Chapter 139: Escaping the Trap

The burly man frowned impatiently: "You're such a handful, kid."

The short man took offense: "Nature calls; how am I supposed to hold it in?"

"Go, just go."

The short man peeked outside, then stepped out.

Lin Hao stared at the short man's figure disappearing from the cave entrance, knowing her opportunity had arrived.

She forced a sound from her throat.

The burly man looked over.

"Wuu wuu wuu—" Lin Hao appeared even more urgent.

A thought flashed through the burly man's mind: *Could this girl also be looking to relieve herself?*

He stood up and walked over, looking down at the anxious young girl: "What is it?"

His expression and tone were far colder than the short man's.

"Wuu wuu—"

Frowning, the burly man leaned down and pulled out the cloth gagging Lin Hao's mouth: "Speak, what is it?"

"I..." Lin Hao's lips moved, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

Subconsciously, the burly man leaned closer.

At that moment, the hand Lin Hao had been keeping behind her back shot out rapidly, striking toward the burly man's neck.

By the time the burly man realized something was wrong, he was too late, despite his best efforts to dodge.

He truly hadn't expected that this seemingly delicate little girl could break free.

A sudden, needle-like pain pierced his neck—so fast it almost felt like nothing happened. The burly man grabbed Lin Hao's neck and squeezed hard.

Lin Chan watched, her eyes nearly splitting with anguish.

Lin Hao's hands were free, so she naturally wouldn't sit idly by waiting for death. She used both hands to grip the burly man's wrists, pulling with all her might to alleviate the pressure on her neck.

But in Lin Chan's eyes, even if her sister knew some martial arts, she couldn't match a man in strength; this was too dangerous.

Anxious and terrified, Lin Chan forgot their previous agreement to remain still and reached out to grab the burly man's arm.

Just then, the burly man's body suddenly stiffened, and he collapsed.

"Big Sister, quickly, go back to how you were," Lin Hao urged Lin Chan urgently, not having the time to explain why the man had suddenly fallen.

Lin Chan's mind went blank, but she instinctively did as Lin Hao instructed.

"Big Sister, I'm sorry to ask this of you," Lin Hao whispered, moving the burly man so he leaned against Lin Chan.

Lin Chan's entire body went stiff. She whispered, "Second Sister, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. The other one will be back soon. Big Sister, pretend you've been violated to lure him over, and I'll deal with him."

Lin Chan nodded, stuffed the cloth gag back into her mouth, and hid her hands behind her back.

Lin Hao did the same.

The short man finished his business and, just as he reached the cave entrance, heard intense muffled wailing.

*What's going on?*

He leaned down slightly to crawl into the cave and immediately saw his companion leaning against Lin Chan.

The light in the cave was poor, growing dimmer the further in one went. From his angle, his first reaction was that his companion had taken advantage of his absence to act out.

"Fine! You wouldn't let me do it, but you take advantage while I'm gone!" The short man was greatly dissatisfied and strode forward.

In the dim light, the swaying of his companion's body left him without suspicion. He reached out to pull the burly man: "This is going too far—"

Before he could finish, his peripheral vision caught a leaping figure.

His expression changed, and he immediately tried to dodge to the side, but the change was too sudden, and he was a step too slow.

A sharp sting pierced his neck, followed quickly by a loss of sensation.

"How did you escape?" the short man cried out in shock, reaching to grab Lin Hao.

In his view, a delicate little girl, even if she had escaped, would be easy to control once caught. However, the moment he moved, a wave of dizziness hit him, and his body swayed before crashing to the ground.

Lin Hao immediately removed the gag from her mouth and pushed the burly man, who was leaning on Lin Chan, aside. "Big Sister, are you okay?"

Lin Chan removed the gag, turned her head to gag a few times, and revealed a pale, survivor's smile: "I'm fine."

Only then did she realize something was wrong with these two: "Second Sister, what happened to them?"

Lin Hao raised her hand and twirled the bracelet on her wrist: "The bracelet has a mechanism; it hides several poison needles that can cause someone to lose consciousness for a short time."

This mechanical trick was also something she had learned from her teacher.

Her experiences in her past life prevented her from being a carefree, sheltered lady; only by keeping life-saving trump cards for critical moments could she feel secure.

Lin Chan was speechless with shock for a moment.

*Why does my sister have a bracelet like that?*

But now was not the time for questions. She glanced at the two men on the ground and asked, "How should we handle these two? Should we... kill them?"

Lin Chan had never thought she would one day ask such a thing, but in this actual situation, the words came quite naturally.

Second Sister had said these two had only lost consciousness; if they woke up, they would be in danger.

Lin Hao did not decide immediately, but instead walked to the cave entrance to check the sky.

The sun was hanging in the west; it was mid-afternoon.

She walked back and used the ropes that had bound her limbs to tie the burly man up securely.

Seeing this, Lin Chan picked up a rope to bind the short man's limbs.

"Big Sister, let me," Lin Hao took the rope, explaining as she tied them up. "There is a technique to knotting; the knots I tie won't come undone."

Lin Chan: "..." *Where did my sister learn such strange and peculiar things?*

Lin Hao quickly finished tying the two up and made a decision: "Big Sister, looking at the sky, it's still early. It should be enough time to drag them along until we encounter the people searching for us."

Though she hadn't seen them with her own eyes, she believed there were many people looking for them.

"Does Second Sister want to take them to the officials?" Lin Chan hesitated.

With their physical strength, dragging two grown men likely wouldn't get them very far. If it grew dark and they still hadn't met the search party, it would be dangerous in the mountains.

"Don't worry, Big Sister. I secretly calculated the time on the way here. Although this cave is well-hidden, it hasn't been too long since we entered."

Hearing this, Lin Chan felt even more ashamed: "I didn't expect that when trouble arises, everything relies on you to solve it."

"Why would you say that, Big Sister? If I were in danger, you would fight to the death to save me too." Lin Hao grabbed the burly man by the back of his collar. "Let's take them. Besides uncovering the truth, the most important thing is to clear our names."

Even if these two released them, their reputations would be ruined; the world is never sparing of its greatest malice when speculating about women.

She wouldn't just go back; she would drag these two like dead pigs in front of people, so everyone would know these men couldn't do anything to them.

Only in this way could the impact on her sister be minimized.

Lin Chan understood Lin Hao's meaning and nodded: "I'll listen to you, Second Sister."

The two sisters each dragged one man toward the cave entrance. Just as they reached the mouth of the cave, Lin Hao's footsteps faltered, and she whispered, "Someone's there!"

Lin Chan's expression changed instantly.

Lin Hao held her breath and peered through the gaps in the vines, seeing a familiar face.

"The Heir?" Lin Hao exclaimed in surprise.

The light at the cave entrance was blocked by a tall, upright figure, plunging the area into sudden darkness. Before Lin Hao could even recover, she was pulled into a tight embrace by a pair of arms.

With a *thud*, the sound of the burly man hitting the ground echoed as Lin Hao let go in shock.

(End of Chapter)