Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 237: Chapter 238 Something’s Not Right_1 Chapter 237: Chapter 238 Something’s Not Right_1

The carriage was ready, and Qingya wasn’t taken along. Yu Ze protected Muniang as she boarded the carriage, and then with a swift leap, he jumped onto the carriage himself. Just as he was about to draw the curtains and enter, his body suddenly stiffened, and the corner of his eye fleetingly swept in the direction of the woods.

Muniang poked her head out, looking at him, “What’s wrong? If we’re any later, I’m afraid we won’t make it back before noon.”

Yu Ze nodded, “Nothing.” He then dove into the carriage.

Zhuzi cracked the whip, and they were off in a cloud of dust.

Muniang said, “Should we bring something with us? After all, he saved Qinghe a few days ago, and we really should thank him. How about we buy something in town and send it to him later?”

Yu Ze smiled, “He willingly did it for the woman he loves. We’re just outsiders in this, what’s there for us to send? He’s probably thinking of sending us something to thank us for taking such good care of Qinghe.”

Muniang thought it over and agreed.

“Tired? Why not take a nap,” Yu Ze knew Muniang well. She loved to sleep in, and these past few days she had been getting up early to take care of the Tianzhuang affairs. It was also an early start today, and she hadn’t slept enough.

Muniang nodded, “Tired.”

Yu Ze pulled her into his arms, “Sleep then. We still have more than half an hour’s journey ahead.”

Muniang squirmed a bit in his arms to find a comfortable position, and then she closed her eyes.

As the carriage slowly moved forward, nearing the outskirts of the village, Yu Ze suddenly pulled back the curtain, his eyes slightly narrowed, fixating on a certain direction. In an instant, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and with a flip of his palm, a burst of palm wind shot out. The distant treetops trembled slightly, too far for any sound to be heard; even Zhuzi, the coachman, didn’t notice anything amiss.

Muniang cracked open her eyes slightly, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Ze let the curtain fall back, “Nothing. There were just a few squawking things in the bushes, but they’re gone now. Go back to sleep, okay?”

Muniang didn’t think much of it and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.

In the shadow of a thick tree, a man in sturdy clothing was protecting his chest, struggling to get up using the tree trunk as support. Indeed, being tasked to keep an eye on someone like Yu Ze was never a good assignment. Even following from such a distance, he was still discovered. That palm strike was merely a warning, yet it had still almost damaged his heart meridian.

Why did such an unlucky task fall to him?

However, although he complained in his mind, he did not dare delay his mission, and ignoring his injuries, he immediately rushed back to report.

As Yu Ze and Muniang entered Chatu Town, preparing to head straight for Zeng Gang’s home, Muniang lifted the carriage curtain and immediately spotted a familiar face—Hei Bao.

Muniang’s expression froze, and she turned to Yu Ze, “Didn’t you guys take down Prime Minister Kong and Consort Yuan together? How come Hei Bao is still at large?”

At her words, Yu Ze’s brow furrowed as well. Hei Bao was Prime Minister Kong’s confidant. It would have been one thing if he had slipped through the net, but why was he still in Chatu Town?

“Where is he?”

Muniang lifted the curtain of the carriage and pointed in one direction; Yu Ze looked and indeed, it was him.

Hei Bao was sneaky, looking hurried and even whispering a few words to the person next to him.

Muniang couldn’t help but worry a bit. Although Prime Minister Kong had been eliminated, his claws and teeth were still around, and what’s more, Hei Bao continued to recklessly remain in this place of right and wrong, despite the fact that his trafficking den in Chatu Town had been destroyed—it was inevitable that he wasn’t plotting something sinister against Yu Ze.

“Shall we catch him and ask?” Muniang was now very confident in Yu Ze’s martial arts skills.

Yu Ze also felt something was amiss, but still said, “Catching Hei Bao alone won’t solve anything, perhaps he has an even more powerful master behind him; we’d better follow him and see.”

Muniang thought so too. Seeing their sneaky appearance, she felt sure they were up to no good, possibly even stumbling upon some conspiracy today, so she nodded and told Zhu Zi to hurry up and follow Hei Bao’s carriage.

Hei Bao also got on a carriage, with an underling following him, and Muniang’s carriage trailed closely behind.

Originally, she thought he was heading to a concealed residence in Chatu Town again—wasn’t his last den like that? But she found that he was heading farther and farther into desolation. In half an hour, they had left the city area and reached a wild and desolate place. They were now at the border between Chatu Town and Jinyang Town, and only a short distance away from Jinyang Town. What on earth could Hei Bao be up to?

Muniang felt that something was off and said, “Could they be luring us here on purpose, planning to catch us in the pot?”

Yu Ze spoke in a deep voice, “They don’t have the guts. Inviting me into the pot would be like asking for death.”

Muniang looked at Yu Ze in amazement. She knew he was good at martial arts, but surely not to this monstrous extent?

But hearing how certain he was, she supposed that Hei Bao probably hadn’t lured them here intentionally. Thus, whatever he was doing in these wild and desolate hills, it definitely wasn’t anything good.

After Hei Bao’s carriage took several twists and turns, another carriage was already waiting ahead, apparently preparing to rendezvous with him. As the carriage in front suddenly stopped, Zhu Zi cleverly stopped their carriage as well.

Yu Ze slightly lifted the curtain and peeked out, observing what trick Hei Bao was up to, but suddenly spotted a woman being dragged out from another carriage by several men, bound and thrown onto the ground. Yu Ze’s gaze darkened—it was He Suxue.

His hearing was extremely sharp, so naturally, he could clearly hear what they were saying.

“Brother Bao, is this woman really useful? We brought her here with great difficulty; let’s not waste our efforts in vain,” said one of the men.

Hei Bao sneered, “Certainly useful. Even if Yu Ze has immense skills, could he bear to see his woman suffer? After all, she has journeyed through mountains and rivers to find him, hasn’t she? We’re lucky to have caught a young mistress running away from home. She’s waited until she was nineteen and still hasn’t married, all because of him; their love is strong. Just wait and see, when we use her to threaten Yu Ze, will he not obediently comply?”

“But Brother Bao, this woman is so beautiful, a noble young lady from the capital. Just watching her feels like a waste. Why don’t we have some fun first before we use her to threaten Yu Ze? It’ll be the same anyway!” suddenly suggested a sleazy man, his gaze on He Suxue turning increasingly lustful.

He Suxue’s mouth was gagged, and she was unable to speak, only managing muffled sounds while struggling desperately, her face showing nothing but grief and misery.

Hei Bao was generous, however, and with a wave of his hand said, “Fine, fine, I’ll reward you with a bit of fun. After all, we have such a big grudge against Yu Ze. Toying with his woman, just thinking about it is satisfying!”

Upon hearing this, a thug immediately rubbed his hands together and grinned as he moved closer to He Suxue. She struggled even harder, half her hair coming loose, and her once gentle face was now tear-streaked and unrecognizable.