Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 320 - 156: Breaking In

Qing Dai was extremely frightened, and upon hearing the door being pushed open, she couldn’t help but want to scream. Although she only managed one shout before her mouth was covered, the sound was heard by Ma San, who was just about to leave.

Yao Mengxian’s hand covering Qing Dai’s mouth was trembling, and cold sweat was running down her back.

She never thought her hearing could be so good, the footsteps had originally walked away, but now, due to Qing Dai’s scream, they were returning.

Uncle Li hadn’t returned yet, and there were only four women in the room. How could they possibly resist? Sure enough, the door was pushed with even greater force.

When Ma San heard there were women in the room, he suddenly had an idea. There must be women inside, and there weren’t many people inside either. He remembered the insider saying these rooms seemed to be rented by the women of a rich family, and the servants were living nearby. This room had no men, which was safer for him.

Upon thinking of this, he slammed the door even harder. Hiding wasn’t a long-term solution; he might already have revealed his whereabouts. So, he might as well hide in this room and take the women inside hostage. These women were powerless; they might be handmaidens and old women. How could they be his match?

There seemed to be something blocking the door. He violently knocked against it several times, then pulled out a short knife from behind his waist and began hacking wildly at the door.

At this moment, Yao Mengxian no longer covered Qing Dai’s mouth because it was useless. The thief already knew there were women inside, and he was now breaking in.

"Miss! What should we do? He’s going to come in!" The woman asked nervously, her voice trembling with tears.

Even the usually composed Lianxin was shaking at this point. She looked at the door being hacked, which was on the verge of collapse, as if she made a decision.

"Miss! Let’s jump into the river!" Rather than face humiliation and death, she would rather jump into the river; at least she could preserve her purity.

Upon hearing this, Qing Dai and the woman began to cry helplessly. Hearing their voices, Ma San began to quicken his movements even more, now certain there were no men inside.

Then Yao Mengxian miraculously calmed herself down. She lowered her voice and quickly said, "Move things away from the window! Open the window, but don’t jump yet. If only one comes in, we fight him. If others follow, then we..."

Choking on her words, she took a deep breath, "Jump then!"

She had already died once in her dreams, so how could she not cherish her life? As long as there was a chance to survive, she wouldn’t miss it. But chastity is extremely important; losing it would be worse than death.

The four of them worked together to move everything from the window, and Yao Mengxian searched carefully inside the room. She needed to find something handy; hairpins were too small and could only be used unexpectedly and when unprepared.

She searched around and finally found a small pair of scissors beneath the fabric covering the sewing basket. They had been in such a panic earlier that they hadn’t thought of this or noticed it.

She hid the small scissors in her sleeve and then resumed searching.

Ma San kicked and hacked the door, and the cabinet behind the door could no longer support it. The door finally fell. The cabinet behind shifted backward as the door fell, landing precisely on it.

Through the light of the lantern outside, Ma San peered inside and discovered there really were four women. No, it should be three younger girls and an older woman.

He sighed with relief; all women were easier to handle.

"Ah!" Qing Dai couldn’t hold back anymore and screamed.

Gu Chengyu had heard the sound of the door being smashed on the second floor and immediately ran upstairs. He remembered that a few rooms on the second floor had been rented by a large household, so women were living there.

He’d heard they were already on board when he boarded, though reportedly wearing veils, and he wasn’t sure who they were or if it was them.

He used Qinggong to fly upstairs without touching the ground because he had already heard the women’s screams.

Ma San entered the room and found the three young women inside were quite beautiful, especially the smallest one, likely the daughter of a wealthy family, with soft and fair skin.

He couldn’t help but entertain evil thoughts, intending to kidnap them as hostages. If the ship docked, he could take the girl with him.

Even though she seemed quite young, he preferred them this way. He didn’t care about her age. He had some experience: if a wealthy family’s daughter was defiled, she would be forced to commit suicide, and their family would hide it to avoid shame.

Ma San didn’t waste time and, holding his knife, advanced, intending to grab one to scare the others;

When Yao Mengxian saw the thief enter with a knife, she realized there was only one person. She gripped the scissors tightly, though she trembled violently. She still noticed his lecherous gaze; he surely had evil intentions, which meant he temporarily wouldn’t kill them.

So she squeezed the scissors firmly. No matter if others were coming, she would take one down. If she was going to die, she would drag someone down with her. If he didn’t kill them, then she had the chance to kill him.

Seeing them as a few weak girls, Ma San didn’t take them seriously at all. His strength was greater than theirs, he had a knife, and he wasn’t afraid of them. No one outside would come at this moment; he could take his time.

He first focused his attention on Yao Mengxian. He could deal with the other maids later. This girl’s stubborn and determined gaze piqued his interest. He liked that kind of stubbornness, despite her body shaking like a leaf.

He slowly grew more interested; initially, he wanted to kidnap the host to add leverage. But damn, he hadn’t had flesh for more than half a month. Waiting on this ship for it to sail had become boring with no women aboard.

Admiring his prey, every step he took closer, those fearful and helpless eyes made him shiver with excitement.

"You, you stay back! Uncle Li! Come save me!"

The fear in Yao Mengxian’s eyes was genuine, yet she kept tightly gripping the scissors hidden in her sleeve. Standing by the window, if she failed with one strike, she would have to jump into the river. She could only appear even more terrified to lull him.

"Miss!" The woman and Lianxin were already shocked, and Qing Dai was paralyzed on the ground.

Lianxin glanced at the door, hoping to find someone to help. But the door panel had fallen onto the cabinet behind it. When the River Bandit entered, he jumped in using the cabinet, which wasn’t low. Her physique couldn’t make it out unless she crawled, but the River Bandit wouldn’t let her slowly crawl out.

Lianxin stood behind, holding a hairpin, ready to attack Ma San from behind when he wasn’t looking.

The woman stepped forward and slapped Ma San but was kicked aside by him.

Ma San spat at the woman, then laughed wildly, "Even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will save you! They’re already too busy to care!"

"Mrs. Gao!" Qing Dai hurriedly stepped forward to help her up.

Ma San watched as Yao Mengxian kept squeezing against the wall, afraid she’d jump out the window. He dropped his knife and lunged towards her.

In his eyes, a small girl like this didn’t require a knife. And besides, a knife didn’t have eyes; he wanted to savor her.