Chapter 66 – Rebirth: The Poisonous Concubine (07)
The old woman was a typical bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.
Seeing Yu Chenyi’s dark expression and anger, she was terrified that the next strike of his hand might land on her. She immediately shut her mouth and glared at Wei Yuyan instead. The latter shrank back, lowering her head, not daring to meet Yu Chenyi’s gaze.
His eyes were too terrifying—just like in their past life when he had stormed into the imperial palace with his soldiers. Cold, ruthless, and indifferent, as if she were nothing more than an insignificant ant in his eyes.
Wei Yuyan’s identity as the prime minister’s daughter had not yet been revealed, so she was unable to use her status to her advantage. However, thanks to her beauty, the officers escorting her back to the yamen were at least not rough with her. They even allowed her to wear a veil out of courtesy.
That old woman was full of nonsense—what if she was merely trying to drag someone else down with her? What if Wei Yuyan was actually innocent?
That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
The officers in the pawnshop split into two groups—one took Wei Yuyan back to the yamen, while the other accompanied the magistrate and Yu Chenyi to the courtyard where the hostages were being held.
With Yu Chenyi’s striking appearance, the officers around him merely served as his backdrop. Fortunately, there weren’t too many of them, so their presence didn’t attract undue attention. Instead, they blended in well, resembling a wealthy young master taking his attendants out to enjoy the Lantern Festival.
Some bold young women batted their eyes at Yu Chenyi, “accidentally” dropping their handkerchiefs in his path. Had it been anyone else, perhaps a romantic story would have begun.
However, Yu Chenyi did not even glance sideways. His expression remained cold as he walked straight past them. Worse yet, he accidentally stepped on one of the embroidered handkerchiefs. That single step not only crushed the delicate fabric but also shattered the hearts of many admiring ladies.
Meanwhile, inside the courtyard, Bai Mo was waiting for the perfect moment to act.
The Lantern Festival was a prime opportunity for the kidnappers to make money—they wouldn’t waste such a profitable event. The busiest time of the festival was also the easiest time to slip through unnoticed. As expected, most of the traffickers had gone out, leaving only two men to guard the door.
Once Bai Mo confirmed that the kidnappers who had left wouldn’t be returning anytime soon, he signaled to the young women. Despite their fear, they each took their assigned positions and then, all at once, let out loud, piercing screams.
A single woman’s voice was sharp enough, but with more than a dozen of them screaming in unison, the noise was enough to make anyone’s eardrums ache.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The courtyard gate shook violently under a barrage of pounding fists.
The kidnappers guarding the entrance, fierce and brutish, swung the door open with an irritated scowl. “What the hell are you knocking for? Shut the—”
Their words died in their throats.
Standing before them were three shirtless, muscular men, their expressions even more menacing than their own. These men were clearly not to be trifled with.
Swallowing their unfinished words, one of the kidnappers forced a nervous smile and awkwardly asked,
“Uh… Brothers, how can we help you?”
The three burly men had just returned from a long day of hard labor, utterly exhausted and eager to get some rest. However, the relentless wailing of women inside the courtyard made it impossible for them to sleep. Annoyed, they stormed over to confront the source of the noise.
“I should be asking you—what the hell is going on in there? All that yelling and crying—how is anyone supposed to sleep? What, only your house has women? The rest of us don’t have wives and children too?”
Even when the neighbor’s baby cried in the middle of the night, it wasn’t as irritating as a dozen women wailing at once. The sounds of fireworks and human voices were completely different—one woman alone could be as noisy as five hundred ducks, and while they could sleep through the background noise of the Lantern Festival, they couldn’t stand the deafening racket of a thousand ducks quacking in their ears.
“Yes, yes, we understand. A distant relative of ours had some trouble, so the whole family came to seek shelter. The women got emotional and started crying. I’ll go deal with them right away, I swear…”
The kidnappers nodded and bowed apologetically as they approached, getting a clearer look at the muscular men standing before them. Their bodies were packed with solid muscle—real, raw strength. The kind of men who could probably knock them flat with a single punch.
The noise was too loud and chaotic for the laborers to tell exactly how many women were inside. They only muttered something about there being too many wives before telling the kidnappers to keep them quiet and leaving.
Once the door was shut, the kidnappers let out a long sigh of relief. However, as they listened to the women inside still wailing, a surge of anger boiled within them. If it weren’t for these girls, they wouldn’t have been threatened just now. If he hadn’t been quick-witted, they might have gotten beaten up. Worse, if they ruined the boss’s business, they wouldn’t just lose money—they might lose their lives.
The girls had been fake-crying for a long time, growing increasingly anxious when the kidnappers didn’t open the door. Just as they were starting to worry, the door was suddenly flung open. The kidnappers, seething with fury, stormed inside. The already flimsy wooden door groaned under the force, splitting with a few cracks.
Before, the girls’ greatest fear was the kidnappers barging in. But now, as the men appeared before them, they actually felt a sense of relief.
“Shut up, all of you! You’ll have plenty of time to cry at the next place. For now, keep your damn mouths shut!”
Had the kidnappers remained calm, the girls might have been able to endure. But their anger only reminded them of what Bai Mo had told them about the traffickers’ plans—being violated for ransom, sold to brothels in faraway towns, or sent to remote villages where they’d be forced to marry either cruel men or those with disabilities. Some might even be expected to serve an entire village of men…
A fate worse than death.
The thought of such horrors made the girls cry even harder. They had been kidnapped, beaten, and cursed at—were they not even allowed to cry now?
Overwhelmed by their helplessness, they glared at the two kidnappers with pure hatred. The louder the men shouted at them, the louder they sobbed.
Seizing the moment, Bai Mo quietly slipped behind one of the kidnappers, clutching a sturdy wooden stick that had been “generously donated” by Xiao Bo. With a swift motion, he swung the stick and knocked the man unconscious.
The girls froze in shock, their tears stopping mid-sob.
Just like that… it was over?
Could they go home now?
Two kidnappers remained, but only one had entered the room. That meant there was still one person guarding the outside. Fortunately, Madam Yu reacted quickly. Forgetting about her usual composure, she let out a loud wail, cursing the kidnappers for their utter lack of humanity while simultaneously signaling the girls—Cry! Cry louder!
Immediately, the room was once again filled with wails and sobs. The kidnapper outside clutched his head in frustration, overwhelmed by the noise. He was so annoyed that he failed to notice the sudden silence of his companion. Instead, he simply thought his partner was useless—he couldn’t even get a few women to shut up.
Little did he know, Bai Mo had already crept up behind him. With a swift motion, he swung a thick wooden club down onto the man’s head. The kidnapper let out a muffled grunt, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the ground.
“Mo Mo, hurry and run while you can,” Xiao Bobao urged, bringing up the pre-planned escape route.
Bai Mo pulled out a rope and, together with Madam Yu, securely tied up the two unconscious men. Before leaving, he stuffed a handful of straw into their mouths—just in case he hadn’t hit them hard enough and they woke up mid-escape, ruining the rescue mission with their shouting.
The girls quickly moved to unlock the other rooms, freeing the captives inside. They woke up those who had fainted, and for those who wouldn’t wake, they supported them two by two. At that moment, it didn’t matter whether they were noble ladies or commoners—they were all in this together. No one would be left behind.
“Move quickly!” Bai Mo pushed open the back door, motioning for the girls to slip outside. He handed the physicalized map from Xiao Bobao to Madam Yu, letting her take the lead, while he stayed at the rear to guard their escape.
It had been Bai Mo who devised the plan, and he was the one brave enough to infiltrate the kidnappers’ den. Naturally, everyone regarded the young boy as their pillar of strength. Meanwhile, Madam Yu, as the eldest among them, carried the authority of an experienced adult, making her an equally trustworthy leader.
“Be careful,” she told him.
Though their time together had been short, Bai Mo’s courage and decisiveness had left a deep impression on Madam Yu. She admired him greatly. Her son was truly fortunate—what a wonderful daughter-in-law he would have in the future! Just the thought made her secretly delighted.
The girls, being well-bred noblewomen, had been trained in etiquette from a young age. That kind of conditioning wasn’t something they could shake off in an instant. Despite their best efforts, their pace was still frustratingly slow in Bai Mo’s eyes.
There was no helping it—urging them faster wouldn’t make much of a difference, especially with a few unconscious girls still being carried along. Bai Mo didn’t say anything, but he constantly glanced back toward the room. The bound kidnappers lay sprawled out like dead pigs on the straw, showing no signs of waking up.
“Mo Mo, you should trust your own strength. They won’t be waking up anytime soon—you can relax,” Xiao Bobao reassured him.
“Mm-hmm~” Bai Mo thought for a moment, feeling like he had forgotten something. He watched the girls file out in an orderly fashion, then glanced back at the only two kidnappers left behind. Suddenly, it hit him—most of the kidnappers had gone out to capture more victims!
Even though he had saved these girls, if the kidnappers returned with new captives, the cycle would repeat itself. They would still have hostages in their hands!
“D*mn it, I miscalculated!” He had considered everything—except this.
If the kidnappers still had hostages, even the authorities would hesitate to act recklessly. That meant the criminals could escape once again, and even more innocent people would suffer.
Frustrated, the young boy smacked his forehead, deeply annoyed with himself.
Xiao Bobao, however, remained unconcerned. She kept her eyes on the map, where a red dot marked Yu Chenyi’s position and several blue dots represented the scattered kidnappers. With full confidence, she declared, “Before those guys even make it back, Yu Chenyi could have raided their hideout three times over.”
Bai Mo’s eyes lit up. That’s right—there was still Brother Chenyi!
“Xiao Bobao, you’re amazing!” If Xiao Bobao’s little panda avatar could materialize, Bai Mo would have hugged and kissed her. “You’re a genius!”
Xiao Bobao’s face turned red with pride. “The system reflects its host—since Mo Mo is smart, I can’t afford to fall behind~” She had long realized that the heroine of this world was completely unreliable. So, during Bai Mo’s dates with Yu Chenyi, she had taken the time to study multiple books on military strategy and tactics.
Just as Yu Chenyi arrived with his men at the courtyard gate, the old woman’s eyes flickered. She immediately opened her mouth, intending to warn those inside.
“Boss, the authorities—mmph…!”
The officers reacted swiftly, covering her mouth, but she had still managed to shout out half a sentence. The group tensed, fearing that those inside would flee. However, the courtyard remained eerily silent—there wasn’t a single sound.
Just as Yu Chenyi was about to kick down the door, it creaked open with a squeak. A flash of pink appeared, and a mischievous young face peeked out. Upon seeing Yu Chenyi, the boy beamed with joy and called out, “Brother Chenyi~”
The gates swung wide open. Yu Chenyi spread his arms just in time to catch the boy as he leaped into his embrace. His once-empty chest was now filled with warmth.
Tightening his grip around Bai Mo’s slender waist, he murmured affectionately, “Didn’t I tell you to go home? Why are you running around like this…” His voice held a trace of reprimand, but he couldn’t bring himself to sound stern. Instead, there was only warmth and helpless indulgence in his gaze, which never once left Bai Mo.
“I wanted to save people~ Besides, I did send someone to inform you guys,” the boy’s soft, sweet voice came from within Yu Chenyi’s arms. “I had everything planned out.”
The heartwarming reunion after such a perilous ordeal was touching, but the magistrate was more concerned about the other captives. Anxiously, he asked, “What about the others? Where are the girls who were kidnapped?”
Hearing this, Bai Mo finally lifted his head from Yu Chenyi’s embrace. His fair, handsome face glowed with a smile that left people momentarily dazed.
With a composed and unhurried tone, he replied, “The kidnappers all went out to find more victims. The girls have already been taken out through the back door by Madam Yu. I stayed behind specifically to wait for you.”
Infiltrating alone, alerting the authorities, rescuing hostages, coordinating an inside-outside operation—he had orchestrated an entire rescue mission seamlessly.
Everyone present couldn’t help but marvel at Bai Mo’s boldness, intelligence, and meticulous planning. If they had been in his place, they wouldn’t have been able to come up with such a flawless emergency strategy the moment they received the news.
A true young hero!