Chapter 15

From beginning to end, Su Linlang had not spoken a single word, but now she finally opened her mouth and asked in a very soft voice, "You... how did you manage to untie the ropes?"

She was indeed very curious. Among these people, Wei Tianqing and Chu Huan were both tied with cowhide ropes, different from the coarse hemp ropes used on others. The cowhide ropes could stretch and contract, designed to prevent those with great strength from breaking free. Even with great strength, it would be difficult to break free from the cowhide ropes.

At this moment, Su Linlang also knew that although Chu Huan was dressed in tattered and shabby clothes, he was not an ordinary beggar. However, she still could not believe that Chu Huan had the ability to untie the cowhide ropes.

Chu Huan smiled lightly and whispered, "I have no special skills, but my greatest ability is this... I fear no rope in the world can bind me!"

Su Linlang was secretly amazed but did not say much more.

Chu Huan untied the ropes on his feet, tucked the jade into his waist, and held the sharp dagger in his right hand. He had already seen Wei Tianqing's position in the firelight and did not hesitate to move in that direction. Soon, he reached Wei Tianqing's side and whispered, "I am Chu Huan, don't speak!" He felt Wei Tianqing's hands and cut the cowhide ropes binding his hands with the dagger.

Wei Tianqing raised his hands to remove the cloth in his mouth, took a few deep breaths, and then whispered, "Impressive skills, I didn't know you had such abilities, truly impressive!"

Chu Huan smiled faintly and said, "Just a small trick, not worth mentioning!"

Wei Tianqing whispered, "Don't say that." He quickly untied the cowhide ropes on his legs and whispered, "Brother, if you had untied the ropes earlier, when that woman came in, we could have taken her down together. Unfortunately, it's too late..."

Chu Huan smiled faintly and whispered, "These are desperate people. Even if we captured the female bandit leader, it might not make them submit. Moreover... our goal is to get everyone out of here safely, that's the most important thing!"

Wei Tianqing reached out and patted Chu Huan's shoulder in the darkness, whispering, "Brother, if we can escape this time, I will not forget your kindness!"

Chu Huan did not like hearing such words and said faintly, "It's not just for your sake..." He did not say more.

He was a person who repaid kindness. Although Su Linlang had only given him a package of pastries, in his situation, receiving pastries made her at least a kind person in his eyes.

When the incident occurred on the ship, if Chu Huan had wanted to leave alone, he could have swum away with his swimming skills. However, he wanted to help Su Linlang, so he had been looking for an opportunity and even endured until now.

...

Wei Tianqing knew where Lady Qiao was and was about to go help her untie the ropes, but Chu Huan held him back and whispered, "Don't alarm everyone yet..."

Wei Tianqing understood that Chu Huan probably had a plan and asked, "Brother, do you have a plan to escape?"

Chu Huan thought for a moment and whispered, "I've been listening carefully to the sounds outside. There are indeed only two guards outside the door, but the door is locked from the outside. To leave here, we need to open the door and deal with the guards outside."

Wei Tianqing secretly admired him and said, "Dealing with the two guards outside is not difficult. Now that our hands and feet are free, they won't know. We just need to lure them in and capture them." He paused and added, "But I don't know the situation outside or how the other bandits are distributed. Even if we can leave this ancient temple, we are unfamiliar with the terrain, and these bandits know this place well... if they discover us, with their numbers, we might not be able to escape!"

Chu Huan smiled faintly and whispered, "Brother Wei, don't forget there are many horses outside the temple!"

Wei Tianqing's eyes lit up, and he said urgently, "How could I forget that? If we can get the horses, we can ride away, and they won't be able to catch us even with their numbers!"

Chu Huan nodded slightly in the darkness and thought for a moment before whispering, "I just don't know if everyone can ride horses."

At this moment, a very soft voice came from the side, "Sir... Sir, I... I can ride horses!" The voice was very light, but it carried a hint of excitement.

This person was next to Wei Tianqing. Although he had been sleeping, he had woken up when Lin Dai'er came in earlier. He had closed his eyes to avoid trouble.

Chu Huan and Wei Tianqing had been discussing in low voices, and this person had been listening carefully. When he heard there was a chance to escape, he was extremely excited and couldn't help but speak up.

Wei Tianqing heard the voice, reached out, and dragged the person over. The person was startled and almost cried out, but a hand quickly covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

Wei Tianqing whispered, "Don't make a sound, or they'll hear us outside!"

The person nodded frantically, and Wei Tianqing released his hand, asking, "Can you ride horses?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" the person hurriedly whispered, "Sir, you might not remember me, but I once met you in Yunshan Prefecture. I've always remembered your bravery. I recognized you on the ship yesterday but didn't dare to acknowledge you!"

Wei Tianqing was surprised, "You know me?"

"Yes, I am Zhu Fa, the owner of Longhe Horse Market," the person whispered, "Do you remember?"

Wei Tianqing thought for a moment and said, "I see."

Zhu Fa smiled bitterly, "I was on my way to Taiyuan to discuss a business deal, but I never expected this to happen. Sirs, if you can help me escape this time, I will repay you generously!"

Chu Huan did not say much and whispered, "It's good that there are people who can ride horses. The bandits should have six or seven fine horses. We have ten people, and if half of us can ride, we can each carry one person away!"

"Let's do it!" Wei Tianqing decided, "Lure the guards in, capture them, and then I'll find the horses. Once we find them, we'll move out under the cover of night. Whether we can escape or not will depend on our luck!"

Chu Huan whispered, "Don't act yet. The bandit leader was looking for something and hasn't rested yet. That woman is very alert, so we can't be careless. The guards outside will change shifts soon. We'll wait until they change shifts and then act."

Wei Tianqing found this reasonable and admired Chu Huan's calmness in such a situation. He nodded and asked, "What was that woman looking for? She seemed very anxious about the lost item."

Chu Huan naturally wouldn't tell him the truth and smiled, "I don't know."

Wei Tianqing, being very astute, knew that Chu Huan must know but didn't want to say. Since Chu Huan didn't say, Wei Tianqing didn't press further.

...

At midnight, the two bandits guarding the stone room finally waited for their shift change. They exchanged a few words and then changed shifts. The new guards sat outside the stone room door. One of them leaned in to listen at the door, but there was no unusual movement inside, only the faint sound of snoring. He chuckled, "They sure can sleep!"

"Better they sleep, so they don't cause trouble," the other bandit said, taking out a small wine flask from his waist. "We're guarding not just a few people but a room full of gold and silver!"

He took a sip of wine, and the other bandit reached out to take the flask, but before he could, the door of the stone room started to make a soft knocking sound, "Knock, knock, knock." The sound wasn't very loud.

The two bandits immediately stood up, grabbing the large knives beside them. The sound paused for a moment and then started again.

One of the bandits, looking angry, leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Knocking in the middle of the night? What are you trying to do?"

A woman's voice came from inside, "Open the door quickly, someone inside is very sick and about to die... please help him!"

The voice sounded very anxious.

The two bandits stood up. One of them picked up a torch, holding a knife in the other hand, and nodded, "Open the door and see what's going on."

The other bandit frowned, "It's the middle of the night, what could be happening? Is someone inside trying to trick us?" He whispered, "Should I tell Sister Dai'er and see what she says?"

The bandit with the torch was about to nod when a painful groan came from inside, "Ouch!" The two bandits, experienced as they were, knew the groan was genuine.

They looked at each other, both showing a strange expression, and heard the woman at the door say anxiously, "Open the door and save him, or he'll really die!"

"Sister Dai'er is probably resting. It's too much to bother her with such a small matter," the bandit with the torch said. "But if someone really dies, we won't be able to explain to Sister Dai'er... they're all tied up, so we'll just go in and see what's happening."

Being experienced in battle, they had the courage. Although they knew Wei Tianqing was skilled in martial arts, he was bound with cowhide ropes, so they weren't afraid. One of them went to pull the door bolt and gently pushed the door open. The inside was pitch black. The bandit with the torch held his knife tightly and went in, followed by the other bandit with his knife.

As soon as they entered, before they could see clearly, they heard a "click," and the door behind them closed. Both were startled and thought, "Not good, we've been tricked!"

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