Chapter 452 - 433: Captured

This matter still required Yun Jiao’s cooperation.

It was clear the middle-aged man had accomplices.

It would be best if they could round up the entire group at once.

Lin Bin squatted down and said to Yun Jiao, "Don’t worry. Our people will be following you in secret the entire time. We’ll make sure nothing happens to you. Also, take this."

"I know you’re strong. With your strength, these steel balls are no different from bullets when you throw them. I’m not giving you a gun; it would only cause trouble if they found it."

"Also, when the time comes, don’t rush in and fight them. Once we get there, just find a place to hide and stay out of sight."

Lin Bin knew the girl was strong, agile, and fearless. He was just worried she’d take on the enemies by herself.

Yun Jiao took the smooth, round steel balls and nodded.

"I get it."

Mr. Lin patted her head.

"If you’re in danger, don’t hesitate to use these steel balls to kill. Your safety is the top priority."

"Okay."

After Lin Bin finished his instructions, he sent Yun Jiao home and even helped her come up with an excuse. Because of that, the Yun family didn’t ask where she had been.

The next day, while Yun Jiao was strolling through the village, she noticed Cai Jinhua and Yun Dan secretly following her.

Unfortunately, their tracking skills were so awful that Yun Jiao had to pretend not to notice them.

She made an excuse to split up from her brothers while they were foraging by the sea, giving the two idiots a chance to approach her.

Sure enough, once she was alone, Cai Jinhua approached.

"Jiaojiao, dear, I’ve come to apologize. Yesterday was my fault, all my fault. I just wasn’t thinking straight. How about this? Let me treat you to a meal."

Yun Jiao snorted. "No way. You’re so poor, what good food could you possibly have?"

Cai Jinhua was left speechless.

"Now, don’t say that. I’m actually a very good cook. How about this? I’ll go buy some pork and make you some pork buns."

Yun Jiao replied, "How come I’ve never heard that you’re a good cook? My grandma says your food is terrible."

Cai Jinhua gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to get angry and curse.

’A thousand yuan, a thousand yuan...’

She kept chanting "a thousand yuan" in her head. Only for the money’s sake did Cai Jinhua manage to swallow her anger.

She spent a long time coaxing Yun Jiao, who in turn spent a long time firing back with blunt retorts.

Just when Cai Jinhua was about to lose her temper, Yun Jiao finally said with great reluctance.

"Well, since you’re apologizing so sincerely, Auntie, I suppose I can reluctantly agree to go to your house."

"But we have a deal. I want pork buns, and White Rabbit milk candy, and soda..."

Cai Jinhua cursed internally. ’Eat, eat, eat! I hope you choke on it, you damn brat! You’re even greedier than my own son.’

"Fine."

A strained smile appeared on her face.

Yun Jiao said, "Auntie, you should stop smiling. Your smile is as stiff and ugly as a ghost that’s been dead for years."

Cai Jinhua: ’AHHHHHH, I’m going to kill her!’

No matter how she screamed with rage internally, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and continue coaxing Yun Jiao.

As Yun Jiao walked ahead, the expression on Cai Jinhua’s face, who was behind her, instantly soured, and her gaze turned venomous.

’Just you wait, you little brat. You’ll get what’s coming to you soon enough!’

But unexpectedly, Yun Jiao suddenly turned her head.

She hadn’t had time to wipe the look off her face and reflexively tried to switch back to a smile. The change was so abrupt that her already plain features twisted into a chaotic mess, almost giving her a cramp.

Yun Jiao burst out laughing internally.

’Hahaha... This is too much fun.’

"Auntie, what happened to your face? Did it get paralyzed? It’s twitching. Are you having a stroke?"

It took Cai Jinhua a long moment before she could squeeze out a smile.

"N-no, it’s nothing."

The words seemed to be forced through her clenched teeth.

Yun Jiao’s brows arched slightly, and she began to skip merrily ahead.

"Good. Then let’s hurry up."

This time, they finally made it to Cai Jinhua’s house without further incident.

"Auntie, when are you going to buy the pork? And the White Rabbit milk candy? I want them now."

Cai Jinhua led her into the house.

"Right away, right away. You go on in and have a seat. I’ll go buy them for you right now."

But as soon as Cai Jinhua followed her inside, she slammed the door shut, and her expression instantly turned sour.

Yun Jiao tilted her head. "Aren’t you going to buy the food?"

Cai Jinhua’s voice turned sharp and cruel.

"Eat, eat, eat! What right does a worthless girl like you have to eat? I don’t even get to eat things like that, and you think you can?!"

Yun Jiao tilted her head. "So you were just lying to me?"

Cai Jinhua scoffed, "Heh, so what if I lied? If you weren’t worth good money, I’d have dealt with you a long time ago."

Yun Jiao whipped her head around, grabbed a chair, and hurled it at her.

She deliberately missed, then started looking for other things in the room to destroy.

At first, Cai Jinhua was shaken from almost being hit. But as she watched her belongings get destroyed one by one, she grew so distressed she nearly fainted.

"Stop! Stop it!"

"AH! My bowls!"

"My basin! Stop! You little bitch, stop it!"

Cai Jinhua wailed while trying to grab Yun Jiao, but the girl was too fast and nimble. She couldn’t catch her at all.

By the time Yun Dan and the middle-aged man arrived, the room was a complete wreck.

The middle-aged man’s face was grim.

"Shut your mouth! Are you trying to let everyone outside know what’s happening?"

Cai Jinhua slapped her thigh in frustration.

"My bowls, my cabinet, my chairs—she smashed them all!"

The middle-aged man grabbed Yun Jiao as she tried to run out.

Yun Jiao struggled on purpose, opening her mouth and biting the web of his hand.

"Tss..."

The middle-aged man quickly covered her mouth and nose with a drugged handkerchief.

Yun Jiao quickly ’passed out’.

Cai Jinhua shot Yun Jiao a hateful glare and started forward, cursing, wanting to hit her.

The middle-aged man stopped her. "What do you think you’re doing?"

"What am I doing? After all the crap I had to put up with to lure her here! And she smashed all my things! Of course I’m going to teach her a lesson."

The middle-aged man, holding Yun Jiao, backed away.

"Fine. I’ll pay for the damages. I’ll give you a total of twelve hundred yuan."

’What a joke. What were these two worth? This kid’s value was far higher than theirs.’

At his words, Cai Jinhua and Yun Dan’s faces immediately lit up with greedy smiles.

"Of course, of course. So, about that money...?"

The middle-aged man counted out the money for them. Then, he stuffed Yun Jiao into a burlap sack, placed the sack in a large back-basket, and added a few other items on top as camouflage.

Once he checked it over and was satisfied, he finally left Cai Jinhua’s house.

Just outside their front door, he ran into another villager.

An older woman, her hands clasped behind her back, ambled over. Seeing the middle-aged man, she started asking questions as if they were old friends.

"You’re a new face around here, young man. Are you... a relative of Yun Dan’s? I don’t think I’ve seen you before."

The middle-aged man immediately put on a simple, honest smile.

"Yes, I’m a distant relative of my cousin. I’ve never visited before. My mother asked me to drop some things off."

He rambled on a bit more before quickly making an excuse to leave.

The old woman mumbled to herself, "That’s strange."

’That couple, Yun Dan and his wife... giving a distant relative so many things to take home?’

’He probably paid for it.’

She didn’t give it much more thought and ambled off.