"Brother, this is an idiot..." a bandit muttered under his breath.
"Get lost, I can tell the difference myself." The bearded bandit nudged him with his elbow.
"..."
The bearded bandit cautiously approached Meng Qingluan, half-squatting down and extending five fingers.
"Ni'er, what time is it?"
Meng Qingluan raised her dark fingers to her lips, blinked, and counted earnestly.
“1, 2, 3……5”.
Before the bearded bandit could even catch his breath, Meng Qingluan suddenly smiled and raised ten dark fingers.
"ten!"
"..."
For a moment, the elegant and solemn atmosphere inside the temple was replaced by an awkward silence.
"Brother, this guy is a complete idiot."
After a long silence, the bandit who had interrupted earlier couldn't help but step forward and repeat himself.
"...Screw you, I don't know anything, do you think I need to tell you?"
The bearded bandit still couldn't accept reality and impatiently slapped the talkative bandit away.
"I was just afraid you wouldn't know..." the talkative bandit, who had been pushed away, explained in a low voice, feeling wronged.
"..."
The bearded bandit glared at him, and the other man sheepishly shrank back.
Meng Qingluan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had escaped a calamity...
The bearded bandit casually threw his broadsword to the ground and began to take off his clothes while cursing.
"So what if you're an idiot? I'm going to have some fun today. If you're not coming, get out. I don't want to be watched like a monkey."
Meng Qingluan: "..."
The bandits: "..."
Meng Qingluan realized the seriousness of the situation; these beasts didn't care whether you were a normal person or not.
As long as their third leg exists, they can twitch it a few times even if they bump into a telephone pole on the roadside.
Meng Qingluan spotted the large knife lying on the ground and, while everyone was still hesitating, she seized the opportunity.
One of them crouched down, rushed over, grabbed the large knife, and looked warily at the man who was already half-naked.
"Get away from me! If you dare touch me, believe me, I'll chop off your little pecker!"
"..."
The bearded man didn't react at first, then laughed contemptuously, turned to look at the bandits behind him, and clapped his hands triumphantly.
"See? I have a sharp eye. If you leave, you won't be able to enjoy this beauty, will you?"
"..."
Meng Qingluan frowned deeply, feeling nauseous.
The bearded man looked at Meng Qingluan again and spoke provocatively.
“Come on, lift it up and chop me! Chop here,” the bearded man pointed to his own neck, “Don’t chop my second brother, he’s my brother, I’m a man who values loyalty and righteousness the most.”
The bandits standing behind her chuckled, completely disregarding Meng Qingluan.
Meng Qingluan's temper flared up as well.
He gripped the knife handle with all his might, just about to give them a little intimidation, when the knife was only raised slightly...
"Smack!"
The knife fell directly to the ground, causing Meng Qingluan to stumble and nearly hit her foot, even making her wrist go numb from the impact.
"Hahaha--"
The bandits laughed even louder when they saw this.
Meng Qingluan: "..."
Meng Qingluan refused to give up. This time, she spread her feet apart, lowered her center of gravity, gritted her teeth, and tried to lift it up.
Same result as before…
I can't lift it at all!!!
"Oh my," the bandits laughed so hard they almost fell over, "it's quite interesting to watch her hold that up all night, even more interesting than the opera singers in town."
Meng Qingluan took advantage of the situation to back down.
"It's a deal then, I'll put on a show for you all night, just don't touch me."
"That won't do!"
The bearded bandit grabbed the broadsword and tossed it aside with ease.
"Little beauty, you're good at playing dumb. This broadsword is made of pure iron, not some wooden sword your father made you for show. You're not getting away tonight."
Before Meng Qingluan could even say a few words, the man's groping hand had already touched her clothes.
Meng Qingluan instinctively raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
The bandit was thick-skinned and tough; the slap not only failed to stop him, but also made her own palm go numb.
Ignoring the pain, Meng Qingluan kicked and punched wildly, trying to keep him away.
"Get out of my way! Chen Yan?! Chen Yan?! Save me!"
The bearded bandit was beaten so badly that he couldn't get close to her. He grabbed her wrist with one hand and squeezed it tightly.
Meng Qingluan was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face, but she was also terrified. Her legs were firmly pinned to the ground, and she couldn't move.
With limbs bound, like fish on a chopping board, fear arises spontaneously, drawing out the deepest desires in one's heart.
Not only that, to prevent her from continuing to struggle, one of the bandits tossed a small bottle to the bearded bandit.
While restraining Meng Qingluan, the bearded bandit pulled open the cork on the bottle and then held the bottle opening to her nose.
Meng Qingluan was forced to inhale a pungent and choking odor.
"Mom...I want to go home, I want to go home..."
Feeling powerless and desperate, Meng Qingluan could only naively close her eyes, briefly escaping reality, hoping that when she opened them again she could return to her familiar home.
…
In the mountains and forests not far from the dilapidated temple.
Shen Yan was originally holding Meng Qingluan in the dilapidated temple, waiting for the people from the capital to arrive.
Just after feeding Meng Qingluan some hot water, a familiar howl came from outside the door.
—It's Bai Yu's voice!
Shen Yan, with keen hearing, placed Meng Qingluan on a straw mat, pushed open the door, and walked outside the temple gate.
The white feather hovered in the night sky, and when it saw its master appear, it landed precisely on his forearm, with a piece of paper between its teeth.
Chen Yan took the letter into the temple and read its contents by the firelight:
The heavy snow in recent days has blocked most of the mountain roads. The mountain terrain is complex and unfamiliar, and they have lost their way. They can only write to Shen Yan to come out in person. They are already waiting at the entrance of the mountain forest.
However, they encountered Consort Wan's personal guards at the entrance to the mountain forest, and it was unclear what their intentions were.
After a moment's thought, Shen Yan looked at Meng Qingluan, who was still fast asleep.
If it were just heavy snow, he could hold her in his arms. But what if the people that woman sent had already tracked her down here…
A bloody battle is inevitable, and I'm too busy to deal with it all; I'm afraid Meng Qingluan might get hurt.
After much deliberation, Chen Yan bowed his head and softly instructed Bai Yu.
"I brought them here. You stay here and guard your mother well, okay? If anyone comes in, you must come and tell me."
Bai Yu called out twice, sounding very human.
Shen Yan led Bai Yu out of the temple gate and ventured alone into the darkness.
The fierce fighting on the battlefield has turned the white snowfield red.
Bathed in the pale moonlight, it was eerie and terrifying.
Shen Yan's face was stained with blood, making him look like a demon who had just crawled out of hell to claim a life.
Behind him stood a group of people dressed entirely in black, all standing respectfully beside him.
Chen Yan squatted down and picked up the token from the ground.
Before he could even place the token in his palm, it began to corrode at an extremely rapid pace.
If Shen Yan hadn't reacted so quickly and released his hand, it would have been corroded into a pile of bones by the bone-devouring water.
That will terrify the coward.
Shen Yan unconsciously thought to himself, just as he was about to lead people to the temple to pick up Meng Qingluan and put her on the carriage.
White feathers flapped their wings and flew at an extremely fast speed, standing out conspicuously in the black night.
The moment Shen Yan saw Bai Yu, his heart jumped.
Before Bai Yu could fly over, he took long strides and ran towards the dilapidated temple.
Seeing this, the guards following behind Shen Yan also quickened their pace and followed.
Shen Yan was too anxious and didn't care about the path that had been cleared before he came. He ran wildly through the forest like a newborn calf, disregarding everything.
The newly scabbed wound was reopened by the branch, and a trickle of blood flowed out, but he was completely unaware; only one thought occupied his mind:
I would dedicate the rest of my life to praying for the safety and well-being of his beloved. Even if fate is beyond my control, I will never regret this!
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