Chapter 88 — Astonishment

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Who could this "he" be?

Scarface's bellow carried over: "Go see whether the Fourth Miss is awake yet!"

Dou Yan was badly startled and scrambled up onto the arhat bed to lie down beside Sujuan.

"A dainty little miss like that—one chop of my hand will keep her out for two hours at least," someone muttered, coming this way. "Rest easy, nothing's going to happen."

Dou Yan shut her eyes, loosened her body, and feigned sleep.

The gaze lingered on her for a moment; footsteps sounded in the room, fading away; then with a click, the door was locked again.

Dou Yan relaxed and found her forehead slick with fine sweat.

She wondered whether Bie Suxin had found anyone to come rescue her.

And whether Bie Sulan had lost track of her, or been discovered.

She had not expected to be knocked unconscious.

If anything went wrong, she was afraid regret would come too late.

This decision had been far too risky!

A thousand threads tangled in her mind, leaving her flustered and confused.

Suddenly a soft creak sounded in the room.

Dou Yan turned her head in terror toward the sound, and saw the window sash pried open a crack; Bie Sulan slipped in through the window, light and nimble.

Her heart leapt with excitement, and she sat up at once.

A brilliant smile broke over Bie Sulan's face. She whispered, "Miss, Brother Chen and the others are outside. The moment we're out, they'll move."

They meant to get her out ahead of time, no doubt fearing the robbers would seize her as a hostage once the fighting started.

Dou Yan glanced at Sujuan with hesitation.

If she herself vanished, would the robbers turn on Sujuan?

Bie Sulan was at a loss. She whispered, "There are two or three robbers patrolling outside. There's no way I can get Sujuan out too."

Dou Yan thought it over and whispered back, "Sujuan and I will hide in the room. You go tell them to move."

Bie Sulan would not agree.

Dou Yan said, "Do you have a better plan?"

Bie Sulan had none.

Dou Yan shook Sujuan awake.

Sujuan was dazed; her eyes flew wide and she was about to scream. Luckily Bie Sulan was quick and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Dou Yan quietly explained the situation to Sujuan, and finished: "."

Even at a moment of life and death, the Fourth Miss was thinking of her.

Sujuan's eyes reddened, and she summoned her courage: "Fourth Miss, you and Sulan go. Those men won't make things hard for me."

"This is no time for reckless sentiment," Dou Yan said sharply. "If we dawdle over this, won't we all be plunged into danger?"

Sujuan lowered her head, but tears fell in large drops.

Sulan said no more either; she pushed the window open and looked all around, seeking a chance to slip out.

Dou Yan and Sujuan lay down beneath the arhat bed.

Sulan slipped back out without a sound.

The room was dead silent; Dou Yan and Sujuan did not dare even breathe loudly. From outside came the robbers' voices now and then, winding the tension in the room tighter and tighter, until Dou Yan felt her legs trembling.

In the waiting, time stretched endlessly—perhaps several sticks of incense had burned, perhaps only the span of a cup of tea—when the window sash creaked open again. This time, besides Sulan, in climbed Chen Lanxu and a powerfully built middle-aged man with piercing eyes.

"Miss." Sulan crouched beside the arhat bed and peered underneath. "Brother Chen says, if we can't keep you safe, then even chopping those robbers to pieces would be useless." Then she pointed to the middle-aged man. "This is Uncle Duan; he's a guard with Brother Chen. Uncle Duan is very skilled. You and Sujuan lie under the arhat bed, and once Uncle Lin and the others have seized the men, you can come out." With that she stood and shielded the front of the arhat bed.

Chen Lanxu and Uncle Duan took their places at the door, one to the right, one to the left.

Before long, sounds of fighting and shouting rose outside.

Scarface cried out in alarm, "Whose road are you from? We're men of Lord Xing of Lingshou County—don't let the flood wash over the Dragon King's temple, and a family fail to know its own!"

The answer was fiercer fighting.

The door burst open with a bang, and Scarface charged in, blade in hand, and saw a strange, dark-faced little maid standing before the bed. He froze for an instant.

And in that instant, Uncle Duan was upon him like a phantom, clamping an arm around Scarface's throat and wrenching his sword hand behind his back.

Scarface let out a yelp as Chen Lanxu, a step behind Uncle Duan, drove a vicious kick into his belly. Scarface went pale; his knife clattered to the ground, his legs gave way, and he crumpled. Had Uncle Duan not still had him by the neck, he would have collapsed flat on the spot.

Uncle Duan spat hard and said in a rumbling, muffled voice, "Thought we were dealing with somebody important—turns out it's just a pack of lowlifes!" He held Scarface's skills in utter contempt.

"How many men in all of North Zhili could match Uncle Duan?" Su Lan cooed, honey-sweet, as she helped Dou Yan and Su Juan crawl out from under the arhat bed.

"My thanks to this brave fellow." Dou Yan made a small bow to Uncle Duan, then asked Chen Lanxu, "Where is this place?"

Chen Lanxu said, "A little farmstead on the border between Lingshou and Zhending, about twenty li or so from your estate."

Lingshou County?

Wang Shuying's home village.

Dou Yan's heart stirred.

Outside, the sounds of fighting gradually died away, replaced by a chorus of moans rising and falling.

Someone laughed. "Just a few small fry—and here Chen Lanxu made it sound like we'd run into a dragon crossing the river."

Another voice answered with a laugh, "Better safe than sorry." Then, "Tie them all up and see how the employer wants them handled."

Only then did the taut strings in the hearts of Dou Yan and the others finally slacken.

She said to Chen Lanxu, "Send someone with Su Lan to my estate, to find Old Chen, and have Old Chen pay you the ten thousand taels of silver I promised—in advance." She would still need to trouble Chen Lanxu and his men for other matters; a prompt payment of the fee would put more heart into their work.

Chen Lanxu had only heard from Su Xin that if Dou Yan were rescued, there would be a reward of ten thousand taels. He had assumed Dou Yan was too frantic to think straight and had not taken it seriously, though he did reckon that if they got her out, a hundred or two hundred taels was surely guaranteed—which was why, when he gathered his men, he had promised only a hundred taels. Now, hearing for the first time that the reward truly was ten thousand taels, he was so astonished and delighted he hardly knew what to say. Even Uncle Duan stammered, "Miss Dou, is it—is it really ten thousand taels?"

"Young as I am, every word I speak stands on its own—I never go back on my word!" Dou Yan said coolly, yet a resolute light showed between her brows that left no room for doubt.

They had come twenty-some strong. Even if Chen Lanxu took the largest share, split evenly that still came to several hundred taels apiece—and as a hired guard he earned barely twenty taels a year.

"I'll go tell the brothers!" Uncle Duan said excitedly. He yanked off Scarface's belt and trussed him up tight as a rice dumpling. "Thank you, Miss!"

Only now did Scarface seem to come to his senses. He roared in fury, "That bastard Pang Kunbai dared to cheat us! He said you were nothing but a little girl dumped in the countryside by her parents with no one to keep her in check—and you can actually produce ten thousand taels! He promised me a reward of only a hundred taels! I'll gut him—" He struggled desperately to break free of Uncle Duan's grip, but Uncle Duan's hands were hard and strong as iron hoops, and he could not move an inch.

Pang Kunbai!

So it was him!

Dou Yan's face was full of shock.