The Cooperating Duo

"Su Yuxin, do you have any other ideas?"

Li Mucheng watched as Su Yuxin's fingers tapped rapidly on the screen and stepped forward to ask. She knew Su Yuxin well—she wasn’t the type to joke around at such a critical moment—so she waited patiently for her response.

"The tracker I placed lost connection midway, but the audio and location data it collected were uploaded to my tablet’s cloud every minute. So, if we hurry to the place where Ye Feng lost contact, we might be able to find clues leading to Xie Yuyan’s whereabouts."

"Good! Please hurry, Yuxin. I’ll use all my resources to help you."

Seeing hope in finding Ye Feng, Li Mucheng readily set aside her previous disagreements with Su Yuxin. Right now, her top priority was always Ye Feng.

"Just a moment—I’ll upload the cloud data to my phone now..."

Su Yuxin furrowed her brows, focusing intently on her tablet. Within seconds, she had transferred all the retrieved data to her phone.

Ding.

As the notification chimed, Su Yuxin immediately pulled out her phone. Together with Li Mucheng, they examined the screen and soon spotted a red dot in the mountainous area.

"It’s here!"

The two spoke in unison, then exchanged a glance and nodded without another word. They quickly led their respective teams toward Ye Feng’s last known location.

......

"Are... are they gone...?"

Ye Feng wearily opened his eyes. The pain wracking his body gnawed relentlessly at his nerves. From what he could gather through the sounds he’d picked up, there was no movement—Xie Yuyan really seemed to have left.

But he didn’t dare take the risk. If he gambled now and lost, it would mean total defeat. In such an uncertain situation, he wouldn’t act recklessly. Just as he was about to close his eyes to conserve his strength, he suddenly noticed a faint white line at the cave’s entrance.

"What... is this?"

Ye Feng’s eyes widened as he strained to focus on the white line. To get a better look, he twisted his bound body and inched painfully toward it, dragging himself across the ground until he reached a clearer vantage point.

When he leaned in for a closer look, he confirmed it—several thin white threads were tied at the entrance. Following their path, he spotted camouflaged detectors blending into the cave walls. If he so much as touched the threads, the detectors would emit a piercing alarm.

This setup revealed two things: first, Xie Yuyan was no longer secretly watching him, and second, she was likely doing something covert nearby. If the detectors were triggered, she’d rush back to his location immediately.

Seems like... the time has come...

......

"Yes! Xie Yuyan must have brought Teacher here!"

Li Mucheng crouched down, examining the fresh marks in the soil. She scooped up a handful and sniffed it. Su Yuxin watched this professional display with surprise.

"Mu... Mucheng, who taught you these skills?"

Su Yuxin wasn’t sure why she asked, but she had a gut feeling—the person who taught her was probably Ye Feng.

"Of course, it was Teacher."

Li Mucheng didn’t seem annoyed by the interruption. Instead, she gazed at the soil with a gentle expression.

"During the time Teacher spent teaching me, he shared so much invaluable knowledge. He never tired of it, always saying he wanted to 'make it up to me.' But I never did anything for him to owe me. I don’t know why he kept saying that."

"Huh? Did Ye Feng say the same thing to you?"

"?!"

At Su Yuxin’s words, the soil slipped from Li Mucheng’s fingers. She stood up abruptly, fixing Su Yuxin with an intense stare.

"You... Teacher said the same thing to you?"

"Yes. Back when he... kidnapped me, he kept talking about 'making it up to me'..."

Su Yuxin whispered the last part, a growing unease settling in her chest.

"Kidnapped? Making it up to you..."

Those familiar phrases sent Li Mucheng’s thoughts into chaos, like tangled threads she couldn’t unravel. But she knew now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She simply nodded at Su Yuxin and refocused on finding Ye Feng.

Su Yuxin understood. After all, they had once been close friends—until Ye Feng came into the picture. Without another word, she directed the surrounding bodyguards to search the area for more clues.

"The footprints have been carefully hidden—likely Xie Yuyan’s doing. But in such a short time, she must have left traces. Everyone, keep looking carefully."

Li Mucheng stood and issued firm orders. The team responded in unison and resumed their search.

Before long, a shout rang out—Found something! Li Mucheng and Su Yuxin rushed over.

"What is it?"

The moment Li Mucheng approached, she spotted a patch of blood, still fresh, beneath a pile of leaves. At the sight, both she and Su Yuxin felt their hearts clench, but they steadied themselves.

"Given the state of the blood, they can’t have gone far. The direction of movement should still be within this area. There must be more clues like this—keep searching!"

"Please, everyone, do your best!"

......

Watching from a distance as the group drew closer to her hiding spot, Xie Yuyan bit her pale lower lip. By now, she might have lost all sense of pain—a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Only when she tasted the metallic tang did her consciousness sharpen. Gripping her dagger tightly, her eyes burned with murderous intent.

"Why? I already gave you a chance to escape. Why do you insist on throwing your lives away? If you’re so eager to die, I’ll oblige. Maybe presenting your heads to Ye Feng will finally make him give up..."