News of the kidnappers demanding a ransom spread quickly, and since all the younger members of the Wan family had been taken away, they were the most anxious family.
Zhang Xiu busied herself raising money, even taking out all her dowry that she had kept hidden away.
When Wan Kongshan entered the room, Zhang Xiu was sitting on the edge of the bed with a worried look on her face, counting her jewelry and estimating its value as she did so.
Zhang Xiu was known far and wide for being a miser, always lending money as if it were a piece of her own flesh, but now she was rummaging through her belongings without any hesitation.
When Wan Kongshan saw Zhang Xiu like this, he was startled and became somewhat stunned. Before he knew it, he had been embedded in the door frame for quite some time.
"Zhang Xiu!"
Zhao Damei suddenly called out from outside the door, her voice waking Wan Kongshan and also alerting Zhang Xiu.
Zhang Xiu frowned, reached out and pulled the quilt over the pile of jewelry, then sat up warily from the bed.
Zhao Damei called out as she entered the door with an air of familiarity, then walked into the hall with a smile and headed towards the house of Wan Kongshan and his wife.
Wan Kongshan felt disgusted and stood at the door to prevent her from coming in. Zhao Damei deliberately provoked him by pushing him, but she couldn't move him. The muscles on her face twitched unnaturally, but then she resumed her smiling expression.
"I heard that your children have all been kidnapped?"
Zhao Damei still wore a smile regardless of the occasion, "I know the bandits sent a letter saying they want 100,000 taels of silver from our family, or they won't release the people!"
As she spoke, she kept glancing into the house.
She wasn't worried about what those little brats would do; all she knew was that this was a good opportunity to see where Wan Suizhou's family kept their money while they were busy raising funds, and maybe even steal something to take back with them.
Wan Kongshan and his wife naturally knew Zhao Damei's character and felt disgusted by her, always looking at her with dissatisfaction.
Ignoring their disgust, Zhao Damei continued to probe inside, "Hey, I'm here to help out. Hey, what's that bulging thing under your blanket?"
Upon hearing this, Wan Kongshan became somewhat angry and simply raised his hand to push her.
Zhao Damei lost her footing and almost fell on her backside. She staggered a few steps before regaining her balance. Once she was on her feet, she resumed her usual shrewish demeanor, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Wan Kongshan.
"Wan Kongshan! What do you mean? I came to help out of kindness and you hit me? You heartless bastard! Everyone was busy saving people and you were fighting amongst yourselves!"
Her eyes were red with emotion, and while scolding him, she kept peeking into the house.
Zhang Xiu was also enraged. She strode out of the house, pulled Wan Kongshan behind her, and faced Zhao Damei, who was spitting as she spoke. She said angrily, "Look, look! Have you seen enough? Aren't you just trying to take advantage of my misfortune? How are you any different from those bandits? Where did you come from to dare to falsely accuse my husband of assault? If you weren't a member of the Wan family, I would have slapped you long ago!"
Zhao Damei's voice was not as loud as Zhang Xiu's, and she immediately lost half of her momentum. Just as she was about to regain her face, she saw Wan Kongshan already wielding a broom.
"You! What do you want? A good man doesn't argue with a woman!"
Zhao Damei was shameless.
Zhang Xiu was feeling suffocated and short of breath. Seeing this, she snatched the broom from her husband's hand, swung it at his shin, and made him jump around. "You think a good man doesn't fight with a woman? Well, I'll fight you now! Get out of our house right now!"
Zhao Damei couldn't beat him, so she clutched her lower back and ran outside. Zhang Xiu chased after her relentlessly with a broom, following her all the way to the gate. He even stood at the door and cursed her as she ran away before finally stopping.
After beating Zhao Damei, Zhang Xiu felt much better. She went back to her room to get the bundle of jewelry to pawn, and her mood was much lighter on the way.
Meanwhile, the younger generation who had been taken away were following the bandits through the mountains.
The mountain was covered with dense forests, the roads were rugged, and the canyons were deep and dark, blocking out the sun. Even at noon, no sunlight could be seen. Wanwan felt as if she were walking in a dry well.
"Little girl, what kind of jewelry are you carrying in your pocket?"
One of the bandits saw a light shimmering in the curved pocket and instinctively assumed it must be a jewel like a luminous pearl.
"nothing!"
Wan Yuechi stood behind Wanwan, his small body trembling slightly, yet he stubbornly refused to move aside.
Did I ask you?
The bandit's large eyes glared, and his thick beard seemed to turn fierce as well. "Get out of my way!"
He raised his hand to push Wan Yuechi.
Wan Yuechi was determined not to move aside. Enraged, the bandit pushed him against the stone wall, hitting his head and leaving him stunned for a long time.
"Give me!"
Ignoring Wan Yuechi, the bandits grabbed Wanwan with one hand and tried to snatch the mermaid pearl from her pocket with the other. In the blink of an eye, they tore Wanwan's pocket apart and took out the pouch containing the mermaid pearl.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
When Wan Yuekui saw his younger siblings being bullied, he rushed over.
But he was still a child, and before he could even make a move, he was suppressed again.
"You little punk, you've got guts."
The bandit who was holding Wan Yuekui down provocatively waved the curved mermaid pearl in front of him. Wan Yuekui gritted his teeth and struggled, but it was still to no avail.
"Move again!" the bandit threatened viciously, then grabbed Wan Yuechi, who was lying on the ground, and pulled Wanwan over, bringing the two of them close to Wan Yuekui.
"If you move again, I'll throw all your younger siblings into the canyon."
The bandit said smugly, grabbing Wan Yuekui's head and forcing him to look at him. The two brothers were so angry that their teeth itched.
"You won't."
Xiao Qi appeared beside the bandit without anyone noticing, raised his hand and grabbed his wrist, controlling his movements.
His voice remained clear, calm, and composed, as if he hadn't been affected by the others.
The bandit turned around at the sound and saw Xiao Qi standing calmly in front of him. He was dressed in blue, and when the wind blew, he had a chivalrous air about him, giving people an invisible sense of pressure.
His eyes were still covered with black cloth, but for some reason, when the bandits looked at him, they always had the illusion that he was looking them up and down.
"Kid, you're pretty good?"
Unwilling to have his momentum suppressed, the bandit tossed the three little ones back, breaking free from Xiao Qi's grasp, as a warning to him.
“You won’t hurt us.” Xiao Qi withdrew his hand, still calm and composed. “You’ve held us captive for so long. If you wanted to kill us, you would have done so long ago. If you didn’t have anything to ask for, you would have thrown us to the bottom of the valley long ago.”
"Boss," one of the bandits' henchmen chimed in, "this kid's something else. What do we do?"
The bandit glared at him, sneered, and said to Xiao Qi, "So what? You have to listen to me when I have you in my hands! You, tie that kid up!"
He wasn't arrogant or brainless. He knew when the kid grabbed his wrist that this kid was no ordinary person, and if he wasn't tied up, there would be endless trouble in the future.
"yes!"
The henchman hurriedly pulled out a rope and quickly tied Xiao Qi up.
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