With a whoosh, Yun Que'er felt her hands loosen. The hemp rope tied around her calves also came undone automatically, and in an instant, her whole body relaxed.
Without a moment to think, Yun Que'er yanked out the ragged cloth stuffed in her mouth and took off running.
Liu Kui was stunned. How... how did she untie the ropes?
In a split - second, Yun Que'er had already dashed out of the gate.
"What are you waiting for? Chase her!"
The few big men didn't care about holding down Yun Fujin and the others anymore. They rushed out after Yun Que'er.
Yun Que'er's ponytails fluttered wildly as she ran. From time to time, she would turn her head to take a look, wailing silently in her heart.
Thank goodness she had been forced by the aunt in the orphanage to go for a run every day. Otherwise, she would have been caught long ago!
But what should she do now? Just running out wasn't enough. She had to find someone to back her up!
But could the villagers be trusted?
They usually sneered at the poor Yun family. When the Yun family suddenly got rich, they were jealous. Now that the Yun family was in trouble, it would be a miracle if they didn't laugh at them. How could they possibly speak up for them!
Lost in her wild thoughts, Yun Que'er rounded a corner. Carelessly, she was suddenly grabbed hard from the side and fell directly to the ground.
Yun Que'er almost cried out in pain but was immediately muffled. She was pulled behind a haystack.
Struggling to raise her head, Yun Que'er found that it was none other than Ji Chengxuan who had pulled her over.
"Don't make a sound," Ji Chengxuan whispered.
The footsteps of the big men were thundering in her ears, getting closer and closer. Yun Que'er's heart was about to burst out of her chest. Please, please don't let them find her...
The big men turned the corner and were instantly stunned to find that Yun Que'er had disappeared without a trace.
It had only been a dozen steps. Could this little girl have vanished into thin air?
"Stay here," Ji Chengxuan said. He picked up a stack of hay and covered Yun Que'er with it. Then, with his hands behind his back, he walked out, pretending to have just bumped into the big men.
"Who are you?" Ji Chengxuan asked. "I've never seen you before."
The big men glanced at him. One of the leaders stepped forward.
"We're from the neighboring village, here to visit relatives. Kid, have you seen a little girl about your height who just ran past here?"
Ji Chengxuan frowned. "What are people from the neighboring village doing looking for someone in our village?"
The man laughed. "That girl just broke our stuff. We don't mean to do anything to her. We just want to talk to her family. So, have you seen her or not?"
"Um..." Ji Chengxuan nodded. "I have."
He pointed with his little finger in the completely opposite direction, and the big men rushed off in a hurry.
Only after they had run far away did Ji Chengxuan come back and pull away the weeds covering Yun Que'er.
"Are you okay?"
Yun Que'er got up and patted the dirt off her body. Only then did she realize that Ji Chengxuan had just saved her, and she felt a bit embarrassed.
She had never shown Ji Chengxuan a good attitude before. Who would have thought that he would help her out at this critical moment.
"It's okay. I'll leave first."
Yun Que'er turned around to leave but was stopped by Ji Chengxuan.
"What do you mean it's okay?" Ji Chengxuan grabbed Yun Que'er. "You're in such a hurry and being chased by several men. How can this be okay? Did you steal something again?"
"What do you mean 'again'?!" Yun Que'er angrily shook off Ji Chengxuan's hand. "Liu Kui's son beat up my second brother. They even played the victim first and wanted to send our whole family to the police station. I'm going to find reinforcements. Don't stop me!"
Ji Chengxuan sized Yun Que'er up and down. "Where can you find reinforcements?"
Yun Que'er was stumped by Ji Chengxuan's question. Yeah, who could she turn to?
Seeing Ji Chengxuan's mischievous look, Yun Que'er's face turned pale. She bravely said, "I'll go to the village head. Can't he handle this?"
"You might as well come to me instead of him," Ji Chengxuan chuckled. "How many times have you offended the village head? If he knows something happened to your family, he'll probably be happy to help Liu Kui. How could he speak up for you?"
This was exactly what Yun Que'er was thinking, but why did Ji Chengxuan have to point it out?
Yun Que'er glared at him fiercely. "Then I'll just go straight to the police station and ask the police to judge!"
Anyway, both sides had fought. Neither side would get away scot - free. And Liu Kui and his men had tied them up without a word. She didn't believe that the police wouldn't care about this after Liu Kui had been so excessive.
At worst, both sides would be punished equally!
With that, Yun Que'er turned to leave but was stopped by Ji Chengxuan again.
"You're so smart. How can you be so stupid about this?"
"What do you mean?" Yun Que'er rolled her eyes at Ji Chengxuan. "Are you not stupid? Or can you solve this for me?"
"I can't solve it," Ji Chengxuan smiled.
Yun Que'er was so angry that her face turned red. "If you can't solve it, why are you stopping me? Do you know how much time you've wasted?"
"But..." Ji Chengxuan then added, "My dad can solve it."
Yun Que'er was taken back to Ji's home by Ji Chengxuan. After telling the whole story to Old Doctor Ji, the old doctor immediately took Yun Que'er to the village head's house.
Yun Que'er couldn't handle this herself. It was obvious that the village head wouldn't help. But it was different when Old Doctor Ji stepped in.
He had a high reputation in the village and was the only doctor. The village head wouldn't dare to offend Old Doctor Ji, no matter who else he might offend.
After Old Doctor Ji explained the situation, although the village head was extremely reluctant, he still agreed to go and take a look.
The big men couldn't find Yun Jianzhou, so they had to come back dejectedly. They and Yun Que'er arrived at the Yun family's house one after another, and their misdeeds were caught on the spot.
"Village head, look!" Yun Que'er angrily pointed at those men. "It was them who tied up my brothers and sisters! We said we were willing to go to the police station, but they tied us up forcefully. Who knows what they're really up to!"
Liu Kui turned his head and glared at the big men fiercely. He gritted his teeth in hatred at Yun Que'er.
He never thought that this little girl would actually manage to invite the village head over in such a short time.
"What do you mean by that?" Liu Kui shouted. "We tied you up because we were afraid you'd run away. We were going to the police station to sort things out. How could I do anything else to you?"
"Who knows?" Yun Que'er immediately retorted. "Everyone is busy working in the fields now. If you took my brothers and sisters away at this moment, you could do all sorts of things. Besides, your family is a butcher. If you were to harm us and throw our bodies into the gully, who would know?"
"You little girl..."
"What, did I hit a nerve? Are you feeling guilty?"
Liu Kui was so angry that his face turned red, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Indeed, his plan just now was not just to take them to the police station.