Lu Anran seemed to have made a hasty decision, but in fact, he had read the geography of Diqiu before, recalled the terrain in his mind, and circled the approximate scope of this forest.
There were forests on three sides. She didn't know how much area the iron fence covered, but she was sure that even if there were no wild animals before, there must be now. She couldn't outrun the animals, and her only chance of survival was to the south and right.
Turning right to the south, the mountains were high and rugged, with cliffs as the critical point, but she remembered that there was a path on the edge of the cliff, leading to a sliver of sky, which could stop ferocious beasts.
Lu Anran wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked up. The sky was blocked by a large cross section of branches. Only occasionally, a small patch of blue sky could be seen through the gaps, and the sunlight gradually tilted.
Waiting until dark is the most dangerous time in the mountains and forests.
The steps tended to be heavy, and her mood was not relaxed. But what made her curious was why there was no movement of wild animals along the way.
Although it was a blessing at the moment, danger lurked around her and was full of unknowns, which made her deeply uneasy.
Just as he was thinking about it, the sound of melee fighting came from somewhere in the forest, followed by roars that shook the trees and made the air suddenly tense.
She didn't know what happened, but it didn't affect her to avoid that place without hesitation. She would rather take a detour than check it out of curiosity.
But she couldn't avoid it after all, because the next moment, a man appeared in front of her with eager eyes.
The man was tall and strong, his clothes were tattered in places, his bun was messy and his hair was like straw, his hands were stained with blood, and his eyes were gleaming fiercely, like a hungry wolf or a poisonous snake.
"Hahaha, where does this little girl without eyes come from?" He spoke with a strong and rough voice, full of fierceness.
Lu Anran pulled her fist fiercely with her fingers, raised her eyes, and unexpectedly found that in the mottled light and shadow, the beard of the man in front of her seemed to be reflected in red.
A name suddenly jumped out—Red Bearded Qiu Ba.
The man who had just fought the beast was indeed Red Beard. His life had not been easy since the village was destroyed by the prince. He managed to escape the last time, but because he was seriously injured, he didn't have time to leave the forest, so he could only secretly hide in the mountains to recuperate.
After raising them for a few days, when he was about to leave, the beasts came back for some reason. He had no weapons in his hands, so he could only fight naked. Although he used brute force to subdue them, the wounds opened and the situation is very bad now.
Lu Anran lowered his eyes and said calmly: "Are you here to hunt in the forest? I am a resident nearby. I strayed into the forest and got lost. I am waiting for my family to come find me."
The red-bearded Qiu Ba stared for a long time, and just when Lu Anran thought he believed it, he suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Lu Anran's neck with one hand, and said viciously: "I'm not blind yet, don't tell me that the way you dress and your accent doesn't sound like the locals. Man, how can an ordinary woman be so calm when meeting me in the wild?"
Lu Anran raised her eyelids and looked at him with her dark eyes, revealing a hint of weakness: "I was indeed separated from my family in the forest. If you have noticed, when you saw the sound of arrows as a signal, it was me and my family. contact information."
The woman's skin was soft and silky, and her red beard pinched her neck with a little force, causing her neck to become red and swollen. He came closer and smelled it, and a malicious smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth, "The young lady from a rich family smells so good."
Lu Anran felt like the hands that were holding her were like poisonous vines, climbing all the way up from her neck. When she stopped at a certain place, she forcefully pulled off the mask on her face, and her clear eyes reflected the stunned look of the red beard.
"Hey, why are you such an ugly person?"
Lu Anran was thrown to the ground hard, with dead branches and leaves covering his face. Instead of feeling lucky, he felt like he was being weighed down by weights.
As if to match her thoughts, Red Beard pulled off his coat and threw it over, covering her head tightly, licking the corners of his mouth, and smiled very lustfully, "As the saying goes, any woman is the same if she covers her lamp. I will try it today." Try this new way of playing." After all, the rich girl is pampered, her skin is fair, clean and pure.
"The prince is leading thousands of people to encircle you. You still have half an hour to escape. Do you really want to spend it on this?" Lu Anran opened his smelly coat and suppressed the fear in the deepest part, a pair of black eyes He looked calm and dark, "Whether you want to be a romantic ghost for a while or escape from the dead, there are so many beauties out there at your fingertips, it all depends on you."
The red-bearded man stopped unbuttoning his trousers and narrowed his eyes with a fierce look, "You stinky girl, I believe in your evil deeds."
Lu Anran knew that her words were empty, but she had nothing on her body except a few medicine bags and a cloth bag filled with various silver needles and lancets.
I brushed my fingers over the medicine bag and the knife, thinking about the chances of poisoning with powder or resisting with the knife.
The red beard came over, pinched Lu Anran's chin with his right hand, and raised his chin. His face did not hide the ferocity and greed, "I'm not stupid. Zi Sangjin is eager to catch me for his meritorious service. He will never send a stinky girl like you." .”
Lu Anran took a breath of pain and accidentally touched something with her fingers. When the red beard's thick palm covered it, she held it and raised her arm, "Because of my status as a prisoner."
Redbeard turned his head, grabbed the token and looked at it in his hand, "The Punishment Division?"
Lu Anran lowered his head and coughed a few times, his voice becoming hoarse, "You must already know about Yasha's murder. This time we are cooperating with the prince to search in the forest, not only to investigate the case, but also to arrest you."
"On your own account?"
"I am still a student of Jixia Palace."
"so what?"
"I can tell you how to avoid arrest and get out of here."
Redbeard said nothing, looking at Lu Anran with a pair of ferocious wolf-like eyes, thinking about the truth and lies in her words.
He is a villain and a tough gangster. He is famous for his cruelty and ruthless methods. But the reason why he is alive today is not only ruthless but also because of his sharp mind and determination.
"How many people have Zi Sangjin brought with him? How will they be hunted? How wide will they be drawn?"
Lu Anran opened his mouth and said, "The prince personally led five hundred people to search frontally, and there were more than three hundred people on each side of the rest, with the watershed as the boundary, which is less than ten miles away from here. If you move faster, I'm afraid it will take less than half an hour. There are also , I’m afraid you don’t know that Dongyue Zhenren has long planned for you to hide here, so the outside is blocked by iron nets. It will be a matter of time before you are caught, and it will be difficult for you to fly even if you have wings."
Half-truth, half-false, but with a cautious tone, Red Beard stared into her eyes, showing no trace of falsehood.
"Then why are you here?"
Lu Anran lowered her eyes, "I offended a young lady from an aristocratic family. She lured me into the iron net, hoping to let wild beasts attack me."
Redbeard sneered: "If I know that you lied to me, your life will be worse than death!"
This is a compromise.
Lu Anran held his breath for too long. He took a slow breath when he heard this. He felt a rusty breath in his breath. He pinched his palms to keep himself as steady as possible. He raised his eyes with clear eyes and said slowly: "When attacked from three sides, there is only one way out."
—
The prince led people to chase the location where the sounding arrow came from, but they were blocked by an iron net and asked in confusion: "Where did the net come from?"
After checking it, his subordinates reported: "Prince, this net seems to be new."
Now was not the time to pursue this matter, so he made a quick decision: "Tear down a piece, chase it in and take a look."
The subordinate said: "Maybe it was done by the hunters nearby, but this net has done us a big favor. If Redbeard accidentally breaks into the net, it will not be easy to escape."
The prince thought it was reasonable, "Send a few people to guard here, and the others will follow me."
After walking a short distance, the prince heard something coming from the front. Before he was ready, he came face-to-face with the red-bearded man who was holding Lu Anran hostage.
Both parties were startled at the same time. Before the prince could give the order, Red Beard squeezed Lu Anran's neck hard and sneered, "Your Highness, you are indeed coming after me. Get out of the way, otherwise this woman will die." .”
The prince had seen Lu Anran with her face covered, revealing only a pair of eyes as quiet as autumn water. Now that the mask was gone, the first question was, who is this woman with a yin and yang face?
"Hmph, just grabbing a random woman and trying to get me to compromise, isn't it just a fool's errand? Redbeard, just capture her without any effort."
Redbeard exerted a little more force, and the sound of bones rattling could be heard. Lu Anran suddenly felt suffocated and had difficulty breathing. He used Lu Anran as a human shield and bared his yellow teeth, "Your Highness, do you recognize it clearly? She said that she is not only a student of Jixia Palace, but also a prisoner, and if she accidentally dies the wrong person, it goes against the benevolence and kindness of His Highness the Crown Prince who cares about the country and the people."
Zi Sangjin didn't feel anything when talking about Jixia Palace, until the word "Ti Xing Si" popped up, and then he met Lu Anran's eyes, and his eyelids suddenly twitched, "Lu Anran?"
"Oh? We know each other, that's easy to talk about." Red Beard was originally worried that the woman in his hand was lying, but now it seems that at least her identity is correct, and things are much easier to handle.
Zi Sangjin put his hands behind his back, his index finger gently stroking his thumb, and his eyelashes were half drooped, covering the thoughts in his eyes.
By catching Red Beard, he can also perform meritorious service and atone for his sins. He will have an explanation to the king. If he lets him go again, I am afraid that in addition to making his father dissatisfied, it will also give people who are interested in taking advantage of him.
But Lu Anran is the direct daughter of the Lu family in Mengdu. I heard that County Sheriff Lu values this daughter very much. If she had an accident at his hands, she would also be in trouble.
But it was impossible to just let Red Beard go.
"Prince, it's important to catch Red Beard. The forest is deep and desolate right now. Miss Lu took the wrong path and was murdered by Red Beard. Even though His Highness tried to turn the tide, it still didn't help. In the end, it was too late." The subordinate said in a low voice.
Zi Sangjin's eyebrows moved, his fingers slowly closed into fists, and he raised his eyes as if he had made up his mind, "Redbeard, you are guilty of a clear crime, and you should plead guilty and be punished, but instead of thinking about your sins, you only worsened the situation. I am the plan of the world." , we will eradicate villains like you who harm the people."
Lu Anran looked at the young prince. His figure was as straight as a green bamboo in the hunting mountain wind. His words of condemnation were loud and clear, hitting Lu Anran, and his heart sank a little bit.
When I was almost suffocating for breath, a thought came to my mind very clearly -
Zi Sangjin was not prepared to save her.
