Shen Zhiyao quickly hid behind a tree, pulled out a face mask, and put it on. She stayed concealed, quietly observing. After getting a clear look, she confirmed that the man was an educated youth. Although she didn’t know his name, she was certain she had seen him before at the educated youth compound.
“Baibai, is he a spy?” Shen Zhiyao asked in her mind.
“I can’t tell you,” Baibai replied. “You have to find the hidden enemy agent yourself for it to count as completing the mission!”
“You stingy little thing!”
Once the man walked farther away, Shen Zhiyao followed him from a distance. The longer she walked, the more familiar the route felt. Wasn’t this the path to that cave? Even though she had come here in the middle of the night yesterday, there was no way she could have remembered the direction wrong.
When they neared the cave, the man was just about to go inside when Shen Zhiyao called out behind him,“Hey—being another country’s lapdog makes you this enthusiastic?”
The man turned around in shock, then his expression darkened with hostility.“I advise you to mind your own business. Otherwise, you won’t even know how you died.”
Shen Zhiyao laughed, looking at him as if he were already dead.“Let me teach you a lesson—never underestimate a woman who dares to enter the deep mountains alone.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the two of them engaged in a fight.
To her surprise, this educated youth actually knew some martial arts—far better than those useless men before. Unfortunately for him, he was still no match for Shen Zhiyao. She toyed with him like a cat playing with a mouse. Every time he tried to get close, she dodged effortlessly and landed a punch when he least expected it. Each blow struck solidly.
Soon, his face was covered in blood. Li Zhe felt as if his face was about to split apart from the pain. His mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood—along with several teeth.
Li Zhe gasped for breath, his dark eyes fixed viciously on Shen Zhiyao. She simply smiled at him. Suddenly, her smile vanished. She lunged forward, about to strike—
“Zhiyao, go easy!” Baibai shouted in her consciousness. “Don’t kill him! There’s important information still on him!”
Shen Zhiyao hesitated for just a moment.
That single moment gave Li Zhe his chance.
He suddenly pulled out a box cutter from who knows where and slashed at her arm with a rip. Shen Zhiyao dodged to the side, but she was still cut, blood seeping out. She immediately restrained her strength and struck his temple with her other hand.
After dealing with Li Zhe, Shen Zhiyao tied him up and flashed into her space. Seeing her injury, Baibai rushed over in panic, full of regret.
“I’m sorry, Zhiyao! I shouldn’t have called out at that moment. I got you hurt!”
As it spoke, its fluffy little head thumped down in guilt.
Shen Zhiyao gently stroked Baibai and said softly,“It’s okay. You were just thinking about the mission. This is only a minor wound—I’ll rinse it with spirit spring water later.”
Baibai immediately said,“Okay, go quickly! It won’t look good if it leaves a scar.”
Shen Zhiyao walked toward the villa, took off her top, revealing her graceful upper body. Baibai quickly turned around, embarrassed.
Shen Zhiyao glanced at it and laughed.“You can get shy too? It’s fine. In the world I lived in before, lots of girls dressed lightly in summer.”
She ignored it after that, scooped up some spirit spring water, and began rinsing the wound. The injury wasn’t deep. After a few rinses, it stopped bleeding and began to itch slightly—signs it was healing.
About fifteen minutes later, the wound had completely healed, leaving only a faint red mark that would disappear in a couple of days.
Suddenly, Shen Zhiyao remembered something and said anxiously,“Baibai, that enemy agent just now definitely knew I was from the educated youth compound. If he gives even a rough description, I’ll be exposed. Unlike the others before, who didn’t know who I was at all. If the higher-ups ask why I caught him, how am I supposed to explain?”
“Don’t worry,” Baibai said. “Before you came in, I erased his memory of you. He’ll only remember going up the mountain—he won’t remember who knocked him out.”
Shen Zhiyao nodded with lingering fear.“You can do that too? That’s amazing!”
Baibai puffed out its chest proudly.“That’s nothing. I’ve got plenty more abilities!”
“So how are you planning to notify Lu Sicheng?” Baibai asked.
Shen Zhiyao thought for a moment.“I’ll just say I ran into him by accident while gathering pig fodder in the mountains.”
The human and the spirit whispered and discussed things for a long time. After that, Shen Zhiyao went to bathe, changed into an identical outfit, ate lunch, and then went out.
Outside, she saw Li Zhe tied up like a rice dumpling. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down the mountain. After walking for a long time, they reached the usual pig-fodder area.
She kicked him once, then punched his temple again to make sure he wouldn’t wake up, and headed toward the educated youth compound.
Before she’d gone far, she ran into Lu Sicheng.
“Why are you here?” she said. “I was just about to look for you. I saw a tied-up man while gathering pig fodder just now—it scared me to death! I didn’t know what to do, so I wanted to find you and think of a solution together!”
Lu Sicheng looked at her sly eyes. There was nothing he didn’t understand.
“Shen Zhiyao, there’s something I want to be honest with you about…”
“Actually, I’m a soldier. I disguised myself as an educated youth to capture enemy agents hiding in the deep mountains. But over the past few days, a mysterious woman has been secretly helping us. If I’m not mistaken, the person just now was a contact—also an educated youth.”
Shen Zhiyao was briefly startled but quickly suppressed her surprise.“How do you know it was a mysterious woman? Couldn’t it have been a man?”
Lu Sicheng smiled, revealing two small canine teeth. Shen Zhiyao looked up and met his deep eyes—it felt as though nothing about her could be hidden from them.
“When I went to the cave, I smelled a fragrance. That’s not something a man would have. And to be honest, it smelled quite similar to you.”
Shen Zhiyao was certain now—this guy had already guessed it.
But she kept her face calm.“You’re impressive—what, a bloodhound? With that strong smell of blood in the cave, you could still pick out a fragrance?”
Lu Sicheng smiled at her, warmth hidden in his deep gaze—so gentle she didn’t dare look too long.
“Ahem,” Shen Zhiyao coughed lightly.“What I mean is, if an enemy agent gets caught by a mysterious person, there’s bound to be a fight. Bleeding is normal! Anyway, let’s go check on that person up the mountain. What if he wakes up and runs?”
As they walked, Lu Sicheng asked,“Aren’t you surprised about my identity? Did you already know I wasn’t an educated youth?”
“I didn’t know,” she replied casually. “Why would I be surprised? What does your identity have to do with me?”
Lu Sicheng stopped and looked at her.“I thought we were friends. You ignore everyone these days, but you’re patient with me. At least when I talk to you, you respond.”
Shen Zhiyao turned back to look at him. There was an indescribable hint of grievance in his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before Lu Sicheng finally lowered his head, his ears turning red.
“Alright,” Shen Zhiyao said. “Friends. Okay?”
Only then did Lu Sicheng smile and nod.
After walking a bit more, they saw Li Zhe lying on the ground as if dead. Lu Sicheng said,“I’ll take care of the rest. You’ve worked all morning—go back and rest.”
Shen Zhiyao nodded and left.
As soon as she entered her room, Baibai screamed excitedly,“Zhiyao! Hurry in—the mission rewards are here!”
She rushed into the space. Baibai said excitedly,“Zhiyao, the rewards this time are great! Reward one: a bottle of Jade Nectar Elixir!”
A small bottle appeared in Shen Zhiyao’s hand—beautiful in shape, like the kind used to store pills in cultivation worlds. When she opened it, she saw a clear liquid emitting a fresh fragrance.
“Don’t underestimate it,” Baibai said proudly. “No matter how severe the injury, just a few drops will heal it completely and even extend your lifespan. This came from a transmigrator who traveled to a cultivation world.”
Shen Zhiyao quickly capped the bottle and hugged it protectively to her chest.
“Reward two: a skill you don’t have!”
“What is it?” Shen Zhiyao’s beautiful eyes sparkled.
“Can you cook?” Baibai asked. “You’ve hoarded so many supplies, but you’ve never cooked once. You’ve been eating ready-made food this whole time!”
Shen Zhiyao stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.“You caught me. It’s not that I can’t cook—I can boil noodles. But for the past twenty years, I had servants cooking for me. I never had the chance!”
Baibai rolled its eyes.“Fine. You completed the mission in less than a day. I’ll reward you with a cooking skill—whatever you make will be delicious!”
Shen Zhiyao jumped excitedly in place.
After playing around for a while, she carefully placed the Jade Nectar Elixir into the medical room and then left the space.