mtl008 Chapter 483 Rescuing Brother Cui
Chapter 483 Rescuing Brother Cui
Shi Wanxia's eyes reddened at the mention of Cui Zhihao.
She remembered yesterday, when she was lying in the willow bushes outside the prison, she saw Lei Zhao come out carrying a blood-stained leather whip, the tip of which was still dripping blood. Her heart ached as if it were being squeezed.
"Let's do it tonight."
She bit her lip and handed the water bag back. "I'll disguise myself as a servant delivering water and sneak into the prison to distract the guards. You can go in through the secret passage to find Brother Cui."
Lin Yiyu frowned and reached out to press down on her shoulder: "It's too dangerous. Lei Zhao's men are very strict with the handymen, especially a young woman like you..."
"Xiaoyu,"
Shi Wanxia interrupted him, her eyes shining brightly, "I can't let you take the risk alone. The old woman who does odd jobs in the prison knows me. I'll pretend to be her niece, and no one will suspect anything."
"You understand mechanisms; we'll need you for the secret passage."
Lin Yiyu looked into her eyes and didn't argue anymore—he knew that once Shi Wanxia made up her mind, nothing could change it.
He untied a short crossbow from his waist and pulled out a small packet of sleeping pills: "Take this. If you get caught, just sprinkle it on people's faces."
"I'll wait for your signal at the entrance to the secret passage. It'll be three short whistles and two long ones. Don't get it wrong."
As night fell, the lanterns of Chuzhou City lit up, but offered no warmth whatsoever—the rebels' lanterns were blood-red, hanging at the prison gate, making the bloodstains on the ground appear particularly glaring.
Shi Wanxia, dressed in a gray cloth servant's uniform with a blue cloth wrapped around her head, followed the old servant woman into the prison. She had the sleeping potion given to her by Lin Yiyu in her pocket, and her palms were sweaty.
"Wanxia, you'd better be careful. General Lei is in a bad mood today and just beat up two jailers."
The old woman lowered her voice and handed her a bucket of fermented vegetable liquid, saying, "Take this liquid to the East Prison and come out quickly. Don't linger."
Shi Wanxia nodded and carried the broth forward.
The East Prison wasn't far from the West Prison where Choi Ji-ho was imprisoned. She deliberately walked slowly, glancing at the guards' positions out of the corner of her eye—two guards were dozing off against the pillars, their knives slung diagonally at their waists.
She walked to the entrance of the west prison and saw Lei Zhao's leather whip hanging on the wall, and steel needles soaking in a copper basin on the ground. Her heart clenched.
She gritted her teeth, took out a small whistle from her pocket, brought it to her lips, and gently blew three short whistles, then two long ones.
A moment later, a loud crash came from afar, as if someone had knocked over a bucket of water.
The two dozing jailers woke up instantly, cursing and running towards the sound. Shi Wanxia took the opportunity to slip into the west prison. She had just seen Cui Zhihao chained to the stone wall when she heard footsteps behind her—it was Lin Yiyu.
"Young Master Cui!" Lin Yiyu strode over, took out a wire from his pocket, and was about to unlock it.
Choi Ji-ho suddenly opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Wait, this lock has a hidden groove, we need to..."
Before he could finish speaking, he began to cough violently, and the phlegm he coughed up contained traces of blood.
Shi Wanxia quickly supported him, tears welling up in her eyes: "Brother Cui, don't speak, we'll get you out of here."
Following Cui Zhihao's instructions, Lin Yiyu bent the wire into a hook shape and poked it into the left side of the lock cylinder. With a "click," the lock opened.
Just as he was about to help Cui Zhihao up, he heard Lei Zhao's voice from outside the cell door: "Who's in the west cell?!"
"Oops!"
Lin Yiyu helped Cui Zhihao to the storage room behind the stone wall, and Shi Wanxia followed and hid inside. Just as they closed the door, they heard Lei Zhao's footsteps coming in.
What was that sound just now?
Lei Zhao's voice was menacing, "You two, search carefully!"
The storage room was pitch black. Shi Wanxia could feel Cui Zhihao's body trembling, not from fear, but from pain.
Lin Yiyu gripped the crossbow tightly, his fingertips pressed against the trigger, ready to act as soon as the door was pushed open.
After a while, a jailer's voice rang out: "General, there's no one here. It's probably the work of rats."
Lei Zhao sneered, "Keep a close eye on him! If Cui Zhihao gets away, you'll all be dead!"
After saying that, the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
The three breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Yiyu pushed open the door first, and after confirming that no one was outside, he helped Cui Zhihao out.
"The secret passage is in the west corner; we need to hurry."
He held onto Cui Zhihao's arm, with Shi Wanxia following behind, holding a short knife and keeping watch.
Just as they reached the entrance to the secret passage, they heard shouts of killing coming from afar—Lei Zhao had discovered that the jailers had been moved away and had sent people to search the prison.
Lin Yiyu forcefully pushed open the stone slab of the secret passage and helped Cui Zhihao crawl inside. Shi Wanxia followed behind. Just as she was about to close the stone slab, she saw two prison guards running over with knives in hand: "Stop!"
Lin Yiyu reacted quickly, pulling out a sleeping potion from his pocket and scattering it outside. The two prison guards instantly collapsed to the ground.
He quickly closed the stone slab, plunging the secret passage into complete darkness, with only the tinderbox in Lin Yiyu's arms providing a glimmer of light.
The secret passage was narrow and damp, allowing only one person to pass sideways.
Lin Yiyu helped Cui Zhihao walk in front, while Shi Wanxia followed behind, illuminating the pebbles on the ground with a tinderbox in her hand, afraid that Cui Zhihao would trip.
After walking for about half an hour, light finally appeared ahead—it was the exit of the secret passage, leading to a dry well outside the city.
But as soon as he climbed out of the dry well, he heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance. Lin Yiyu's expression changed: "It's a rebel patrol! Quickly hide in the woods!"
As soon as the three hid in the woods, they saw a group of rebels riding by, their torches illuminating the woods.
Cui Zhihao leaned against the tree, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier. Shi Wanxia touched his forehead, which was frighteningly hot.
"We need to find a place for Brother Cui to receive treatment."
She looked at Lin Yiyu, "We definitely can't go into the city, and the dilapidated temple outside the city isn't safe..."
Lin Yiyu thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "I know a place. There's an abandoned pharmacy in the south of the city. I took shelter from the rain there last year. There are still some old medicine chests inside. Maybe we can find some medicine there."
Under the cover of night, the three bypassed the rebel patrols and headed south of the city.
Cui Zhihao couldn't walk anymore, so Lin Yiyu carried him on his back, with Shi Wanxia supporting him from behind. They walked for a while and then rested, until they finally arrived at the abandoned pharmacy just before dawn.
The pharmacy's door was broken, and the inside was covered in dust. Most of the medicine bottles on the shelves were empty.
Lin Yiyu helped Cui Zhihao to the bed in the inner room. Shi Wanxia began to rummage through the medicine box. After searching for a long time, she only found a small bottle of wound medicine and a few packets of fever reducer.
"That's all I have."
She walked over with the medicine, and tears streamed down her face as she looked at Choi Ji-ho's bleeding wound.
Lin Yiyu took the medicine and carefully cleaned Cui Zhihao's wound, moving very gently, afraid of hurting him.
Shi Wanxia sat beside him, looking at Lin Yiyu's profile. His forehead was covered in sweat, but he didn't stop what he was doing.
Suddenly, Cui Zhihao snorted, opened his eyes, and looked at the two of them: "You... don't worry about me, find the people first... the disaster victims in the city are being held by Lei Zhao near the granary, and they're short of food..."
Shi Wanxia quickly pressed him down: "Brother Cui, don't speak, focus on healing your injuries first. We will save the people, but you have to live."
Lin Yiyu nodded: "Young Master Cui, don't worry, we will find a way."
"We can't get out right now. The rebels have tightened the checkpoints outside the city. We can only lie in wait, figure out the troop deployment inside and outside the city, and then look for an opportunity to rescue the people."
Over the next few days, Lin Yiyu went out every day to gather information, while Shi Wanxia stayed at the pharmacy to take care of Cui Zhihao.
When Lin Yiyu returned, he would always bring some dry food and water, and sometimes some herbs—picked from the mountains outside the city, which could cure minor injuries.
"There are about five thousand soldiers in the city. There are three bronze cannons at the east gate, infantry at the west gate, and five hundred people guarding the grain and fodder at the north granary. The people are locked up in the courtyard next to the north granary and are only given one meal of thin porridge a day."