I was so angered by Li Zuoquan's words that I felt like spitting blood. What did he mean by "we are alive, but they disappeared"? Was he implying that we should have been the missing ones, and they should have been the ones to survive?
If it weren't for the fact that they had the upper hand, I would have sprayed him with floral water to let him know I had a temper. However, this thought could only remain in my mind; it wasn't the right time to act on it.
I don't curse, but that doesn't mean Zhang Dabiao won't. Before he could even speak, I stomped hard on his foot, turning his impending curse into a muffled groan.
He looked at me, puzzled, as if asking why I stopped him. I glanced at the bodyguards by the door, my meaning clear.
The situation was not in our favor, and we were bound. They had numbers, strength, and resources. Cursing the old fox might provide temporary satisfaction, but in the end, we would be the ones to suffer. It wasn't worth it. Even if we wanted to fight, shouldn't we wait until we were unbound?
After so many days of understanding each other, a single look from me was enough for Zhang Dabiao to grasp my meaning. However, he still put on a show of being angry, glaring fiercely at the two bodyguards.
"Elder Li, what you're saying is unfair. At that time, a large number of mountain fiends rushed out of the valley, and everyone was busy escaping. Who had the time to care about anyone else? Didn't you see Zhang Dabiao abandon me too? Do you think, given our relationship, he would have left me behind if the situation wasn't so dangerous?"
Li Zuoquan fell into thought. He looked at Zhang Dabiao, then turned his gaze to me, as if trying to discern something different from us.
Zhang Dabiao naturally looked at Li Zuoquan with anger. Having been bound by them for an unknown amount of time, his resentment was considerable. I, on the other hand, appeared relaxed. Most of what I said was true, with a small portion being false. Even if Li Jian were present, he wouldn't find any fault.
Looking at Li Zuoquan, who was frowning deeply, I secretly sneered, "Old fox, if you can figure out the twists and turns of this, I'll take my head off and use it as your chamber pot."
After about ten minutes, Li Zuoquan took a deep breath and finally spoke, "I'll believe what you've said for now. You two go down and rest. We'll talk more tonight." With that, he instructed his subordinates to untie us.
Once unbound, Zhang Dabiao flexed his wrists, then his gaze turned fierce. He swung his fist and struck the one who had kicked him the hardest. Zhang Dabiao was naturally tall, and with his sudden move, the man was completely unprepared. His fist landed squarely on his face.
*Crack—*
A crisp sound indicated a broken nose. The man's eyes rolled back, and he immediately fainted.
Seeing this, the other bodyguard reached for his waist, seemingly to draw a gun. Although my hands were still bound, my feet were not. Since he had his back to me, I unleashed a swift low kick. I didn't dare to put too much force into it, as that was a man's most vulnerable spot, and it was easy to kill someone.
However, even this light kick caused him to curl up like a shrimp. His eyes bulged almost out of their sockets, and tears and snot streamed down his face. He looked as if he had been brutally violated by hundreds of American men.
I shrugged indifferently and patted his face, "One should not harbor ill intentions, but one must be vigilant against others. Be careful next time. This time I didn't use full force, but that doesn't mean you'll be so lucky next time."
My words were ostensibly for the bodyguard, but in reality, they were for Li Zuoquan. Don't play any tricks. If you want to discard us after we've served our purpose, you'd better consider if we have anyone backing us.
As expected, my words caused Li Zuoquan's expression to darken. His face twitched a couple of times, but he remained silent. The bodyguards outside, hearing the commotion, rushed in. Seeing their two brothers lying on the ground, they immediately reached for their weapons, ready to act.
But Li Zuoquan stopped them, "Kid, don't try to play the 'strike the mountain to startle the snake' game with me. I've played that game long before you. If you really anger me, do you think that little girl can protect you?"
"How could she? I was just talking nonsense, hehe... Please don't mind me, elder."
Although Li Zuoquan seemed helpless at Yue'er's "arrogance" at the Li residence, I actually felt that he didn't want to conflict with Yue'er, or rather, with the forces behind her.
But now, Li Zuoquan personally coming to find the Tiger Kui Seal, which controlled the semi-yin realm, indicated that things might have changed. Firstly, he might have come in response to Li Jian's distress call. Secondly, he might be nearing his end and wouldn't last much longer. The third possibility was that a powerful figure in the capital had learned of the situation here, forcing him to act prematurely and speed things up.
Li Zuoquan, though appearing very old, did not have the ashen complexion characteristic of someone near death. Since he wasn't about to die, it must be that the influential person in the capital had learned of the matter.
After dinner, Li Zuoquan didn't say anything further. Instead, he sent people to escort us to a cave to rest and assigned guards to watch the cave entrance. Even going to the restroom required supervision.
Fortunately, the cave was spacious enough. As for what Zhang Dabiao and I discussed, they didn't monitor it.
"Brother, how did you get into such a mess? Did the mountain fiends set fires?"
I smiled wryly and shook my head, "It wasn't them who set the fire, it was me." Then I recounted the events.
After listening, Zhang Dabiao appeared somewhat guilty. "Damn it, it's all that old man's fault. As soon as I got back, they controlled me, and I couldn't go out to meet you."
"Brother Zhang, you don't need to blame yourself. I know it's not your fault. I'm alive and well, aren't I? As long as I'm here, everything is manageable. Suffering is the right of the living, isn't it?"
With my encouragement, Zhang Dabiao smiled and punched me lightly. "As long as you don't blame me, I'm relieved. If that old man hadn't shown up so suddenly, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much. What do you think is the reason this old man, who lives a comfortable life directing affairs in the outside world, suddenly came into the mountains?"
I pondered for a moment and shared my thoughts. "Old Li Zuoquan is always cautious, always placing himself in the safest position. Now that he's personally entered the mountains, I think there are three possibilities. Analyze them for me and tell me if I'm right.
The first is that he received a distress signal from Li Jian. The second is that he's likely on his last legs and wants to obtain that item quickly. The third, which I least want to happen, is that a powerful figure in the capital has learned of this matter, forcing the old fox to personally enter the mountains."
Zhang Dabiao remained silent, then took out a cigarette and lit it. The wisps of smoke made me cough. I didn't understand why cigarettes were so enjoyable.
"Smoke less, it's bad for your health."
Hearing this, Zhang Dabiao took two deep drags, then threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped on it fiercely. He said, "I feel the first and second possibilities are more likely. The third isn't impossible, so we need to hurry and take them into the mountains, then extricate ourselves."
I nodded and remained silent because the bodyguard I had kicked earlier was walking towards us with a few others. Seeing him stagger like a duck, I couldn't help but want to laugh.
As they approached aggressively, Zhang Dabiao directly stepped in front of me, his eyes coldly fixed on them.
"What do you want?"
Duck-leg man sneered, "What do we want? What do you think? You hit me and now you want to be left in peace? Life isn't that good. Brothers, get them! Elder Li said it's okay if they're crippled, as long as they're not killed."