Chapter 229: 222: Escaped

Tang Yuxin immediately took off her shoes and placed them in front of Xu Miaomiao. “Put these on.”

Xu Miaomiao continued to shed tears, asking, “What will you wear?”

“I frequently gather herbs in the mountains, sometimes barefoot. My feet are tough. You went to primary school so you know some hands can dig out things like a hoe, right?”

Xu Miaomiao nodded. Of course, she had learned that, innocently tried it herself and ended up with pricked hands. Even Chen Lidong had laughed at her for a long time.

“Put them on,” she untied the laces and helped Xu Miaomiao put on the shoes. Then, she herself remained barefoot.

When they stepped outside, the sky was still dark. The chill wind sent shivers down their spines.

“Where are we going?” Xu Miaomiao asked, shaking from the cold.

There seemed to be no villages or shops around. Where could they go? Where could they run? What should they do? She was terrified of being caught and brought back. She didn’t want to be sold off or be locked up in a tiny dark room bearing children.

“We’ll follow the road,” Tang Yuxin pointed forward. Regardless, they had to stick to the main road. Despite being a group of women, no, girls, who were starving and could only cry, they had numbers on their side.

Even if faced with threats, they were not afraid. Moreover, she had some drugs. Worst case scenario, they could incapacitate anyone with drugs and she could carry Xu Miaomiao away herself.

Don’t ask why she’s so heartless and unfeeling.

She wasn’t that noble, nor was she willing to sacrifice for others. She loved her life and didn’t want to cause her father to bury his child again. She didn’t want her family’s hard-earned peaceful life to be devastated again by her tragic fate.

If necessary, she could abandon the strangers they’ve met and take Xu Miaomiao. For her, it wouldn’t be difficult.

Some were sick, some were weak, some were unconscious, and they were proceeding very slowly. The girl they were carrying was still unconscious. The men that Tang Yuxin had thoroughly tied up were unlikely to wake up easily.

Looking at the dim sky ahead, the dawn was still hours away. The cold air brushing against her face made her shudder, but it cleared her mind.

“Let’s go,” she said, leading Xu Miaomiao to jog slowly ahead. They couldn’t slow down, stop, or rest if they wanted to survive.

At that moment, no one dared to speak. They were conserving energy to keep moving, no one suggested leaving the unconscious girl. When one person tired, the other would take over. Thus, they silently and unknowing of the distance, continued in a place without villages or shops.

“Wait!” Tang Yuxin suddenly halted, startling the other girls. Xu Miaomiao gripped Tang Yuxin’s arm tightly in fear.

Could those people have caught up? Were those people here? Would she be caught and sold again?

As her body trembled uncontrollably, a sense of despair started to flood her heart. If she were caught…

She’d rather die now. At least, she would die cleanly.

“Yuxin, if something happens, let’s die together. I’m scared…”

She was gripping Tang Yuxin’s arm so tightly she seemed likely to rip her clothes.

Tang Yuxin was staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts. This place was barren with not even trees for cover. They couldn’t hide. Even she didn’t know what to do.

Maybe at this point, they have to leave to fate after exhausting all means.

At that moment, the girls behind probably realized what was happening and began to cry.

Perhaps they left the Tiger’s Den only to enter a wolf’s lair.

Then, footsteps from a distance grew louder and louder, but they were different, very orderly and uniform, seemingly following some pattern.

Not far away, as the mist gradually dispersed, a group of people appeared right before their eyes.

They were dressed neatly, and everyone’s steps were consistent.

“It’s the police, it’s the police,” someone shouted and the rest shouted, crying, “police.”

“Mr. Gu, it seems like there are people over there,” a policeman said to the man at the front, “sounds like there are women crying.”

“Let’s go check it out,” the tall man at the front instructed, completely unaffected by any storms or gales.

“Yes, Mr. Gu.” Saying that, someone hurried forward, and when he returned, he looked noticeably shaken.

“Mr. Gu, there are several girls ahead. They were kidnapped by criminals, but escaped. One of them has been…”

The policeman’s voice trailed off, clearly upset.

All of them were around sixteen or seventeen years old; the youngest seemed to be only thirteen. He thought of his own fourteen-year-old sister at home and imagined how insane he would be if she underwent the same ordeal. Most families today only have one child. If the child is gone, how can the parents cope? Isn’t the family entirely ruined, then?

“Let’s go,” the tall man led the way towards the girls.

Seeing the police, the girls broke down even more.

Even Tang Yuxin felt a sting in her eyes. It was relief. Finally, they could go home.

“What happened?” the tall man asked. His familiar voice made Tang Yuxin look up. In the dim light, his features were indistinct, but she could see his upright nose, narrow eyes, thin lips, and unusually tall height.

It was Gu Ning.

Yes, it was Gu Ning. Tang Yuxin wouldn’t mistake him. Gu Ning was this tall, his manner of speaking was like that, and his habitual actions. When thinking, he would fiddle with his cufflinks. It was just like that.

As for why Gu Ning was here, Tang Yuxin didn’t know. Maybe it had something to do with his family. After all, the Gu family owned one of the top security companies in the country.

The girls tearfully recounted their ordeal about how they were kidnapped, locked up and finally managed to escape when the kidnappers were fast asleep.