Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 111
Chapter 111 - Falling into the Hands of Bandits
Beneath the night sky.
Five or six bandits gathered around a bonfire, drinking wine and eating meat, having a merry time.
Suddenly, a few of them realized something was amiss.
"Why is there not a sound?"
"Could that fellow Lao Ba have used too much force and accidentally killed the little Prince of Pingxi?"
"If the little prince dies, all of us will have to be buried with him!"
The third-in-command spat a wad of thick phlegm, stood up, and strode toward the small wooden shack where the captive was held, with four or five men immediately following behind him.
Yun Chu was just about to sneak out of the small wooden shack when she saw five or six figures approaching head-on. The only place she could possibly hide was behind the door.
The moment she stepped behind the door, with a bang, the wooden door was kicked wide open.
"Lao Ba and Fatty are dead!" one of the bandits cried out in alarm. "That bitch and the little prince are gone! They shouldn't have gotten far, go after them quickly!"
The bandits turned around and bolted.
The third-in-command was also about to head out to search, but suddenly his footsteps paused. He narrowed his eyes, looked up at the tiny window lattice at the top, and then glanced at the broken wicker basket rolled into the corner.
That window was just big enough for a child to crawl through, but for an adult woman, it was absolutely impossible to squeeze out!
At this thought, the third-in-command picked up the blade from the ground and thrust it straight through the wooden door.
Yun Chu hid behind the door, watching as the wooden door was pierced right through, stopping less than an inch away from her face.
Immediately afterward, her hair was grabbed, and she was dragged out by the third-in-command, then tossed roughly beside the bonfire.
The other bandits who had gone to search returned one after another.
"Third Brother, the little prince wasn't found!"
"I searched the back room thoroughly, nobody's there!"
"They couldn't have run up into the mountains, could they? In the middle of the night, there are wolves on the mountain. If he gets gnawed to death by wolves, they can't pin that blame on us, right!"
Yun Chu let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
The third-in-command stared at her with a gloomy gaze: "It's this bitch who ruined our good deed!"
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have locked this bitch and the little prince together.
But regretting it now was useless.
"All of you, speak up. How should we finish her off?"
The third-in-command looked at Yun Chu as if he were looking at a corpse.
Upon seeing a woman, those bandits found it hard to look away, let alone a beauty so bright and exquisite; every thought in their minds was written plainly across their faces.
At that moment, one of the bandits suddenly spoke up: "I think I've seen this woman before."
The third-in-command sneered: "The Prince of Pingxi's woman? You must have seen her in your dreams."
"No, no, no!" That bandit thought hard for a moment, then widened his eyes and said, "Right, I remember now! Five or six years ago, someone was selling portraits of the number one beauty in the capital for a high price. Back then, didn't we just pull off a massive heist? I had spare cash in hand, so I bought that portrait. The person in the painting is this exact woman! The number one beauty in the capital at that time was none other than the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yun estate, the Yun estate... Third Brother, she is the daughter of the first-rank Pillar of the State Grand General!"
The third-in-command bent down and pinched Yun Chu's chin: "As expected of the title of the capital's number one beauty. Even though we lost the little prince, having the Grand General's legitimate eldest daughter in our hands isn't bad at all. Exchanging her fingers for thirty thousand taels of silver shouldn't be too excessive, right?"
Having cheated death, the few bandits all cheered up: "Third Brother, before we chop off her fingers, let the brothers enjoy her first. That's not too excessive, either, right?"
"How do you think Lao Ba and Fatty died? Weren't they killed by lust?" Seeing his subordinates wear disappointed expressions, the third-in-command shifted his tone and said, "The military power in the Grand General's hands is even more terrifying than the Prince of Pingxi's. If we ruin the Grand General's daughter, we'll all be in deep trouble. Everyone, go easy on her!"
"Don't you worry, Third Brother, we'll definitely cherish the flower!"
"Miss Yun, don't be afraid. As long as you cooperate nicely, we certainly won't hurt you!"
"Who's going first?"
The bandits began to negotiate among themselves.
Yun Chu lowered her gaze. Once she fell into a bandit den, she had never expected to leave unscathed.
As for her chastity?
She had lost that thing long ago; what was there to care about?
"Rip!"
Her clothes were torn open by the third-in-command, exposing her shoulder.
Right at that moment, a sudden blaze of fire flared up in the night, and the bandits turned their heads to look.
"The grain storage room is on fire!"
"Damn it, I just went out and blew out the lamp. How could it catch fire?!"
"Stop talking nonsense. The two of us will stay here to guard the Yun family's eldest miss, and the rest of you hurry up and put out the fire!"
Yun Chu abruptly raised her gaze.
That small wooden shack was the very place where she had told Yu Ge'er to hide. Seeing her being humiliated, that child must have set the fire regardless of the consequences!
If the bandits searched over there, Yu Ge'er's whereabouts would be exposed!
Careless of anything else now, while the two bandits guarding her were staring at the burning building, Yun Chu reached out, pulled a burning piece of firewood straight from the hearth, and charged toward the bandits.
"You bitch, you're truly courting death!"
Furious to the extreme, the third-in-command brandished his long saber and hacked down toward Yun Chu's right arm.
He would just hack off this unruly arm and send it as a gift to the General's estate!
The firewood in Yun Chu's hand was chopped in half, and she watched helplessly as that long saber came straight for her right arm.
Despair welled up in her heart.
At that very instant.
An arrow pierced through the air.
Before that long saber could slash into her right arm, the arrow passed straight through the third-in-command's throat.
The third-in-command didn't even have time to let out a miserable scream before his pupils dilated, his body stiffened, and blood sprayed outward before he crashed heavily to the ground.
As he fell, Yun Chu caught sight of Chu Yi's face.
That man was seated atop a towering steed, holding a recurve bow, his expression fierce.
After the third-in-command fell, he did not stop; he pulled three arrows from his back and loosed them all at once, shooting them straight into the hearts of the three bandits ahead.
He rode his blood-sweat steed toward Yun Chu. Before Yun Chu could even process his movements, the black cloak on the man's shoulder landed upon her own shoulders, covering up her disheveled state.
"There were six bandits in total, and there are still two left!" Fearing that Chu Yi wouldn't hear clearly, Yun Chu said loudly, "The little prince is over there too!"
Chu Yi nodded and rode his horse toward the shack she pointed out.
The raging fire burned fiercely, surrounding the wooden shack with flames, and Yun Chu's heart leaped straight to her throat.
Wrapping the cloak tightly around herself, she quickly hurried in that direction as well.
As soon as she arrived, she saw that beside the burning wooden shack, two bandits had grabbed hold of Chu Hongyu. One of them held a saber while the other drew a bow, standing in a standoff against Chu Yi.
A collar was choked tightly against Chu Hongyu's neck; the child's face was deathly pale, and it was obvious he could barely breathe.
"Prince of Pingxi, your son is in our hands!" The bandit's face was filled with terror as he spoke while retreating step by step, "If you want to save your son, bring thirty thousand taels of silver to trade for him!"
Chu Yi narrowed his eyes: "Thirty thousand taels of silver can save countless commoners. Do you think this prince would use it to save a single child?"
The two bandits flatly refused to believe it: "Since the Prince of Pingxi is being stubborn, don't blame us for being impolite!"
One bandit yanked on Chu Hongyu's arm while the other raised his blade, preparing to hack down.
Swish!
An arrow flew through the air.
Thud!
It struck dead center in one bandit's eye.
Immediately afterward, another arrow shot forward, precisely piercing through the other bandit's heart.
Chu Hongyu tumbled down from mid-air onto the ground.
Yun Chu sprinted forward quickly, pulling the child who had fallen to the earth into her embrace: "Yu Ge'er, wake up, Yu Ge'er..."
The child slowly opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face: "M-Mother, it's so good that you're safe..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his pupils suddenly widened. He let out a loud cry urging his mother to run quickly, but his throat felt as though it had been jammed by something, and not a single word could come out.
Yun Chu saw a shadow gradually enlarging within Chu Hongyu's dark pupils.
Clutching the child, she spun around in a flurry.
A wave of searing pain surged from her flank.