It was Li Mei's son, Shi Tou!
Shen Lu's heart rejoiced. If it had been a stranger, perhaps she wouldn't have dared to believe it.
But fortunately, it was Shi Tou. Their brief interaction today had shown her that this boy could be trusted.
"Aunt Shen..." Shi Tou began, about to call out.
Shen Lu, worried about them being discovered, rushed forward and covered Shi Tou's mouth.
"Shi Tou, don't speak for now. Listen carefully to what Aunt Shen is about to say, and then carry it out. You absolutely cannot make any mistakes."
Shen Lu looked into Shi Tou's eyes very seriously.
Although Shi Tou didn't quite understand, he still nodded obediently.
"Aunt Shen is dealing with a bad guy. After a while, I'll lure him away. You take the opportunity to find the guard uncle and tell them Aunt Shen is catching a bad guy on the back mountain of the family courtyard. Tell them to come quickly for support, understand?"
As soon as Shi Tou heard the words "bad guy," he took a step back, his eyes filling with fear.
But he had grown up in the family courtyard, influenced by the soldiers. Even though he was very scared, he still nodded firmly.
"I understand, Aunt Shen."
Receiving an affirmative answer, Shen Lu felt much more at ease and continued to instruct him.
"You must be careful. Only come out when you can no longer hear our voices. Absolutely do not be discovered. You are now the hope of our entire compound."
Shi Tou immediately felt a glorious mission bestowed upon him. He puffed out his chest and nodded vigorously.
Shen Lu couldn't stay long, so she nodded at Shi Tou and walked out.
As expected, the man already had an impatient look on his face, as if he would have rushed in to find her if Shen Lu had been even a second later.
Only when he saw Shen Lu did the sinister expression on the man's face disappear, and he urged her impatiently.
"Hurry up. It'll be dark later, and we'll miss the car to leave here."
Shen Lu's expression was normal. She pointed ahead: "Let's go, the path into the family courtyard is just ahead."
They walked for an unknown amount of time, so long that the man gradually became impatient.
"Aren't we there yet?"
Hearing the man's cold voice, Shen Lu's spine chilled, and her heart pounded uncontrollably.
She knew clearly that the moment she led the man to the path into the family courtyard would be the day of her death.
The man would never leave her as a loose end.
Therefore, Shen Lu was delaying as much as possible.
The back mountain was not small. In the original owner's memory, apart from the path leading to the family courtyard, she had no impression of any other paths.
Shen Lu could only brace herself and lead the man around the mountain aimlessly.
Shen Lu silently prayed that she would find the evidence before Shi Tou found the guards.
Shen Lu knew very well that if even one link in this process went wrong, her life would be in danger.
Passing the same intersection once more, the man finally noticed something was amiss.
The pretense of kindness on his face could no longer be maintained. He rushed forward a few steps, grabbed Shen Lu by the collar, and roared with a ferocious expression.
"Bitch, you dare to lie to me!"
Shen Lu knew she couldn't back down now, because the man didn't know she already knew his identity.
So she struggled with all her might, her voice laced with indignation.
"I didn't lie to you, and I haven't been here before, so I'm not very familiar with the road. But I remember we're really close to the destination."
The man let go of Shen Lu, who hadn't caught her breath yet.
Suddenly, a cold glint flashed.
The man drew a dagger from his waist and pressed it firmly against Shen Lu's neck.
"From now on, if you try any tricks, I'll stab you. Do you understand?"
Even with her bravery, Shen Lu had to compromise when faced with a dagger.
Her face was pale, her lips trembling, and she slowly uttered a "Yes."
She put on a show of being terrified.
In a deserted area, the man finally stopped pretending and kicked Shen Lu hard.
"Move."
Fortunately, Shen Lu had a good amount of body fat, so it didn't hurt much.
Shen Lu estimated that enough time had passed, so she led the man towards the real path.
Shen Lu remembered that in the book, Wen Xin'er was able to confirm the man's identity as a spy because he had a list on him.
The list contained the names of hundreds of spies lurking in China.
With this list, countless citizens would be saved from harm, and it would also prove that her previous actions were indeed to lure out the enemy.
Therefore, no matter what, Shen Lu had to get her hands on this list.
The man, having lost all trust in Shen Lu, did not move the knife from her neck at all during their walk.
If persuasion failed, then coercion.
Shen Lu was completely unprepared, so she had no weapons on her. However, her 180-pound weight was her best weapon.
But the original owner's body, due to long-term lack of exercise, was in a state of uselessness. The gap in strength between them was huge. For Shen Lu to deal with an adult man, she still needed him to let his guard down.
When she saw a large area of bare mountainside, Shen Lu knew this was the path they were looking for to enter the family courtyard.
"This is it."
The man clearly knew this was the place too, and his voice carried a hint of surprise.
Hearing his surprised voice, Shen Lu immediately felt her life was in danger, so she quickly spoke.
"The back mountain of the family courtyard is very large. I'll show you the way."
"I'm going to the Political Commissar's house, so you don't need to trouble yourself."
As the man spoke, he secretly tightened the dagger pressed against Shen Lu's neck, piercing her skin. The bright red color was stark against her fair skin.
The smell of blood made Shen Lu's heart leap into her throat. It was the first time she had so directly felt the threat of death.
"Wait." In a moment of desperation, Shen Lu called out to the man.
"The back mountain of the family courtyard is vast. I'll lead you out."
The man had clearly run out of patience with Shen Lu: "You don't need to trouble yourself anymore. Thank you for your cooperation."
With that, the man raised the dagger and aimed it at Shen Lu's neck.
Shen Lu slowly reached out, intending to snatch the man's knife, but he caught her in the act.
"There's an old saying in China: 'He who knows the times is a wise man.' You should accept your fate. Perhaps I'll give you a quick end."
The man's attention was entirely on Shen Lu's hands.
He didn't notice Shen Lu's quietly raised left leg at all.
While the man was laughing wildly at her, Shen Lu forcefully lifted her leg and kicked him squarely in the groin.
"Ahhhhhhh..."
No matter what their identity, any man could not withstand this blow to the soul.
The spy clutched his lower body, his face contorted in pain.
The man, unable to stand due to the pain, was pinned down by Shen Lu's 180-pound weight. She forcefully stripped off his clothes and tied up his hands and feet.
Then she searched him, but found nothing.
Just as Shen Lu was despairing, she noticed the man was cautiously inching his feet backward.
Realizing that what she wanted might be inside the man's shoes.
Shen Lu decisively took off his shoes.
Finally, she found what she was looking for inside the shoe insoles.
The Captain of the Guard and the guards, having received Shi Tou's message, quickly arrived.
They were followed by more than a dozen enthusiastic onlookers.
Seeing the injured man on the scene and Shen Lu, covered in dust, everyone was bewildered.
The police briefly questioned Shen Lu to understand the situation.
"You're saying you discovered this man was a spy long ago, and you pretended to agree to help him to draw out evidence?"
Shen Lu nodded.
"Spies endanger the safety of countless citizens. Because I had no evidence, I didn't dare to alert the enemy rashly, so I could only stall him as much as possible."
Shen Lu spoke from the heart. Even without the threat of being accused of colluding with a spy, she would have done all this without hesitation.
"National security always comes before personal interests."
The passionate men present were moved by Shen Lu's words, and their gazes towards her held a degree of respect.
Even the usually stern and unsmiling guards couldn't help but cast admiring glances at Shen Lu.
With this kind of awareness, this overweight woman's future was immeasurable.
"Comrade Shen, your ideological awareness is very high. I will report this matter truthfully to the organization," the Captain of the Guard said solemnly.
Two strong and capable soldiers restrained the spy, and the group began to walk down the mountain.
Shen Lu walked at the very back.
After walking a distance, Shen Lu felt a lightness in her hands and realized that the items she had bought and the translation manuscript were missing.
She had been so nervous that she had subconsciously thrown them away.
The items she bought were not important, but the translation manuscript was extremely crucial.
Before it was published, it absolutely could not be easily seen by others.
Shen Lu said to the Captain of the Guard: "My things seem to have been left near the small path. I want to go back and look for them."
"Do you need an escort?"
"No need." Shen Lu quickly waved her hand, not wanting to cause any more trouble for everyone.
"They are just some personal belongings."
"Be careful."
"Okay."
Shen Lu retraced her steps and, sure enough, near the small path, she found her lost belongings and the translation manuscript.
After packing them up, Shen Lu sighed.
Turning around, she saw Fan Cuiying and a group of women in the distance, a surging crowd.
The moment Fan Cuiying saw Shen Lu, her eyes lit up, and she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"There's that little slut! Everyone, quickly go and catch her."
Shen Lu knew that a few words wouldn't explain things clearly, and besides, this group of people wouldn't believe her.
So she turned and ran.
But how could her heavy body outrun women who had been doing manual labor for years?
In just a few steps, Shen Lu was caught by the group.
Two women grabbed Shen Lu's arms, one on each side.
Fan Cuiying laughed wantonly.
"Run, why aren't you running anymore? You shameless woman, having an affair and eloping, you've disgraced our Gu family completely."
Shen Lu frowned, her voice neither humble nor arrogant. "Fan Cuiying, I warn you not to spout nonsense. I am contributing to the country."
"Stop pretending with me. I'm not as soft-hearted as your husband." Fan Cuiying became angry seeing Shen Lu like this.
Without waiting for Shen Lu to be convicted, Fan Cuiying raised her hand to slap her.
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