Chapter 143 Missing
Li Sanniang endured the pain in her lower back and tried to get up, but the man's kick was extremely powerful. Having never received any training, Li Sanniang couldn't manage to stand up with the strength in her lower back under such injury.
"Ha, go ahead and yell, you little vixen, you're quite something, finding out so quickly. I was thinking, you might not even know where we are."
Taking advantage of the last bit of light, Li Sanniang began to observe the person opposite her.
He was about five feet two inches tall, and judging from the stubble on his lip, he was a man in his early twenties.
He looks thin, but he's surprisingly strong, knows martial arts, and has a foul mouth.
Li Sanniang thought this must be some thug from some street, someone who takes money to do bad things for others.
Li Sanniang couldn't stand up all at once. She gripped the scalpel in her hand, looked at Qingpi, and said, "I'll pay double."
Qingpi paused in his steps, not quite understanding the meaning behind Li Sanniang's words.
Li Sanniang spoke up again: "No matter how much they offer, I'll offer double!"
This time, Qingpi heard and understood what Li Sanniang meant. "Little vixen, you're quite clever. You know you've offended someone?"
During this time, Li San Niang struggled to move from the middle of the road to the wall, leaning her back against it to relieve the pain in her lower back that ached when she exerted herself, and also to hide herself in the shadows.
“I don’t know who I’ve offended, but I, Li San Niang, keep my word. If you let me go, I’ll give your rival double the money he paid.”
At this moment, Qingpi had already walked up to Li Sanniang. Qingpi squatted down, lifted Li Sanniang's chin with his hand, and said in a flippant tone, "Hey, this face is not that great-looking. We rely on our reputation to do business in the underworld. If we let you go today for double the money, tomorrow our bones will be lying in the wilderness ten miles away."
Upon hearing this, Li Sanniang wondered, "We" meant that besides Qingpi, there were other accomplices?
Why is there only one person here now?
Is the other person or several others hiding in the shadows or doing something else and haven't come over yet?
Is that the driver? Is that the old man?
"What did you do to the original driver?"
"Oh, you still have time to think about that old man?"
As Li San Niang listened to Qing Pi speak, she endured the disgust of having her face touched and pondered in the daylight: at such close range, if she quickly plunged the scalpel into Qing Pi's throat, could she kill him instantly?
If possible, will Li San Niang encounter other kidnappers? If she is lucky and doesn't, what are her chances of escaping?
At this time, it should be almost time for Li San Niang to return to the Li family. If the Li family finds that Li San Niang has not returned on time, they will definitely come out to look for her.
Li San Niang thought to herself, should I take a gamble?
"Why aren't you saying anything, you little vixen? Scared yet?"
“My elder brother is a member of the Imperial Guard. I have saved the grandson of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and I have also saved the young lady of the Duke of Liang’s mansion. I am acquainted with the granddaughter of Minister Gao’s family, and I also know Xu Sanlang from the Duke of Ying’s mansion. Furthermore, I have some connection with Fang Lang from the Duke of Liang’s mansion. If you touch me, the people behind me will not let you off the hook.”
Qingpi really didn't expect that Li Sanniang was such an extraordinary person. "Pah!" Qingpi stood up and spat a mouthful of yellow phlegm to the side.
Seeing that Qingpi got up and left, Li Sanniang felt relieved, knowing that he wouldn't harm her for the time being.
Qingpi stood there, a considerable struggle raging in his mind.
"Judging from what this young wench said, she knows quite a few important people. I knew that one hundred taels of silver wouldn't be so easy to earn!"
"Hey, forget about legs, just do what they say and ruin this little wench's hands, that's a hundred taels of silver!"
Suddenly, Li Sanniang heard footsteps coming from the alley entrance. It was already dark, and she was in the shadows. Just as she saw Qingpi struggling with his thoughts, Li Sanniang quickly took an antidote from her purse and swallowed it, then held the sleeping pill in her left hand.
Listen carefully; the footsteps are getting closer.
Li San Niang turned her head and saw that the elongated shadow made the person look terrifying. It was a big man who was over six feet tall and had broad shoulders and a thick waist.
"Hey, brother, why haven't you finished with that little wench yet?"
Then the green-skinned man walked towards the big man, pointing towards Li San Niang while speaking rapidly.
Li Sanniang thought to herself that the worst-case scenario was that these two wouldn't let her go. She didn't know if the sleeping potion in her left hand and the scalpel in her right hand could protect her.
Just as Li Sanniang was filled with anxiety about what would happen to her, Qingpi and the big man seemed to have planned it beforehand and walked towards Li Sanniang side by side.
Changshoufang, the Li family.
Li Erxiong stood at the entrance of the clinic, looking towards the street corner. The sky was about to darken completely, and curfew was approaching. Why hadn't Li Sanniang returned home yet?
When Li Erxiong returned to the courtyard, he said to his mother and the others, "I'm going to the gate of the neighborhood to greet Third Sister. I guess she went to the market again on her way back, so she should be back soon."
Mother Li nodded, and Li Erxiong went straight out the door and headed towards the entrance of the neighborhood.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Brother Li Er arrived at the entrance of the neighborhood, but even as the gate was about to close, the donkey cart carrying Sister Li San Niang still hadn't returned.
Li Erxiong had a bad feeling and hurried back to the Li family home.
The entire Li family was waiting in the courtyard for Li Erxiong and Li Sanniang to return for dinner. When they heard Li Erxiong enter, Li's mother looked up. She was about to give Li Sanniang a lecture, telling her that she was all grown up and should hurry home after work. But she only saw Li Erxiong looking flustered.
Li's mother's heart skipped a beat, thinking, "Oh no, something's happened to Third Sister."
No matter how unreliable and willful Li San Niang is, she certainly won't take going home before curfew lightly.
You should know that running around after curfew will result in a twenty-beat beating at best, and being shot dead at worst!
"Erlang, where is Sanniang? Why didn't Sanniang come back with you?"
After looking at his mother, Li Erxiong went to look at his father. "Father, Mother, I didn't see Third Sister and her donkey cart at the entrance of the neighborhood. I waited until the gate closed, but I still didn't see them."
"Second Uncle, whose donkey cart is Auntie riding in? Is it from our neighborhood?"
Li Dalang first thought of the key question: Is it possible that Li Sanniang returned in a donkey cart, but went to other places in Changshoufang and was caught in curfew before she could go home?
Li's father quickly told Li's mother to get the household registration certificate and give it to Li Dalang, so that he could go to Old Man Wang's house in the back alley three streets away and ask if Li San Niang had taken his donkey cart back to Changshoufang today.
Li Dalang was quick on his feet. Without saying a word, he grabbed the household registration notice and ran along the wall towards Old Man Wang's house.
The remaining members of the Li family had lost their appetite. Dewdrop kept looking around for Li San Niang, calling out, "Mother? Mother?"
Sister-in-law Li hugged Lu Zhu'er and comforted her, telling her not to think about Li San Niang for the time being.
As darkness fell, the sound of patrolling soldiers banging on the door with the hilts of their broadswords echoed outside the Li family's gate.
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