28: Threats

Threats

I drank a mouthful of soy milk and yanked the tape off the mouth of the person who looked at me pleadingly. He couldn't help but cry out in pain.1

I threw away the tape and sat cross-legged before from him.

He immediately put on a fawning expression. "Miss pretty, this is our mistake. Please be merciful and let us go. We promise never to come back here again!"

"What's your name?" I asked.

The man was startled, he clearly wasn't expecting for me to chat with him. With another glare from me, he answered honestly, "My name is Tan Si." He twisted his body and used his head to point at his friends. "This is our eldest brother, Ah Hu; the second brother, Da Xiong; third brother, Ah Mang; and I'm the fourth, people refer to me as Brother Tan Si."

I nodded. "Welcome to my humble abode, Brother Tan Si."

"Ha ha, Miss Pretty. Please forgive us for our impunity. Please be magnanimous and let us go." Tan Si smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits.

I put down the cup of soy milk to grab at the iron rod. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the four men flinch at the same time. Last night, I used this very same rod to knock at the back of their necks and apprehended them.

I knocked the rod against the wall to create a metallic sound. I asked kindly, "Tell me, what are you doing here?"

Tan Si swallowed. He was about to answer when Ah Hu, who sat beside Tan Si, kicked him. Before Ah Hu could retract his leg, I smacked his calf with the hefty iron rod. 

Ah Hu immediately yelped in pain. He rolled to the ground with a painful grimace on his face.

"Brother Hu, Brother Hu, are you okay?" Tan Si asked anxiously. He wanted to help his brother but he was tied up and couldn't move. "Miss Pretty, please spare our lives!" Tan Si very astutely turned to beg me instead.

I narrowed my eyes at Ah Hu. "Still thinking about resistance? Then you shouldn't have been caught in the first place! Don't you understand the simple concept of winners take all? I now decide your fate. Do you really think it's a wise idea to irk me?"

Ah Hu curled up on the ground and stopped moving. Between heavy pants, he glared hatefully at me.

I smiled. "Please don't look at me like that. You should direct that hate to the person who hired you instead. They gave you the wrong information about this house and its occupant. So really, think about it. Who set you up? It definitely wasn't me." I turned away from Ah Hu and locked my eyes on Ah Si. "You still haven't answered me. What are you people doing here?"

Tan Si swallowed and then stole a glance at his Brother Hu. I tapped the rod. "Do you want a taste of this too?"

"No, no, no, no. Miss Pretty, this is all our fault, we're wrong. Please forgive us, Miss Pretty."

"Answer me!" I demanded coldly.

"We, we are here to steal stuff." Tan Si stammered. 

I scoffed. "Do you people think I'm a fucking idiot?"

Tan Si curled his head away from my iron rod. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll be honest now."

I slammed the iron rod against the ground and the four men shivered.

"We, we... someone hired us to come here to kidnap, kidnap..." Tan Si stole a glance at me.

"To kidnap me?" I finished the sentence for him.

"Yes." Tan Si concurred and deflated like a balloon.

"And then what?" I asked calmly.

Tan Si's beady eyes moved towards me.

"What are you people supposed to do after kidnapping me?" I repeated the question.

"Sell, sell you," Tan Si whimpered.

I was shocked before I broke into a laugh. These people were truly ruthless, they thought about using such inhumane method to get rid of me once and for all.

I sat back down before Tan Si and looked at him.

Tan Si smiled obsequiously at me. When he saw that I didn't respond to him, his lips turned down and verged on crying.

I realized I liked this feeling of having control.

"I have one last question, you better think about it carefully before you answer it." I regarded Tan Si.

Tan Si nodded vehemently, "I'll tell you everything I know."

"Who hired you? Where are you going to sell me to? Have you contacted the buyer? How many people are there in your gang?" I looked at Tan Si seriously.

Tan Si licked his dry lips and said carefully, "Miss Pretty, these are.... These are four different questions."

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