Chapter 85 Kidnapping

Chapter 85: Kidnapping

A chill seeped up from the ground into his bones, then spread through his entire body. Jiang Wang shivered and slowly opened his eyes.

It was dark all around, unlit. Looking closer, he saw that the windows had been nailed shut and sealed, allowing only a sliver of light to peek through the cracks around the door.

Jiang Wang shook his still-muddled head, a dull ache throbbing at the back of his neck.

Memories from the previous night gradually surfaced.

He'd gotten lost in the fire, found a room to hide, and then someone had knocked him unconscious and brought him here...

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the light through the door crack told him it was already daylight.

His hands were tied behind his back with rope, and his feet were bound just as tightly, leaving him unable to move an inch.

Jiang Wang wriggled back and forth like a caterpillar, rolling over to the wall and using it to push himself into a sitting position.

By now, his eyes had adjusted to the low light, allowing him to make out the vague shapes of objects in the room.

Leaning against the corner not far away was a dilapidated plow. He had seen such things on TV, but this one was completely rusted, its wooden handle split with several large cracks—clearly unused for a very long time.

Next to it were some branches and straw, scattered haphazardly on the ground like the nest of a dying bird.

The room's condition was already dreadful, but the smell was even more unbearable for Jiang Wang.

The air was thick with the scent of aged, damp, rotting wood, the faint, musty odor of moldy straw, and a persistent, chilling earthy smell. Mixed with a penetrating cold, it coiled around him tightly, like a snake.

This seemed to be a woodshed that had been abandoned for a long time.

He couldn't help it. Jiang Wang coughed twice.

Not only did this fail to expel the irritation from his body or push the unpleasant feeling further away, but the burning pain in his throat and the hoarseness of his voice only highlighted his poor condition.

He had been knocked out and taken away without anything to cover his nose and mouth, so he must have inhaled a lot of smoke.

He needed water now.

Perhaps his coughing had alerted someone outside, as the old wooden door creaked open, and sunlight fell directly onto Jiang Wang.

The person who entered was slightly plump, his face covered, with only his eyes visible.

It was the man who had taken him from the post station.

"Lord Jiang, long time no see."

Jiang Wang looked up. The man stood backlit, making his face unclear, but his voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if Jiang Wang had heard it somewhere before.

"Cough, cough... Wh-who are you?"

Jiang Wang mustered all his strength, managing only to produce a faint, breathy whisper.

The man scoffed. "Who I am isn't important. What matters is that you're about to die here, about to say goodbye to Xiao Yan for good."

Say goodbye to Xiao Yan for good?

Jiang Wang keenly caught this phrase.

If he was to say goodbye to Xiao Yan, did that mean Xiao Yan was still alive and well at this moment?

The situation in Zhaojing was probably better than he had imagined, perhaps even victorious in this chaos.

His anxious heart settled slightly, and he gained a bit more confidence.

Since Xiao Yan wasn't dead, he had a chance to negotiate with this man.

He was certain Xiao Yan would help him; he might even be searching for him right now.

"Let me go," Jiang Wang said, looking into the man's eyes. "As long as you let me go, I'll give you whatever you want."

The masked man's voice was full of mockery.

"It seems Lord Jiang hasn't grasped his situation clearly. You're the one trapped here, yet you dare to negotiate with me?"

Once he had sorted out his thoughts, Jiang Wang was naturally unafraid. He stated with conviction, "Chang Wenji lost, right?"

"Otherwise, why would you go to such lengths to capture me? Even that fire was set by you, just to take advantage of the chaos to snatch me away."

"You're the one who's the ant on a hot pan, the one with no way out."

The man's eyes widened, and his hands clenched into fists. Although Jiang Wang couldn't see the man's expression beneath the black cloth, he could guess it was alternating between pale and flushed, quite a sight.

"Moreover, you don't want to kill me."

"If you wanted me dead, you could have let me burn in that fire, fabricating a perfect accidental death, instead of risking exposure by taking me away."

A glint shone in Jiang Wang's eyes as he revealed a fox-like smile.

"So, what do you want? I'll give it to you."

"Money? Jewels? A mansion? Or something else? Just name it, and I'll give it to you."

The man seemed taken aback that Jiang Wang had dissected his motives so clearly. As if angered by being seen through, he drew a dagger from his waist and pressed it against Jiang Wang's neck, but he didn't apply any force.

Finally, flushed with rage, he sheathed the knife, turned, and left, slamming the old door shut with a heavy thud.

Leaning against the wall, Jiang Wang let out a long, deep sigh.

He was safe.

He didn't know if the masked man would change his mind, but for now, he was safe.

Darkness enveloped the room once more, and Jiang Wang could use this quiet moment to think carefully.

Where did that sense of familiarity from his first glance come from?

He was certain he had never met this person before; otherwise, he would have remembered.

And since the man's face was covered, that sense of familiarity must have come from...

His eyes?

Yes, that was it—his eyes!

He had seen these eyes on Chang Da's face!

The masked man was older than Chang Da. Though sturdy, he wasn't as burly as Chang Da. He looked very much like Chang Da's father.

Also, he had once heard Xiao Yan mention...

Xiao Yan mentioned that the Chang residence had a steward named Chang Tong, who had worked for the Chang family for over twenty years and was utterly loyal to them—even his children remained in service to the household.

Xiao Yan also said that Chang Tong had been beaten and crippled in his youth because of a wrong he'd done.

On the verge of starvation, he encountered Chang Wenji, who saved him with a wave of his hand. From then on, Chang Tong regarded Chang Wenji as his savior, serving diligently and with unwavering loyalty.

Now it all fell into place!

Jiang Wang had indeed noticed earlier that the masked man walked with an odd gait. Though the man tried hard to conceal it, he couldn't fully control his limp.

A cripple, he looked familiar, and he was on Chang Wenji's side—any one clue alone might not be conclusive, but when all three pointed the same way, the target was clear.

The masked man was Chang Tong.

What else could it mean when a steward wasn't by his master's side?

It must mean the master was under duress, or even that the entire Chang household was under close surveillance.

Chang Tong had nowhere else to turn, so he came to Jiang Wang—to vent his feelings on him, and to seek revenge after discovering Jiang Wang had deceived Chang Wenji.

So then... Xiao Yan had truly succeeded!

Xiao Yan had quelled the rebellion and avenged his brother.

The long-held knot in Jiang Wang's heart finally loosened—this was good news.

With his heart at rest, Jiang Wang began mentally reviewing what little he'd seen in the faint light earlier, searching for anything he might have missed.

Most of it matched what he had seen before, but this time he recalled many more details.

For instance, stacked against the western wall were many bricks. Around waist height, the wall was full of small gaps—likely there had once been a hole here, and the bricks were meant to patch it. The gaps hadn't been filled in yet, making that section unstable.

Also, in the middle of the room stood a worn wooden table with a white teapot and several large bowls on it.

The teapot might still have water in it.

Jiang Wang pushed himself up and hopped toward the direction he remembered. He needed water—and sure enough, after just a few hops, he banged his leg against the table's edge.

He turned his back and hefted the teapot in his hands—it was heavy, and he could hear the sloshing of water inside.

Delighted, Jiang Wang then poured water from the pot into a tea bowl by feel.

Of course, quite a bit spilled, soaking his clothes, but he didn't mind.

He turned, bent over, and gripped the rim of the bowl with his mouth, tilting it carefully until he had drunk every last drop.

Then he let out a satisfied sigh.

Ahh, that hit the spot!

In the past, he would never have looked twice at the large teapots and bowls from roadside tea stalls. But now it seemed the simplest things were the most practical—just one bowl was enough to quench his thirst and soothe his throat.

If he had been stuck with some delicate, tiny vessel, he might have fiddled with it forever without getting a single drop.

Having roughly assessed the situation, Jiang Wang had already formulated a plan to escape from here.

He couldn't just wait passively for the masked man to mercifully release him—he had to take the initiative and find his own way out.

To escape, he first needed to cut the ropes binding his hands and feet.

His eyes fell on the rusted plow.

A plow's main function was to turn and loosen soil, cutting through plant roots—so even rusted, its metal tip would still be sharper than wood.

He needed to use the plowshare to cut through the ropes.

The process wasn't difficult, just time-consuming—it would take some effort.

Jiang Wang glanced at the door again.

There was no handle or latch on the inside, and the door opened inward.

This door could only be opened or closed from the outside; anyone inside had no means to operate it.

The door was clearly not an option.

Jiang Wang shifted his gaze to the wall with the gaps.

Since the door was impassable and the windows were sealed, perhaps he could leave through here.

He would first remove all the bricks he could, then see whether the hole was big enough for a person to squeeze through.

If it was just right, he could slip away tonight. If it was too small, he might have to wait a day or two to enlarge it.

No time to waste—with his own life on the line, Jiang Wang was now brimming with motivation.

He sat down beside the plow, stretched out his hands, and began grinding the ropes against the metal.

He couldn't see the bindings around his wrists at all, so he had to rely on feel to gauge his progress.

And his sense was accurate—after grinding for a while, the ropes had only suffered superficial damage.

He was exhausted.

Jiang Wang sighed. How long would this take?

Just a few rounds of grinding had already left him drained and drenched in sweat.

By the time he finally cut through, it would probably cost him half his life.

And he really wanted to sleep.

Maybe he was turning into a hamster—wanting to sleep in broad daylight.

Right now, Jiang Wang just wanted to find something to cover himself with, curl up in a corner, and have a good, long nap.

But no—not now. There were more important things to do.

Head down, Jiang Wang kept repeating the same motion. His stamina was fading, his arms growing sorer, and the chill on his body becoming more pronounced.

Still, he could clearly feel the ropes around his wrists gradually loosening.

Just as he was about to slip his hands completely free, Chang Tong arrived.

He was carrying a plate of food and a bowl of porridge, bringing Jiang Wang something to eat.

But he made no sound at all before pushing the door open—so startling that Jiang Wang had no time to react.

He quickly grabbed the rope that was about to fall and tied it tightly behind his back again, blinking his earnest eyes at him in gratitude.

His manner also seemed to suggest some interest in the big guy leaning against the wall, as if he’d just come to take a look.

Chang Tong searched around fruitlessly and had to give up.

In the end, he still didn’t forget to leave a threatening remark.

"Behave yourself. Don’t even think about going outside. Leaving you a way out doesn’t mean you’ll stay in one piece..."

"Got it?"

Author’s note:

So, why does Jiang Wang feel both cold and sleepy? Can he manage to escape?