Song Ning simply looked at her without speaking.
Sure enough, Changmei lowered her voice again and pleaded:
"Song Ning! Please save Chunlan again! She has no way out! If you don't save her, she won't live past tomorrow! Take us with you!"
Song Ning pulled her hand free, looked at Changmei, and said, emphasizing every word:
"Look, I'm barely able to save myself right now! What makes you think... I can get you two out when the whole village is watching you so closely?"
"You can!" Changmei nodded firmly. "You even killed Saba! You're more than capable of getting Chunlan and me out!"
"Sorry to disappoint you! I sympathize with you and Chunlan, but I'm not ready to make an enemy of your entire village! Nor am I capable of it!"
But Changmei said earnestly, "Song Ning! You can't do it alone, that's true! But with Chunlan and me helping, we can definitely escape! I know a shortcut out of the mountains, and Chunlan has special privileges as the pharmacist's successor!"
Song Ning continued to look at her in silence.
Changmei continued, "Tonight, most of the villagers, including the Village Elder and the pharmacist, will go to the Sacrificial Altar. This is our best chance to escape-and our only chance!"
As she spoke, she took something resembling a cigar from a chest beside her.
"I still have a stick of mawu grass here. We can knock out Chunlan's guards with it and take her straight out!"
But Song Ning asked, "Since you've thought everything through so carefully, why drag me into this? Why not just escape with Chunlan yourself?"
Changmei shook her head. "We can't! You need fighting skills to get through the last checkpoint out of the village! Chunlan and I can't get out on our own, but with