Salted Fish Concubine, Always Getting Pregnant, Fierce General Pampers Her Daily - Chapter 2

Wen Wan had no idea what kind of path the mountain bandits were taking, but the carriage jolted and swayed violently. Within half an hour, several hostages inside had already vomited.

Experiencing motion sickness in ancient times—Wen Wan’s feelings about this were utterly chaotic.

The air was thick with a foul stench. Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Wan noticed A Chai’s cold expression, his brows furrowed into three towering peaks.

After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled two homemade masks from her pocket.

The masks were sewn from gauze. Her needlework was far from skilled—the stitches were crooked, and the embroidered pattern was just a simple cartoon kitten.

After putting on her own mask, she handed the other to A Chai and whispered, “This can help block the smell.”

A Chai eyed her warily, his voice low. “Why give it to me?”

They were both prisoners here. At best, one could only hope to keep themselves safe—he didn’t believe anyone would casually show kindness to a stranger.

Wen Wan answered with absolute confidence.

“Because you’re good-looking.”

She was just that kind of person—what you saw was what you got!

Someone as handsome as him naturally deserved her preferential treatment.

Her answer, however, struck A Chai as utterly bizarre.

The way he looked at her now carried a trace of suspicion, as if trying to see through her.

The girl before him was young, probably around eighteen or nineteen, with a sweet and delicate appearance. Though not stunningly beautiful, her eyes were exceptionally clear—even in the dim light of the carriage, they gleamed like rare treasures catching the light.

A pity, though—such a girl turned out to be a merchant’s concubine.

“Do you want it or not? If not, I’ll give it to that guy in the back,” Wen Wan asked calmly.

In the corner of the carriage sat a few other young men around A Chai’s age. Though none were as striking as him, they were still decent-looking and well-built.

They must have been the “good-looking lads” the bandits had mentioned earlier.

A Chai’s fingers twitched slightly before he finally took the mask and put it on.

Once it was on, his expression shifted subtly, and the tension in his brows gradually eased.

The carriage came to a stop in front of an abandoned mountain temple.

The hostages were herded into a drafty side room.

This was likely one of the bandits’ hideouts. The broken doors and windows had been boarded up, leaving only a small opening—barely larger than a palm—for food to be passed through.

Faint moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the wooden planks, but the scattered light did little to illuminate the vast, dark room.

In the pitch-black corners, the hostages, still shaken from their ordeal, finally had a moment to catch their breath.

Thanks to the “mask diplomacy,” A Chai’s attitude toward Wen Wan wasn’t as hostile as before.

So when she sat down beside him, he didn’t object.

Wen Wan leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “Do you want to escape?”

A Chai remained silent for a moment before replying calmly, “Oh? Do you have a plan?”

“I do!”

Her answer was brimming with confidence.

“Mm.” A Chai responded with a single, indifferent syllable.

In the darkness, neither could see the other’s expression—only the tone of their voices offered any hint of emotion.

From A Chai’s lukewarm reaction, Wen Wan could tell he clearly didn’t believe her.

“Don’t doubt me—I really have a way out.”

A Chai still refused to engage.

After a brief hesitation, Wen Wan lowered her voice further. “Not only can I get you out, but I can also make you rich. Believe me?”

A Chai remained unmoved, refusing to acknowledge her at all.

Wen Wan sighed inwardly. Heaven was indeed fair—most good-looking people had personalities that were hard to like.

A Chai was the classic type who wouldn’t shed a tear until he saw his own coffin.

After some thought, she decided to give him a little incentive first.

Wen Wan raised her hand and tapped lightly on the earthen floor beside her feet. The dull thud of dirt offered nothing out of the ordinary. “Two feet below us is a side chamber of an Ancient Tomb. Do you believe me?”

Something in her words must have struck a chord with A Chai, because he suddenly seized her wrist.

“What did you just say?”

His reaction caught Wen Wan off guard, and the pain in her wrist made her frown.

“It’s pitch black, yet you grabbed me so precisely? Are you trained in martial arts?”

Her sharp observation made surprise flicker in A Chai’s eyes—though in the darkness, she missed it entirely.

Coldly, he admitted, “I’ve trained for a few years. You said there’s an Ancient Tomb beneath us?”

Successfully piquing his interest meant her plan was halfway to success.

“Exactly. So, do you want to work with me to escape?”

After a brief silence, A Chai finally responded with a single word: “Fine.”

Wen Wan scooted closer to him with newfound justification.

“When I got off the carriage, I took a quick look at this temple’s location. From a geomancy perspective, this shouldn’t be a place for building temples.”

A Chai paused. “Geomancy?”

“Uh…” Wen Wan thought for a moment before explaining, “Feng shui—what you’d normally call feng shui.”

His tone turned mocking. “You’re so young, yet you know about this?”

She pressed her lips together. “I know a little. Not much.”

A Chai urged, “Go on.”

Clearly, he was interested.

Wen Wan recited:

“To seek the dragon, observe the winding mountains; each layer a barrier, each pass a gate.

If the gates are locked a thousandfold, a noble surely rests in this place.”

“From a geomancy standpoint, this location should house a grand tomb. Yet instead, someone built a temple here. That means…”

She deliberately trailed off, waiting for A Chai to take the bait—but the young man remained completely silent.

His indifference made her feel like she was performing a one-woman show.

How boring.

Losing interest, Wen Wan finished her act. “Whoever built this temple must have despised the tomb’s occupant so much that they erected a shrine just to suppress his restless spirit.”

At that moment, Wen Wan had no idea how her simple words had stirred a storm in the young man’s heart.

The place they had risked their lives to find for so long—

Had just been pinpointed by this unremarkable girl in a single sentence.

With just a few glances at the terrain when she stepped off the carriage, she had deduced so much…

And she called that “knowing a little”?

She called that “not much”?

Had the room not been so dark, Wen Wan might have noticed the wariness and murderous intent in the young man’s eyes.

A Chai asked coldly, “Who exactly are you?”

“We already covered that at the inn—no need to waste time repeating it. We don’t have much time left, so let me explain my plan first.”

Ignoring his question, she continued, “Here’s what I’m thinking: bandits only want money, right? So let’s tempt them with profit.”

“Early tomorrow morning, when the mountain bandits come to deliver food, I’ll tell them there’s an Ancient Tomb below. We’ll pretend to lead them on a treasure hunt, enter the tomb first, and then…”

She was confidently explaining her plan when A Chai suddenly gave her a sharp rebuke.

“No!”

Wen Wan protested, “Why not?”