Ye Yunniang pushed with all her might, but couldn't break free.
The other person held on tightly, as if her foot was their only hope.
"Hurry, push harder," urged Wen Nuan.
"Alright," Chunyan pushed with force.
With the combined effort of the three, Ye Yunniang crawled out of the dog hole, and the person behind her was pulled out after.
"Sister Taohong!" Chunyan exclaimed in surprise.
"Hurry, someone's noticed," Taohong urged.
"Follow me."
Wen Nuan ran ahead, the three of them following close behind. Shouts came from behind, "There they are, quick, after them!"
Ye Yunniang ran blindly, only one thought in her mind: she was escaping this place.
They couldn't outrun the men, and it seemed they were about to be caught.
"There's a river ahead, we'll jump in," Wen Nuan heard the sound of water.
"You damn wenches, stop running!" came the voice of Jin Laoliu from behind, along with the sounds of Monkey and others.
"Stop yelling, chase faster!"
Ye Yunniang paid no heed, just ran desperately.
Faster, just a little faster...
Splash! Wen Nuan, at the very front, didn't hesitate for a second, plunging straight into the river.
Chunyan stopped at the riverbank.
"I can't swim."
"Drown or be tortured to death, choose one?" Ye Yunniang said, then leaped into the river.
Taohong, following close behind, jumped in without hesitation.
Seeing the pursuers behind, Chunyan gritted her teeth and jumped into the river, wading into the water.
Soon she was thrashing about. "Help! I can't swim! Help!..."
A log as thick as an arm was shoved into Chunyan's arms.
"Hold it, swim," Ye Yunniang said before diving underwater and swimming forward rapidly.
"Damn it, they jumped in the water!" Jin Laoliu, at the front, shouted and also jumped in, swimming swiftly towards Chunyan at the rear.
"Don't come near!" Chunyan cried out in panic, legs flailing wildly.
Her frantic movements only caused the log to spin, not propel her.
Her hands slipped, and with a sharp scream, she fell into the water. Jin Laoliu grabbed her and started pulling her towards the shore.
Monkey, though scrawny, was surprisingly fast and caught up to Ye Yunniang, who was swimming with all her strength ahead.
Ye Yunniang struggled, kicking at Monkey with all her might.
Angered, Monkey grabbed Ye Yunniang's hair and forced her head underwater.
Gurgle, gurgle...
After several cycles of pulling her up and shoving her down, Ye Yunniang's strength waned, her breathing slowed.
She felt she was about to die.
With a thunderous roar, a torrent of raging water came rushing down.
"Quick, back to shore!" Monkey, seeing the situation, screamed loudly, grabbing Ye Yunniang and swimming towards the bank.
Human speed was no match for the water's speed.
Everyone was swept forward by the current. Against the onrushing river, people seemed so small and powerless.
A wave crashed over them, and Monkey lost his grip on Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang's body tumbled with the waves.
Was this the end?
To die here, in this icy river water.
How unfair... she was so close to escaping the traffickers.
So close to going home to see her mother?
To see Pan'er, to see An'an, to see Pingping.
...
She opened her eyes. A solid chest appeared before her.
Ye Yunniang closed her eyes and opened them again.
"Satisfied with what you see?" A low chuckle cleared the fog in Ye Yunniang's muddled mind.
She looked up. Jiang Mingzhe's face came clearly into view.
"What are you doing here?"
"I dreamed you were in trouble." Jiang Mingzhe tightened his embrace around Ye Yunniang, an overwhelming sense of relief washing over him that he hadn't ignored the dream.
"I almost lost you."
Ye Yunniang clung to Jiang Mingzhe. "I thought I was going to die too. I was so resentful, not getting to see Mother and Pan'er and the others, and Shushu. Ah—"
A sharp pain shot through Ye Yunniang's shoulder. She didn't understand why Jiang Mingzhe had bitten her.
Jiang Mingzhe licked the teeth marks. "Did you miss me?"
No.
The pain in her shoulder reminded Ye Yunniang she couldn't say that.
She gave a guilty "Mhm."
Jiang Mingzhe knew his place in Ye Yunniang's heart all too well.
"You heartless little thing."
"I'm not," Ye Yunniang retorted. If she were truly heartless, how could she have given birth to Pingping, cherished him, loved him?
Feeling wronged, Ye Yunniang struggled to break free.
"Don't move." Jiang Mingzhe's suppressed, ragged breath made Ye Yunniang realize the situation.
"I'm hungry," Ye Yunniang said, and her stomach promptly growled.
Ye Yunniang's face flushed instantly, and she buried it in Jiang Mingzhe's chest.
Jiang Mingzhe laughed and released her.
Ye Yunniang slipped out of Jiang Mingzhe's embrace, picked up her clothes, and put them on.
Lifting the tent flap, she stepped outside and her eyes widened.
"Baise, what are you doing here?" Ye Yunniang was astonished. Wasn't Baise supposed to be heading to the borderlands with the Tie uncle and nephew? How was she with Jiang Mingzhe?
"Try my grilled fish." Baise didn't answer, instead beckoning Ye Yunniang to taste her fish.
As she approached, Ye Yunniang noticed Baise's protruding belly.
"You're pregnant?"
Whose child was it?
Images of Tie Yi and Jiang Mingzhe flashed through Ye Yunniang's mind.
"Jiang Mingzhe's." Baise's answer made the face in Ye Yunniang's mind settle solely on Tie Yi.
"Where is Uncle Tie Yi?"
"So trusting of your man?"
"Be serious."
"If I were serious, your Uncle Tie Yi wouldn't have ended up in my hands."
"Right, you're amazing." Ye Yunniang smiled, taking the grilled fish and taking a bite. It tasted good.
"Yunniang." Wen Nuan walked over, bowl in hand.
Her intuition had been right; she was saved because of Ye Yunniang.
"How are you? What about Chunyan and Taohong?" Seeing Wen Nuan, with whom she'd shared a life-and-death struggle, Ye Yunniang asked with concern.
"I don't know." Wen Nuan's answer made Ye Yunniang's smile fade.
"If we're both okay, they must be okay too." Ye Yunniang didn't know if she was comforting Wen Nuan or herself.
"They will be. That woman Taohong won't die easily." Wen Nuan handed the lamb broth in her hand to Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang took it, sipped. It had no gaminess at all, just the clean, fragrant taste of lamb.
"You make lamb really well."
"It's not my skill, it's the sheep here." Wen Nuan looked towards the flock of sheep not far away.
Wen Nuan's words made Ye Yunniang survey her surroundings.
Expanses of grassland, vast flocks of sheep.
"Is this the Yan Kingdom?"
"Yes, we're currently on the Yan Kingdom's border. Just ahead is the Mingzhu River you jumped into last night. Cross the river, and it's the Daqing Dynasty," Baise explained to Ye Yunniang.
"Can we go back?"
"Of course we can," Baise answered with certainty.
"My intuition tells me we'll be going back very soon." Wen Nuan finished speaking and got up to busy herself.
Ye Yunniang ate a few bites of fish and drank half a small bowl of lamb broth before feeling full.
After over a month of captivity and daily hunger, her appetite had shrunk.
Full, she grew drowsy, and Ye Yunniang couldn't suppress a yawn.
"Sleepy? Go back inside, your man's waiting for you."
Thinking of Jiang Mingzhe inside the tent, Ye Yunniang instantly felt wide awake.
To distract herself, Ye Yunniang asked Baise why she had left in such a hurry the day after the wedding.
"It's all your man's fault."
