Severed ties and living in a dilapidated house? No worries, the poor thing has a space.

After so long, Li showed no sign of life, and Zhu was still a little worried. She quietly went over and confirmed that she was still breathing before she dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

The three men ransacked the house, even turning over the straw under Li's body, and found only a dozen or so copper coins.

"How is that possible? Didn't the mother and her two children sell wild boar and deer? How could they only have this little bit of money?"

As he spoke, Fang Youcai flipped through the pages he had just looked through again.

"Since Yu-jie isn't here, could it be that she took the money with her?" Zhu Shi voiced her thoughts.

Fang Youcai scratched his hair in frustration, his whole body radiating irritability.

"Mother, what should we do? There are only three days left."

Zhang rolled her eyes and looked down at Li. She walked over and touched Li, finding her penniless.

"Damn it, where did that brat hide the money?!"

The three of them, unwilling to give up, searched the place again. During this time, Zhang accidentally stepped on Li, who was fast asleep, and was awakened by the pain.

She had barely opened her eyes and hadn't seen anything when Fang Youcai struck Li on the head with the stick in his hand.

Li fainted.

It was a false alarm; the three of them exchanged a glance before finally relaxing.

It was already this late, and Fang Yu still hadn't returned. Zhang's cunning eyes darted around again.

“You have a plan, Mother has one this time, it’s absolutely reliable.”

Fang Youcai, as if grasping at a lifeline, anxiously asked, "What method? Mother, please tell me quickly."

When the three heads came together and then separated, Fang Youcai's eyes held a complex expression, mixed with a hint of fear.

Finally, gritting her teeth and making a firm decision, she said, "Fine, we'll do as Mother says."

The three men took away the dozen or so copper coins they had found.

Fang Yu and his group had been taken to the bandits' den and forced to separate from Xiao Jingqi.

She was roughly pushed into a room, and the bandit didn't forget to leave her with the words: "Behave yourself."

After the door closed, Fang Yu removed the blindfold from her eyes, and she was shocked when she saw what was happening.

The huge room was extremely simple. In a corner covered with straw, there were several women of similar age to her, all huddled together, shivering.

These women appeared to be from nearby villages, dressed in coarse linen clothes, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that they were all fairly attractive.

She walked over slowly, frowned, and asked in a low voice, "Were you all captured?"

As soon as she spoke, the women shrank even tighter. Only then did she notice that the exposed skin of the women had red marks of varying sizes.

It seems they've been captured for quite some time and have suffered considerable torture.

She was furious and went to the door, banging on it forcefully: "Is anyone home? I need to see your boss."

She took pictures for a long time, but there was no response.

A woman behind them whispered in a trembling voice, "Don't shout. They won't pay attention to us. Someone will come when it's light."

That won't do. If she doesn't go back before dawn, her mother and Xin'er will worry.

She walked to the door, trying to think of a solution.

On Xiao Jingqi's side, he was forced to sit at a table, and a bandit behind him put his hand on his shoulder and said with a malicious smile, "Write a letter to your family and ask for 10,000 taels to ransom you."

Xiao Jingqi didn't move, but turned his head and asked him, "Where is my wife? I won't write this letter until I see my wife."

"You're trying to negotiate with me. Once you're in Black Wind Stronghold, do you think you can have your way?"

Xiao Jingqi remained unmoved, his expression unchanged: "Then I want to see your leader."

"Boom!"

A large sledgehammer with gears slammed onto the table in front of him, and the bandit warned sternly, "Kid, are you going to refuse a toast only to suffer the consequences?"

"Then kill me. Anyway, I won't be able to see my wife or the chief, so I won't write this letter, and you won't get a single copper coin from me."

"Then I'll grant your wish!"

The bandit got angry and picked up his big iron hammer, ready to smash it on his head.

Another person who ran over stopped them in time.

The two walked to the side and said something, then left Xiao Jingqi alone in the room.

Fang Yu was still knocking on the door when, just as she was about to deliver her final blow, she heard voices coming from outside.

"Boss, the person is inside."

Just as Fang Yu pulled her leg back, the door opened from the outside.

The man who walked in had a full beard, wore a headband, and carried a jug of wine, drinking as he went.

"It's her, boss. What do you think?"

One of them pointed at her and said to the gang leader with a fawning expression.

The leader walked over, and Xiong Zhuang's body exuded a powerful sense of oppression.

He leaned forward slightly, staring at Fang Yu's feigned fear.

After a few breaths, the leader nodded in satisfaction and said to the man next to him, "Sixth Brother, you have good taste. This woman is alright. Take her to my room."

Fang Yu immediately feigned a terrified expression, slowly backing away, her voice filled with fear: "What do you want to do? Don't come any closer, don't come any closer!"

Two bandits came up and grabbed her from both sides, dragging her outside. She cooperated by shouting loudly, "My lord, my lord, save me!"

She was dragged along, winding her way into a room, where she was roughly thrown onto a bed covered with a tiger skin.

She quickly sat up and backed away, looking at the leader of the gang who was pouring wine into his mouth with a look of horror.

After finishing the entire jar of wine, the leader threw his head back and laughed heartily: "Beauty, tonight, I am your husband, and I promise to serve you to your heart's content."

As he spoke, he undressed and excitedly pounced on Fang Yu, who was still looking terrified on the bed.

The air seemed to freeze the moment he wrapped Fang Yu up beneath him.

The leader felt a chill between his eyebrows, and all he could see was a dark mass.

"You're mischievous, I like that."

The leader was clearly unaware of the impending danger and thought Fang Yu was just messing with him.

Fang Yu curled his lips into a cold smile, then moved the gun barrel and pulled the trigger.

Before the leader could react, he felt a sharp pain and saw the bleeding hole in his arm. He then heard Fang Yu's chilling voice.

"Don't shout, or the next hole will be right here."

A pistol was pressed against his forehead.

The leader's mouth gaped open, as if uttering the word "shock": "You...who are you? What do you want?"

He stammered as he finished speaking, not daring to even move his eyes, for fear that the next bloody hole would appear between his eyebrows.

Fang Yu raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to stand up.

He saw Fang Yu get up and turn her back to him. He was about to make a move when Fang Yu was faster than him.

The gun was pointed directly at his hand holding the dagger. Fang Yu smiled and said, "The leader truly lives up to his title; he's incredibly brave, but a bit reckless."

The leader wasn't drunk to begin with; the pain in his arm made him even clearer-headed, and he was also sweating slightly on his back.

Fang Yu leisurely walked to the table and sat down, even pouring herself a cup of tea, but didn't drink it, instead twirling it halfway between her fingertips.