The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

The night was cool. Neither Yu Wan nor Er Ya ate the food in the food box, while the girl who had already eaten lay sprawled on the haystack, her complexion clearly not right.

Yu Wan secretly rejoiced.

Fortunately, Er Ya reminded her.

She huddled close to Er Ya and whispered, "I have a plan. We can escape while the chaos is at hand."

A hint of excitement appeared on Er Ya's pale face as she lowered her voice and asked, "Sister Yu, do you have any ideas?"

Yu Wan looked around, glanced at the dim candlelight on the wall, her face bathed in a yellowish light, and whispered, "Set it on fire."

Er Ya was startled, then looked worriedly at the unconscious woman on the other side, "But if they don't open the door, and we can't escape, we'll be burned alive here..."

Judging from Er Ya's expression, Yu Wan guessed that she had thought of this method before.

But for various reasons, she didn't make up her mind to do it.

Yu Wan took a deep breath and whispered, "These human traffickers went to so much trouble to abduct us, they certainly won't let us die in vain. Let's not light an open flame, but wet the straw and set it on fire to create thick smoke."

Er Ya bit her lip and hesitated, "But sister, even if they open the door, we definitely won't be able to escape..."

Yu Wan looked at her, her voice soft and low, a dark light flashing in her eyes, "We won't run away."

"What?" Er Ya was even more puzzled.

……

Inside the dilapidated temple, several burly men sat on the ground around a fire.

The group drank and ate heartily, and one of them laughed and said, "After we finish this deal, we can rest for another half a month."

"That's right, it's the job that Third Sister recommended to us that's good. The nobles of Dayi really love these delicate girls from Dazhao. Each of us would fetch an astronomical price if sold there."

"It's a pity for these beautiful young women; I wonder how long they can survive in the hands of the Dayi people."

Upon hearing this, the other burly men burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, Seventh Brother, you're suddenly showing mercy to the ladies? Have you taken a fancy to some girl and can't bear to sell her off?"

The man called "Seventh Brother" was a man in his thirties with a decent and honest appearance. He lacked the fierce aura of the others.

He frowned, glanced at the cellar entrance, and sighed, "I just feel uneasy. We are all citizens of Da Zhao, and it's a heavy burden on my heart to help the Dayi people swindle our Da Zhao people."

The other burly men exchanged glances. One of them, a man with a full beard, walked up to Lao Qi, put his arm around his shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Lao Qi, it's normal that you feel bad about doing this this time."

He said, "You pity these girls, but who pities your elderly mother and younger siblings at home?"

The bearded man patted him earnestly, "Everyone wants to live."

"If they don't die, we will be the ones who die."

"Moreover, these girls might be sold to powerful and wealthy people in Dayi, and they could live a life of luxury and honor. Who's to say they'll all die?"

When Lao Qi thought of his elderly mother, his seriously ill wife, and the dire straits of not being able to afford food, the guilt in his heart vanished completely.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, Big Brother is right."

"They might not necessarily die, but we'll really die if we don't earn any money."

The bearded man patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, then turned to instruct the others, "Be on high alert tonight. Third Sister said that this shipment will be sent out after tonight. We absolutely cannot make any mistakes before then, otherwise we won't get the money. Understand?"

"understand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bearded man was about to sit back down with satisfaction when his expression suddenly changed.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from around the wooden planks sealing the cellar!

The bearded man's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "Quick! Open the door and go down to check!"

Several burly men hurriedly opened the door and went down into the cellar. As soon as they entered, they saw the girls crowding around the dungeon door, frantically banging on it.

Behind them, straw was gradually being set ablaze.

The bearded man's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he glared at the group. "Damn it, who started this fire? Do you think I wouldn't dare kill you all?"

All the girls huddled together, trembling, as if they were terrified, and not one of them uttered a sound.

Seeing this, the seventh brother quickly said, "Brother, now is not the time to investigate. Let's take them up first. Even if the fire doesn't start, these people will probably choke to death from the thick smoke if they stay here."

"Brother, if someone dies, we lose money."

These words struck a nerve with the bearded man. Suppressing his anger, he ordered everyone to be tied up with ropes and taken to the dilapidated temple above the cellar.

Yu Wan and Er Ya, mingling in the crowd, also looked panicked. Because neither of them was particularly outstanding in appearance, they did not attract any special attention from the people.

After bringing everyone to the dilapidated temple, the bearded man glanced at the smoke drifting outside, his brows furrowed, and ordered the other burly men, "Go fetch a few buckets of water and put out the smoke in the cellar."

Yu Wan felt Er Ya tug her hand.

Yu Wan glanced at her side slightly, giving her a reassuring look.

She glanced discreetly at the thick smoke drifting into the sky, feeling slightly relieved.

Whether it was because Yun Shang had repeatedly appeared in time to save her, Yu Wan felt that Yun Shang would definitely find her this time as well.

The thick smoke was her signal to Yun Shang.

……

At the same time, Yun Shang was standing on the city wall holding a map of Huicheng County.

This location is the highest point, offering a clearer view of the surrounding area.

Since Yu Wan disappeared, no suspicious vehicles have appeared, so Yun Shang is even more certain that Yu Wan should not have left Huicheng County yet.

Magistrate Yang of Huicheng County had already sent his constables to secretly investigate, but they found no trace of the missing girl.

So the only possibility is that Yu Wan and those missing girls are probably hiding in the mountains outside the county town.

Huicheng County has a rugged terrain, and the mountains outside the city are even steeper. Ordinary people cannot cross the mountains to leave Huicheng County. They can only pass through the two passes of Huidong Pass and Huixi Pass.

Therefore, those people must be hiding in the mountains at this moment, waiting for the right opportunity to leave Huicheng through the Huidong and Huixi border crossings.

Yun Shang had already asked Magistrate Yang to secretly strengthen the guards on both the east and west sides, so that anyone who showed any unusual behavior could be detained immediately.

But he was still uneasy.

The number of missing girls in Huicheng County is not small, and it is not only during this period that girls have gone missing. The fact that the government has been unable to find any clues in the investigation is enough to prove that the people behind the trafficking of girls have a complete and well-organized transportation route.

They could easily evade the checkpoint guards and freely enter and exit the checkpoint.

In this situation, it is not easy to capture the person without alerting them.

While comparing the map, Yun Shang was quickly making some calculations.

Just then, his gaze suddenly fixed on one spot, and his dark eyes instantly turned deep and somber.

He pointed to a mountain peak from which wisps of smoke were rising and said in a deep voice, "County Commandant Cheng, I would like to trouble you to immediately gather men and ambush the three exits under Wushaoling that are accessible by carriage."

Following Yun Shang's gaze, County Magistrate Cheng looked in the direction Yun Shang pointed, a hint of doubt on his face.

"Why does Young Master Yun think those human traffickers are at Wushaoling?"

Yun Shang looked at the gradually spreading wisps of smoke and spoke calmly.