Chen Nong was just thinking about whether to touch someone else and stuff licorice inside when he heard a sound.
"Tie them all up!"
Someone complained, "There are too few of them!"
One of the men said, "That's good enough. There are several strong young men and two children. We can get a good price for them."
Chen Nong wondered if they were human traffickers. Before he could even start thinking, he was tied up with a rope.
Then, he was thrown onto a hard, fleshy cushion, next to what seemed to be Shirakawa.
Finally, they used a rope to tie it up and secure it to something, I don't know what.
He felt a sudden weightlessness and guessed they were being carried.
Chen Nong dared not open his eyes, not even half-close them, for fear of being discovered and killed.
Therefore, they could only rely on their intuition to determine the route.
He kept tilting his head up and down, and then leaning to one side. He guessed that the rugged road must be a mountain road.
The thieves are going to tie them up and take them to a remote mountain valley! Oh my god, how will their families find them?
"Baozi, Baozi, are you there?" Chen Nong called out in his mind.
"Yes, host."
"Could you help me check what's going on outside?"
"Sorry, host, this function is not available."
Chen Nong was on the verge of tears. "Then can you help me contact Dahei?"
"Sorry, host, this function is not available."
For the first time, Chen Nong felt that his steamed buns were so useless.
He's about to be kidnapped and taken to the mountains; he might be tortured to death. Baozi can't do anything at all.
The Anping Village team was in an uproar.
If the people of Dashan Village hadn't told them that their search party had gone missing, and that Bai Chuan and Chen Nong had gone with them, they wouldn't have known that the two mischievous kids were missing.
The village chief was also anxious, but the team couldn't stop, so he sent thirty people to follow the Chen family to search for them.
The village chief's wife was also worried about Bai Chuan, so she went along with him, as did Bai Yu.
Lotus Village also sent twenty people, and Dashan Village sent fifty people this time.
The rest of the people continued on their way.
After Old Man Chen and his group arrived in the woods, they had their dogs search for Chen Nong's scent in the surrounding area.
Soon, more than ten dogs started barking in one direction.
"Keep up!" Old Man Chen said.
After walking for a while, they realized they were going back. If they went back to the main road, they would be heading towards the dilapidated temple.
In this way, they will drift further and further away from the group, but finding people is the priority.
On Chen Nong's side, Bai Chuan had woken up under the influence of licorice, but realizing something was wrong, he didn't shout or move, and continued to lie there pretending to be dead.
He was certain that the licorice tablet in his mouth was given to him by Chen Nong.
The Chen family had told them about this before: licorice tablets can cure people who have been drugged with Mongolian sweat.
After learning about this, the villagers who liked to make and wear small sachets all replaced the herbs inside with licorice tablets.
He had a small sachet containing licorice tablets in his arms.
They walked for an unknown amount of time, and Bai Chuan and Chen Nong's hands and feet were numb from being tied up, and they were also hungry.
The thief's stomach was also growling with hunger.
Along the way, apart from the initial conversations, they didn't speak again, so Chen Nong couldn't estimate how many people there were.
After walking for most of the day, they finally stopped.
"Fifth brother, you guys are finally back. Tsk, this group is not bad."
Chen Nong confirmed with Bai Chuan that they had arrived at the bandit's den.
Not long after, they seemed to be thrown into a cave.
After a while, seeing no movement or sound, the two carefully opened their eyes and found that the cave was full of people who were tied up and lying unconscious. Some people were tied to pillars and had been whipped, covered in blood, which looked very scary.
They recognized most of the people in the cave; weren't they the Peach Blossom Village Alliance group that had followed them? They had even caused trouble in their group late at night.
So, they were all captured by bandits on their way back?
Chen Nong noticed that Bai Chuan had also woken up, and gave him a look, telling him not to make a sound and to observe the situation first.
Shirakawa glanced at his stomach; he was very hungry.
Chen Nong rolled his eyes. "I'm thirsty too."
The two looked around and saw that the team leader was there, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had helpers and were not completely alone.
At this moment, a child woke up and, seeing the scene, burst into tears of fear.
Chen Nong and Bai Chuan felt a chill run down their spines, worried that they might attract the bandits.
But after a long time, seeing that the bandits hadn't come in, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The bandits in charge of guarding them were used to these people crying and making a fuss after they woke up. If they made a big fuss, they would just drug them and then it would be quiet. If they dared to escape, they would catch them and beat them up. The bloody people on the pillars were what happened to those who tried to escape.
After watching for a while, Shirakawa said to the child, "Hey! Keep crying. Don't shout when you see anything. Crying is fine. We'll save you later. If you dare to disobey, we won't take you out. You'll be left here to be eaten by them."
The child recognized the two men and, upon hearing that he could escape, sobbed, "Okay, I'll be good." Then he continued to wail.
Chen Nong had previously put a kitchen knife in the steamed buns, and now he finally came in handy.
Chen Nong took out the kitchen knife, intending to cut the rope binding him, but with his hands tied behind his back, he found he couldn't bend them, and even holding the kitchen knife required both hands together.
So he whispered, "Shirakawa, come here, let me help you untie it."
Shirakawa slowly moved over.
Chen Nong twisted his body to look back, found a position where he wouldn't hurt anyone, and began to cut.
Shirakawa said fearfully, "Don't cut me."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chen Nong's cleaver fell to the ground after only a few cuts, hitting Bai Chuan. Fortunately, it landed horizontally downwards, not with the tip pointing downwards.
Shirakawa trembled and said, "That scared me to death!"
Chen Nong said with lingering fear, "Being tied up makes it difficult to handle a knife. I will be more careful this time."
Chen Nong struggled to pick up the kitchen knife and continued cutting the rope. He stopped when the rope was about to be cut.
"Try pulling it!"
Bai Chuan pulled hard and broke the rope, then quickly untied himself and Chen Nong as well.
Chen Nong rotated his wrist and twisted his neck. "My neck is sore from twisting it."
"Gurgle, gurgle—" Their stomachs growled again.
"Save them first!" they both said at the same time.
The wailing child stopped crying after they untied the ropes and stared at them in disbelief.
Shirakawa yelled at him, "What are you standing there for? Keep crying! If you stop crying and there's no sound, the bandits will get suspicious. If they come in to check, we're finished."
After saying that, Shirakawa went over to help him untie the rope.
The child, realizing the logic in this, continued to cry. They couldn't arouse the bandits' suspicion, or they wouldn't be able to escape.
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