The Tempting Educated Youth Married to a Rough Man-Chapter 102 - 100: Outlaws of the Great Grasslands

Chapter 102: Chapter 100: Outlaws of the Great Grasslands

Getting on the train was a mess, even for someone as delicate as Wen Ran. Two days on the train, and her life felt halfway gone.

Regret, it’s pure regret now.

If I had known, I would have just stayed home asleep and not come, sob sob.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Xiao reached out and pinched Wen Ran’s cheek, "look at my big girl, all wilted. It’s okay, hang in there!

Once we get there, everything will be fine."

Wen Ran murmured weakly, "Auntie, how much longer? I might not make it."

The old man driving the carriage was quite calm, "One day."

Wen Ran: "."

She peacefully closed her eyes. Maybe she should just die now.

Hongguo, even though she was also drooping, didn’t forget to snuggle close to Wen Ran, "Sis, sis, I’ll keep you warm."

Without opening her eyes, Wen Ran instinctively snuggled Hongguo into her arms.

"Behave, catching a cold would be awful."

"Okay."

Xiao Chenye didn’t say a word, quietly moving in front of Wen Ran, shielding her from the biting wind.

Mr. Xiao rummaged through the bag and pulled out a bottle of liquor, "Everyone, have a couple of sips to warm yourselves."

The alcohol burned going down, lacking any pleasant flavor; her face scrunched up like a bun. Oh, it tastes awful.

In the Northwest, the vast grasslands were already covered in snowflakes. Lying on the carriage, Wen Ran looked up at the vividly blue sky, grinning foolishly.

Well, even though it’s been a bit tough, it’s still quite fun.

From afar, Wen Ran seemed to spot a group of small black dots.

She squinted, her heart pounding, with a sense of ominous foreboding?!

Mrs. Xiao noticed it too. As the distance closed, those small black dots gradually took shape, revealing a group of men riding on tall horses.

Hearing the shouts coming from afar, Mrs. Xiao was overjoyed, waving her hands excitedly in response.

Her face flushed, "Oh my, the locals here are so enthusiastic, greeting us from so far away!"

Wen Ran perked up, quickly sitting up, just in time for the carriage to jolt over a bump. If not for Xiao Chenye holding her steady, she might have bumped her head.

"Slow down."

After ensuring Wen Ran was sitting securely, Xiao Chenye withdrew his hand. Wen Ran looked up, and the two exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts.

Something’s wrong.

Very, very wrong.

"What should we do?" Xiao Chenye leaned closer to Wen Ran under the guise of shielding her from the wind, lowering his voice, "I have a feeling..."

"Hmm, let’s wait and see."

Hongguo also realized something was off, dumbfounded.

Yet, the remaining three from the Xiao family seemed quite joyful. Mr. Xiao was drinking, and Xiao Chenxing was just as excited, his little hand raised high, happily waving along with his mother.

The crowd cheered as they surged forward, riding tall horses that brought their carriage to a halt.

Mrs. Xiao finally realized something was amiss.

The leader, with a face full of bushy beard, had cleverly tied a braid with colorful strings in it.

Laughing heartily, "Haven’t seen such adorable inland folks in a while, greeting us?!"

His eyes lingered on Xiao Chenxing, smiling, "Could it be, she’s taken a liking to me?"

Xiao Chenxing was embarrassed nearly to death, while Mrs. Xiao shielded her daughter, not acting rashly, instead looking towards Wen Ran and Xiao Chenye.

Xiao Chenye forced a smile, "Brother, this is all a misunderstanding. We’re just visiting relatives and don’t really know the customs. Did we unintentionally offend anyone?"

"Offend?"

The group of bearded men behind him also chuckled, "It’s not about offending."

"Be sensible and quickly hand over your clothes and everything on the carriage!"

Xiao Chenye’s heart sank, looking at Wen Ran with nervous eyes.

"This, this won’t do," Xiao Chenye said awkwardly, "It’s so cold, if we take off our clothes, we’ll freeze to death."

"Yeah," Wen Ran echoed, "If it’s not possible, can we just give you the things?"

"If you freeze to death, what’s it to us?"

"This is against the law," Mrs. Xiao trembled, "Don’t you people have any respect for the law?"

The bearded man laughed, "Law? On the prairie, I’m the law! Besides, this place is vast. Even if you freeze to death, who could trace it back to me?"

Blatant outlaws.

"Besides..."

He swept his gaze over everyone, eyes full of disdain, "If you die, won’t these things still be ours?"

If it weren’t for the trouble and bad luck of stripping corpses, they wouldn’t be wasting time, just finishing it with a knife.

Wen Ran felt a bit difficult, if they ran, the carriage wouldn’t outrun horses, and fighting, two against four against a large group on the other side...

"Boss, should we make a move?"

"Yeah, what are we waiting for?"

The other side was noisy, thoughts racing in Wen Ran’s mind. Before she could think of something, the driver slowly pulled a knife from his coat, placing it against Mr. Xiao’s neck.

"Will you strip yourselves, or do I have to do it?"

Wen Ran was dumbfounded, "Wait, you..."

The old man smirked smugly, "Surprised, aren’t you?"

Indeed, it was a surprise.

Turned out it wasn’t a coincidence at all, but inside and outside working together, they had been targeted from the very start.

Wen Ran thought again about the poisonous mushrooms in the space.

No, try negotiating again.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t sit well.

"Forget it."

Wen Ran sighed, seeming to accept her fate, "Even if we’re going to die, give us a decent way to go. We just got off the train and didn’t even have a single good meal."

"You have the right to make demands?"

"No," Wen Ran was surprisingly calm, "At worst, I’ll bash myself to death, and if you don’t mind the bloody mess on this hide, that’s fine by me."

Leather clothes are best not soaked in water; they lose warmth if they are.

The bearded man hesitated for a moment, but the little brother behind him suddenly spoke up, "You guys are good at cooking?"

"Yes."

"Boss, look, in this carriage, they’re either old or women, only one man can fight, what do we have to fear?

If not, just take them back. Speaking of which, we haven’t had a hot meal in a long time, how about..."

"Right, and look, these foreign women have such fair skin, paler than ours here."

Once this was said, many echoed, and the gazes directed at Wen Ran, Hongguo, and Xiao Chenxing became more intense.

The bearded man hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

Doing this trade is like licking blood off a knife, it could end badly.

The pressure is high, it’s understandable to want to release it.

"Alright, then take them back to our base."

As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, there were thunderous cheers, and Hongguo gripped Wen Ran’s clothes tightly. Wen Ran saw this and quietly patted Hongguo’s hand, signaling her to be at ease.

Everything is under control.

"Hmph! You all better behave," the little brothers rode tall horses, patrolling back and forth in front of the carriage, "If any of you don’t behave, don’t blame my knife for having no eyes!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Wen Ran nodded and bowed, "We’ll definitely behave."

For safety, the bearded man came down to tie up Mr. Xiao and Xiao Chenye.

The horse team surrounded the carriage, racing swiftly towards their base.