Chapter 408: Let’s Change to a Slipknot

Chapter 408: Let's Change to a Slipknot

Her horse could no longer run. When she arrived, she saw the horses lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and panting heavily.

"This horse..."

Cui Yongnian untied the reins from the horse and said, "Whether it lives or not is up to its fate."

After saying that, he went to retrieve Chunmei, who had fainted in the carriage.

The two of them supported Chunmei as they walked back.

When the three of them returned to the beggar's corpse, they found that the body was gone.

The carriage was not far from the corpse, yet they did not see anyone approach and take it away.

Could it be that he wasn't dead and ran away himself?

That's impossible; how could he have run so quickly with those broken bones?

Moreover, there were no bloodstains along the way.

Zheng Jinyu felt increasingly uneasy and turned to Cui Yongnian, saying, "Cousin, they're after me. When you get a chance, leave."

Cui Yongnian gave a faint smile, "What foolish words? How could I leave you behind?"

"Staying won't help either; they..."

Before she could finish, a group of black-clad men appeared from all directions, slowly approaching them.

Zheng Jinyu's expression darkened as she said, "Now, even if you want to leave, you can't."

Cui Yongnian turned his head to look at her, "Cousin, are you scared?"

Zheng Jinyu also looked at him and noticed that he didn't seem panicked.

She replied, "What good would being scared do?"

Cui Yongnian smiled and said, "Since you're not scared, let's cooperate well and see where they're taking us and what they want to do. What do you think?"

Zheng Jinyu: "...Huh?"

"Do we need to cooperate?"

"Yes, cooperating will reduce our suffering."

Zheng Jinyu said, "They're after me. I tried to push you away but couldn't."

She thought to herself, "You're good at cooperating, but I'm not sure I can."

They wouldn't have come for me just to invite me for tea; I don't know what they'll make me do.

Seeing the black-clad men surrounding them, Cui Yongnian discreetly tapped Chunmei's back a few times and chuckled, "I won't leave you alone and run away."

Thanks a lot!

In the end, both of them were captured.

Chunmei had a large bump on her forehead. A black-clad man checked her breathing and, without a word, threw her by the roadside, then took Zheng Jinyu and Cui Yongnian away.

Zheng Jinyu was extremely worried and kept looking back.

Where were the secret guards arranged by Xie Peiyu? Why haven't they shown up?

After they were taken away, their eyes were quickly covered with black cloths.

After an unknown amount of time, the cart carrying them stopped.

Getting off the cart, they were led forward for a while. During this time, Zheng Jinyu heard the sounds of chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs.

A little later, they were brought into a room. Someone suddenly pushed Zheng Jinyu from behind, causing her to stumble and fall onto a pile of straw.

Immediately afterward, she heard Cui Yongnian groan as he fell beside her.

He angrily exclaimed, "This is truly uncivilized! How can you treat scholars like this?"

They ignored him, and shortly after, Zheng Jinyu heard the door close.

Even with the black cloth over her eyes, she could still feel some sunlight.

But once the door closed, the room plunged into complete darkness.

Pitch-black, silent, and somewhat frightening.

"Cousin," Cui Yongnian's voice echoed in the darkness.

Zheng Jinyu responded with a soft "Hmm," not feeling much like talking.

Cui Yongnian asked, "Are you okay?"

Zheng Jinyu replied, "I'm fine, but the ropes are a bit tight."

"Which ropes?"

"On my wrists."

Cui Yongnian didn't say anything more, but she heard some rustling sounds.

A moment later, she felt Cui Yongnian's fingers hooking her arm and then feeling down her arm.

Soon, she felt the rope around her wrist.

She was somewhat surprised. "You’re still tied up?"

"Mm, I’ll untie you first, and then you can help me."

Is that even possible?

"Can we really do it this way?"

"Of course, even though I’m tied up, I can still untie you."

Indeed, my wrists are bound, but my fingers can still move.

Even though Cui Yongnian couldn’t see, he managed to fumble and untie her ropes. He actually succeeded.

With her hands free, she quickly pulled off the black cloth covering her eyes and then removed the one over Cui Yongnian’s eyes.

The room was pitch-black, with only a faint light seeping in through a small window.

Fortunately, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and could make out the knots on the ropes.

Still, Zheng Jinyu struggled quite a bit before finally untying the ropes on Cui Yongnian’s wrists.

It seemed like he had untied them effortlessly just now. How did he do it?

"Well, what should we do next? It seems like we’re in a village. Do you think we can escape?" Zheng Jinyu asked.

Cui Yongnian replied, "We can’t. The whole village is watching us."

"What then? Should we wait until nightfall to run, or hope someone comes to rescue us?"

Xie Peiyu said he arranged for someone to protect her, but there’s no sign of anyone.

Cui Yongnian smiled faintly. "We’ll see."

He moved his wrists and added, "Tie me up again."

Zheng Jinyu: "Huh?"

He explained, "Tie me up, but leave a loose knot that can be easily undone."

Zheng Jinyu blinked.

Cui Yongnian asked, "Don’t know how?"

How would a lady who lives in the sunshine know how to tie such a complex knot that kidnappers use? And it has to be a slipknot.

She can barely follow a video tutorial to make a bracelet, let alone actually do it herself.

"I can give it a try."

Cui Yongnian extended his hand.

He gave her verbal instructions on the spot: wrap the rope around each wrist several times, then tie them together, and so on. After three failed attempts, the fourth time he successfully created a knot that looked the same as the kidnappers’ but could be easily undone.

The loose end was hidden in his palm, and he could reach it by slightly curling his fingers, allowing him to undo it with a pull.

Cui Yongnian was very satisfied and smiled. "My cousin, you’re truly smart; you learned it right away."

Zheng Jinyu: "…" Are you being sarcastic?

"Tie my eyes again, and yours too. Turn around, and I’ll tie you up."

Zheng Jinyu followed his instructions, covered her eyes, turned around, and he managed to tie her up in no time, hiding the loose end in her hand.

"Remember to pull here, and pull hard."

"Okay, I remember."

Is learning kidnappers’ knots a required skill for scholars?

"Cousin, how do you know this kind of knot?"

"Is it difficult? I figured it out at once."

Zheng Jinyu: "…"

"Alright, rest now."

"Mm, you should also take a nap. We need to conserve our energy and be ready for any unexpected situations."

Zheng Jinyu thought, how can anyone sleep in this situation? Besides, it’s daytime, and she wasn’t sleepy at all.

Just as she was about to chat with Cui Yongnian, she heard him snoring.

Zheng Jinyu: "…" He fell asleep instantly?