After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: The Ambush

Jiang Huaiyi patted her burning cheeks. After Shen Wensi had dropped that line, she had drifted away as light as a feather, leaving Huaiyi standing there in a daze. A sense of joy bubbled up within her, pulling her lips into an involuntary smile, though it soon faded. The weight of her Master’s disappearance was a shadow that prevented any lasting happiness.

The little girl they had rescued, Xiao Zhao, was doing much better. Sensing their kindness, her hostility had vanished. Clad in a few oversized layers from Song Rong, she finally looked warm. Despite her frail frame, she seemed used to hard labor and possessed surprising stamina.

The group planned to regroup at the wooden hut, replenish their supplies, and find a truly safe spot to rest. As they neared the cabin, Shen Wensi, walking in the lead, sensed something was wrong. She signaled everyone to stop.

“What is it?” Jiang Huaiyi whispered, moving to her side.

Shen Wensi placed a finger to her lips and pointed toward the dark silhouette of the hut. “Something’s wrong. I sense a living presence inside.”

She discreetly checked a small bell on her wrist—a simple signal system she used with her contacts. It remained silent, but her instincts were screaming. Jiang Huaiyi felt a wave of relief; if it was a “living” threat rather than a ghost, it was manageable. Still, in this wilderness, the living were often more terrifying than the dead.

They decided not to rush in. They kept their flashlights swaying to mimic the appearance of a tired group continuing their journey, hoping to lure the intruder into a false sense of security.

“Could it be Er Shu?” Jiang Huaiyi whispered. The guide had been missing since the bear attack, and no one believed a veteran woodsman like her would simply die.

They formulated a plan. Song Rong and Mu Ze would stay back with the luggage and Xiao Zhao, while Jiang Huaiyi, Shen Wensi, and Chu Lianxue would enter the hut.

The Trap in the Dark

They staged a scene, lighting a campfire outside and chatting loudly about how tired they were. Xiao Zhao sat quietly, watching them with wide, intelligent eyes. She had quickly bonded with Song Rong, accepting the new name “Xiao Zhao” after they collectively decided her birth name (which implied a “wish for a brother”) was an insult to her.

“Let’s go make the beds,” Chu Lianxue said, stretching theatrically as she signaled the start of the operation.

Shen Wensi followed, her shotgun concealed against her side. Jiang Huaiyi pushed open the door. The cabin was pitch black. Chu Lianxue reached for a kerosene lamp on the shelf and struck a match.

The moment the flame flickered to life, the smell of kerosene hit them it was too fresh. If they had been gone all day, the scent should have dissipated.

“Get down!”

A violent gust of wind swept through the room. Shen Wensi shoved Jiang Huaiyi and Chu Lianxue to the floor. The kerosene lamp fell and shattered, plunging them back into darkness. In that split second of fading light, Jiang Huaiyi saw a pair of sinister eyes.

It was Er Shu.

“Dammit! She cut my face!” Chu Lianxue cursed in the dark.

Jiang Huaiyi felt warm liquid splatter onto her hand. The sound of a desperate struggle erupted. “Watch out for her knife!” Huaiyi screamed, fumbling for her lighter to relight the spilled lamp.

When the light returned, the scene was grim. Er Shu had pinned Chu Lianxue to the floor, a dagger descending toward Chu’s eye. Chu was blocking it with all her strength, but she had no leverage.

Thwack!

Shen Wensi delivered a brutal kick to Er Shu’s ribs, sending the woman flying into the wooden wall with a sickening thud. The entire cabin seemed to shudder.

Chu Lianxue scrambled up. Her face wasn’t scarred, but her ear had been sliced open, and blood was pouring down her neck. Er Shu lay against the wall, her left arm clearly broken, gasping for air.

“Why did you attack us?” Jiang Huaiyi demanded, her voice trembling with anger.

Er Shu spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned. “You… have money…”

Jiang Huaiyi felt a chill. They had paid her well. To be betrayed for greed after surviving a near-death experience together shattered any remaining trust she had in the locals. “Did you lead us to the bears?”

“Bears?” Er Shu laughed hoarsely. “You should thank those beasts. If they hadn’t showed up, you wouldn’t have survived the night anyway. Hahaha!”

A New Terror

Chu Lianxue, having no patience left, knocked Er Shu unconscious with the butt of her sword. They tied the woman up securely, though the revelation that the bears weren’t her doing meant there was another threat lurking in the woods.

The group settled in for a rotation of night watches. Mu Ze took the first shift, then Chu Lianxue took over.

Chu Lianxue sat on the edge of the bed, her ear bandaged and throbbing. She noticed a shard of glass on the floor—likely from the broken lamp—and knelt to pick it up. As she lowered her own lamp to check for more debris under the bed, the flickering light illuminated the crawlspace.

Chu Lianxue froze.

In the shadows beneath the bed, she was staring directly into a pair of ash-gray, lifeless eyes.

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