"Lost track of her?" Shen Qing was surprised.
The Imperial Guards were all top - notch experts. It was highly unlikely that they would lose track of someone. This meant that Ji Qingshu had deliberately shaken them off.
"Don't worry. The Imperial Guards are already looking for her. Besides, Jingyang is dressed as a man. Even if she runs into bad guys, she probably won't be in much danger," Ji Junye said, afraid that Shen Qing would worry.
Shen Qing glanced at him. Is that how you talk about your own sister?
But it also showed that Ji Junye really cared about his sister Ji Qingshu, not for some other reasons. Only those with a truly good relationship would mercilessly dislike someone on one hand while urgently sending people to look for them on the other.
At this moment, Ji Qingshu, who Ji Junye thought "wouldn't be in much danger", was being tied up in a firewood shed. There were also two men beside her, tied up like dumplings.
When Ji Qingshu went out, she only brought one secret guard. She noticed that the Imperial Guards were following her. Afraid that her elder brother was going to arrest her and take her back, she told the secret guard to lead the Imperial Guards away and then meet at an inn. However, the inn she found was a black - hearted one. They had put knockout drops in the water. She only took a sip and then passed out.
Ji Qingshu slowly woke up. She felt weak all over. It seemed that the effect of the knockout drops hadn't completely worn off yet.
She heard men's voices outside.
"Hurry up! Those people inside are all rich. It's been a tough time recently. It was not easy for the second boss to kidnap two of them. If they starve to death, you'll be in big trouble!"
"Here it is. The big boss kidnapped a woman to be his wife today. They're getting married tonight. The kitchen is busy preparing the feast. It's already good enough that we can bring this here."
"Alright, go in quickly."
Ji Qingshu was lively, but she wasn't stupid. From their words, she realized that she and the two men beside her had been kidnapped by bandits who wanted to exchange them for ransom. The inn was probably their base for such operations.
The door creaked open. The man who brought the food noticed that Ji Qingshu was awake and let out a "hey".
"Good timing. Time to eat."
The man put down the things and was about to leave when Ji Qingshu quickly called out, "Wait..."
"What's up?"
Ji Qingshu said weakly, "Big brother, you've tied me up so tightly. I can't eat like this. Could you untie me?"
The man hesitated.
Ji Qingshu continued, "The effect of the knockout drops on me hasn't worn off yet. I can't even stand up. Besides, there are guards outside. We can't escape."
The man thought it made sense. Moreover, it was rare to see someone so obedient. Those who were kidnapped before either cried, shouted, or even wet themselves out of fear. This one was quite sensible.
The man untied Ji Qingshu's hands and kindly put the food beside her for her to eat.
It was just a bowl of corn porridge. Ji Qingshu had never eaten such coarse food before. It looked unappetizing to her.
The man left after putting down the things. As soon as the door closed, the other two men also opened their eyes.
"Why didn't you ask him to untie us too?" a man who looked like a master said expressionlessly.
Ji Qingshu frowned and took a sip of the corn porridge. The coarse grains scratched her throat and made her want to roll her eyes.
"If you didn't say anything, who would know you were awake?"
Come to think of it, if it weren't for these two men, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation!
She saw a child being abused on the street. When she got closer, she found that it was a human trafficker forcing the abducted child to beg. She was about to arrest the trafficker and report him to the government, but the trafficker claimed that they were a family and that she was the trafficker. When she asked the child, the child stammered and dared not speak. She wanted to take the child to the government office, but these two men suddenly appeared and attacked her. Not only did they let the trafficker escape, but they also exposed her whereabouts. If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have been discovered by the Imperial Guards!
Now it seemed that the human trafficker was also in cahoots with these bandits.
Thinking of this, Ji Qingshu couldn't help gloating, "Serves you right for acting like good guys without knowing the whole story. Now you're in this mess too."
The man was not willing to be outdone. "You're not in a much better situation."
Ji Qingshu snorted and lifted the bowl in her hand. "At least I'm untied and have something to eat. Well, if you apologize to me and beg me, I'll untie you and let you eat. How about it?"
The man who looked like a guard beside him roared, "You're asking for death!"
Ji Qingshu rolled her eyes. "If you don't apologize, that's fine. I'm not full yet. I'll just eat your share too!"
"Alright, Ling Feng. We were indeed wrong in this matter," Shen Si said. "Sir, we really misunderstood you before. I apologize to you."
"We're in a bandit stronghold now. Although the bandits want to exchange us for ransom, there's no guarantee that there won't be any danger. It's better for the three of us to think of a way together than to just sit here and wait for death. What do you think, sir?"
Ji Qingshu felt a bit better hearing him call her "sir" all the time. "You're quite sensible."
After eating, she regained some strength, but it was still difficult for her to do anything. The bandits didn't want them to starve to death, but they also didn't want them to eat too much and run away. So the food they brought could only keep them alive.
When untying the ropes, Ji Qingshu didn't forget to mock the gloomy - faced Ling Feng. "Your master is much more sensible and magnanimous than you. No wonder he's the master."
Shen Si and Ling Feng also finished their bowls of throat - scratching corn porridge. The bandits could keep them too weak to run just by giving them this little food, so there was no need to add anything else.
Shen Si thought for a while and said, "Bandits are untrustworthy. They might not let us go even after getting the ransom. Our top priority is to think of a way to get out."
Ji Qingshu nodded. "You're right."
Shen Si continued, "I heard them say that their big boss is getting married tonight. It should be a good opportunity."
Ji Qingshu nodded again. "You're right."
Ling Feng said, "The effect of the knockout drops should completely wear off in two hours. I'll go out and scout the way first."
Ji Qingshu nodded once more. "That's a great idea."
Shen Si couldn't help but look at her. "Can't you... say something else?"
Looking over, he saw Ji Qingshu take out a handful of candied fruits from her clothes and start chewing. Seeing Shen Si and Ling Feng looking at her, Ji Qingshu paused. As if making a difficult decision, she took out all her stash and held out the candies. "This is all I've hidden. Let's get one thing straight. If you eat these, you have to take me out."
Although she had practiced martial arts, her skills were no match for real danger. It was better for her to be led by others.
The bowl of corn porridge wasn't even enough for Ji Qingshu, let alone for Shen Si and Ling Feng, two grown men. The candied fruits were few, but they could relieve the urgent need.
The three of them put their heads together and discussed for a long time. The people outside heard their voices but didn't pay much attention.
As soon as the drug effect wore off, the three of them glanced at each other. Then Ji Qingshu started wailing, "Big brother, what's wrong with you? Are you having another attack?!"
"What? You didn't bring any medicine?!"
"What shall we do then? I'm still waiting for someone to ransom us. If you die, what will happen?!"