Wang? Aruo's mind was in a mess, unable to sort out a reliable clue from his words. "You, no, what exactly do the people behind this want to do?"
"Alas, little brother, although I am not a good person, this matter is really immoral. I couldn't live with my conscience, so I asked Huan Niang about their final whereabouts and sneaked in. They also wanted to use mercury to inject these children, but fortunately I fooled them. I have been pretending to be nice to them and looking for opportunities to send these children away. But there is really no way..." Bai Yong pulled his hair in frustration.
Bai Yong didn't consider himself a good person, but he really couldn't do such a thing that would damage his moral character.
"That's true. The people still alive in the Tiger Village probably aren't bad guys," Aruo muttered. So, in this case, is Huan Niang good or evil? And how did Master Wang get involved in this mess?
"Until I met you, little brother." Bai Yong didn't know that her mind was confused, and continued to speak.
Ah? Aruo blinked, a little confused. "What's wrong with me?"
"I thought about how the Third In Command was famous for his many tricks. I didn't learn a single thing from him, but you are also the Third In Command's man. You must have a sharp mind and will definitely be able to come up with a good idea." After saying that, Bai Yong looked expectantly at the little girl who was not even as tall as his shoulders.
Wisdom? Isn't that insidious? Besides, what counselor...are you sure he's not a captive unlucky bastard? Is she just young and ignorant and her memory is messed up?
Aruo twitched his lips, "Brother Bai, maybe my memory is not very good, I may have remembered it wrongly, in fact, I was with the second in command..."
"It's a pity that something happened right after I joined the village, otherwise we could have become close friends. It's a good thing we all follow the Third Master. After all, in the Tiger Village, betraying your master is a capital crime."
"Ahem," Aruo took back the words that had nearly come out of his mouth and straightened his expression. "Brother Bai, what exactly do you want me to do?"
Regardless of whether this person was truly stupid or just pretending to be, he had gone to such great lengths to kidnap her and push her into this scheme, wasn't it just to leave her with no other choice? Besides, Aruo wouldn't abandon those children after knowing the whole story.
"They're preparing a very strange ritual. I've been asking around for a long time, but I still don't know what it's about." Bai Yong pulled Aruo to the window and opened it a crack. "Those guards are unconscious, like the living dead, only obeying the orders of the clan leader. Several children will be included in the ceremony. The clan leader and the bride will worship the children who will be buried alive, offering sacrifice to the bride's soul. After the ceremony, the children will be poured with mercury and buried in the ground."
Sacrificing souls? Aruo found this a bit incredulous and glanced suspiciously at the serious Bai Yong. "Brother Bai, did you... misunderstand or miss any information?"
"Oh, how can a rough guy like me understand something like this? It's basically the same, anyway." Bai Yong looked away guiltily. Those people were so secretive and their words were so disjointed, it was already a good thing that he could understand the key points. He had originally wanted to push someone else into the game, but time was running out. They wanted a bride, not a groom, and this girl happened to come into the picture, so he had no choice but to try his luck.
Aruo rubbed her forehead. She wanted to give this kind of pig teammate directly to the opponent. No, she asked for external help!
"By the way, Brother Bai, I came here with Su Zirui from the Ministry of Justice. Do you have a way to find them and lure them here?" Aruo said cautiously.
"A government official?" Bai Yong was full of resistance. He had only come to A'ruo because he couldn't find anyone. Not wanting A'ruo to notice, he had no choice but to act like a man. "Why would a man from the Tiger Village rely on the government?"
"He is an official, and we are civilians now!" The Tiger Village has been destroyed for so many years, what's the point?
Bai Yong felt weak in his heart again. He knew this truth very well, but the official was not easy to fool and was very suspicious. A little clue could reveal a lot of secrets, making it difficult to control him.
Aruo wiped his face and said soothingly, "Now these people are obviously breaking the law. Why not use the government to fight them? We just need to rescue the child. Those people will be dealt with by the Ministry of Justice. Why waste energy?"
"You want me to ask the government for help? No way!" Bai Yong still had some dignity as a bandit.
Aruo raised an eyebrow and said it another way, "It's not about begging, it's about asking the government to be our pawns."
My life is almost over, what dignity can I talk about? Coming to this backward place, Aruo deeply realized that sometimes there is no need for such boring things as dignity.
"Besides, weren't you the one who secretly revealed the flaws to Su Zirui and lured him here?" Aruo was not stupid. Since Bai Yong wanted to save those children and had contact with Su Zirui many times, she made a bold assumption.
"You..." Bai Yong's face was full of admiration, "You really are worthy of being the brother of the Second In Command. You really have a good brain."
Aruo no longer wanted to discuss this with him and wiped her face. "So, now you find a way to find Su Zirui and tell him what you know directly. Don't refute me, because time is tight. I'm worried that he won't understand your silent efforts and will miss out on important things. Then, tell him where I am, and he will mobilize the government to handle it. When the time comes, Brother Bai, you just need to take advantage of the chaos and leave, hiding your achievements and fame."
"This plan..." Bai Yong's face lit up with joy, "Very good."
Aruo felt choked for some reason and didn't know how to react, so he could only smile reservedly.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Yong's face became troubled again. "But I can't find anyone. There's something wrong with this yard. I tried to walk around with Qinggong, but if I'm not with those people, I always end up back where I was for some unknown reason."
"Don't worry, you'll find it soon." Aruo said mysteriously, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, are there any newborn babies among the children you kidnapped?"
Bai Yong was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "There is one, but I didn't capture it. Someone sent it here."
Could that be Sister Xian's child? Aruo bit her lip, her dark eyes filled with coldness.
A steady stream of footsteps came from the doorway, approaching from afar. Aruo and Bai Yong exchanged a glance, and Bai Yong swiftly climbed out the window on the other side. "Little brother, I'm going to go find Su Zirui and the others. Take care!"
Aruo looked at the empty window and felt a surge of powerlessness. For some unknown reason, she missed that cold-faced King of Hell.
"I'm crazy..."
The door was suddenly opened, and several men dressed as servants walked in expressionlessly. They showed no surprise when they saw her standing by the window, and moved towards her in unison.
"Hey, hey, hey, how can you treat a bride like this? Who is your master? I demand an equal dialogue!" Aruo struggled to be forced to drink a cup of liquid, her weak limbs unable to stop them. She was too weak to even speak, and allowed them to roughly tie her hands and take her away. "It's over, with this situation, I don't have any hope for the groom's looks."
They must be so ashamed that they force people to buy or sell like this!
The men's eyes were glazed, their every move like puppets in a shadow play, even their skin was cold. Aruo began to feel a little scared, wondering if Caixin and the others could find her in time.
There were bustling voices not far away. It looked like many people had come to the wedding banquet, but no one noticed the strangeness here. She wanted to shout loudly, but someone grabbed her throat fiercely. After walking for a while, the voices gradually faded away, and she was forced to step over a threshold.
"The bride is here. Let's get married~"
The high-pitched voice was strange and stiff, without a trace of joy, completely different from the lively atmosphere just now. Aruo was supported by someone and walked. Under the red silk, he could not see around, but he could see a few pairs of cloth shoes, so it seemed that there were not many people around.
Beneath the red silk, Aruo bit her lip, her dark eyes slowly regaining composure. Her fingers, clasped behind her back, moved slightly, silently making intricate gestures. Then, as her skirt swayed, the air around her rippled like water, quickly returning to normal.
Soon, a pair of black boots appeared in front of him.
"Chief, the bride is here."
The next moment, a hand grabbed Aruo's arm, and a hoarse voice sounded in her ear, "Let's start."
Her looks weren't what she expected, and her voice wasn't what she expected either. Aruo lamented that sometimes even the heavens weren't fair. She twitched her fingers, and Aruo stumbled and fell towards the person next to her. The person hadn't expected her to fall so suddenly, and subconsciously reached out to support her.
Now is the time!
Aruo quickly broke free from the ropes, ripped off the red silk with one hand, and grabbed the throat of the person next to her. Without the red silk to block her view, she saw a demonic mask. Aruo was stunned. In the nick of time, her hand was grabbed. The heavy phoenix crown reduced her flexibility. She bent around his hand, frantically tore off the phoenix crown, and leaped back.
The other party reacted very quickly, kicking the Phoenix Crown directly at her, and reached out to grab her long hair, "Close the door!"
The door slammed shut. Aruo looked up in pain and saw that the people surrounding her were all wearing clothes embroidered with strange patterns. She was shocked and asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Get married!" The man behind her grabbed her hair and pulled her to the incense table.
Her black hair arced, and Aruo opened her eyes wide to see two children huddled together on the table, their knees hugged, and a moving mass between them. A chilling fear crawled up her spine like an icy monster, and Aruo shuddered all over.
"What have you done to these children!" she screamed, struggling desperately with her weak hands and feet.
"Bow to heaven and earth."
"Ah!" After being kicked in the back of the knee, Aruo fell heavily to his knees. His knees felt severe pain and the back of his head was pushed to the ground.
"Bow to your parents twice."
The result of struggling with both hands was that he lost his balance and slammed his forehead to the ground. Dizzy, Aruo was furious, "You want to marry a wife without the three letters and six ceremonies, without an engagement letter, what do you think you are as a woman!"
"Husband and wife exchange greetings."
The sound continued unmoved without any fluctuation. Aruo was picked up and stopped struggling with his hands. He grabbed the other person's mask with the momentum of dragging him into hell.
A vicious woman is more terrifying than a gangster. The man with the ghost face accidentally scratched his chin. He pulled her over fiercely, clamped the out-of-control woman from behind, and winked to the side.
"The ceremony is over!"
"Licheng your sister!" Aruo was so anxious that she even blurted out the curse words she used to curse at people. Her scalp felt painful and numb, and she could hardly stop crying.
The servant came forward holding a copper tray filled with an unknown liquid, which did not spill when shaken.
Mercury? Aruo was startled, his face changed drastically, "What do you want to do?"
The four men approached the three children, and Aruo was pinned down, unable to move. Her delicate face flushed red. Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat, and an intense fear gripped her.
"don't want--"
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