Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 221: Trapped
Zheng Long had not only seen such things before, but he had also done them himself.

They attacked merchants and travelers, plundered their property, and accumulated wealth for the church. Many women in the church obtained their wealth through this method.

Thinking of this, Zheng Long looked at the woman again.

The woman turned her head just as he was doing so.

A beautiful face immediately came into view, with exceptionally delicate eyebrows and eyes, skin so fair it was flawless, and slightly pale lips, but overall stunningly beautiful; if a touch of rouge were applied…

Zheng Long's gaze fell on the exposed section of the neck again, and he subconsciously swallowed. He saw a few red marks on it, as if someone had pinched it.

Scenes flashed through Zheng Long's mind, all confirming his guess that the woman had encountered a powerful figure.

As he was pondering this, he saw patrolmen walking towards him in the distance. Zheng Long subconsciously packed his things to leave, but when he looked up again, the woman was gone.

Zheng Long frowned, looked around, and finally caught sight of the woman's retreating figure.

They were indeed hiding from soldiers.

Zheng Long licked his lips. Just as he said, this was a good deal. Even if other things didn't work out, he could still snatch that woman away, right?

"Let's go quickly," Zheng Long whispered to Wang Hu.

The two pretended to be nonchalant and gradually left the market. Zheng Long's eyes, however, remained fixed on the woman, watching her slip away from the crowd and head into the woods.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Zheng Long and Wang Hu also slipped into the forest. They didn't rush to make a move, but quietly approached. Then they heard the woman say something that sounded like a plea.

Others might not understand it, but Zheng Long knew it was the language of the Western Xia. He didn't know the true meaning, but people who travel around all year round and have heard the Western Xia and Northern Qi people speak can tell the difference.

This woman is from the Western Xia.

The sound of a woman sobbing could be heard again from the woods.

Zheng Long and Wang Hu looked at each other, remained silent for a moment, and then Zheng Long seemed to have made up his mind. He quickly walked over in the direction of the sound.

Clearly unprepared for the sudden appearance of someone, the woman in the woods heard the commotion and tried to escape, but in her panic, her legs gave way and she immediately fell to the ground.

"who are you?"

"What to do?"

The woman picked up a twig from the ground and gestured at Zheng Long and Wang Hu.

Zheng Long found it amusing, but pretended to be concerned: "My brother and I were passing by when we heard crying. May I ask what happened to this lady?"

"Should we help you report this to the authorities? A patrol team just passed by here."

The woman indeed became anxious and said repeatedly, "No need, no need... I just... got lost."

Zheng Long asked, "Where are you from, madam? We can help you find your way."

The woman pursed her lips, unable to speak for a long time.

Wang Hu seemed to have discovered something and exclaimed, "There's blood...blood..."

The woman immediately looked at the hem of her skirt and then tried her best to cover it up.

"No, we have to report this to the authorities."

Seeing that Zheng Long and Wang Hu were about to turn and leave, the woman's face immediately turned ugly. She immediately said, "I... my family's caravan encountered bandits... please don't report this to the authorities. If this gets out... not only will we lose our property... but my reputation will also be damaged. If people know about this... I will have no face to live in this world."

Zheng Long knew this was just an excuse from the woman, but they weren't really going to report her to the authorities, so they pretended to believe her, hoping to get the truth out of her. "So what should we do? Where do you live? Should we go and deliver a message?"

As Zheng Long spoke, he sensed the woman's gaze falling on him and Wang Hu, as if she were deep in thought.

After a moment, the woman spoke again: "I actually came here to hire someone to help me retrieve the goods."

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes, tears clinging to her long eyelashes, making her look exceptionally pitiful.

“My father also fell into their hands,” the woman choked up. “Those people were not like bandits, but rather like a group of starving people. However, there were too many of them, about twenty, who rushed at me all at once… If my father hadn’t tried his best to stop them, I wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

"If I can find more than ten people to go up the mountain with me, I will be able to subdue all those people."

As she spoke, the woman raised her eyes and took out a piece of gold from her bosom: "I have something to thank you for, three hundred coins each... If you two help me find the person... this piece of gold is also for you."

Wang Hu's eyes lit up and he was about to step forward to grab the gold, but Zheng Long blocked his way. Zheng Long whispered, "Where did you encounter the bandits?"

The woman said, "We started our escape on the official road not far from Wei County, west of Daming Prefecture. We didn't expect them to follow us all the way to Guan County. After taking our goods, they went into the mountains of Guan County."

Zheng Long had sold black oil to those people, so he naturally knew where they were staying. What the woman said matched up perfectly, so it seemed that everything was true.

Zheng Long said, "I can find people, but no one is willing to deal with the bandits."

The woman was visibly pleased upon hearing this: "We'll pay more. The goods... are very important, we... we can..."

The woman said as she searched through the cloth bag she was carrying.

Zheng Long saw a jade hairpin.

It's carved from Hetian jade; you can tell it's a good piece at first glance.

Besides these, there were also many gold ingots and gold seeds, which dazzled Wang Hu. These were just the things the woman carried with her; one can imagine how valuable the lost goods were.

After arriving in Daming Prefecture, they haven't accomplished anything yet. If they can bring these valuables back to the sect, they can secure a place within it.

Wang Hu could barely maintain his honest expression, and Zheng Long couldn't help but take a few steps forward to examine the items the woman had thrown on the ground.

The woman bit her lip: "As long as you can get your valuables back, I'll give you all of this... and... I'll also take fifty taels of silver from the goods. With this money, you can buy a lot of land and won't have to work so hard anymore..."

Zheng Long was overjoyed. He could easily take fifty taels of silver from the goods; indeed, the goods were exceptionally valuable. He had originally intended to kidnap a woman for his own pleasure...

However, no matter how beautiful the woman was, she couldn't compare to the wealth. They decided not to make a move yet and instead let the woman lead them to the goods.

It's not too late to enjoy this beauty after you've received the goods.

Zheng Long asked, "You can still find them?"

The woman nodded quickly: "Yes."

Zheng Long paused deliberately for a moment: "I can find more than a dozen people."

The woman's eyes lit up immediately: "There's no time to lose. Call them here, and we'll set off right away. We'll definitely take them down before nightfall."

Zheng Long stared at the woman: "What's your name?"

The woman said in a low voice, "My surname is Jiang, and my parents usually call me Third Sister."

“Mrs. Jiang,” Zheng Long pointed to the jade pendant at her waist, “we’re going to call for help. Could you give us some money as a deposit? In my opinion, this jade pendant would be just right.”