Chapter 197 Someone Helps
It was unknown how long the carriage had been traveling, and the light inside had long since dimmed. Zhong Min obviously didn't know the exact time, but it should have been at least three or four hours.
The carriage didn't stop at all along the way. Fortunately, food and drinks had been prepared in advance. Zhong Min had no idea what was happening outside, but she was certain they were now a long way from the village. After a long while, the swaying carriage finally stopped.
Ah San's voice came from outside, telling them that they could get off the bus. The curtain was lifted. Just as Zhong Min expected, it was already dark.
When they got off the bus, they saw they had arrived at the entrance of an inn. Ah San and his companions had also changed their attire. They had changed out of their conspicuous black clothes, and the original group of twenty or so seemed to have split into two or three groups, making them less conspicuous than before.
When the enthusiastic waiter saw Zhong Min and Xier getting off the carriage, he hurried forward to greet them, but was stopped by Asan's subordinates. Those people said something to the waiter, and the waiter didn't dare to say another word.
Zhong Min knew that Ah San would definitely not allow anyone other than them to have contact with her, so she didn't place any hope on those people. Ah San quickly gestured for Zhong Min and Xi'er to follow him upstairs, turn left, and stop in front of the second-to-last room.
Asan first asked someone to go in and check, and after confirming that everything was correct, he let Zhong Min and Xier in: "Just rest here tonight. Ladies, it's best not to make any small movements, otherwise don't blame Asan for being rude." After that, he left two people to guard outside, and then retreated.
After entering, Zhong Min quickly looked around and found that the room was well chosen. With only one person guarding the door, there was no chance of escape. The waiter who came in to deliver food and hot water was also accompanied by someone. He put the things down and left without saying a word, not even daring to look at him.
After closing the door again, Xi'er couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Jin'er, what should we do? They're watching us so closely. We have no chance of escaping."
"Don't worry. We're going far away. The longer we're on the road, the more likely we'll make mistakes. We need to be patient. We'll always find a chance to escape." Zhong Min comforted Xier, then touched the small dagger that Luo Jiaxing had given her while Xier was packing and said, "Don't worry. There will definitely be a chance!"
Perhaps inspired by Zhong Min, or perhaps out of trust in him, Xier calmed down considerably. After the two of them sat down to eat, they washed up and went to rest. Rather than dwelling on useless thoughts, it would be better to take advantage of the time to rest so that they could maintain sufficient energy at all times.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhong Min and Xi'er were driven back into the carriage to continue their journey. This continued for two or three days, and they never found a suitable opportunity to escape. However, even so, Zhong Min did not give up on finding a way out.
Judging from the situation in the past few days, the people who wanted to capture her obviously did not want her life, and did not even intend to hurt her. Otherwise, San and others would not have taken such good care of her along the way. Apart from the deprivation of freedom, there was nothing else wrong with her, and they had not even shown any disrespect to her.
Zhong Min began to wonder more and more who was behind this. She had previously suspected Ning Zhiyuan, but if it was Ning Zhiyuan, they should be heading towards the capital. However, from the few seemingly unrelated observations along the way, it seemed that the road they were taking did not lead to the capital.
This had a certain impact on Ning Zhiyuan's possibility, but other than that, she couldn't seem to recall who else would be so interested in a small figure like her, going through so much trouble to capture her, and what was their purpose? Everything seemed to be getting more and more confusing.
Without a concrete concept of time, Zhong Min could only count the days. On the fifth night, when they stopped to rest, something was a little different from usual. This time, they didn't go to an inn, but instead camped in a remote area with water.
It is estimated that there is no village or shop nearby, so we have no choice but to rest in the wild. After all, the risk is much higher than staying in a fixed inn.
Ah San and his companions had clearly traveled this route more than once, so they had already prepared plenty of dry food. After Zhong Min and Xi'er had gotten out of the car and taken care of their physical needs, Ah San arranged for them to sit down in front of a fire to eat and rest.
The steamed bun in his hand was dry and tasted like sawdust without any flavor. Zhong Min stuffed the bun into his stomach with some water. Today's dinner was settled.
"Asan, it's fine if you don't tell us where we're going, but how long will it take us to get there if we keep walking like this?" Over the past few days, Zhong Min would occasionally ask Asan some questions, trying to find some clues that would help analyze the situation.
But Ah San was very cunning. Every time he answered, his answers were as simple as possible, never using two words when one could be used. He especially refused to answer anything that even slightly involved information, obviously deliberately guarding against her.
"Five more days of walking!" Asan replied while eating, but his eyes kept scanning the side to observe. Their people were taking turns standing guard at the four corners, and although the road seemed peaceful these days, there was always a sense of unease.
Seeing this, Zhong Min didn't ask any more questions. She followed Ah San's gaze and had already given up on any chance of escaping tonight. Not only was the defense tight, but more importantly, the place was deserted. It was even easier to get lost at night. She might not be caught by Ah San and his men, but instead become a meal for the wild beasts in the jungle.
She clapped her hands, stood up and stretched her muscles a few times. Ah San ignored her and continued eating. Seeing this, Xier also stood up and stretched. Sitting in the carriage all day was not a very comfortable experience.
The two were moving around when they suddenly heard the person on duty in the northwest corner shout, "Who is it?"
The sound was so sudden and loud that it shook the entire empty mountain. The other men in black around him immediately became alert, stood up, picked up their weapons, and quickly surrounded Zhong Min.
"Keep the man here for me, I'll go take a look!" Asan ordered quickly, and before he finished speaking, he took two people and ran towards the man who was standing guard and shouting in the northwest.
Zhong Min and Xi'er glanced at each other, their minds racing with thoughts. But before they could dwell on it, a burst of fighting erupted. Because it was nighttime and quite far away, Zhong Min couldn't make out what was happening. All she could hear was the clashing of weapons, clearly a surprise attack.
She was instantly agitated. Whoever was against this group was her friend. Could it be Qin Ke? But if it was Qin Ke, he wouldn't have discovered and caught up with them so quickly. Or was it Xiao Mingzheng's men? Had the black-clad group not completely eliminated all of Xiao Mingzheng's spies earlier?
Thoughts came one after another, but soon the sounds of fighting in the northwest corner gradually faded away, and soon disappeared. Zhong Min was deeply disappointed. It seemed that no matter who it was, they would definitely retreat without success this time.
Sure enough, after a while, Asan came back and waved to the people surrounding Zhong Min. Seeing this, those people put their weapons back and returned to their original places. Then Asan said nothing, just pointed at three people separately and walked towards another campfire.
Seeing this, the three followed Ah San without a word and immediately started discussing quietly. Zhong Min knew that they were definitely discussing the sudden incident that had happened earlier, and he pricked up his ears to listen, but unfortunately, it was impossible.
She looked at Xier with some disappointment, but found that the expression on the girl's face was even more lost than hers. She patted Xier's shoulder. She didn't say anything, but just looked at her to comfort her.
Although the incident hadn't had any real impact, it had nonetheless made her even more convinced that someone else along the way was secretly preparing to help them. Perhaps the commotion had been caused by someone accidentally being noticed, or perhaps it was a deliberate attempt to test them. In any case, they must have been searching for the perfect opportunity, just like her.
The next morning, the carriage set off again, and for the next two days, nothing unusual happened along the way. Zhong Min gradually grew anxious. According to Ah San's calculations, their destination was only three days away. Time was running out, and they still hadn't found any chance of escape.
The people who had appeared once before seemed to have completely disappeared, which made Zhong Min even more worried. If he couldn't find a suitable opportunity on the way, it would be even more difficult to escape once he reached his destination.
Just as they were thinking about it, they suddenly didn't know what happened and the carriage suddenly stopped. In an instant, with the long neigh of the horse, Zhong Min and Xier lost control of their bodies and suddenly rushed forward.
"Look out!" Zhong Min quickly grabbed Xi'er, who was about to fall face first. At the same time, a sound of fighting could be heard outside. Zhong Min was quick to detect someone new getting on the carriage, and then someone else being kicked off.
Just when Zhong Min and Xier had just maintained their balance, the carriage suddenly sped away without any warning.
PS: Dear friends, happy Dragon Boat Festival, eat two more zongzi, hehe~
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