Chapter 44: Digging Eyes and Peeling Skin to Make Lanterns

Being tied up was nothing new to him. He had even been held hostage with a knife to his throat before.

After fiddling with his wrists for a moment, Di Zian managed to untie the knot.

“Brother, you’re amazing! Who says my brother is a useless prince? You know all kinds of survival tricks!”

Di Zian chuckled at the praise, his frustration at being tied up melting away.

He then untied the rope around his legs and picked up Ah Bao. “Sister, don’t be fooled by the fact that I’m a prince—I’m not delicate at all. Tricks like this? I played with them ages ago.”

“Hehe.”

Ah Bao, back in Di Zian’s arms, was beaming with joy.

“Let’s go, brother will get you out of here!” Di Zian carefully cradled Ah Bao, opened the door, and took in the scene outside. “Whoa!”

The woodshed was located on a small hill, slightly elevated. From their vantage point, Di Zian could see bandits stationed in pairs all over the hill, arranged in neat, orderly formations.

There were bandits everywhere!

Thankfully, the two kidnappers weren’t very bright and hadn’t stationed anyone to guard the woodshed.

Bang.

Di Zian quickly shut the door, his whole body going numb.

“Sister, we’re doomed.” If he tried to carry her out like this, they’d stick out like a sore thumb and would surely be caught again.

Not only would they tighten security around him, but they might also separate him from his sister—that would be a disaster.

“Sister, don’t worry, your brother won’t let anything happen to you,” Di Zian said, heart racing.

[Brother, didn’t that lousy father of ours give you the task to eliminate the bandits?]

[Why not take this opportunity and get it done?]

[Don’t worry, with me here, you’ll definitely complete the mission successfully.]

Ah Bao clenched her tiny fists, her eyes curving into crescents as she cheered him on.

“Ahem, as the saying goes, ‘You can’t catch the tiger’s cub without entering the tiger’s territory.’ They dared to kidnap me and my sister. Hmph! This time, I’ll wipe out their entire hideout.”

[Yes, exactly! Brother, we’re totally in sync—great minds think alike.]

Though Di Zian’s words were full of bravado, deep down, he was nervous. He definitely couldn’t let his sister know that he could hear her thoughts.

Of course, he had to go along with her from time to time.

But this time, his sister was right!

Taking down the bandits!

“First, we need to capture the leader. My uncle sent people before, but the bandit chief spotted them, and it’s been over a month without success. I haven’t even laid eyes on the chief yet,” Di Zian’s eyes gleamed. Now that he was inside the bandits’ hideout, this could be a perfect chance.

“Sister, I’ve got good news for you. Before I left the palace, I already informed our uncle. Now that we’re stuck in the bandit’s territory, he’ll surely get word. When the time comes, we’ll work from both inside and out. We’ll wipe out these bandits for sure.”

[Exactly! Brother, you’re finally learning—this is incredible!]

Di Zian was mentally mapping out his plan for the bandit raid when he suddenly heard approaching footsteps.

“Crap! Someone’s coming!”

If they caught him trying to escape, they would definitely tighten security.

Di Zian placed Ah Bao back on the straw pile, then quickly picked up the rope and tied himself up again.

Bang! The door was flung open.

The two scar-faced men, big and small, walked in.

“Well, well, look who’s awake.” The larger scar-faced man sneered, noticing Di Zian had moved next to Ah Bao. “What’s this? Planning to escape with your sister? Let me tell you, kid, now that you’ve fallen into the hands of Tiger Head Fort, you’re out of luck!”

Di Zian’s lips twitched. The words “out of luck” from Scarface hit a little too close to home.

No kidding.

“Now, tell me, where did you hide the key?”

Di Zian’s face darkened. “What key?”

“Don’t play dumb! You stole the key to our fort’s treasury and you still won’t admit it?”

“Which eye of yours saw me steal your key? I conduct myself openly and with integrity. If I stole it, I’d admit it. If I didn’t, don’t you dare frame me.”

Scarface glared at him with a fierce expression. Seeing Di Zian’s stubborn stance, he frowned.

Could they have… caught the wrong person?

The large scar-faced man didn’t want to waste time arguing. He picked Ah Bao up from the side.

Di Zian immediately panicked. “Put my sister down!”

“Hmph, you don’t get to call the shots here in Tiger Head Fort.”

Di Zian was about to untie himself out of sheer impulse.

Ah Bao tilted her head and blinked at him.

[Brother, don’t be rash. These two are easy to deal with, but there’s a whole crowd of them outside.]

[If they all come in for a group beatdown, you can’t fend them off alone.]

[Stay calm! You have to stay calm!]

Di Zian suppressed the urge to lash out. He glared at the large scar-faced man, nearly grinding his molars to dust. “Where are you taking my sister? I warn you, if she loses even a single hair, I’ll grind your bones to dust and leave nothing behind!”

The large scar-faced man rolled his eyes, scoffing, and carried Ah Bao out of the woodshed, completely ignoring Di Zian’s threats.

As Ah Bao was carried in the man’s arms, her eyes darted around, observing the surroundings and terrain.

Before long, after making several turns, the large scar-faced man brought her into a bamboo house.

“Boss, this is that kid’s sister.”

Ah Bao saw a man sitting in the middle of the hall on a tiger-skin chair.

The man looked about 27 or 28 years old, tall and sturdy, with a brawny figure. A large, palm-sized black birthmark covered his left cheek, contrasting with his handsome right side, making his left look almost ghostly.

He had the air of a bandit chief.

At first glance, he really did look like the head of a bandit gang.

Feng Batian crossed his legs arrogantly and waved his hand. “Bring her to me!”

The large scar-faced man handed Ah Bao over.

Feng Batian’s eyes widened at the sight of her big, sparkling eyes and her soft, chubby face. This little bundle looked… almost too sweet.

Feng Batian paused for a moment, staring at Ah Bao, as his thoughts drifted back to many years ago…

In his mind, the image of another cute little child flashed by.

But alas…

Feng Batian snapped back to reality, frowning as he muttered, “This little one really is quite good-looking.”

The large scar-faced man chuckled, “Exactly! The first time I saw her, I couldn’t help but like her too.”

Feng Batian shot him a glare. “Look at you, acting like a fool. What kind of bandit are you? A real bandit needs to look like me—Feng Batian! With presence! Got it?”

The large scar-faced man, now scolded, stood there with an embarrassed expression.

[Feng Batian? So you’re Feng Batian!]

[Yes, yes, with someone like you, isn’t it worse to end up being poisoned, have your eyes gouged out, and your skin stripped for lanterns?]

Feng Batian, who had been sitting comfortably, was startled and fell off his seat with a thud.

The large scar-faced man rushed forward. “Boss, what’s wrong?”