Hearing what the man said, the woman walking in front of him immediately lashed back like a firecracker that had just been lit. "What kind of person? You still think he's a good guy up to now. If Wang Laoliu had an ounce of conscience, he would have paid back the money he owed us last Chinese New Year. Would we have to run around like headless chickens just to come and ask for it?"
"Ouch, my dear wife!" The man covered his ear that was being tugged and apologized sincerely. "Take it easy. Don't twist my ear off!"
Hearing this, the woman tightened her grip. Taking the chance when she was close to his ear, she said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Still calling me 'dear wife' and yourself 'husband'. Stop trying to take advantage of me!"
After saying that, she quickly pulled away from his ear and continued in her normal voice, "Let me tell you, Wang Laoda. I haven't settled the score with you for secretly lending him money last time. If you keep blabbering like this, I'll divorce you!"
"Ouch! It hurts! Erhua, I was wrong! I won't do it again!"
For the rest of the time in the forest, Wang Laoda's pig - like cries for mercy could be heard. Even the scout from Panguzhai, who had been secretly following them, couldn't help but cover his ears. He thought to himself that he had never seen such a couple before. One was so shrewd and kept talking about divorcing her husband, while the other was so hen - pecked.
Taking advantage of the scout's inattention, Shen Li whispered quickly, "Is that guy still following us?"
"Don't worry. At this point, they won't let us go so easily."
These two were actually Xuan Yuanjue and Shen Li in disguise. They had gone to such great lengths to stage this play just to find a way to get into Panguzhai.
After walking for a while, Li Erhua noticed that this place was getting more and more remote. There wasn't a single soul in sight besides the two of them. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the bundle on her back and complained to the man beside her, "Look at the path you've chosen! There's not even a ghost on this whole journey."
"Erhua, stop talking. I'm scared!" Wang Laoda was so scared that he hid behind Erhua.
Li Erhua gave him a disdainful look. "Bah! You coward! I'm just a woman, and I'm not scared. What are you afraid of as a grown man? Do you think someone's going to rape you?"
Hearing this, Xuan Yuanjue, who was holding tightly onto her sleeve, was stunned for a moment. Then, his sensitive ears caught the sound of footsteps not far ahead.
"Erhua, I feel that this forest is so gloomy and scary. How about we turn back and take another path?"
The answer wasn't from Li Erhua but from a man's triumphant laugh. "Hahaha! It's too late to turn back now!"
Suddenly, more than a dozen rough - looking, big - knife - wielding strong men emerged from the bushes on one side. They said the typical words of bandits when robbing, "I've opened this mountain, and I've planted this path. If you want to pass, leave your money!"
Wang Laoda was so scared that his legs were trembling as he looked at the knives in their hands. "Who... who are you?"
Hearing this, the bearded man in the lead threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha! You've never even heard of our Panguzhai, and you still dare to pass through our territory! You're really brave!"
Li Erhua stood in front of Wang Laoda. She looked at the more than a dozen men who had suddenly appeared with a scowl on her face. "Hey! What Panguzhai? It's more like a useless gang! I'm telling you, a good dog doesn't block the way. Move aside now!"
Hearing this, one of the bandits opposite her immediately got angry. He took a few steps forward, raised his knife and pretended to cut. "You dare to insult our Panguzhai. I'll cut your head off!"
Looking at the shiny knife in his hand, Li Erhua felt a twinge of fear. She took several steps back. Then, she suddenly took out a large kitchen knife from the bundle on her back. Encouraging herself in her heart, she said, "Hey! Don't think you're the only one with a knife. Be careful. I won't be responsible if I hurt you!"
Seeing the kitchen knife in her hand, the more than a dozen bandits from Panguzhai burst into laughter in unison. "This woman really thinks this broken kitchen knife can hurt us!"
Li Erhua silently counted the number of bandits. She looked at their shiny big knives and then at the kitchen knife in her own hand. Taking advantage of their laughter, she said to Wang Laoda behind her, "Run!"
Before Wang Laoliu could react, he was dragged by her and had run several steps. But no matter how hard they tried, they only managed to run a few hundred steps before they were surrounded by the bandits again.
"Why is there only so little stuff?" Three or four bandits emptied the two bundles that Wang Laoda and Erhua had been carrying. They only found a few not - so - new clothes and a dozen taels of silver.
Li Erhua and Wang Laoliu were now squatting on one side with their heads in their hands. They were looking at the clothes that the bandits had casually discarded and the money bags that had been taken, with heart - broken expressions on their faces. But looking at the big knives in the bandits' hands, they didn't dare to say a word. At this moment, staying alive was their top priority.
After the search, the bandits looked at the two people still squatting on the ground and asked the man who was clearly their leader, "Captain, what should we do with these two? Should we... chop them?"
As he said "chop", he made a slashing motion across his neck, meaning whether they should kill the two of them right now.
"Keep them for now," the bearded captain said, shaking his head. "Our stockade is short of manpower recently. Take them back. Lock them up first and see how they behave."
Then, he said to Wang Laoda and Li Erhua, "You two, be obedient once you're in the stockade. If you behave well, we'll spare your lives. If not, we'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"
Wang Laoda and Li Erhua nodded fearfully. "Yes, yes, yes! We'll be obedient! We'll be obedient!"
Some people questioned the bearded captain's decision. "Captain, no merchants or passers - by have passed through our Panguzhai for several years. People outside all avoid our place when they hear our name. But these two suddenly appear here. Their background is a bit suspicious. It might not be appropriate to just take them back."
The bearded man thought silently for a while and then said, "There are indeed some doubts about these two. I think we should take them back first and interrogate them. If there's really something fishy about them, we'll just deal with them in the stockade. They won't be able to cause much trouble."
"Let's go! Take them back to the stockade!"