Chapter 59: They’re Traffickers, Virgins Fetch a Higher Price

“You’ve been in the imperial city for years and your wife just passed away. How do you know so much about the neighboring country?” Meng Huan asked.

Throughout the journey, the man had remained silent, but when it came to the neighboring country, he spoke with such detail that it sounded like the truth.

This made Meng Huan wary.

The man stopped in front of them and laughed strangely. “Why are you only realizing this now? You didn’t ask any questions along the way. You’re really stupid.”

His demeanor was completely different from when they first met him, with a hint of eeriness.

Not only Meng Huan, but even the slow-witted Wen Xi realized something was amiss and stood in place cautiously.

“Let’s go back. We’re not going with you anymore. You can return to your hometown by yourself!” Meng Huan tugged at Wen Xi, trying to turn around and leave. However, when they looked back, three women suddenly appeared behind them.

These three women looked fierce and ruthless, one even wearing an eye patch. It was clear they weren’t to be trifled with.

Meng Huan immediately understood the situation and pulled Wen Xi to run in the other direction. “He’s with them!”

However, after only a few steps in the other direction, a few more women emerged and surrounded them. The man who had been accompanying them all the way started talking and laughing with those people.

“A young master from a wealthy family and a handsome servant. The ones I tricked this time aren’t bad. You should at least give me ten taels of silver, right?”

Meng Huan listened with wide eyes. The two of them together were only worth ten taels of silver? Did this man even know how to do math? If he had just told Meng Huan, he wouldn’t have gotten this price!

Unexpectedly, a woman walked up to him, pried open his hand, and found nothing in his palm. She frowned. “Boss, he’s not a virgin anymore.”

The woman standing with the man, referred to as the bandit leader, heard this and was displeased. “Not a virgin? What about the other one?”

Someone else walked over, pried open Wen Xi’s palm, and exclaimed with delight, “This one is! This one is!”

After pondering for a while, the bandit leader told the man, “One of them is no longer a virgin, so he won’t fetch a good price. The other is only a servant, so he won’t sell for much either. But considering your efforts along the way, I’ll give you six taels of silver!”

The man looked at Meng Huan with some resentment, wondering why he styled his hair like an unmarried man when he wasn’t a virgin. How improper, causing his income to be heavily discounted.

But there was nothing he could do. Having been in this business for some time, he knew the pricing inside out. He could only hold out his hand to the bandit leader for the money, agreeing to the deal.

“Don’t agree to it! You’re selling us for only six taels of silver? If you can report to the authorities and save us, I can give you ten or a hundred times the reward!”

Meng Huan did have some silver on him now, but he couldn’t mention it. If he did, the women would surely search and take it away. He could only promise to give it later.

After receiving the silver, the man didn’t even glance at them and turned to leave, let alone agree to report to the authorities.

Someone stuffed a cloth into Meng Huan’s mouth, preventing him from making a sound. They tied him and Wen Xi up with rope and pushed them forward.

Not far ahead in the woods, a hidden carriage awaited. When the two reached the carriage, a woman picked them up like little chickens and threw them onto it.

The inside of the carriage was dim and crowded. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they found five other men tied up like them.

Some were crying, some were sitting woodenly in the corner, and some were secretly fiddling with something, seemingly trying to free themselves from the bindings.

“Mmm… mmm.” Meng Huan mumbled as he leaned close to Wen Xi, but the latter looked completely dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

Meng Huan could only bump into him, then bring his bound hands to Wen Xi’s mouth and pull down the gag.

Wen Xi was about to exclaim in surprise when Meng Huan pressed his hand over his mouth, then turned around and gestured for him to help remove the cloth from his own mouth.

Wen Xi, either too stupid or too frightened, imitated Meng Huan and bumped into him, then used his hands to pull the cloth from his mouth.

Meng Huan’s arm, having hit the wooden board, hurt like hell. He angrily whispered, “Are you an idiot? You could have just bitten it off. Why did you have to bump me over?”

“Wuwu, Young Master, this servant didn’t mean to…” Wen Xi whimpered.

“Alright, keep your voice down. Don’t let the people outside hear. Now’s not the time for this. We should think of a way to escape first.”

The other men in the carriage, seeing that they had removed their gags, also mumbled for help. Fearing their noise would attract attention from outside, Meng Huan and Wen Xi quickly helped remove all their gags.

“Shut up, no crying! And no talking!” Meng Huan softly scolded them, frowning as he thought of a plan.

He never imagined that one day he would be abducted by human traffickers. There were signs from the beginning, but he didn’t realize it in time and foolishly jumped into the trap they had dug.

“If you want to get out, listen to me. You mustn’t make a fuss. If the people outside notice something’s wrong, we’ll have an even harder time escaping.”

Using these words, he temporarily settled the men in the carriage. Meng Huan began to survey the inside, hoping to find something sharp to cut through the ropes binding his hands.

However, after searching with his eyes for a while and asking the person who had been secretly fiddling earlier, he couldn’t find anything suitable and had to give up.

He moved to the small window with a curtain and gestured with his eyes for Wen Xi to come help. He had Wen Xi lift the curtain slightly so he could peek outside through the gap.

But when Wen Xi bit the curtain and lifted it, Meng Huan took one look out the window and froze in place.

The bandit leader from earlier was standing right outside the window. With his first glance, they had made eye contact, nearly giving Meng Huan a heart attack.

How long had she been out there? When he was pushed in earlier, there was no one around, and those women had left. How come this bandit leader was still here…?

Meng Huan was shocked and confused. Wen Xi, biting the curtain, couldn’t see the situation outside and mumbled, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”

What could be wrong? They were discovered!

Before Meng Huan could warn him, the bandit leader outside reached out and completely lifted the curtain, eliciting gasps from the men inside.

She spoke with a sinister voice, “So there really are some disobedient ones. Being disobedient isn’t good. If you ruin my business on the road, won’t this trip be for nothing?”

“Since you’re no longer a virgin, the sisters might as well have a taste and teach you what it means to be obedient.”