Chapter 259: Delay Another Two Hours
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Indeed the time is up. However, you didn’t inform me in advance and even sent someone to sneak in to hurt me.
“You still want me to release him with this kind of attitude?” Qin Xiaoyao’s smile was a little sinister.
That was right. She was going to renege on the deal.
She would never release him. It would really cause a lot of trouble for her and her husband if she were to release him.
If these people wanted to save him, they could simply step forward and give it a shot.
She wanted to see who could get past her.
“You…” The second mountain bandit leader was so infuriated that his face almost turned as black as thunder.
She was clearly the one in the wrong by refusing to release the hostage. Yet now, she was making bogus accusations, claiming that they had annoyed her and that was why she refused to release the hostage.
“I what?” However, Qin Xiaoyao wasn’t afraid at all. She looked as if she wanted to infuriate the other party to death.
Just as the second mountain bandit leader was about to lose his cool and order his men to attack, Qin Xiaoyao continued, “If you don’t want your great general to die, then continue to wait.
“Two hours later, bring ten thousand taels of silver notes over. We’ll hand over the person as you hand over the money at the same time.”
The moment Qin Xiaoyao uttered these words, the expressions of the mountain bandits who were still hopping mad just a moment ago changed at once.
Judging from Qin Xiaoyao’s earlier attitude, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to release the hostage.
Thus, they could only fight to the bitter end with her and then rescue their great general.
However, now, she relented. She even proposed to exchange the hostage for money.
The situation was different now. If they could avoid risking their lives, who would be willing to take the risk?
In particular, no one wanted to go up against this cursed woman, who was so bloodthirsty and so brutal in her methods.
Qin Xiaoyao’s words made the mountain bandits hesitate, but it didn’t affect the second mountain bandit leader.
“Why drag it out? I’ll go get the ten thousand silver notes now. When I bring it, we’ll do the hostage exchange!” the second mountain bandit leader said.
This intruder was simply stalling for time.
In another two hours, he would probably come up with a new excuse and continue to delay.
Just a while ago, the Imperial Court’s army had already shouted for them to surrender and come out of the town.
The siege was probably imminent.
If he didn’t settle the leader’s matter soon, he was afraid it would delay his comrades’ retreat.
tl
Hmph! I’m telling you my decision, not discussing it with you. I said two hours, so it’s two hours.
u
If you can’t wait, you can come forward and try.” Qin Xiaoyao’s tone was extremely arrogant, and she even waved the dagger in her hand.
The blood stains on the dagger were still visible, and it was obvious that the dagger was very sharp.
The second mountain bandit leader’s face became ominous.
He wanted badly to order an aggressive attack, but he was pulled back by someone beside him.
Following that, a few mountain bandits who probably held fairly high ranks gathered in front of the second mountain bandit leader.
“This intruder is very highly skilled in martial arts. He easily killed twelve of our people. If we attack rashly, I’m afraid we’ll suffer even more casualties,” one of them said.
“Yes, Second Leader. Since he has made a request, we’ll do as he says. This is the only way to ensure the great general’s safety.”
“It’s just another two hours. We can afford to wait,” another person said.
And so the discussion continued.
Qin Xiaoyao’s hearing was very good. When she heard these words, she felt a little gleeful.
Hehe! It seemed that she could delay another two hours.
Unlike Qin Xiaoyao who was gloating, the second mountain bandit leader’s face was already as black as thunder.
These people didn’t dare to go forward because they were afraid of death, or they were afraid that too many of their men would die.
Fighting for the great general’s sake? It was all nonsense!
However, even though he knew this, he couldn’t say anything.
In fact, he couldn’t even act willfully.
Otherwise, he would have to bear the infamy of betraying the great general to usurp the leadership position.
In this way, even if he killed the intruder on the other side and successfully became the leader, the people under his command would probably not submit to him. It might even leave hidden dangers for him when he was in power in the future.
“Alright! Then I’ll give you two more hours.”
“Two hours from now, if you still don’t hand over our great general, regardless of what you say, we’ll barge in on a killing spree at that juncture!” The second mountain bandit leader narrowed his eyes and gave his ultimatum.
“Alright! Just get the silver notes ready.” However, Qin Xiaoyao merely shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as if she didn’t take the second mountain bandit leader seriously at all.
With that, she didn’t even wait for the second mountain bandit leader to reply and went back into the dungeon.
The second mountain bandit leader was downright incensed.
He clenched his fists and took a few deep breaths. Eventually, he still relaxed his fists.
Everyone looked at the second mountain bandit leader, and no one dared to step forward and speak.
“What are you still standing there for? Go and prepare the silver notes!” Suddenly, the second mountain bandit leader bellowed.
“Yes!” Someone quickly responded.
Then, he quickly left.
The second mountain bandit leader flicked his sleeve angrily and left as well.
“Keep an eye on this place. I’ll come back in two hours!” He tossed out this statement as he went off.
Peace descended on the area outside the dungeon once more.
After Qin Xiaoyao entered the dungeon, she quickly threw the corpses at the entrance out of the dungeon like she was throwing trash.
After that, she brought back the obstacles that the mountain bandits had removed and blocked the entrance again.
After she was done, she dusted her hands and returned to the dungeon.
Although Song Que did not go out, he had been listening to all the happenings outside.
Even though he couldn’t hear the sounds clearly, he guessed that Qin Xiaoyao had probably solved the problem.
When he saw that his wife had returned safely, Song Que’s expression finally relaxed a little.
Then, without waiting for Song Que to ask, Qin Xiaoyao briefed him on the situation.
II
I’ve killed twelve of them and intimidated some of the mountain bandits outside. And that helped to give us another two hours.”
II
If the Imperial Court’s army still doesn’t attack the town, we’ll probably have to fight the mountain bandits in two hours,” Qin Xiaoyao said worriedly.
Song Que stretched out his hand and placed his hot, feverish hand on the back of Qin Xiaoyao’s hand.
When Qin Xiaoyao looked at him, he gave her a reassuring look.
II
Don’t worry. The siege is tonight.
II
Furthermore, the mountain bandits outside should have received the warning by now.
“When the time comes, as long as you can guard the dungeon for a while longer, they will give up when they see that they are unable to break into the dungeon.”
Qin Xiaoyao nodded.
“Mm-hmm.” She thought to herself that this was the only way now.
As she was feeling a little hungry, Qin Xiaoyao went to look for some food and had a simple meal with Song Que.
After that, they waited for two hours to pass.
The time passed by quickly.
As Qin Xiaoyao kept watch while Song Que rested, a sound was finally heard from outside.
This time, it wasn’t the sound of the obstacles being destroyed, but the shouts of the mountain bandits.
When Song Que heard the voice, he immediately shifted his head away from Qin Xiaoyao’s body and looked at her worriedly.
“Don’t worry. Wait here. I’m going to take a look.” Qin Xiaoyao gave a reassuring smile.
She reached out and patted Song Que’s shoulder. Then, she stood up, took the dagger, and headed outside.
“If you don’t come out, we’ll force our way in!” Just as she was about to reach the entrance, Qin Xiaoyao heard the second mountain bandit leader shout out.
His tone was angry and anxious. It was obvious that he couldn’t wait any longer.
“What’s the hurry?” Qin Xiaoyao shot back.
As soon as these words came out, the outside of the dungeon became quiet.
However, it was only for a moment before the second mountain bandit leader’s voice was heard again.
“We’ve already prepared the silver notes. Where’s our great general?”
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t answer. She was deliberating whether she should remove the obstacles or not. After that, she would go out and toy with the mountain bandits for a while..