After a moment of silent confrontation, Gu Tiancheng said, “Fine, I’ll go release Zou Furong shortly. She’s badly injured and hidden in a secluded place. If I don’t go, she’ll likely bleed to death before you find her. However, before I go, I want to collect some earnest money.”

When You Mingxu heard this, her heart lifted greatly. Thank goodness, Zou Furong wasn’t dead! Just as she was feeling relieved, she suddenly felt a tight grip around her waist as Gu Tiancheng dragged her over and pressed her to the ground. Her scalp tingled as she growled, “What earnest money?”

“Why so panicked…” Gu Tiancheng said calmly from behind her, “I just want you to stay quiet with me for a while. I’m not foolish enough to make you mine here before the police arrive—that would be suicide. You wouldn’t want me to be that stupid, would you?”

You Mingxu froze, momentarily still. Her mind reasoned that he might be telling the truth—Zou Furong’s life hung by a thread in some hidden location. This area was likely his headquarters; he had deliberately driven them here, which explained his familiarity with it. Zou Furong and Song Lan had simply had the misfortune of wandering into this den of evil. His words to her now might carry some truth mixed with lies. Better not to provoke him for now, but rather entice him to lead her to Zou Furong.

She felt him pull her gently, and they ended up leaning against a tree. His hand remained on her shoulder, his presence hovering close, leaving her unable to move.

The darkness before dawn was perhaps the heaviest. The boundless night seemed ready to submerge everything. There was nothing around them but the gentle wind and the wild scent of earth and leaves.

He said, “Whether there’s love or not, whether my feelings right now are real or not. Regardless of when we’ll die or at whose hands. I feel like I haven’t been a monster at this moment. I’ll remember these few minutes forever, and I hope you won’t forget them either.”

You Mingxu was silent for a moment before saying, “Perhaps.”

He said, “Stay still in front of me.”

However, although You Mingxu was typically bold in her actions and had dated before, her boyfriend had been an upstanding young man from the police academy. Thus, she lacked understanding of matters between men and women, or rather, of men’s dishonesty. This silence, this cold embrace, left her momentarily dazed.

At some point, she felt the man behind her moving, accompanied by rustling sounds. Before she could react and turn her head, she suddenly froze. Then she felt his other hand slide to her neck, holding it in an iron grip.

“Don’t move…” his voice was somewhat suppressed, slightly panting, fierce. Then You Mingxu heard what seemed to be his hand movements becoming faster, his breathing increasingly obvious.

You Mingxu’s first reaction was to widen her eyes, nearly cursing out loud. It was truly a case of a tiger fallen to the plains being bullied by dogs—she had been too careless, never imagining she would find herself in such a humiliating situation. Her entire body stiffened as she ground out through clenched teeth: “Gu Tiancheng, stop this right now!”

But in this matter, Gu Tiancheng was more experienced than her. He let out a light breath and said, “Stop? I’m holding myself—what right do you have to tell me to let go!”

This time You Mingxu’s ears turned red, but he had already imperceptibly tightened his grip on her neck. With her hands and feet bound, she couldn’t move. The slightest movement made her feel his fingers tighten, making it difficult to breathe. Her entire body had become rigid as stone when he whispered threateningly in her ear: “Still causing trouble? Make another move and I’ll slash the fool’s throat, then kill the other three. I said I’d collect some earnest money—perhaps you were lying about coming with me? I haven’t even touched you!”

You Mingxu’s legs pressed tightly together, her bound hands clenched into fists behind her. She knew he meant it—if she angered him in this “unstable” state, he really would turn and slash the foolish policeman’s throat, and even with her agility, she likely couldn’t save him in time. She forcefully clenched her jaw, eyes nearly popping out, head lowered as she spat hatefully: “Beast!”

Gu Tiancheng let out a light laugh, then quickly stopped. His body and breathing grew increasingly tense.

You Mingxu’s face darkened as she stared at the forest ahead and the fallen leaves swallowed by darkness.

Gu Tiancheng released her but remained leaning against the tree trunk. You Mingxu could only hear his breathing, but she could smell the masculine musk in the air. She felt nauseated but endured it. Yet that scent seemed to have contaminated her as well. She told herself to stay calm, to endure a little longer. Once she found where Gu Tiancheng had hidden Zou Furong, she wouldn’t need to endure anymore.

After catching his breath, Gu Tiancheng zipped up and wiped his hands clean with tissue paper, saying, “Wait for me here. Don’t run—if you do, I’ll kill them all. You won’t escape anyway.”

You Mingxu pressed her lips together in silence.

He smiled with satisfaction, reached out to embrace her waist once more, picked up the dagger from the ground, and walked into the forest.

The small clearing fell quiet again. You Mingxu focused intently, hearing clearly that Gu Tiancheng had indeed walked away. She also believed he needed to end everything before the police arrived.

The flush had gradually faded from her face, and though no one could see her now, her expression was cold as ice, her eyes dark with fury. Thinking back to Gu Tiancheng’s actions, she wanted to kill him. She would catch him herself, then press his head into the mud in front of the police station, making him lick the dirty water.

After indulging in these malicious thoughts for a moment, she collected herself and was about to act when she suddenly felt something wasn’t right.

She slowly turned her head.

The fool lay at her feet, eyes wide open, staring at her. This guy had awakened at some point, his handsome face still pale from blood loss, his eyes like black grapes blinking at her.

You Mingxu’s heart skipped a beat as she asked coldly, “What are you looking at? When did you wake up?”

The fool’s face suddenly showed anger and frustration. He pointed at her pants—his fingers were long and fair, his skin well-maintained, not looking like a detective who had suffered much hardship—then said through gritted teeth: “He… why did he pee on sister’s pants? Big bad guy! He peed on my sister! Peed!”

You Mingxu froze for several seconds, thinking that if he hadn’t threatened your life, would I have suffered such humiliation? She almost uncontrollably shouted: “Shut up!” Quick as lightning, she shook her sleeve, and a tiny, extremely sharp blade that had been hidden in her cuff slipped down. The blade’s edge slightly cut her palm, but she paid no attention, gripping it and flicking her wrist. The zip tie that ordinary people couldn’t break was easily sliced through. She quickly cut the bonds at her ankles. She had been sitting on the grass, and with one quick push against the ground with her hand, her entire body sprang up nimbly. Her left knee dropped in front of him as she moved to his side. Her right hand flashed, and with two barely audible sounds, his restraints were also cut. This entire sequence of movements—freeing herself, standing, moving, saving him—she completed in just over a second. The fool was stunned watching it. By the time he reacted, the woman was kneeling on one knee, looking down at him.

Although the fool was simple-minded, his senses remained sharp. The thick darkness seemed to be thinning, changing from ink-blue to dark blue. It was a sign of approaching dawn. But the air had grown colder. The woman wore a windbreaker, her long hair floating in the air, her left hand pressed to the ground, her right hand gripping the blade, her gaze clear and deep. She looked… very fierce, very fierce, but it also made him feel truly safe.

“Remember this…” You Mingxu practically squeezed the words through her teeth, “About the peeing… don’t tell anyone, including the police uncles you’ll meet soon. If you do, I’ll use this to cut your hand!”

The fool stared blankly for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

Seeing his confused expression, You Mingxu felt a bit regretful about the scary threat and softened her tone slightly: “This is a secret between just us two, understand?”

He understood and grinned: “Mm!” His teeth were white, his lips well-shaped. Such a handsome man, smiling like an idiot.

A slight smile appeared at the corner of You Mingxu’s mouth as she stood up, saying, “I’m leaving. Find a place to hide until I come back for you.”

He panicked, clutching his wounded shoulder as he stumbled to his feet, asking, “You… where are you going?”

You Mingxu glanced at him, took off her windbreaker, and threw it to him, saying, “Stop the bleeding yourself, press on the wound, or wrap it up. You look sturdy enough—you won’t die anytime soon. I’m going to catch him. He’s not going to release anyone—he’s going to kill them.”