It was Zhang Ke!

She hadn’t seen him in so many days that Su Man had nearly forgotten he existed — she’d half-expected him to have died of his wounds in some unremarkable corner somewhere!

She had never expected him to suddenly appear like this.

“Hey!” Su Man quickened her pace and ran toward them. “Bastard! Let him go!”

Zhang Ke was dressed in the same clothes as before, but his body was smeared with mud and blood, his hair a disheveled mess, his face gaunt and haggard. He looked exactly like a fugitive who had been drifting and wandering in the wilderness — utterly wretched.

At this moment he had grabbed Lu Yuwen by the collar, dragged him in front of himself, and hooked his elbow around Lu Yuwen’s throat. His other hand held a knife pressed against Lu Yuwen’s neck.

He felt not even a flicker of fear at Su Man’s approach. He sneered as he watched her come running back, then pressed the tip of the blade deeper into flesh — a bright bead of blood welled up and trickled slowly down Lu Yuwen’s fair neck.

Su Man furrowed her brow tightly and halted a few steps away from the campfire.

Zhang Ke pulled the knife back a little, but kept it against Lu Yuwen’s throat.

He fixed his cold, dark gaze on Su Man and said: “I’m just having a little chat with my buddy. What are you so worked up about? I’m a timid person — if you keep yelling and screaming, you might startle me. And a knife has no eyes…”

“You want to kill him?” Su Man laughed coldly. “Kill him, and you’ll never get out of here!”

Zhang Ke’s gaze grew even colder, his tone ambiguous: “And as things stand now… can we get out anyway? Heh…”

“Of course we can.” Su Man stood her ground and calmly negotiated with Zhang Ke. “Everyone’s goal is to leave the labyrinth. You can absolutely let him go. If this is just about venting your anger, then I can tell you clearly — if you kill him right now, you won’t escape either, not after that!”

Zhang Ke looked at her, then curled his lip contemptuously. “…Idiot.”

“What did you say?!” Su Man’s expression shifted.

“I said, you’re an idiot!” Zhang Ke suddenly bellowed. “Do you think you’re assembling a map?! You fool! These past few days, he’s been leading you in circles the whole time! Can’t you see that?! He’s been deliberately stalling for time!”

Su Man froze at these words and turned to look at Lu Yuwen in stunned confusion.

Zhang Ke raised his arm and savagely grabbed Lu Yuwen by the hair, forcing his head to tilt sharply back, the cold blade pressed flush against his throat.

“Tell her yourself — why have you been deliberately stalling for time, hm?” Zhang Ke spoke right into Lu Yuwen’s ear, his eyes fixed on Su Man with a vicious glare. “Could it be… you’ve taken a liking to this woman… so you deliberately don’t want to leave?”

Lu Yuwen could not speak.

Su Man bit her lip and snapped coldly: “Let him go! Putting the map pieces together is naturally slow going at first, and it takes enormous mental effort! Just because you can’t do it yourself doesn’t mean everyone else is stalling for time!”

Zhang Ke laughed — a smile full of mockery. “What a foolish woman… and so easy to deceive, truly. No wonder he’s had no suspicions about you all this time. But don’t think you can fool me, understand?”

The sharp blade pressed tighter against Lu Yuwen’s throat. Zhang Ke asked in a slow, low voice: “At this point, are you still unwilling to talk?… Lu Yuwen, don’t think I really won’t act.”

Blood flowed down the sliced wound.

The artery had not yet been reached, but the threat was unmistakable.

Lu Yuwen’s throat moved with a swallow, and he managed with difficulty: “I’ll… talk…”

“Good.” Zhang Ke sneered and relaxed his grip slightly, easing the knife back a little. “Speak up, then — why have you deliberately been stalling? Don’t treat people like fools. If you dare say a single lie, I’ll flay you alive!”

He glanced over at Su Man standing there, frozen in bewilderment, his smile growing ever more ruthless. “And let this foolish woman listen carefully, too — to hear how this partner she trusted so completely has been tricking and deceiving her all these days.”