Chapter 67: Chapter 67: A Life-and-Death Struggle

Just as Liang Wan felt she was about to go mad, the horse finally stopped. But before she could even catch her breath, her body felt light as she was lifted up. After just a few steps, with a THUD, she was thrown viciously to the ground like a sack of grain.

Liang Wan was thrown into a daze. That, on top of the arrow wound in her back and the bumpy journey, left her entire body in searing, heart-rending pain. Lying on the ground, she could barely breathe.

Perhaps seeing that she had stopped moving, someone tried to open the mouth of the sack. It was the three men in black from before.

Seeing she wasn’t dead, they tossed her aside without a second glance.

The pain was so intense that Liang Wan’s vision blurred. In a daze, she lost all track of time until she seemed to feel the warm glow of a fire on her face.

Her eyelids were so heavy she could only pry them open a crack. Liang Wan forced herself to look toward the firelight and the silhouettes beside it. The sky outside had already turned dark, and gusts of cold, damp wind washed over her. From the PITTER-PATTER sound, she could tell it must have started raining.

Whether from blood loss or the chill of the rainy night, Liang Wan lay on the hard ground, shivering uncontrollably.

She desperately craved the warmth of the fire. It was so close, yet she didn’t have the strength to move toward it and could only watch from afar.

The three men around the fire had already shed their black clothes. Now dressed in plain, coarse linen, their grimy appearances made them indistinguishable from mountain hunters. They gnawed on flatbread, speaking in low voices and glancing over at her from time to time.

"Should we go check on her? Make sure she doesn’t die."

One of them, a tall fellow, set down his flatbread and had just stood up when the sturdy man beside him yanked him back down.

"If she dies, she dies! We always get stuck with this kind of job and never get any of the benefits!"

After speaking, he took a vicious bite of his flatbread, looking as if he were tearing into human flesh rather than a simple meal.

As soon as he said that, the third man, a brooding fellow with a scar on his face, chimed in, "Exactly. Hiding in this dump, chewing on this dry crap... I don’t even know what’s the point of risking our necks to grab this Lady. Now we have to sneak around for days before we can go back! Just thinking about it pisses me off!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he got. He threw his flatbread to the ground, cursing under his breath, not forgetting to turn and glare at her.

Liang Wan lay there, her breathing as faint as a silken thread, but the ferocious glare still made her flinch inwardly.

She secretly strained, trying to twist her wrists, but the slightest movement sent waves of both pain and numbness through them.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough," the tall fellow stood up. He glanced at the person on the ground, then at the doorway. "We’re not far from town. I’ll go buy us some wine and meat. We’ll have to put up with this for a few days, so you two watch her carefully. Otherwise, we won’t be able to answer to our superiors. I’ll be right back."

The sturdy man glanced at the rain outside, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Why not wait for the rain to stop?"

Scarface picked up a bamboo hat from the side and handed it over, saying to the sturdy man, "What do you know? We need to cover our tracks right now. Weather like this is perfect for it!"

The tall fellow said nothing more, simply taking the bamboo hat and striding out into the curtain of rain.

The sturdy man sat back down, but Scarface walked toward her.

He was already tall and powerfully built, and standing so close, he seemed like a great mountain looming over her as Liang Wan looked up.

Liang Wan endured the pain and shrank back, terror flooding her entire body.

Scarface kicked her with the tip of his boot. "Because of you, my brothers and I have to suffer out here. Tell me, how should you compensate us?"

Hearing this, the sturdy man smacked his lips and glanced over. He went back to poking the fire with a stick. "You can vent your anger, but don’t go too far. If she ends up dead, we won’t be able to complete our mission!"

Taking this as tacit approval, Scarface squatted down. His rough, large hand descended, patting her cheek as he grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth. "She’s a noble Lady from the capital, after all. Before we hand her over, why don’t we let our brothers—"

Liang Wan’s lips trembled. On her deathly pale, palm-sized face, her eyes were misty. "I... I need to relieve myself."

"Tch! What a buzzkill!"

His mood ruined, Scarface’s expression immediately darkened.

The sturdy man looked up and glanced over in disgust. "Well, take her outside then."

Scarface had no choice but to swallow his impatience, lift her up, and drag her out the door.

Outside, it was pitch-black wilderness. The rain wasn’t heavy, but the drops hitting her body were enough to make her sway unsteadily.

The moment they were outside, he let go. Liang Wan fell sideways like a log, tumbling into a puddle. Muddy water splashed onto her wound, and the shock of pain made her jolt.

Lying in the puddle, Liang Wan gasped for air, the rain beating down so hard she couldn’t open her eyes. "My hands and feet are tied. I can’t move."

Scarface glanced at her, then drew his sword and sliced the hemp rope on her feet. "If you want to go feed the wolves and tigers, feel free to run!"

Liang Wan fell silent. It was true that wild beasts roamed these mountains; Scarface wasn’t just trying to scare her.

She gritted her teeth and struggled to her feet, already soaked to the bone. Enduring the pain, she staggered toward a patch of tall grass. The mountain path was muddy, and for every step she took, she slipped back three.

’She’s just a delicate Lady, and with an arrow wound at that. Trying to escape on a rainy night halfway up a mountain... that really would be a death wish.’

Liang Wan’s hands were still tied. After trying several times to reach her sash and failing, she took a slow breath and said, "Could I trouble you to help me untie my sash?"

RUSTLE... The sound of wind and rain filled the air. Scarface froze for a moment, not expecting a noble Lady from the capital to be so bold. He walked forward, a little suspicious.

Perhaps out of shyness, the woman didn’t dare look at him. She just kept her head down and mumbled, "My hands are tied. Please, help me."

Scarface glanced at her hands tied behind her back and grinned maliciously. "Alright!"

He lowered his head and hastily reached for her sash.

Liang Wan’s lowered eyes flickered. Just as his hands were about to touch her waist, she suddenly jerked her hands up. Scarface grunted in pain and fell over, pulling Liang Wan down with him.

Although Scarface had been stabbed several times with needles, he was a martial artist in the prime of his life. Even with only a sliver of consciousness left, it was enough for him to grapple with her in the tall grass.

It was dark and raining, making it impossible to find any acupoints. Liang Wan dropped the silver needles in her hand, pulled out her hairpin, and stabbed him with it recklessly. She was fast and vicious, and warm blood splattered all over her face.

Scarface’s grunts were pained and stifled, which, paradoxically, could lead one to imagine something else entirely.

Perhaps they were making too much noise, because the man in the abandoned hut shouted out resentfully, "Have your fun, but don’t take it too far! If you kill her, this will all have been for nothing!"

The man grappling with her finally went limp and stopped moving.

As if she had used up every last bit of her strength, Liang Wan fell off him and collapsed to the side, letting the rain beat down on her face.

There were hungry wolves and fierce tigers in the mountains, but sometimes, people were far more terrifying.

Liang Wan rested for only a moment before forcing herself to roll over and crawl away. She would rather be devoured by wild beasts than be touched by these men.

’No matter what, I have to escape!’

Liang Wan had no time for further thought. She forced her swaying body to stand, glanced at the man lying in the grass, then turned and ran.

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