After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Save Her, or You All Die

Everyone was shaken. The four of them stepped forward to the edge and looked down: suspended at the end of a rope was a young girl, about twelve or thirteen years old.

Her expression was unreadable from this distance; her hands hung limp, and the rope was tied around her ankles. She dangled there motionless—no one could tell if she was alive or dead. Her hands were nearly touching the rushing river below, a sight that made everyone’s heart skip a beat in terror.

The other teams clearly saw what was happening, but their faces remained cold and indifferent, as if they had long grown accustomed to such a sight. Men and women alike watched the girl hanging there without a shred of surprise. It wasn’t just apathy; it was habit.

Jiang Huaiyi and her companions couldn’t bear it. Chu Lianxue was already preparing to haul the girl up. It was a long rope and a heavy task, so the group planned to pull together.

But as Chu Lianxue stepped forward, the crowd standing near the winch moved, blocking their path with dissatisfied grumbles. Chu Lianxue frowned, her voice icy: “What are you doing?”

The leader was an older man—his face looked relatively young, but his hair was entirely white. He wasn’t tall, and he clenched a pitch-black pipe between his teeth, eyeing them with contempt. He stood his ground, refusing to budge. “What are you doing? Don’t you know the rules?”

Chu Lianxue didn’t waste words. She drew her sword and pointed it straight at him. “Move. Or pull the child up yourselves. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

She would never stand by and watch someone die. None of them would. Even Mu Ze, whom she usually considered a “bad person,” couldn’t tolerate this.

Jiang Huaiyi knew her Senior Sister was so angry her head was likely throbbing, but she forced herself to stay clear-headed, calculating the best move. Even with the casualties from yesterday, there were still fifty or sixty people here against their “four and a half.”

It was clear from the man’s words that everyone knew about the girl. This was a living sacrifice. It was unfathomable how these people could be so devoid of humanity.

There was no turning back now—Chu Lianxue had already pressed her blade against the old man’s neck. Her sword was a real, sharpened weapon. The old man’s contempt vanished, replaced by a dark, sullen glare.

Immediately, the crowd surrounded them. But Jiang Huaiyi wasn’t afraid; she knew Shen Wensi had the gun. That was their trump card.

“Little girls, you’ve just arrived,” the old man growled. “We haven’t even charged you a fee yet, and now you want to cut down the tree we planted?”

“To tell you the truth, we bought this kid. You’d better stay out of it. It doesn’t matter if she dies, but if we don’t see the Dragon because of you, we’ll throw all of you down there instead!”

Chu Lianxue gave a cold laugh and drove the tip of her sword through his shoulder. “No respect for the law, then? Fine. I won’t be polite either.”

The old man shrieked, and his pipe clattered to the floor, rolling until Chu Lianxue kicked it into the turbulent river below.

As the crowd surged in anger, Chu Lianxue pulled her sword out, kicked the old man over, and pinned him under her boot. “Nobody move! Anyone who moves gets gutted! I’ll kill every single one of you if I have to!”

Her voice was thunderous, stopping everyone in their tracks. A refined-looking man in glasses stepped forward. “Little girl, let’s talk this through. Why the violence? We aren’t unreasonable people.”

Jiang Huaiyi sneered. This man hadn’t played the peacemaker until his own side got hurt. “Hypocrite,” she snapped. “Hiding behind those glasses like a coward. Human traffickers whether you bought her or kidnapped her, stop pretending you’re anything but scum.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, and she didn’t sound particularly angry, but her words made everyone’s blood pressure spike. It was a kind of “calm madness” that made people uneasy.

Chu Lianxue glanced at her and whispered, “You and my Junior Sister are actually quite a match.”

The crowd retreated slightly but kept them surrounded, looking for a weak point. Jiang Huaiyi reached over and adjusted Song Rong’s mask, wanting to hide the girl’s fear from the vultures circling them.

The most intimidating presence, however, was Shen Wensi. She stood there with a face like stone, and people instinctively gave her a wide berth.

Jiang Huaiyi leaned toward her and continued her verbal assault: “Are you going to pull her up, or are we? It’s a long way from civilization—I don’t think any of you want to die out here. We aren’t joking. If even one of us survives, I guarantee none of you will ever leave these woods.”

She looked at the silk paper in her pocket. New words were appearing rapidly: Lure the Dragon.

She didn’t understand, so she shoved the paper back. She looked at the crowd. Most were middle-aged—people who likely had children of their own. How could they do this? Did they not feel anything? Or were they simply no longer human?

Seeing that the crowd was still hesitating—some even lighting cigarettes as if to call their bluff—Jiang Huaiyi patted Shen Wensi’s arm.

Shen Wensi drew the shotgun.

The sound of the holster was a sharp clack that made everyone gasp and scramble backward several steps. A wide circle cleared instantly. Shen Wensi looked so cold, so much like a professional assassin, that some people actually started shaking.

These people were used to the “routine” of Dragon Hunting. They expected simple dangers, not a group of young women with a firearm. The sight of the old-fashioned, lethal barrel terrified them.

Even the man under Chu Lianxue’s boot went silent.

Jiang Huaiyi maintained her cold expression, pointing at the girl below. “I’m giving you ten seconds. Pull her up, or we start shooting.”

Support