Captive

Xiao Lin held his breath; this was his only option at the moment. It was a gamble--he was gambling on the fact that the woman had a high position among the merchants and that the rest of them would not throw her life away so easily. Otherwise, Xiao Lin's monthly test would probably end right there. 

The woman had to be the strongest person among the merchants, as well as the only mage. The others were very average in skill. Xiao Lin was not doing so well himself though; he was already at the limit of his mental strength and could not use any more spells. In the collision of flame shields earlier, he sustained quite a bit of damage, and the rest of the students were mostly poisoned, so they were absolutely outnumbered. It was impossible to solely rely on Gu Xiaoyue as well. 

Gu Xiaoyue looked like she was a bit nervous; she was worried that she did not properly convey the meaning, so she ended up repeating it a few times. Her clear voice was echoed in the cave.