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“This place is dozens of li away from Yongzhou City, Gu…”
“We won’t move! Don’t hurt her!”
Yun Chu’s voice was urgent, and he raised a hand to stop any further movement while taking a step back.
Li Yunli felt every hair on her body stand on end, yet she forced herself to remain calm.
As she was being dragged backward, she could hear the woman’s heavy breathing and erratic heartbeat.
She was frightened too.
Why would a woman who had just been rescued turn against her saviors?
Li Yunli took a deep breath, trying to find her voice.
“Miss, don’t be afraid. Do you have some difficulty you can’t speak of?”
They were retreating, but the soldiers dared not step back. If anything happened to the princess, none of them would be able to bear the consequences.
“Don’t come closer!!”
The woman screamed at the soldiers who were attempting to encircle her from behind. Her arm was trembling violently.
The soldiers held their weapons up, locked in a standoff with her.
Yun Chu never took his eyes off her. His right hand quietly searched for something sturdy to use as a weapon.
In the midst of the tension, Li Yunli suddenly felt a sense of eerie calm that seemed detached from reality.
She exchanged a glance with Yun Chu and Xiao Linjia.
Yun Chu immediately said, “Alright, we won’t approach. Just be careful. If you have any requests, you can state them!”
But the woman looked utterly terrified. Li Yunli could feel her whole body trembling as she pressed against her back.
“We… we’re all dead… You killed the Third Chief, we… we won’t survive…”
Her lips trembled, her voice filled with sobs.
Li Yunli finally understood.
The reason this woman had taken her hostage was not to resist them—it was out of fear of the so-called “Big Boss” of Leopard Head Mountain!
Because they had killed the Third Chief, in this woman’s eyes, they had committed an unforgivable crime and would now face the wrath of the leader. So she had taken Li Yunli hostage, hoping to use her as an offering of goodwill?
Li Yunli turned her head slightly and spoke gently, “Don’t be afraid. I am the Grand Princess of Great Chu. With me here, you don’t need to fear this ‘Big Boss.’ Who is he?”
How notorious must he be to inspire such terror?
The woman was beyond frightened. She had been given to the Flying Leopard Gang, but she had never committed any crimes nor taken anyone hostage before.
Taking Li Yunli hostage was a desperate gamble, assuming that outsiders wouldn’t know the local rules. But who could have expected that this woman’s identity was so noble? The courage she had just mustered quickly crumbled into despair.
“The Big Boss… He controls whether we live or die…”
Yun Chu saw his opportunity! He suddenly hurled a solid object from his hand!
“Ah!”
The woman let out a sharp cry of pain as the weapon fell from her hand.
The soldiers immediately pounced on her, pinning her to the ground!
“Your Highness!”
“Don’t kill her!”
Two voices rang out simultaneously as Yun Chu quickly pulled Li Yunli aside. The soldiers halted their drawn blades in midair.
Li Yunli quickly turned back to see the woman restrained, sobbing in pain but still alive.
She let out a breath of relief. “Good.”
Then, she suddenly realized—her hand was still in Yun Chu’s grasp.
She lowered her gaze. The jade pendant Yun Chu had thrown lay at her feet.
His palm was cold and clammy with sweat.
From the corner of her eye, she saw his gaze scanning her up and down before landing on the small wound on her neck.
Li Yunli said, “You…”
Yun Chu withdrew his hand and let out a breath, as if still shaken. “As long as Your Highness is unharmed, that’s what matters.”
Behind them, the soldiers had already restrained the woman, awaiting Li Yunli’s orders.
The remaining captives—around ten women—were also surrounded, the soldiers on high alert to prevent another hostage situation.
Xiao Linjia asked, “Your Highness, how should we handle her?”
Li Yunli had no time to dwell on Yun Chu’s earlier fear and concern. The woman was now kneeling before her, bound.
The situation was still unclear. They had received no word from Yongzhou’s local officials. Now that they had reached the northwest, they needed information from these people.
She crouched down and asked, “Are you all afraid of this ‘Big Boss’? Who is he?”
The woman’s face was drained of life, as if resigned to her fate. She shook her head, silent.
Xiao Linjia couldn’t help but say, “The Flying Leopard Gang is nothing but a bunch of lowly bandits! Zhou Foxiao’s soldiers may be weak, but last month, I already raided their hideout! A bandit is just a bandit—what’s there to fear when the imperial army is here?!”
Zhou Foxiao was the governor of Yongzhou and the official who had requested military support from the imperial court to eradicate the bandits months ago.
“He’s been dead for months,” a weak voice spoke up from the group.
“What?”
Even Li Yunli was surprised. She was on her way to Yongzhou, yet the governor had died without any news reaching the capital?
“Why hasn’t the court received any word?”
“The court?” The weak voice spoke again. “That would require the message to actually be delivered.”
Li Yunli turned toward the speaker—a young woman in a pale yellow dress. Though her clothes were dirty, they were clearly expensive, suggesting she was not from a common family.
But how had a girl from such a background been abducted?
Li Yunli asked, “What is your name? Which family are you from?”
“Feng Mu.”
The young woman turned to face her.
She did not seem timid—only wary.
Li Yunli nodded.
She had answered only one question, clearly unwilling to reveal more.
“You said messages couldn’t get out. Why?”
Feng Mu’s voice was calm. “Because the Flying Leopard Gang even dares to kill urgent couriers.”
Since ancient times, imperial courier horses carried the most crucial documents. Even bandits would respect and assist couriers on the road to show their submission to the imperial authority.
But the Flying Leopard Gang dared to intercept them?
Yun Chu, listening silently, was deep in thought. No wonder, in the previous timeline, news of Yongzhou’s disaster had arrived so late.
And when the crisis worsened, Li Yunli had spent nearly a year handling disaster relief.
Fortunately, in this timeline, it was Li Yunli herself who had forged a fake message to trigger an investigation. If they had waited for the real news, who knew how long it would have taken?
Li Yunli pondered. “General Xiao, the situation in Yongzhou might be far worse than we imagined.”
Xiao Linjia had already begun to suspect something was amiss regarding his past raid. Hearing Li Yunli’s words, he knew action was needed.
He ordered the soldiers to set up camp and to provide warmth and food for the rescued women while keeping the captured men tied to the trees.
Feng Mu, unlike the others, showed no fear. She calmly reassured the women around her and sat by the fire.
Seeing that she was someone who could be reasoned with, Li Yunli asked, “You seem well-educated, not like an ordinary girl. How did you end up here?”
Feng Mu let out a cold chuckle and patted the dust off her skirt. “Didn’t I already say? The ‘Big Boss’ controls our lives. Does it matter who I was before?”
Li Yunli fell silent.
The situation was worse than she had expected.