Zhang Quan dared not take the main city road and was afraid to walk through the wilderness in the middle of the night. He hurriedly ran along a small path, knowing that if he followed this path for forty or fifty li, he would reach a small county town. By then, it would be daylight, and they could hire a cart, which would be much easier.
Zhang Quan thought his plan was perfect, but unexpectedly, after running only two or three li, he saw a person standing in the middle of the road. Zhang Quan’s heart raced; in the pitch darkness, someone waiting on this small path in the middle of the night was clearly waiting for him.
Still, he trembled and asked, “Who’s there?”
The person spoke with a low, hoarse voice, muffled by a face covering: “Zhang Quan, the Xu family has always trusted you, yet you steal and sell silk from the workshop. Come back with me to confess.”
Hearing the voice, Zhang Quan realized it was an elderly woman. Seeing her form was not robust, his courage immediately grew. Having decided to run away, how could he obediently return to confess? If more people had come, he might have complied, but now there were only two men, and the other was just an elderly woman.
He stepped forward contemptuously and reached out to push her: “Move!”
Suddenly, he felt the world spinning.
Before he could react, he was thrown down, his arm twisted behind his back and raised high, his shoulder pinned down so he couldn’t move, his face pressed against the ground.
The small manager, frightened, tried to run but only managed two steps before being thrown down next to Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan felt the pressure on his shoulder disappear as the elderly woman let go of him to catch the small manager. He tried to get up but in an instant, the small manager was pinned down. Hearing the elderly woman’s growl, “Stay down and don’t lift your head,” he dared not move, only whimpering, “Please have mercy, I have bank notes, take them all…”
At this moment, a distant fire flickered on the small path, and a group of people carrying torches approached. Yu Yi silently retreated into the darkness beside the road. Zhang Quan and the others remained motionless.
