Schemes

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Chen Xiaomeng thought for a moment and realized that Jiang Cheng had a point. The figures of Li Lu and Yu Man kept appearing in her mind, as if she were trying to choose between the two.

"Stop overthinking, we'll find out sooner or later," Jiang Cheng stopped walking. He could already see the Anping Inn from a distance.

Three-story buildings were not common in the town.

The flow of time in this world was becoming increasingly strange. The nights were exceptionally long, and the days were unusually short. Just the time spent in the town's archives had already brought them close to noon.

The pedestrians on the street were acting strangely, aimlessly wandering about. The shops along the street and the peddlers selling goods appeared lifeless.

If one had to describe it, everyone's individual behavior seemed normal, but when combined, it felt very eerie.

Jiang Cheng had experienced something similar before; this was the behavior that occurred just before a mission ended.

They stopped when they were still a distance from the Anping Inn. The inn gave them a strange feeling today. They changed their angle, and from where they stood, they could see the inn's front.

The inn's door was tightly shut, and all the windows were closed as well. A sign saying "Closed for Business" hung in front.

It was clear that something had happened inside.

"Maybe the village chief and the others have arrived," Chen Xiaomeng hid in the shadows, coldly observing the movements near the inn. She turned to Jiang Cheng, "They're lying in ambush inside, waiting for us to walk into their trap."

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and suddenly spoke, "Where do you think our colleagues who went ahead are now?"

"Colleagues?"

Chen Xiaomeng instinctively rejected the word, but she couldn't deny that it was quite fitting here. She didn't bother to comment on Jiang Cheng's choice of words, as it was irrelevant.

"They might have already been caught," she said straightforwardly.

After all, the mastermind, Qian Jianxiu, was hiding here, so the Anping Inn was the final destination for everyone.

The village chief and the others were naturally aware of this.

"Not necessarily," Jiang Cheng said after thinking for a while, "From the fact that she tore that page of information, it's clear she was targeting other potential survivors."

Chen Xiaomeng raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"If you can see that something's off with the Anping Inn, do you think she wouldn't notice?" Jiang Cheng stared at the inn, feeling more and more uneasy.

After a while, Jiang Cheng spoke again, "If I were her, after realizing there was something wrong with the inn, I would lie in ambush nearby, waiting for a fool to go in first and trigger the traps for me."

"If it's safe, then I'd go in."

"But you're not her," Chen Xiaomeng said bluntly, "I think she wouldn't pass up such a good opportunity. We both know, the longer we drag this out, the worse it will be for all of us."

What Chen Xiaomeng said made sense. If they waited for the village chief to gather people and set up an ambush at the Anping Inn, they would be at a disadvantage in unfamiliar territory.

That elusive woman must be aware of this too.

"I don't care, you go if you want," Jiang Cheng pretended to be very scared.

Chen Xiaomeng felt irritated just looking at him.

The saying "He who hesitates is lost" had been something Chen Xiaomeng truly understood after struggling in nightmares for a long time. Though the man before her was cautious, his excessive caution could end up being his downfall.

For some reason, after realizing that Jiang Cheng's thinking had its flaws, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. This seemed like the behavior of a normal person.

"You stay here and wait to die!" This was the last thing Chen Xiaomeng said to Jiang Cheng before leaving.

Jiang Cheng grunted, expressing his inner dissatisfaction.

Although Chen Xiaomeng was determined to enter the Anping Inn, she still made plenty of preparations before doing so.

What Jiang Cheng said wasn't without reason. She first circled the inn and found no signs of their "colleagues" or the village chief's ambush.

She then quietly slipped to a nondescript corner of the inn and, after confirming that no one was around, pushed on a window, only to find it surprisingly open.

The window was slightly ajar and was not locked.

The room inside was quite dark. She squinted her eyes to adjust to the dimness and then jumped inside.

Her movements were swift and silent; she landed with barely a sound.

This was the private dining room they had used earlier.

The room was not large and had very simple decorations. A round table was placed in the center, with seven or eight chairs haphazardly arranged around it, much like it had been before they left.

The only difference was that the door to the room was closed, making it darker inside.

From the moment she landed, she didn't move and made no further sounds. Her ears were perked up, straining to catch any sounds from the surroundings.

Her hearing was excellent, a definite advantage. In a very quiet environment, she could sense the breathing and even heartbeats of people nearby.

With this kind of almost preemptive warning ability, she had survived many times in her nightmares.

She stood still for about a minute, and aside from the occasional wind outside, there was no other sound. The entire three-story building seemed to have gone completely silent from the inside out.

She held her breath, stood up slowly, and walked to the door. Grabbing the doorknob, she opened it just a crack.

The hallway outside was just as empty, devoid of anyone.

Even the kitchen door was closed, and she began to wonder if the innkeeper had heard the wind and taken his sister, Qian Jianxiu, to run.

As she was considering her next move, she suddenly heard a noise behind her.

She immediately turned around and was surprised to see a head appearing outside the window.

Jiang Cheng was peeking inside, and because he probably couldn't see clearly, he squinted his eyes slightly, his hair parted by the wind. He looked almost like a guide from the wartime period.

After a while, he seemed to spot Chen Xiaomeng. His face turned slightly flushed, and with effort, he put one leg inside, followed by his whole body.

Once he landed, he immediately crawled over to Chen Xiaomeng's side, lowering his voice to express concern. "I thought about it for a long time, but I just couldn't leave you alone."

Chen Xiaomeng's ear caught this, and she immediately recalled what Jiang Cheng had said earlier: "If I were her, I would lie in ambush nearby and wait for a fool to go in first."

Waiting for a fool...

Though Chen Xiaomeng tried to ignore the connection, the reality was right in front of her.

She had chosen this secluded position to avoid Jiang Cheng taking advantage of her, yet here he was, shamelessly following her.

Jiang Cheng peeked out the door again and, after a while, leaned close to Chen Xiaomeng's ear and said, "Don't be scared, okay? You go out first, and I'll follow behind you. I'll protect you."

Chen Xiaomeng looked at the windowsill behind Jiang Cheng, where a row of red clay flowerpots were placed. She suddenly had an impulse to grab one and smash it on his head.

(End of the Chapter)

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