The two of them agreed that Xie Wenrui would capture Song Shishi, while Tang Qingluo would wait on a small hill in front of the inn for him to bring Song Shishi to rendezvous.
Xie Wenrui had no objections and nodded before going to find Song Shishi.
Tang Qingluo jogged to the small hill.
She hid in a secluded corner, occasionally touching the poison or her silenced weapons to pass the time while waiting.
“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law—” Xie Wenrui called softly after bringing Song Shishi to the hill.
“I’m here,” Tang Qingluo stepped out from the corner.
She saw Song Shishi with her hands tied and a rag stuffed in her mouth. Tang Qingluo nodded in satisfaction. “Let her walk in front. If she dares to act up, she’ll be the first to die.”
To intimidate Song Shishi, Tang Qingluo didn’t hesitate to take out her silenced firearm. “See this? I think you get my meaning. If you don’t want to die, it’s best to behave and lead the way.”
Song Shishi’s eyes widened when she saw the weapon. She struggled and whimpered.
“Move!” Tang Qingluo had achieved her goal and didn’t want to waste words with Song Shishi.
Along the way, Song Shishi’s imagination ran wild, and the more she thought, the more frightened she became.
She had originally thought that because she had bound a strategy system, entering the story she knew, and the system tasked her with pursuing the big villain Xie Lanyi, she was the undisputed heroine of a romance conquest story.
But now—
She realized her thinking might be wrong. Maybe she was the cannon fodder.
She guessed that in her era, Tang Qingluo might have been a top-tier assassin or some ace agent. She was terrified—she was just an ordinary worker who liked novels. She didn’t want to die, sobbing.
“Don’t make a sound, or I’ll blow your head off,” Tang Qingluo said, giving Song Shishi a light tap.
Song Shishi immediately cowered. All her former arrogance and disdain vanished. She became extremely humble, not daring to make a sound, obediently following Tang Qingluo and Xie Wenrui forward.
When they reached a rocky area, Song Shishi stopped, sobbing.
Tang Qingluo removed the rag from her mouth, her tone sharp: “Why are you stopping?”
Catching her breath, Song Shishi said, “There’s a secret passage from here to Bagong Village. Only the four leaders of Bagong Village know about it. No one else does. If we take this passage, it’s safe and fast.”
She lifted her foot and pointed at a protruding stone. “This is the switch to enter the passage. Turn it, and a stone door will appear.”
Tang Qingluo glanced at Xie Wenrui, who immediately understood. He grabbed the stone and turned it.
Click—click—click—
Song Shishi had not lied. As the mechanism activated, a stone door appeared before them.
“You go first.” Tang Qingluo stuffed the rag back into Song Shishi’s mouth. She didn’t relax her guard just because Song Shishi cooperated, pushing her inside.
Song Shishi didn’t dare resist, keeping her head down as she entered the stone door.
Tang Qingluo and Xie Wenrui exchanged a glance and followed.
With a thud, the stone door closed behind them.
The secret passage was pitch-black, the light dim. Tang Qingluo squinted, not quite used to the darkness.
“Wenrui, do you have a fire striker?”
“I do. I’ll light it now.”
Scritch—scritch—scritch—
Sparks flew from the fire striker. Tang Qingluo took an unlit torch from the passage wall and lit it using the sparks.
Xie Wenrui took a torch from the wall as well, passing the flame from Tang Qingluo’s torch.
Then Tang Qingluo raised the torch, illuminating the path and pushing Song Shishi forward.
Xie Wenrui stayed behind, alert, observing their surroundings.
They walked in silence, focused on the path.
After about half an incense stick’s worth of time, the passage ended. Song Shishi began sobbing again.
Tang Qingluo removed the rag. “What now?”
“There’s a mechanism here. Press it, and the stone door opens,” Song Shishi said bluntly.
Tang Qingluo pulled Song Shishi in front of her and Xie Wenrui, then reached for the mechanism.
Click. A massive stone, once solid, rotated, revealing a stone door.
Still cautious, Tang Qingluo didn’t step out immediately. She waited a moment, confirming nothing was amiss, then pushed Song Shishi out.
As they emerged, standing on the rocks, they could faintly see firelight not far ahead.
“Looks like Bagong Village is up ahead,” Tang Qingluo glanced at Song Shishi. Song Shishi nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, that’s Bagong Village.”
“Wenrui, find a secluded spot and tie her up there.” Tang Qingluo instructed. Song Shishi immediately knelt with a thud. “Boss, boss, please spare my life. I never intended to harm you, so just let me live.”
She spoke quietly, afraid Tang Qingluo would kill her on the spot.
Tang Qingluo didn’t know what Song Shishi was imagining, but since she was afraid, that was good.
She didn’t expose anything, instead responding, “We’ll see how you behave.”
Song Shishi’s eyes lit up. She raised her finger. “Boss, don’t worry. I’ll behave and speak fully and truthfully, never hiding anything.”
“All right, let’s test your sincerity.” Tang Qingluo pointed to a spot. “Wenrui, tie Song Shishi there.”
Once again, Tang Qingluo stuffed the rag back into Song Shishi’s mouth and patted her cheek. “Remember, if you stay here quietly, we’ll take you with us when we return. If you misbehave, wait until we come back—we’ll deal with you.”
Song Shishi whimpered, nodding desperately.
Leaving Song Shishi behind, Tang Qingluo and Xie Wenrui quietly approached Bagong Village.
“Let’s go. That direction is the kitchen.”
The two of them sneaked along the perimeter to a thatched hut.
At that moment, several women came out of the hut carrying basins of food, probably heading to the village’s main hall.
Once they were gone, Tang Qingluo handed poison to Xie Wenrui.
“From here on, it’s up to you. Remember, put some in the wine, some in the water jar, and preferably a little in the food. Understood? Make it thorough.”
“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’ll do it.” Xie Wenrui tucked the poison bottles into his chest, adjusted his sword, and flipped over the fence.
Tang Qingluo took out her silenced firearm, keeping watch.
After a long wait with no sign of Xie Wenrui, the women who had carried food returned.
She grew anxious, biting her lip and preparing to go in, but then the women quickly came out again with more food and wine.
What was going on?
Just as Tang Qingluo was puzzled, Xie Wenrui appeared—carrying a young boy.
He wanted to explain, but Tang Qingluo shook her head. “Leave first. Let’s go meet Song Shishi.”
They quietly retraced their steps and returned to the slope where Song Shishi had been tied up.