The Luring Plan

Along the way, the man repeatedly tried to pry information out of her, but Du Yueyao tactfully deflected him by saying, "I'm not from this village, so I don't know much about those things."

If this continued, she would definitely not be able to capture him. Just as Du Yueyao was scrambling for a solution, her eyes caught a glimpse of a drab gray piece of fabric peeking out from behind a nearby cliff. Du Yueyao instantly knew this was her only chance, and she thanked the heavens in her heart.

Clutching her stomach, she let out a soft cry, "Ouch..."

Hearing her voice, the man indeed stopped and turned around, noticing Du Yueyao's pale complexion.

"My stomach suddenly hurts a bit. I need to relieve myself..."

Du Yueyao pointed toward the adjacent cliff.

The man hesitated, uneasy and fearing she might run away. However, since the stone chamber hadn't been found yet, he couldn't afford to make her suspicious. Thus, he threatened and coaxed her, "Be quick. If we waste time, I can't guarantee I'll be able to help you return to the city. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in this remote village?"

Du Yueyao hurriedly put on an anxious expression. "No, you promised me! You must take me back to the city!"

Seeing that Du Yueyao's reaction was exactly the same as before, the man felt a bit more reassured and urged, "Go quickly and come back!"

Du Yueyao immediately turned and ran behind the cliff.

A familiar figure caught her eye—it was Dai Ya, squatting under a tree on the mountainside picking mushrooms. Du Yueyao was overjoyed. If it were a stranger, she might not have dared to trust them. Fortunately, it was Dai Ya, a reliable little girl.

"Second Aunt..." Dai Ya had just opened her mouth to call out when Du Yueyao, fearing exposure, rushed over and covered the girl's mouth.

"Dai Ya, don't make a sound. Listen carefully to what Second Aunt is about to say!"

Du Yueyao stared into Dai Ya's eyes, giving her serious instructions. Dai Ya didn't understand a thing, but she nodded obediently.

"Second Aunt is catching a bad guy. In a moment, I will lure him away. Take this chance to run and find the Village Chief and Village Secretary. Tell them that Second Aunt is catching a spy on the mountain, understand?"

A flash of fear appeared in Dai Ya's eyes; children were naturally afraid of bad guys.

Du Yueyao gently patted her head to comfort her. "You must be very careful. Wait until you can no longer hear our voices before coming out. Absolutely do not let yourself be spotted. Right now, you are the hope of our entire village."

Entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, Dai Ya tried her best to nod resolutely despite her fear.

She couldn't linger. Du Yueyao gave Dai Ya a slight nod and left. Sure enough, the man was showing clear signs of impatience; she feared that if she were any slower, he would barge in and drag her out.

The moment he saw Du Yueyao, the sinister look on his face vanished, and he urged, "Let's hurry. If it gets dark, we won't make it to catch the bus back to the city."

Du Yueyao maintained a calm expression and pointed ahead. "Let's go, the stone chamber is right ahead."

The two of them continued walking for quite a while, to the point where the man began to grow anxious.

"Not there yet?"

At this moment, Du Yueyao's heart was pounding wildly. She knew that once she led him to the actual location, she would have to face death, so she had to drag out the time as much as possible. This mountain was huge, and in the original host's memory, she only remembered the path leading to the chamber, while the rest was a complete blank. Du Yueyao could only grit her teeth and lead the man in circles.

In her heart, she prayed continuously that Dai Ya would quickly find the Village Chief and Village Secretary, hoping they could locate her on the mountain. If even a single link went wrong, she feared she wouldn't return alive.

When the two of them returned to the same fork in the road, the man finally noticed something was wrong. His gentle mask instantly fell away. Grabbing Du Yueyao by the collar, he snarled, "You bitch, you dare trick me!"

Du Yueyao struggled, her voice filled with resentment, "I didn't trick you! I've never been here before, so I don't remember the way, but the stone chamber is truly right ahead!"

The man let go of her. Before Du Yueyao could even catch her breath, she saw a flash of cold light. He pulled a dagger from his waistband and pressed it against her neck.

"From now on, don't play any more tricks. If I catch you doing it again, I'll plunge this straight in. Do you hear me?"

Du Yueyao's face turned pale, her lips trembling as she uttered a single word, "Yes..."