Chapter 319: Chapter 306: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

Translator: 549690339 |

With increasing twilight, the sky gradually darkens. Shi Bao, who was driving the carriage, whipped the horses a few more times.

However, the carriage could not surpass the speed of approaching nightfall. Soon the darkness descended, making it increasingly difficult to see ahead. Shi Bao lit a lantern, which was held by Shen Quan, and they unavoidably had to slow the pace.

“I apologize for the late return, Miss Zhuang, given all the trouble you went to today,” Ding Gaochang said, his face full of remorse.

“No trouble at all,” Zhuang Qingning answered with a laugh, “I was engrossed in discussion with Village Chief Miao and lost track of time. It’s dark outside, we need to be cautious on our journey. It won’t hurt us to return a bit late.

Safety first.

“Yes.” Ding Gaochang lifted the curtain and instructed Shi Bao to drive more carefully. He then took out a mung bean cake that he brought specially for the journey and offered it to Zhuang Qingning.

Given the mediocre culinary skills of Village Chief Miao’s wife, Zhuang Qingning found the midday meal unappealing and, therefore, ate very little. At this time, she was quite hungry and accepted the mung bean cake from Ding Gaochang without hesitation.

The mung bean cake was sweet, glutinous, yet not greasy. It tasted good even when eaten with the water from their flask, making her half-full.

After eating, she casually started a conversation with Ding Gaochang.

The moon rose and cast its bright light all over the land, making it resemble dawn. The route ahead became more visible and Shi Bao was able to guide the carriage slightly faster.

Suddenly, a scream pierced through the tranquil night.

Startled, Shi Bao quickly yanked the reins.

The horse neighed and came to a halt.

There was a rustling sound and a faint light visible in the nearby bushes.

“Help!”

A cry for help abruptly rang out but was quickly drowned by the rustling sound.

No other cries followed.

Shi Bao exchanged glances with Shen Quan. Instantly, they grip their weapons tighter.

Ding Gaochang, inside the carriage, also heard the noise and lifted the curtain to ask, “What happened?”

“Not sure. There was some noise over there and someone cried for help; but it’s now quiet again,” Shi Bao answered, hopping off the carriage, “Should we go check it out?”

Ding Gaochang immediately furrowed his eyebrows.

Recently, there have been cases of young girls being kidnapped in Zeng County, which drove the county magistrate and the county lieutenant to desperation. Although we haven’t heard of similar incidents here, we share a border with Zeng County, so Xu Zhengping and I have been worried. We’ve already put our teams on high alert to prevent any occurrences.

It sounded like a young woman cried for help earlier, could there be kidnappers here?

“Shi Bao, stay here and guard Miss Zhuang. Shen Quan and I will go investigate,” Ding Gaochang hopped off the carriage and told Zhuang Qingning, “Miss Zhuang, please wait here. Shi Bao is quite skilled, you’ll be safe.”

“Be careful, Master Ding,” Zhuang Qingning nodded her head in agreement.

She had seen Shi Bao in action before; he was indeed talented. Although she didn’t know kungfu, she had strength and agility on her side, making it difficult for ordinary people to harm her.

Comparatively, she was safer with Shi Bao than Ding Gaochang and Shen Quan were.

After repeatedly instructing Shi Bao to stay with Zhuang Qingning, Ding Gaochang grabbed another lantern and headed towards the wooded area where the noise had come from.

Despite searching carefully in the direction the cry had come from for a long time, they found no sign of any person and nor heard any sound. Even the cry for help wasn’t heard again; it was as if the night had swallowed it.

They both stopped and looked at each other with brows furrowed in confusion.

“Could we have heard wrong earlier?” Shen Quan asked.

“No, we definitely heard something, and the direction is accurate. We arrived rather promptly as well, so logically, we should have seen something-even if we couldn’t find the person, we should have at least seen where they went…

Ding Gaochang suddenly stopped and slapped his forehead, “Damn, could we have been lured away?”

By making a noise, you can divert people’s attention, making it easier to capture the targets left unguarded.

“Those people, would they dare to mess with government officials? Even the boldest of robbers wouldn’t dare to provoke the Government Office,” Shen Quan said in disbelief, but looking at his attire, he still felt a chill creep over him.

As they left today, Ding Gaochang gave special instructions that since they weren’t on an ordinary case that required intimidation, and they didn’t want to alarm the village and spread rumors unnecessarily, they should wear casual clothes.

From an outsider’s perspective, they were nothing more than ordinary people.

In such cases, it’s plausible to be targeted…

Besides, Zhuang Qingning is indeed quite attractive.

Ding Gaochang and Shen Quan didn’t bother wasting any more time, and holding their lanterns and brandishing their swords, raced back. When they arrived at their original location, their faces turned pale.

The carriage was still there, and so was Shi Bao.

But he was unconscious and lying on the ground, a patch of blood seeping on the left side of his head from what appeared to be a blow, and wouldn’t awaken no matter how much they tried.

In contrast, the carriage was eerily empty – Zhuang Qingning was nowhere to be found.

This….

Ding Gaochang collapsed to the ground.

Zhuang Qingning had been taken right under his nose, and it happened when he had asked her to help him.

Zhuang Qingning has assisted him and the Government Office numerous times, making her a benefactor. And now, he had put his benefactor in danger! -Investigate!” Ding Gaochang roared, “Go back to the Government Office and relay my orders. AU government officials must search the entire county thoroughly, inform all pavilion chiefs and village chiefs. We must find these bandits and rescue Miss Zhuang!”

“Anyone who can safely rescue Miss Zhuang, I, Ding Gaochang, wiU reward him with all my possessions!”

The roar echoing around startled a flock of birds sleeping on a tree who flew off in fright.

Under the moonlit sky, a carriage was speeding, shuddering violently when it hit a ditch or a ridge.

Inside the carriage, there’s a mixture of sweat, makeup, and a strong smell of a sedative.

Zhuang Qingning opened her eyes in the darkness, shook her slightly dizzy head, and tried to recan the series of events.

Earher, she and Shi Bao were waiting for Ding Gaochang and Shen Quan to return. As they were bored and since the deserted place combined with the previous cry for help made them feel uneasy, they conversed with each other through the curtain.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a thump outside, followed by something falling to the ground. The light from the lantern outside also dimmed.

It was clear; they were being attacked.

The diversion tactic worked perfectly.

Zhuang Qingning tightened her lips, and quickly reached for a sweet potato she previously took from Miao Hongjin..