Chapter 17: Scaring the Kidnapper into Wetting Himself

Ning Xin mentally calculated how many deer she would catch tomorrow before staying home to work. She had plenty of strength—enough to chisel stone.

“Uncle, how many deer do you need?” she asked.

“How many can you bring?” he replied.

“Two heads, no problem!” Ning Xin was confident she could catch two deer.

“Live ones, ten taels of silver each. However many you catch, I want the same number.”

“Deal.”

Thinking about the size of the animals, she decided to use a cage. Such precious creatures couldn’t be killed accidentally. Her mind whirled with plans and schemes.

They soon arrived at what Dou Meng called his residence. Chen and the others also drove up in a carriage.

“Young master,” Ning Xin said, carrying a wild boar, and noticed a very fair, slender hand reaching out, clad in a pure white brocade garment. Though unadorned, it shimmered with a subtle radiance, as if imbued with an ethereal aura.

Ning Xin’s heart pounded a few beats as she slowly looked up.

“...”

Wearing a mask? Perhaps the face was too ugly to show, she thought, pitying silently and lowering her head.

She watched a pair of white shoes walk past her.

In chorus, the servants greeted, “Greetings, young master.”

“Girl, put down the wild boar. You may leave. Remember the deer tomorrow, alive ones, okay?”

Ning Xin nodded, casually setting the wild boar down. Eyeing a thick wooden log nearby, she hesitated but ultimately decided to take it.

She took down the boar, hoisted the log on her shoulder, and waved goodbye to Dou Meng.

“Uncle, I should be back before noon tomorrow,” Ning Xin called as she walked off with the wood.

Dou Meng looked on, surprised. This girl must be crazy about money. Not even willing to waste a few coins on a stick of firewood?

Ning Xin was indeed frugal. Every coin mattered—it could buy several steamed buns.

No one paid attention to a single firewood log, but cunning folk would surely approach.

“Madam, are you buying firewood?” asked a woman named Lady Li, eyeing the dark-skinned girl before her. Though sunburnt, her features were fine.

The dark-skinned masters and young masters wouldn’t spare a glance, but if she were kept for months, a year or so, she could become a pale, beautiful money tree.

Feeling pleased, Lady Li smiled and asked, “How much for this stick?”

Ning Xin weighed options between three and five coins, then hardened her heart and said, “Five coins.”

“Alright, follow me.”

“Okay, madam,” Ning Xin grinned as she followed, asking, “Madam, would you like me to chop it for you?”

“Sure, sure.”

Lady Li cautiously asked what brought Ning Xin to the county town.

“To sell wild boar.”

“Alone?”

“My father came too.”

Lady Li looked around, brows furrowed. “Where is your father then?”

“He’s just outside the town. I’ll wait for him at the city gate; we agreed to meet there.”

“Oh, then come quickly with me.”

Lady Li’s house was at the innermost part of an alley. Outside the alley was fine, but stepping in, a stench of urine hit the nose.

“Here we are, girl, come inside.”

“Okay.”

Ning Xin carried the firewood into the yard, unaware Lady Li closed the gate behind her.

Smiling, Ning Xin asked, “Madam, you have a woodcutter’s knife, right? Give it here; I’ll chop it for you. This is fresh wood—chop it and leave it under the eaves to dry, then it’ll burn well for cooking. Hurry up, I need to meet my father.”

Thinking of her dear father, Ning Xin was impatient.

Lady Li was about to mention that she still needed her knife, but Ning Xin split the wood into two with a single strike.

Under Lady Li’s horrified gaze, two pieces became four, four became eight.

Satisfied, Ning Xin beamed at her handiwork. “Madam, this will do. Five coins.”

“...”

Lady Li was so frightened she nearly lost her soul. Forgetting her limp, she hurriedly fumbled five coins from her pocket, trembling as she handed them over.

“Take these. I’ll open the gate for you now.”

“Thank you, madam. Do you need more firewood? I can deliver it next time.”

She hadn’t even considered why the gate was closed. Her own mother would close the door and bolt it after they left.

“Not for now.”

“...”

Ning Xin felt a bit disappointed this deal hadn’t gone further.

Clutching the five coins cheerfully, she headed toward the city gate.