Ink Burns

Chapter 3: Sudden Rainstorm

Night, it should be night.

He Shanyue woke up with a dull headache, and was not very clear--his eyes were covered with black numbness, and everything was pitch black and chaotic. He could only judge the time by the chirping of cicadas in his ears.

His hands were tied tightly behind his back with rough, wet hemp rope, and struggling was useless.

He Shanyue quickly and fiercely pinched her waist, with such great force that her blunt nails penetrated through the thin hemp and dug into the flesh. The pain made her mind clear.

There is someone next to you.

He Shanyue quickly held his breath. In the quiet night, apart from the sound of the wheels breaking branches, there was also the rustling sound of some clothes rubbing against each other and the sound of steady breathing.

There were people nearby, and quite a few of them.

She must have fallen into a coma just like she did just now.

"Mom——" He Shanyue called softly.

No one responded.

He Shanyue's heart tightened slowly and sharply.

"Water, water, water light--" He Shanyue raised his voice slightly.

"Sister, I'm here"

The call received an almost inaudible response.

The response came from not far away.

He Shanyue let out a long, slow breath.

There were several sounds of breathing beside me that gradually became heavier.

Someone is waking up.

He Shanyue lowered his voice and said, "Shui Guang, stop talking." Then he immediately held his breath.

After a while, screams and cries were heard one after another.

"This is where!"

"let me go!"

"woo woo woo woo!"

"Mother! Mother! I want my mother!"

The sound was muffled in the carriage, tangled together.

He Shanyue lowered his head slightly and listened carefully to distinguish the people. Among them were women, children, and teenagers.

A half-grown boy?
He Shanyue felt a little confused.

The last voice: "Yue Niang! Shui Guang! Yue Niang! Shui Guang!——"

Mother is here too.

He Shanyue's confusion went from three points to five points: Could it be that she was not a kidnapper? A kidnapper always liked young and tender girls. A half-grown boy with memory and strength was generally not his taste, not to mention a woman who was hunchbacked and past her prime?

If it’s not a kidnapper, then what is it?
He Shanyue felt more nervous: the kidnappers were okay, as they didn't want to kill anyone. If she planned slowly, she was 80% sure that she could escape with her sister.

If he is not a kidnapper, then what does he want? What does he want? What do he want?
The road ahead was vast and dark, like a white fog covering her face, which made her break out in a cold sweat.

The whole car was filled with cries.

He Shanyue counted silently in his heart.

About half an hour later, the car stopped, and with a "swoosh" the curtain was lifted, and a person was dragged down. The crying suddenly became sharper and louder, and a long arm pulled He Shanyue down. He Shanyue staggered, and then the black cloth covering his eyes was suddenly lifted!

He Shanyue restrained himself from blinking due to not seeing the light for a long time, and immediately widened his eyes and quickly looked around.

Deep forest.

Now, deep in the mountains.

The mountains and fields are full of trees.

The forest, which should have been pitch black, was now brightly lit - each tree was hung with several oil lamps and lanterns covered with red silk cloth. The red light was bright and warm, illuminating the dark and towering forest with an absurd and clear look.

A large open space was cleared between the trees.

In the open space, there were many huge but abrupt tree stumps connected together, and dozens of haystacks were stretched out around the stumps.

The haystacks formed a platform half a person's height. On top of the platform, something was piled up into a small hill, tightly covered with bright red silk.

The silk was embroidered with pictures of ladies, who were vivid, dressed in rich clothes and gorgeous in appearance. Some were picking lotus flowers, some were sitting on the veranda, and some were riding horses and hammering. They were all graceful postures that He Shanyue had never seen before. She couldn't even tell what the huge silk was made of. In the face of such amazing wealth, no poor person dared to cry or make a fuss.

He Shanyue's eyes swept over the heads of the people who were cowering in fear one by one.

There were a lot of people, about thirty or forty.

There were two tracks of wheels on the ground, indicating that these people were transported here in two batches.

He Shanyue lowered her eyes slightly, with her eyelashes blocking her gaze.

He Shuiguang had good eyesight. She spotted her sister not far away and was about to come over with a pursed mouth, but she saw her sister narrowing her eyes at her imperceptibly.

He Shuiguang immediately stopped, his mouth corners quickly flattened, and his eyes looked away timidly.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Similarly, when it is difficult to tell whether something is good or bad, it is best not to be the first to expose the relationship.

Although He Shuiguang didn't understand why, he thought that everything his sister did made sense.

Instead, it was Qiu Erniang who looked panic-stricken. She mustered up her courage and stood on tiptoe to look around.

Before Qiu Erniang could open her mouth, she heard a hollow sound coming from the sky.

——"Everyone, everyone!"

Everyone was excited.

Immediately, with the sound of "whoosh", countless torches came from far away, and the flames suddenly shot up high, trying to ignite the dark skyline.

Brighter.

"Congratulations to everyone, congratulations to everyone!"

He Shanyue accurately found the copper trumpets that extended every three feet beside the open space.

The sound came from here.

"Congratulations to everyone for coming to Fushou Mountain and getting the chance to win ten thousand taels of silver!"

Two men in black jumped out from the darkness, pulled open the silk material covering the haystack platform, revealing a mountain of...silver ingots?
The densely packed silver, piled up one after another, looks like a ladder leading to heaven.

No one had ever seen so much money!

In fact, I have never seen silver that is so big, so round and so smooth!
Some have never even seen silver!
In an instant, timidity turned into concentration, and cowardice turned into greed!

He Shanyue's eyes did not linger on the Silver Mountain for a moment. Instead, he quickly glanced to the southeast not far behind him, then hid behind the crowd and moved slowly towards his mother and sister without making a sound.

"Two hours! With Fushou Mountain as the boundary, the last person left alive will have the chance to take the silver!"

living person?

What do you mean?
Everyone looked at each other.

“The opportunity is fleeting, we promise not to search, restrain or interfere!

No matter what method you use, no matter whether you use force or not, whether you kill or not, as long as you are the last person alive after two hours, you can sleep peacefully on these silver coins! You will get endless wealth and splendor, as well as pearls, jade and emeralds!"

The voice gradually became louder.

The high-pitched voice was bewitching.

The people gathered in the audience also began to show madness in their eyes.

Countless men in black continued to jump out from the darkness, roughly untied the ropes behind everyone, and then put on coarse linen jackets with numbers written on them.

He Shanyue looked down at the "one and five" on his chest, and saw that his sister was "two and seven" and his mother was "four".

The ordering is random.

The voice came again, a shrill and excited male voice: "The killing time has come! Piggy pigs, run!"

Everyone stood there in a daze, no one moved.

An arrow pierced the air and went straight into the chest of one of them.

"Start!" the voice was piercing.

Everyone woke up as if from a dream and ran away in panic!

He Shanyue quickly grabbed his sister and mother's arms, one on each side, and dragged them backwards: "Follow me!"

(End of this chapter)