Chapter 117 Leak
Qin Haifeng hadn't stopped walking and was about to step forward when Wei Mingrui suddenly grabbed his wrist. Wei Mingrui's brow furrowed, and he pulled Qin Haifeng back with wary eyes: "So many snakes are coiled up there. If you rush in and they suddenly pounce, do you think you can escape? No, I'll throw my purse in first to test the waters..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Baozhu had already started walking towards the snakes.
"Comrade!"
Wei Mingrui's heart jumped into his throat. He hurriedly reached out to pull her away, but Lin Baozhu didn't stop and had already walked up to the snakes.
Wei Mingrui's mind went blank for a moment, his thoughts filled with how to rescue the person. But the scene that unfolded the next second froze him in place. The dense swarm of snakes that had almost covered the ground suddenly seemed to be startled as Lin Baozhu approached, and they frantically scattered in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, a vacuum zone was suddenly created beneath Lin Baozhu's feet.
Wei Mingrui's eyes widened, his heart pounding in his chest. He stared intently at the scene before him, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the purse Lin Baozhu had given him in his pocket—he never imagined that such a small cloth bag could possess such power!
There must have been at least several hundred snakes; an ordinary person would have gone weak in the knees at the sight of them, yet they were forced to scatter and flee by a single purse.
Wei Mingrui gripped the pouch, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and took a step forward. When he opened his eyes again, he looked down at his feet and saw that the snakes that had been coiled there were now swarming into the grass beside him, seemingly quite agitated by the scent from the pouch.
Seeing this, the others followed suit. The snakes dispersed to the sides as they walked, then slowly gathered together again after the group had passed, swimming behind them at a distance.
"Commander, I didn't expect this purse to be so useful..."
Someone lowered their voice and sighed.
"Speak less, watch your feet."
Qin Haifeng interrupted in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping forward, "That cave ahead is where they hide their things."
Following his gaze, the group was met with a strong, pungent stench even before they reached the cave. The stench made them wince, and some even instinctively turned their faces away. The cave walls and ground were covered with layers upon layers of snakes, even more densely packed than the ones they had encountered on the way.
"The snakes are too thick; even if we have snake-repelling pouches, they probably won't be of any use."
Some people couldn't help but feel intimidated by the sight. Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu glanced at Qin Haifeng, her tone tinged with helplessness: "How much poison did you use? You've probably attracted all the snakes from this area for miles around."
Qin Haifeng scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, held up one finger, paused, and then slowly held up another finger as well, lowering his voice: "I was worried that the dosage wouldn't be enough, so I used two packets."
Lin Baozhu rubbed her forehead. In the end, it was because she hadn't made the dosage clear beforehand.
She glanced at the distant mountains and forests, worried that snakes from further away might be attracted, and quickly said, "Before the snakes from other places come, let's drive these away and cover up the smell of the medicine."
As she spoke, she pulled a new medicine packet from her bag, untied the knot, and scattered the powder inside around the cave. The moment the powder hit the ground, the previously motionless snakes erupted into chaos, frantically rolling and scattering on the ground. In just a few moments, the snakes at the cave entrance and around the cave were all gone.
Wei Mingrui stood aside, having lost count of how many times Lin Baozhu had surprised him—snake-attracting powder, snake-repelling powder… Could there be something else powerful hidden inside? His mind was full of questions, but with so many people around, it was clearly not the time to ask.
He suppressed his curiosity and made a silent vow: once he dealt with these bandits, he would definitely ask her a good question.
*
As noon approached, Lin Baozhu and the others finally finished inventorying the items in the cave. Looking at the numbers in the ledger, her heart tightened, especially when she saw the entries for "gold" and "gold bars." She couldn't help but clench her fists—she had previously thought she had looted quite a lot from the bandit leader's house and had secretly rejoiced, but now, compared to what she had found in the cave, her possessions were nothing.
The bandits had hidden over a hundred boxes of gold and various gold and silver jewelry here; more than two hundred boxes were filled with antiques and paintings; there were even dozens of Buddha heads and bodies, clearly ancient artifacts; in addition, there were more than ten boxes of brand-new "Great Unity" banknotes. Money can be earned back, but those antiques and artifacts were all national treasures!
Lin Baozhu felt a tightness in her chest—if these things had only fallen into the hands of Chinese people, there was still a chance of finding them; but once they were secretly sold abroad, it would be almost impossible to get them back.
These heartless bandits deserve to die!
Lin Baozhu handed the completed list to Wei Mingrui, yawned, and said in a relaxed tone, "Things here are almost done. There's nothing more for me to do, so I'll be leaving now."
"I'll take her home," Qin Haifeng said immediately.
Wei Mingrui glanced at the two men and instructed the others, "Just take these bandits down the mountain. As for the women who have been trafficked, find a way to settle them down first."
"knew."
Lin Baozhu wore a reluctant expression on her face, but she was secretly overjoyed. Now, Bi Yuntao, Zhao Xiaoyu, and the others would not only be nailed to the pillar of shame in the village and cursed by the villagers, but Bi Yuntao would most likely be shot.
Only when this whole family gets what they deserve will she finally be able to let go of the anger that has been building up inside her for so long. The two of them arrived at the head of the gang's courtyard, where about twenty men lay on the ground, bound tightly, slumped like dead dogs.
Lin Baozhu took out several smelly balls from her bag and waved them under their noses one by one. Once they slowly woke up, she walked up to Bi Yuntao, her face showing just the right amount of surprise, and deliberately raised her voice: "Bi Yuntao? What are you doing here?"
Bi Yuntao, who was still half-asleep and not fully awake, suddenly widened his eyes upon hearing Lin Baozhu's voice.
Especially when he caught sight of Qin Haifeng standing next to her, his heart sank and skipped a beat. He instinctively tried to get up from the ground, but his body wouldn't budge—only then did he realize that his hands and feet were tightly bound with thick hemp rope, making even the slightest movement difficult.
"Lin Baozhu, what do you want to do? Let me go!"
Bi Yuntao's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of panic. His gaze swept over the groaning people filling the courtyard, and only one thought remained in his mind: It's over, it's all over! He clearly remembered that he was the one who carried the people from the Lin family to the mountain last night, so how did Qin Haifeng end up with them? Not only did he rescue Lin Baozhu, but he also brought so many people to wipe out the bandit's den!
Seeing Bi Yuntao's dejected expression, Lin Baozhu curled her lips, her eyes filled with undisguised schadenfreude: "Do you want to know who you carried up the mountain last night?"
Bi Yuntao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly spread through him. His Adam's apple bobbed twice, and his voice tightened: "Who...who is it?"
"Didn't you already guess that?"
Lin Baozhu chuckled, her tone full of sarcasm, "Bi Yuntao, as the old saying goes, those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. When you were thinking of selling me, my mother, and our two children for money, you should have known this day would come. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, your wife Zhao Xiaoyu also came last night—three men… tsk tsk, it's a real shame you didn't see that scene."
"you--!"
Bi Yuntao suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, the veins on his neck throbbing. If his hands and feet weren't bound, he probably would have pounced on Lin Baozhu and bitten her. He gasped for breath, struggling and roaring, "Lin Baozhu, do you know who Zhao Xiaoyu's father is? Aren't you afraid her parents will retaliate against you for treating her like this?"
After yelling, he forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and softened his tone through gritted teeth: "Lin Baozhu, let me go. I can forgive you for selling my mother and my wife before. But you can't make the same mistake again. Human trafficking is a capital offense, and you can't afford to take that responsibility!"
"Slap! Slap!"
Two crisp slaps echoed in the courtyard, and Bi Yuntao's cheeks instantly swelled up, resembling a steamed bun. Lin Baozhu withdrew her hand, her eyes as cold as ice: "Bi Yuntao, have I been too kind to you? To find out where these people are hiding, I spent last night with Qin Haifeng, following you all."
"You personally carried those people up the mountain to sell to the bandits, and now you want to pin it on me? To be a dog for bandits, you'd even give away your own mother, wife, and sister! If word gets out, the villagers will gossip about your entire family!"
"Ah—you bitch! I'll kill you! Waaah..."
Bi Yuntao went completely mad and started cursing, but Qin Haifeng stepped forward and stuffed a rag into his mouth.
The courtyard finally quieted down. When Lin Baozhu and the others led the bandits to the foot of the mountain, they encountered villagers working in the fields.
Seeing this, everyone put down their farm tools and gathered around.
The accountant's wife squeezed to the front, looking at the dozens of men with their mouths gagged with rags and tightly bound, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Baozhu, who have you arrested? Why are you making such a big fuss?"
Lin Baozhu sighed, her face showing a mixture of anger and helplessness. She lowered her voice and said, "Auntie, you have no idea. I went with Comrade Qin to the human traffickers' den to rescue our abducted comrades, and guess what? I actually saw Bi Yuntao inside!"
Then, she embellished the story of how Bi Yuntao colluded with bandits, how he tried to sell her and her family, and even how he sent his own mother and wife to the bandits' den, but omitted the part about how she plotted against Bi Yuntao.
The accountant's wife was increasingly shocked as she listened, her mouth agape as if she could fit an egg in it. It took her a long time to recover before she finally came to her senses and said through gritted teeth in a low voice, "Good heavens! This Bi Yuntao looks respectable, but who would have thought he'd do such despicable things behind the scenes! You can never judge a book by its cover. This beast can't stay in our village any longer!"
"Don't worry, he's got a death sentence for what he did. It was Zhao Xiaoyu and You Yongsheng... sigh, it's our fault for being too late. Zhao Xiaoyu's clothes were stripped off, and You Yongsheng was gang-raped by a group of bandits..."
All of this is their own fault. When this family of scoundrels were discussing how to sell her family members, they never thought of letting them off the hook!
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