Song Xiao had been tied up for quite a long time and his limbs were numb, so he was somewhat unsteady when he stood up. Yu Tang massaged his arms and legs as he held him, then indicated for Song Xiao to stay still first while he took a look at their surroundings.
The sky was already completely dark. This warehouse wasn’t very big, and contained some old wood; this had probably been a lumber warehouse before. While the two bosses were discussing matters inside the building, the other small bandits were in the courtyard. Next to the window, Yu Tang leaned forward slightly to look outside. There were bright lights in the courtyard and the bandits were holding guns as they chatted among themselves.
Behind the warehouse was a dark and dense forest. It was already autumn, but the temperature here was still sizzling hot; it was likely that they had fled all the way to a tropical region. Cars could be driven in, which indicated that this place wasn’t far from the road. However, they couldn’t head for the road. There was only one road in the wild; if they ran toward it, they would be sitting ducks, and the kidnappers would be able to catch up to them very quickly.
There were a lot of people in the courtyard – more than twenty at the very least – and half of them had guns. There was no way that with his strength alone, Yu Tang would be able to take Song Xiao with him and run off. Bearing all this in mind, they could only choose to flee into the mountains.
Song Xiao exchanged looks with Yu Tang, then lowered his head. He picked up one of the kidnappers’ shabby canvas bags and filled it with all the usable items from the room, taking Scarface’s lighter, cigarettes, and phone while he was at it.
Yu Tang took out the pistol that was in the bag and stuck it into his waistband before slinging the canvas bag over his shoulder. With his bare hands, he dismantled the simple and crude back window, and jumped out with a whoosh.
“Who…” Someone was pissing against a tree in the shadows. By the time he turned around, Yu Tang had already twisted his neck.
After ensuring that no one else was around, Yu Tang turned to the window with his arms wide open, hinting to Song Xiao to jump.
Song Xiao nimbly jumped out and Yu Tang caught him firmly, then the two of them ran noiselessly into the forest.
There wasn’t any light in the mountains; they couldn’t even see their fingers stretched out in the pitch dark. They groped their way through the tall forest trees, and only then did some faint moonlight shine through the leaves.
Yu Tang held a dagger in one hand and pulled Song Xiao along with the other. Because he couldn’t see the road, he hacked out a path through the bushes in front of him.
“This is a tropical rainforest; there are snakes and poisonous insects in the underbrush.” Song Xiao was a little worried and indicated for the emperor to wait a moment as he fumbled around in the bag before taking out two canvas strips. He then crouched down, planning to wrap them around the emperor’s legs.
“I’ll do it.” Yu Tang understood Song Xiao’s intention and took the canvas strips to wind them around his lower legs and ankles in two or three seconds with nimble movements; he had done this often when he had been on the march in the past.
With his legs tightly wrapped, it was easier for him to keep walking. Yu Tang looked at the moving lights in the warehouse in the distance; the kidnappers had probably discovered their disappearance.
Not daring to tarry, Yu Tang pulled Song Xiao along with him and continued to run further into the mountains.
“Useless! You’re supposed to protect the young master, but you came back on your own!” The Yu family banquet was forced to come to an end, and the family head looked furiously at the bodyguards.
“Calm down, family head. I’ll take people to look for him right away.” The chief of the bodyguards, that was, our great general, volunteered his services. The emperor and empress had been kidnapped; things couldn’t get any worse. They had to be found immediately!
“Dad, should we make a police report?” third aunt asked anxiously.