Chapter 969 - 963: Captives
Su Jin never expected that before reaching the border, she would first become a hostage.
The sun was shining brightly that day, with little wind.
Sitting inside the carriage, Su Jin lifted the curtain to look outside.
They were just a day away from the border, and she felt exceptionally cheerful at the thought of finally arriving after a long journey.
Upon departure from Linzhou, a message was sent to the border to inform the Li Family about the delivery of horses and grain.
The message was delivered, and soldiers were sent to relay information, saying that although this area was within the Daqi territory, there was still a risk of encountering Nanliang people, so they should be cautious, with a plan to send reinforcements ahead.
But they were so close to the border now, why hadn’t the reinforcements shown up?
Xingxing was puzzled.
Su Jin said, "Perhaps the situation at the border is urgent, and they can’t spare the manpower, or maybe this area is truly safe."
Xingxing looked at the surrounding cliffs, a bit worried, and said, "The Marquis has mentioned that such terrain is easy to defend and hard to attack, which is very suitable for an ambush."
Su Jin looked at her with fresh eyes, "You know this?"
"This place is a lot like our Qingyun Mountain," Xingxing grinned.
Just after she spoke, an arrow pierced through the carriage, embedding into the wooden body, the shaft quivering loudly, akin to the tense release of a tightened string.
In an instant, Xingxing’s face turned pale.
So close.
She was just a hair away from losing her life.
Though Su Jin’s face was obscured by a mask, making her expression unreadable, she too was frightened.
Outside the carriage, the sound of screams was unending.
Su Jin lifted the curtain to see a servant, who had been guarding the carriage, fall to an arrow.
Steward Zhou, holding a sword, deflected incoming arrows and urgently said, "We’ve fallen into an ambush!"
No need for Steward Zhou’s words; Su Jin already knew they had fallen into an ambush.
Why hadn’t her father sent people to meet them, and instead, the enemy had come?!
The journey had been smooth, and she thought they could safely reach the border; unexpected as it was, they still couldn’t escape.
It didn’t take long for Su Jin to figure out what was happening.
She had been careless.
The people sent by the Li Family were likely intercepted midway and never reached the military camp.
Those who said the journey was safe were the enemy, not her father!
Arrows rained down.
The carriage was peppered with countless arrows.
Several arrows came flying; Steward Zhou blocked two, but another struck him in the shoulder.
He fell from his horse.
"Steward Zhou!" Xingxing cried out.
From the shadows, the enemy hid on both sides, drawing bows and shooting arrows.
A general drew his bow, aiming at Su Jin.
A man stood by his side, with eyes so deep they seemed bottomless.
Upon hearing Xingxing’s shout, his brows knitted.
The general released his arrow.
Without a second thought, the man shot his arrow.
With no place to hide, Su Jin looked up to see an arrow shooting toward her.
However, just as she thought death was certain, another arrow flew over, knocking it aside and into a rock.
The general’s face darkened, and he sharply turned to the man, "How dare you shoot my arrow aside?!"
The man, holding his bow, looked at the general and said, "Capturing him alive is better than killing him."
"This is still Daqi’s territory; there’s no guarantee we won’t run into an ambush on the way back. Having the Li Family’s eldest as a hostage gives us extra security."
The general said nothing.
The man leapt down and said, "I advise you to surrender, or you’ll die in vain!"
After he jumped down, the arrows stopped.
The surviving servants of the Zhou Family and Li Family dropped their knives.
Su Jin gritted her teeth in anger.
The man looked at Su Jin and Xingxing, "Get off the carriage."
Having been captured, disobedience would only lead to more suffering.
After Xingxing jumped down, she helped Su Jin down.
The man took a rope and tied Su Jin’s hands.
After tying her up, he searched her body.
Su Jin was livid.
But slowly, her eyebrows knitted together again.
The man searched thoroughly, but found nothing, and went into the carriage.
At that moment, the general who nearly killed Su Jin walked over.
The wind lifted the curtain, and the man glanced at the general, grabbing a handful of silver notes from a bundle, casually shaking them before pocketing them.
His fluid movements made it impossible to see what he took, and he came out.
And so—
Su Jin became a hostage, tied hand and foot, tossed onto the grain.
The wind was still the same, but her mindset was vastly different from before.
The general walked at the forefront, while the man rode beside him. After a ride for an hour, taking a breather, the man pulled the silver notes from his pocket.
A thick stack.
The general took it casually.
While opening it, a small bamboo tube fell out.
"What fell out?" the general asked.
The man ordered the soldier behind, "Pick it up."
The general counted roughly, grinning widely.
A full eighty thousand taels.
No wonder the Young Master of Daqi’s top horse-breeding family carried so much money while traveling.
He stuffed the silver notes into his pocket while the soldier handed him the bamboo tube.
The general gave it a cursory inspection.
The bamboo tube seemed unremarkable.
But such an ordinary object, paired with something as valuable as eighty thousand taels, must be extraordinary.
"Could there be a secret message inside?" the man asked.
"Open it and see for yourself," the general said casually.
The general pulled the stopper off.
With a whoosh.
A signal flare shot into the sky.
Though still some distance from the military camp, the nearby town was closer.
The Flying Tiger Army, handling affairs in town, saw the signal and their faces instantly changed.
This was a distress signal from the lady!
The Flying Tiger Army immediately rushed to the camp, with Marquis Dongxiang ordering Su Chong and Prince NanAn to lead soldiers to rescue Su Jin.
The general remained unaware that the signal flare was meant for Marquis Dongxiang, but its release was doubtless a bad omen, and to avoid unforeseen complications, they needed to leave quickly.
With Su Jin’s hands tied and the carriage barreling along, she was nearly thrown off several times.
As dizziness from the jostling set in, the carriage finally halted.
And then came the second wave of arrows.
But this time, it was the Flying Tiger Army shooting.
With a gag in her mouth, Xingxing was muffling screams of—I hope they’re aiming true, please don’t hit us by mistake!
The elite archers of the Flying Tiger Army had arrived.
Arrows without fail.
Su Chong aimed to kill that general.
The man knocked the arrow down.
He shielded the general, pressing him against the carriage, placing a blade to Su Jin’s neck, "Let us go!"
With a blade to her neck, the arrows came to a halt.
Su Chong’s face was cold as frost.
The audacity, using his sister as leverage against them?!
Prince NanAn, stroking his horse’s mane, laughed, "Such nerve, sneaking into Daqi’s territory wanting to take these horses and grain back to Nanliang?"
Chu Shun and the Heir of Marquis Beining were already mourning for the man.
Of all the people to hold hostage, they chose his sister-in-law.
She could poison them so badly they’d be near death, likely the poison was kicking in soon?
The Nanliang men’s path was blocked, surrounded by the Flying Tiger Army’s archers, escape was impossible.
The only shred of survival lay in their hostage.
Su Chong coldly said, "I’ll let you go!"
Xingxing attempted to make muffled cries.
"Let her speak," Su Chong commanded.
The man removed the gag, and Xingxing shouted, "He took our money!"
"Make him leave the money before letting them go!"
"... ."
Prince NanAn and his companions were dumbfounded.
Does this maid value money more than life?
Then—
Su Chong added a condition to their release.
Leave the money too.
The current situation was unfavorable for them.
But the Flying Tiger Army was honorable, they would hold true to their word.
The general tossed the silver notes onto Su Jin.
"We’re leaving!"