Chapter 99: Kidnapping

When Xie Shouzheng woke up, he was still in the sack. Everything before his eyes was pitch black, and a pungent odor still lingered at the tip of his nose.

Before he could react, his whole body suddenly soared into the air, then fell heavily, rolling once before coming to a stop—his forehead hurt from the fall.

He struggled with all his might, and with a "rip," the sack tore open. Before his eyes was a rusty iron door that had just been locked.

Someone outside shouted: "Everyone be honest! Whoever dares to make noise will have their tongue cut out first!"

Xie Shouzheng's nostrils flared as he smelled a chaotic scent.

He turned his head and saw that a large prison cell held dozens of people, both men and women.

Most of those people were still in a coma, while a small portion had just woken up and were confused about the situation, talking in low voices:

"Where is this? Why are we locked up?"

"I remember I was eating in the food shed, and I don't remember anything after that."

"Yes, me too!"

Xie Shouzheng thought of something and hurriedly went over to ask: "The food shed you're talking about, is it the one on Mingguang Street where Lord Miao provides food to the poor?"

The few people who were awake all nodded.

Xie Shouzheng's head slowly turned toward the entrance: "So Young Master was also caught by them?"

The next moment, he suddenly lunged at the iron door and shouted: "You, come here!"

There was a guard at the door with a blood-red whip tucked into his waist. Hearing the sound, he turned his head to glance, but didn't move again.

Xie Shouzheng's gaze fell on the blood-thorn whip, "You actually stole my weapon!"

The guard sneered and said: "Here, you are all slaves. Slaves don't have the qualifications to own weapons; this thing belongs to me now. However—"

He pulled the whip from his waist, "I can let you taste its flavor."

As he spoke, he swung the whip, and it looked like it was about to strike Xie Shouzheng's face. But the whip suddenly froze in mid-air, motionless.

The guard sensed something strange and wanted to pull it back, but no matter how he tugged, the whip was as if it had been nailed in the air and wouldn't come back at all.

Xie Shouzheng said coldly: "My weapon, is it something you scum are worthy of using? Blood-thorn whip, recall!"

The next moment, the whip turned in the air like a spirit snake, then flew into the iron door with a "whoosh," returning to Xie Shouzheng's hand.

The guard was startled and opened his mouth, preparing to shout.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The blood-thorn whip flew out instantly, tightly wrapping around his neck, preventing him from making a single sound.

Xie Shouzheng dragged the person to the door and said: "I'll ask you questions, and you answer honestly. If you dare to call for help, or if there is a single word of falsehood, I will break your neck!"

After some intimidation, he loosened the whip slightly so the other party could speak.

"What is this place?"

"Jade, jade stone mine."

"Is it the mine near Yushi Town?"

"Yes."

"Why did you catch us and bring us here?"

"To mine, to be laborers."

"Men are enough to be laborers, why catch women too?"

"Women... also have their uses."

"How many people were caught today?"

"I don't know the specifics; I'm just a small fry."

"Where are the others caught today? Where are the others locked up?"

"Opposite... there is another prison cell."

Lin Qingyue, Dongfang Qi, and Hong Yao were in the prison cell opposite at this moment.

Previously, after Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Qi observed near the food shed, they felt that everything there was strange.

And Hong Yao was even more convinced that a person like Miao Dong could not possibly do any good, unless there was a greater benefit hidden behind it.

So after separating from Xie Shouzheng, all three of them changed into tattered coarse cloth clothes, and then followed the queue, successfully entering to eat.

The food shed was a temporary structure set up along the street, adjacent to two shops selling grain.

When the poor people were wolfing down their food, burying their heads in their bowls, a few workers would walk over enthusiastically to ask if they had enough to eat, and then ask some simple questions.

For example: "Where is your home? Do you have any relatives left? How is your health?"

Lin Qingyue observed that those who answered: "No relatives," or "Family is not local," would be invited into the back of the grain shop after eating, claiming they would be given more grain to take back.

Then, they never returned.

So, when the three of them were asked by the other party, they all claimed to be passing through, having no relatives at home, and were preparing to go elsewhere to rely on relatives.

Sure enough, the three of them were also invited to the grain shop next door one after another.

Once inside, they were greeted by incense, clubbing, and so on.

In order to figure out what was going on, the three of them pretended to be drugged and did not resist at all.

Then, after being tossed and turned, they were sent back to Yushi Town.

Originally, there were more than 20 other people locked in this prison cell with them, but not long after they were brought in, those people were taken away one after another.

At this moment, only the three of them were left in this prison cell, discussing things.

Xie Shouzheng knocked down the guard at the door with one punch, took out the key, opened the door, and rushed in.

"Young Master! Young Lady! Hong Yao!"

When they saw Xie Shouzheng, the three of them were also surprised.

Dongfang Qi said: "Xiao Hui, your efficiency this time is very high! I thought you would have to wait at least a day before finding us."

Lin Qingyue asked: "So how did you find us?"

Mentioning this, Xie Shouzheng became very angry, so he told the story of reporting the case and then being arrested as a suspect.

"It wasn't until I got here that I understood, what suspect! That was just an excuse!"

Dongfang Qi's face sank completely. He originally thought that Miao Dong, as a Changshi, could not escape the relationship with the matters here.

But after hearing Xie Shouzheng's words, he realized that all the officials in Donglin Prefecture were probably involved!

Most of the mining industry in the Qi Kingdom was state-owned, and a part was in the hands of the aristocracy.

The jade mine in Yushi Town belonged to the Li family and had been mined for nearly twenty years.

At first, the output of the mine was not high, but starting four or five years ago, the overall output doubled. The Li family also became the wealthiest family among the major aristocratic families because of this jade mine.

At this moment, Dongfang Qi probably knew how they managed to double their output.

If they hired ordinary laborers, there would naturally be many restrictions, such as working hours not exceeding five hours. Also, labor costs were not a small expense.

But if they used illegally abducted personnel and then exploited them to death, not only could they increase output, but they could also save all labor costs.

Xie Shouzheng added: "I just heard some news from that guard. Besides catching laborers, they also harm women! But as for how they harm them, that guard's rank was too low, and he didn't know."

Lin Qingyue supported her chin and smiled: "Wanting to know isn't simple?"

Dongfang Qi asked her: "What do you intend to do?"

Lin Qingyue said: "Wait and see. I want to see how many dirty things are hidden in here!" ===== CHAPTER 100 =====