Chapter 182 Kidnapping
Just as Sheng An was about to step forward to help his grandparents, who had hurriedly gotten off the car, subdue the donkey, seven or eight masked men wielding sticks and kitchen knives suddenly sprang out of the grove.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng had never seen anything like this before. They were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they stared intently at the eight bandits blocking their way.
Sheng An's face was grim. He stood in front of the two elders and coldly stared at the people opposite him: "What do you want to do in broad daylight!"
Xu Chenglin immediately released the donkey, stepped forward to block her, and said in a low voice, "You hide in the back. If a fight breaks out later, find a chance to run back to the village to report."
Sheng An pursed her lips tightly, her heart pounding.
The man in the lead was burly and clearly the leader of the eight.
He looked Sheng An up and down, his eyes narrowing as if he were smiling: "You're the famous Boss Sheng?"
Sheng An steadied himself and tried his best to speak in a relaxed tone: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Knowing her identity, yet still intercepting her here, clearly indicates they scouted the location beforehand.
The old houses in the village were probably burned down by these same people, with the aim of luring her out of the city and setting up an ambush to intercept her.
Upon hearing Sheng An's question, the burly man sneered, "You don't need to know who I am. If you know what's good for you, bring your three old geezers and come with us obediently, or don't blame me for not showing any mercy!"
After saying that, he raised his hand and directed his accomplices behind him to step forward and tie up the person.
The seven bandits simultaneously untied the ropes from their waists and charged towards Sheng An, shouting, "We brothers only want money. If you know what's good for you, don't make any trouble."
As they spoke, someone took out a handkerchief of indeterminate color and tried to gag Sheng An.
Sheng An gagged from the stench of the handkerchief and his gaze fell on the stick in the thug's other hand.
Grandparents are old, and even a fall could result in serious injury.
She doesn't know any martial arts, and her strength is just average.
My father-in-law was skilled in martial arts, but he was no match for the many men he had, and he was also quite old. He was unable to withstand the attack of eight strong young thugs.
If she chooses to resist, she is very likely to cause injuries to her entire side.
Thinking of this, Sheng An clenched his fists, took a deep breath and looked at the burly bandit: "My grandparents and father-in-law are old and can't take a fright. Why don't I stay here and you let them go home to get the money?"
The burly bandit seemed surprised by her words. He glanced at her and refused without hesitation: "Don't worry, I'll let him go back and get the money."
Does this woman think he's a fool? She sent the three old men back, leaving only her behind. What if the three old men refuse to pay too much money to ransom her?
It would be better to detain the three old men and let the woman go home to get the money; that way, she could collect the ransom for all three.
Sheng An tried to stall for time, feigning fear as he asked, "How much silver do you want? We can't afford too much."
Whether due to inexperience or overconfidence, the burly bandit failed to notice Sheng An's ulterior motives and instead launched into a sneer and a string of curses:
"You shameless, unscrupulous merchant! Everyone knows that a roast chicken at Shengyuan costs two taels of silver, and a single banquet costs dozens of taels. Do you think I can't count how much money I make every day!"
Sheng An seemed startled, taking two steps back to avoid the ropes that were about to bind his hands, and asked the burly bandit urgently, "How much silver do you want?"
The burly bandit thought she was frightened, so he held out his hand and said, "Five thousand taels. As long as you give me five thousand taels, I guarantee I'll let you go."
Sheng An gasped, then screamed, "Five thousand taels of silver! Why don't you just rob us!"
The bandits: "..."
Aren't they robbing each other?
Has this old hag lost her mind?
Soon, the burly bandit realized what was happening and nervously looked around.
Seeing several people appear at the village entrance not far away, he hurriedly urged, "Quick, quickly shut this woman up, let's get out of here!"
The grove is located between Huai Shu Village and Qingzhou City, only a little over a mile away from both places.
These eight bandits must be incredibly audacious to dare to ambush and kidnap people here.
Just then, Xu Chenglin seized the opportunity, snatched the club from the bandit who was binding him, and before the bandit could react, he raised it high and brought it down heavily:
"Damn it, they can kidnap me before I was even born!"
The thug who was hit fell to the ground instantly, blood gushing from his head and quickly pooling on the ground.
"Sixth Brother—"
The other bandits, their eyes blazing with fury, no longer cared about tying up Xu Chenglin and instead raised their clubs to attack him.
Seizing the opportunity, Sheng An shouted towards the village entrance, "Help! Someone, come quick!"
The two elders of the Sheng family didn't just stand by and watch. They shouted for help while grabbing stones from the ground and smashing them at the bandits.
"Ouch—"
A scream rang out from the crowd; one of the bandits had been hit.
The thug who was hit was injured in the eye, and a bloodstain slid down the corner of his eye. He turned his head and pounced on the two elders of the Sheng family with a ferocious expression: "You old bastards dare to hit me, I'll send you to the Western Paradise right now!"
Sheng An's expression changed, and he grabbed a handful of dust mixed with pebbles and threw it at the bandit's other eye.
The thugs instinctively closed their eyes and swung their clubs forcefully, shouting, "I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all!"
Seizing the opportunity, Sheng An reached behind the bandit and kicked him in the back.
Caught off guard, the bandit fell to the ground, his club flying out of his hand.
Grandpa Sheng immediately picked it up and slammed it hard against the bandit's knee.
"ah--"
With a sharp crack, a piercing scream echoed across the empty fields.
On the other side, Xu Chenglin was outnumbered and could only rely on his years of fighting experience to dodge the bandits' attacks.
Sheng An rushed forward to help, continuously picking up stones and smashing them on the heads of the bandits.
Her aim was excellent; every stone hit its mark, causing the bandits' heads to bleed.
Grandpa Sheng assisted from the sidelines, fighting back against the bandits who tried to rush up and harm his granddaughter.
Although the grandfather and grandson failed to incapacitate the bandits, they greatly reduced the pressure on Xu Chenglin.
The commotion had already attracted the attention of the villagers in Huai Shu Village, and soon a group of villagers carrying hoes and shovels rushed over.
The burly bandit was hit on the head by a stone, and blood streamed down his forehead and face.
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, he harbored a deep hatred in his heart and looked at Sheng An with extremely vicious eyes: "You bitch, I'll kill you!"
Having said that, he abandoned his attack on Xu Chenglin and rushed towards Sheng An without regard for anything else.
Seeing the gleaming kitchen knife in his hand, Sheng An turned and ran towards the village.
The burly bandit drew his knife and gave chase, clearly faster than Sheng An.
Upon seeing this, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they scrambled forward to chase after the bandits, trying to stop them.
When the villagers who came to help saw that Sheng'an was in danger, they quickened their pace again: "An'an, hurry up, run faster!"
Sheng An ran so hard he was panting heavily, wishing he had eight legs, and didn't dare look back at all.
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