Chapter 109
Chapter 109: Then You Can Faint Yourself
[If you don’t give me milk today, I’ll cry without end.]
“This…”
The black-clad man holding her froze for a moment, then looked helplessly at the leader: “Boss, this little girl is crying. What should we do?”
“I can hear her.”
The leader’s voice was cold, his eyes full of hostility as he stared at Yun Wan Ning. He had never taken care of a child before—how was he supposed to know what to do when one cried?
“Shut up. Don’t cry. If you cry again, I’ll beat you.”
He stepped up to her, glaring fiercely to frighten her.
“Waa waa waa…”
But instead of stopping, the little girl cried even louder, kicking her feet with all the strength she had, as if she could cry the milk right out of someone.
[Go on, cry, cry. I dare you to hit me.]
[I’m only two months old and you dare to glare at me like that—do you have any humanity left?]
[What can a two-month-old possibly understand?]
[You must be picking on me on purpose.]
[Hmph, I warn you, I’m not easy to bully. If I get angry, it won’t be pleasant for you. You’d better keep those eyes sharp. Don’t think you can mess with me just because I look like a baby.]
“Uh, Boss, I think you scared her…”
Seeing her cry even harder, the man holding her grew even more flustered and timidly spoke up.
The leader’s breath hitched. Then, irritated, he muttered: “What a nuisance this brat is. Her crying is driving me mad. And even if this underground chamber is well soundproofed, it won’t hold if she keeps wailing. She might draw attention from above.”
“Then gag her, or knock her out.”
Everyone: “…”
“Boss, she’s so small. If we gag or knock her out and something happens, what will we do? I think she’s crying so hard because she’s hungry. Why don’t we find her something to eat?”
[Yes, exactly, I’m hungry. This fellow at least understands children—far better than your blockhead of a boss.]
[Since you said that, when my father’s men catch you, I’ll ask him to spare your life.]
Yun Wan Ning tilted her head, still crying hard while quietly studying the man holding her. Then a cold, annoyed voice came from nearby:
“Find her food? And where would we get it?”
Hearing that, Yun Wan Ning protested instantly in her mind:
[Seriously? You dare kidnap me without even having food prepared?]
[What, planning to starve me to death?]
[I’ll have you know, that’s murder, you know?]
“If knocking her out won’t do, and gagging her won’t do, then drugging her will work, right? If she keeps crying, I might just want to smash her to death.”
The leader gave a cold snort and pulled a packet of powder from his robe, scattering it toward Yun Wan Ning. Seeing this, the man holding her immediately held his breath.
[Hmph, you’ve gone too far. Not only are you denying me milk, you actually want to drug me? Fine, you’ve succeeded in making me angry.]
[In that case, you can be the one to faint.]
Yun Wan Ning closed her eyes, sending out her spiritual power in a sweep that became an invisible wall of wind, blocking the powder entirely.
Then the wind turned, gathering the drug and blowing it right back into the leader’s face.
The powder was colorless and scentless, but once it touched skin, it brought instant collapse. The leader felt his eyelids grow heavy, his thoughts clouding, and the next moment he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
“Boss…”
Everyone was stunned. They rushed to his side to check on him, and the room instantly fell into chaos.
Only the man holding Yun Wan Ning looked down, eyes full of shock, at the little girl who had somehow stopped crying without him noticing.
Her eyes gleamed mischievously, and her lips curved in what looked suspiciously like a smile.
How could this be? The boss was supposed to drug her—how had he ended up drugging himself? This baby was… strange.
But Yun Wan Ning, watching the commotion, felt nothing but satisfaction.
[Hmph, try to drug me, will you? Keep dreaming.]
[I haven’t even settled the score for you kidnapping me, and now you want to add more?]
[Using knockout powder on a baby—utterly heartless. You deserved to faint.]
[Oh, right, I don’t even know what you look like. Might as well take a peek.]
With a happy thought, she sent out her spiritual power again, shaping it into an invisible hand that tugged the black cloth from the unconscious man’s face.
A plain, utterly forgettable face was revealed, and Yun Wan Ning gave her verdict:
[Tsk, this kind of face is the sort you’d never pick out of a crowd.]
[I’ve figured out one rule of this world—anyone from a good background, or who appears alongside the female lead, is always good-looking. Ordinary faces like this only show up in places the plot never covers.]
[What is this if not pure appearance discrimination?]
Meanwhile, the others had just picked up the dropped cloth and quickly tied it back over their leader’s face.
Watching them, a daring thought rose in Yun Wan Ning’s mind:
[Since I’ve already started, why not go big?]
[Yes, that’s right—go big!]
[Maybe I’ll recognize someone among them and find out who’s behind this kidnapping.]
Her spiritual power split into dozens of streams, each forming an invisible hand.
Rip!
Every mask in the room fell away at once. The men stared at one another, then grew even more panicked.
“There’s a ghost! A ghost!”
Yun Wan Ning: “…”
[You’re the ghosts—every single one of you.]
[A whole gang of grown men, and you’re this timid?]
[Even if there really were a ghost, your yang energy is so strong it wouldn’t dare touch you.]
After scanning every face and confirming she knew none of them, she calmly withdrew her spiritual power and shut her eyes, pretending to nap.
[If I weren’t so hungry, getting kidnapped wouldn’t be so bad.]
[It’s a chance to get some fresh air.]
[But it’s a pity—I’m starving. I miss my mother, I miss my nurse, I miss my milk…]
[These people clearly have no intention of finding me milk, and who knows when Father will find me.]
[Forget it. I’ll wait for the man they sent away earlier—maybe I can overhear something useful.]
[But what exactly is above this chamber?]
[No, I need to send out my spiritual power and take a look—maybe I’ll find something.]
Her power surged up through the earth until she saw a desolate courtyard above. Beyond its wall was a brightly lit, luxurious estate.
[What’s over there? Looks like some high official’s residence.]
[Shame it’s too far—my spiritual power can’t reach.]
Just as she was about to pull back, she spotted a group of people in the alley outside, going door to door in a search.
At their head was a tall, straight-backed young man with striking, almost wickedly handsome features, his eyes full of smoldering hostility.
“Search thoroughly. Don’t overlook even a mouse hole. Tonight, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find my little sister.”
[Oh, it’s Second Brother.]
[Second Brother, three feet won’t be enough. I measured—it’s five feet from here to the surface.]
The youth paused suddenly, eyes narrowing as he looked around. But there was no one there but his men.
Yet just now, he could have sworn he heard his little sister’s voice.
“Did you hear something just now?”
He grabbed a guard by the collar. The man froze, then slowly shook his head. “No, Second Young Master, I heard nothing.”
Was it just his imagination?
Yun Wan Ye let go, looking dazed.
[Huh, Second Brother’s acting strange. Did he hear something?]
[Could it be… he heard my thoughts?]
[Haha, no way—that’s ridiculous.]
[He’s just worried about me, so he imagined it.]
[Still, Second Brother, I didn’t expect you to care so much. I’m touched. When I get back, I’ll make sure to care for you, too.]
[But you’d better hurry. I haven’t had milk in so long. I’m starving.]
[At this rate, you won’t find me until tomorrow.]
[I’m not over there, Second Brother. Come here—beneath this abandoned courtyard, there’s a chamber full of the black-clad men who took me.]
[And I still don’t know how they got past Father’s guards, or who sent them, or why…]
This time, her thoughts ran longer, and Yun Wan Ye was certain it wasn’t his imagination.
Thinking of her unusual spiritual power, he quickly guessed the truth—it must be that her spiritual power was released, allowing her thoughts to be heard within its range.
From what she said earlier, her range was about two li, which meant she was somewhere nearby. And she’d said she was in a chamber five feet underground. Which meant…
Underground!
Yun Wan Ye pieced it together at once. But two li was still a wide area—he had to narrow it down quickly.
He steadied himself, closed his eyes, and focused on the direction from which her thoughts had come. When he opened them, he was looking straight at a broken-down gate.
[Oh? Second Brother’s looking this way. Has he figured it out?]
[No way—he’s really that smart? To find the exact spot so quickly?]
[Yes, yes, it’s right under this courtyard. Come on, Second Brother.]
A faint smile touched his lips. From the sound of her thoughts, she was still cheerful, which meant she wasn’t being mistreated—just hungry. He could relax a little.
“You, you, you… and you—come with me.”
He pointed out a few men, then strode toward the gate. The chosen guards abandoned their searches and followed.
Bang!
The rotting gate splintered under his kick.
[Wow, as expected of my Second Brother. Straight to the point—fast, precise, ruthless. You’ll definitely achieve great things someday.]
[Since I’ve nothing else to do, I’ll start timing you now—let’s see how long it takes you to find me.]
Timing? Yun Wan Ye’s brow twitched. In that case, he’d better put on a good show.
“You, search the house. You, the yard. Leave no hole unchecked. Focus on finding hidden chambers or tunnels—understood?”
“Yes, Second Young Master.”
The men got to work, rummaging through the rooms and yard, even checking inside water jars.
Yun Wan Ye scanned the area, then began searching a corner himself.
“Not good—the Duke of Ning’s people are here. We can’t stay.”
The sounds from above carried into the chamber, and the black-clad men stiffened.
“Go, quickly. They mustn’t find us.”
The man holding Yun Wan Ning made a swift decision, turning toward the other end of the tunnel. The others picked up their unconscious leader and hurried after him.