Bao Hu’s eyes widened as he roughly scolded his jeering subordinates, “Shut your mouths! You bunch of crude fellows, not an ounce of sense among you. When I’m speaking with the boss, what are you interrupting for? The boss is a refined person—don’t disturb her.”
Everyone was holding back laughter. They’d seen plenty of Bao Hu drinking from large bowls, eating chunks of meat, and killing without batting an eye, but now he was being so considerate toward a young woman. It seemed like “even heroes fall to beauty’s charms”—this time he wanted both the beauty and the silver.
Several men exchanged glances, not daring to tease anymore, but they understood Bao Hu completely.
They’d played with countless women, but they’d never seen anyone as beautiful as the one in that carriage. A single tear from her could make a man’s bones go soft with tenderness. If she were willing to spend a spring night with you, wouldn’t you pluck the stars and moon for her? No wonder Bao Hu had become as gentle as a different person.
Though these men had quieted down, Qin Yining inside the carriage could still feel their attention concentrated on her.
She was inherently very sensitive to others’ malice—otherwise she couldn’t have survived all those years in the mountains. She knew exactly how these people were looking at her and what their intentions were. Though anxious and afraid, she also knew that since things had come to this point, anxiety and fear were useless. Only by keeping herself calm could she accurately judge the timing and avoid harming herself.
Qin Yining didn’t speak. Bao Hu outside the carriage didn’t mind and continued being attentive: “Boss, are you feeling bored? After all, there’s no one keeping you company. Are you hungry? Did you eat enough breakfast? Are you thirsty? I’ve brought water…”
Qin Yining closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had forced herself to calm down. “Thank you, but I don’t need anything right now.”
Hearing the beauty respond to him, Bao Hu was overjoyed, proudly stroking his head several times. He was built powerfully, and the dozen or so women serving him at home would be so mesmerized they couldn’t move when they saw him. He figured this princess, with her husband constantly away, had been alone in her chambers for so long she must be quite lonely.
With this thought, Bao Hu felt all his hot blood rushing to his lower body.
Looking at the sky and then at their current position, Bao Hu had to forcibly suppress his thoughts.
No rush, no rush. Tonight it would happen anyway, and by then they’d be far from the capital. One small woman—wouldn’t she be easy to capture? Later at the stronghold, he could enjoy her however he wanted. The days ahead were still long.
Bao Hu was smugly confident. Having decided he would definitely succeed, he wasn’t in a hurry anymore. Throughout the journey he showed concern for Qin Yining’s comfort, and even when the group stopped for lunch, he personally delivered steamed buns and sliced beef to her.
Qin Yining had to open the carriage door, lowering her eyes to accept the food he brought. Her clear eyes swept around, taking in all the scenery surrounding the group. She thanked Bao Hu, then shyly closed the door again.
Bao Hu’s subordinates guarding around the carriage had long been stunned, staring blankly at the carriage while biting their steamed buns and cured meat, forgetting to chew.
Bao Hu’s blood boiled as his thick hands, large as palm fans, ran through his hair.
“Look, look, what are you looking at? Eat your food! Eat so we can continue on the road!”
A young man muttered quietly below: “Hurry on the road so you can hold the beauty!”
Bao Hu’s ears were sharp. Hearing this, he wasn’t angry but laughed and kicked the young man’s leg. “You talk too much!”
Everyone around burst into laughter.
Sitting in the carriage, Qin Yining didn’t dare touch any of the food and water Bao Hu had brought. What if there were sleeping drugs inside? Wouldn’t that let people do whatever they wanted?
Qin Yining moistened her dry lips, tore off some of the steamed bun and took a few pieces of meat, wrapping them in a handkerchief and hiding them in a corner under the seat.
Throughout this journey, Bao Hu kept talking to her and trying to build rapport—he definitely had ulterior motives toward her. This business of bringing food and drink—where there’s giving, there’s taking. If she didn’t take it, he could still show concern for her comfort. Since she wanted to relax these people’s vigilance, she had to act the part.
Sure enough, as Qin Yining expected, before long Bao Hu stood before the carriage again. “Boss, have you finished eating?”
Qin Yining said softly, “I’ve finished.”
Without asking, Bao Hu directly pulled open the carriage door. Seeing that half the steamed bun was gone and several pieces of meat had been eaten, he felt inexplicably delighted and couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Why did you eat so little?” No wonder that small waist was so thin he could circle it with both hands. Beauties were beauties—maybe she even preferred to eat morning dew!
Bao Hu chuckled to himself. Without waiting for Qin Yining’s answer, he continued, “Boss, if you’re full, why don’t you give me the rest of this food?”
This was actually an extremely improper suggestion. What kind of relationship allowed people to share the same steamed bun? This was also Bao Hu’s way of testing the waters.
Qin Yining wanted to relax their vigilance and find an opportunity to escape, so naturally she wouldn’t provoke these people to be on guard against her. She shyly lowered her eyes and nodded slightly without a sound. Then, seeming to feel this was improper, she added, “The parts I haven’t touched—we shouldn’t let them go to waste.”
“Right, right, right. Can’t waste them.” In front of Qin Yining, Bao Hu grabbed a piece of beef, tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide to bite it, while watching Qin Yining’s reaction from the corner of his eye.
Qin Yining felt sick to her stomach but didn’t show it at all, only lowered her eyes shyly.
Bao Hu walked away contentedly with the steamed bun and meat, and Qin Yining closed the carriage door.
The moment the door closed, her expression instantly darkened.
These bandits committed all sorts of evil. It seemed that rape and pillaging were daily occurrences for them.
Qin Yining now truly hoped that whether it was Li Qitian or the Qiu family, someone would quickly arrange for a group to come rob them on the road and catch all these bandits in one net.
Even being killed by those people would be better than finally falling into these bandits’ hands and letting them have their way.
After lunch, the group set off again.
Qin Yining still obediently stayed in the carriage, silently observing outside through the window cracks, her nerves highly tense, constantly watching for changes in their surroundings.
By evening, Bao Hu rode his horse close to the carriage again, smiling as he said, “Boss, I just had someone scout ahead. In about two incense sticks’ time, there’s a place backed by forest and facing a river—perfect for setting up camp. Let’s rest there tonight.”
Qin Yining’s voice came through the carriage wall: “I’ll leave all arrangements to you.”
“Yes!” Bao Hu nodded excitedly and turned back to give orders. “Keep moving, hurry up! When we reach the flat ground by the river, we’ll stop to set up camp and start fires to prepare dinner!”
“Got it!” his subordinates replied loudly.
Qin Yining gripped the small paper packet hidden in her sleeve a little tighter.
This was sleeping powder that Bingtang had given her for self-defense. Colorless and tasteless, it dissolved instantly in water and wouldn’t be detected by experienced people like knockout drugs would be.
If scattered as powder in the air, it would naturally be effective too. But Qin Yining was afraid she’d also be affected, and besides, there were over a hundred bandits around her—what use would it be to knock out just the few nearby?
Qin Yining pressed her lips together, rapidly formulating many feasible plans in her mind while observing the environment outside the carriage and thinking about possible escape routes.
Soon, the group reached the location Bao Hu had mentioned.
The carriage slowly came to a stop. Bao Hu dismounted, walked to the carriage side with his heart full of joy, and smiled. “Boss, please get out. We’ll rest here for today.”
Bao Hu looked at the carriage with excitement and anticipation. After waiting a moment, he saw the carriage door being pushed open and a delicate woman in plain white clothes bending to step out.
He couldn’t help but reach out to help her, but the beauty shyly avoided him.
Tsk.
So shy.
But even if she was shy, what needed to happen would still happen. Could she really escape from his palm?
Bao Hu wasn’t in a hurry to approach Qin Yining, nor did he take the initiative to make physical contact, lest he cause the beauty’s displeasure.
The other bandits watched Bao Hu circling left and right around Qin Yining’s carriage like they were watching a play. Now seeing her get out of the carriage with Bao Hu still attentively hovering around her, everyone had knowing smirks and exchanged meaningful glances.
However, they worked efficiently. Some went to the nearby forest to gather firewood, some went to the river to fetch water, some led the animals to graze, and others set up simple tents.
Qin Yining looked around at the scenery, pretending to admire the landscape while actually going over the several escape plans she’d thought of in the carriage.
Swimming away wouldn’t be easy. The river current was swift, and while she could swim, she wasn’t expert at it. Moreover, among so many bandits there were bound to be those who could swim well. Once in the water, if caught, she’d be in even greater danger.
She could only try to use the sleeping powder in her sleeve to knock out as many as possible and take the opportunity to escape.
With this in mind, Qin Yining looked curiously at several young men returning with wild vegetables.
These bandits had probably all suffered hardship before becoming outlaws. There were plenty of edible wild plants at this season, and they didn’t care about taste, just bringing back a large pile. They went to the river to rinse them casually in the water and planned to take them back to cook.
Seeing this, Qin Yining quickly said, “Isn’t eating them like this too rough?”
The several bandits cooking wild vegetable soup all stopped what they were doing and looked up at Qin Yining, their eyes full of indescribable mockery.
“We’re not precious people—we’re used to such rough food and plain fare.” The most hot-tempered young man was quite cynical.
Qin Yining paid no attention, as if she hadn’t seen these people’s mockery. “That’s not what I meant. Wild vegetables aren’t bad either. It’s just that when food can be refined and cooking can be fine, why make things difficult for ourselves?”
Qin Yining spoke in gentle, soft tones with a tender manner that made people feel comfortable listening to her. The several young men cooking soup couldn’t help but look at the rough iron pot with wild vegetables carelessly thrown in, and the pile of vegetables still sitting beside it.
Bao Hu, eager to please Qin Yining, quickly said, “Boss is right. We’re all rough country folk—how could we be as thoughtful as you? Look, how should we prepare these things? We still have some cooked meat with us, and the brothers can catch some wild rabbits and chickens, and fish from the river too. We must make sure boss eats well.”
Qin Yining smiled and said, “You’ve all been tired all day, while I’ve been idle the whole time. If you don’t mind, why don’t I cook a few dishes for everyone to try?”