After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Surrounded

The hair on the back of Chu Lianxue’s neck stood on end.

Those eyes blinked in the pitch-black darkness, appearing as if out of thin air. Her breath hitched, but in the next blink, they were gone. Anxious, she crawled entirely under the bed, her lamp cutting through the rising dust. Soon, she reached the wooden wall. There, she found two greyish knots in the timber.

Touching them, she felt the rough texture of wood. They weren’t eyes at all. Chu Lianxue exhaled, realizing her exhaustion and the dim light had played tricks on her mind. It was just a false alarm.

After her shift ended and after delivering a few more choice kicks to the unconscious Er Shu she woke the next person.

Jiang Huaiyi sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The lingering ache from her fever was gone; the resilience of youth had aided her recovery. She dressed, took the kerosene lamp, and headed to the door for her watch.

The wooden hut was old but remarkably windproof. To keep the warmth from the charcoal brazier inside, they had left only a tiny crack in the window for ventilation. Jiang Huaiyi found the air inside a bit stifling, so she decided to step outside for a moment to clear her head the fastest way to fully wake up.

She squeezed through the door and shut it quickly behind her. The cold night air hit her face like a slap, instantly sharpening her senses. The weather had been clear; no snow had fallen yet, which was a blessing. Without a guide, a blizzard would make the mountain terrain a labyrinth of white.

Rubbing her hands, she noticed the temperature down here by the river was significantly warmer than up on the slopes. Curious about the water, she walked to the riverbank. Mist swirled over the surface. Having confirmed the water was safe earlier, she pulled off a glove and dipped her hand into the flow.

It was startlingly warm almost the same as her body temperature. She let out a contented sigh. No wonder the old man survived so long in the water, she thought. This feels like a sun-warmed pool in midsummer.

As she headed back, she wondered if this warmth was linked to the “Spiritual Spring” the weasels had mentioned. She was now almost certain that their ultimate goal was the source of this thermal river.

She reached the hut, her face numbing slightly from the wind. Just as she reached for the door handle, a hand clamped firmly over her mouth. Simultaneously, the sharp, icy point of a metal object pressed into her throat.

A familiar, high-pitched voice whispered in her ear: “Don’t move, Miss Jiang. You wouldn’t want a hole in your neck that doesn’t belong there, would you?”

Jiang Huaiyi froze. She hadn’t heard a sound. It was as if this person had manifested out of the shadows. The hand over her face was unnervingly cold like five bars of ice pressing into her skin. She had to grit her teeth to keep from shivering.

The person behind her had no audible breath. “I only looked at you a few times,” the voice continued, “so why did you have to wound my eyes? If I can no longer see, would you be willing to stay by my side and see the world for me?”

Jiang Huaiyi’s mind raced. Zheng Ji. It was her.

In a flash, the pieces clicked together. The bears often called “blind bears” due to their poor eyesight belonged to Zheng Ji, who had been blind since they first met.

“Don’t bother struggling,” Zheng Ji giggled. “I’m taking you with me tonight. Be a good girl, or I can’t guarantee my hand won’t slip.”

Jiang Huaiyi took a deep breath and followed the pressure of the blade, stepping away from the hut. Once they were a safe distance away, the icy hand let go of her mouth.

“Where are you taking me, Zheng Ji?” Jiang Huaiyi asked, trying to remain calm.

“Oh, you remember my name,” Zheng Ji laughed. “I told you, I liked you the moment I saw you. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

Jiang Huaiyi sneered inwardly but kept talking to distract her. She noticed that the more she engaged, the more Zheng Ji seemed to relax her posture.

“You say you won’t hurt me, yet you set those bears on us?” Jiang Huaiyi countered. “If we didn’t have a gun, I’d be dead by now.”

“I only wanted my pets to kill the nuisances around you,” Zheng Ji whispered. “I never intended to harm you.” To prove her point, she moved the blade slightly away from Huaiyi’s throat.

Jiang Huaiyi’s heart hammered against her ribs. She needed to lower Zheng Ji’s guard further. “We could talk about this,” she said, her voice softening. “You don’t have to resort to kidnapping. I’m sorry about your eyes, but you were watching me first. We can find a middle ground.”

Her tone was level and non-threatening. The blade moved further away. Jiang Huaiyi prepared herself; she just needed one opening to bolt back to the hut.

Suddenly, Zheng Ji’s voice lost its playful lilt and turned bone-chillingly cold. “You’re quite the diplomat, Miss Jiang. You want to leave, don’t you?”

The blade vanished from her neck. Jiang Huaiyi spun around to run, but she stopped dead.

Out of the surrounding darkness, several massive, dark silhouettes emerged. High above their bulky shoulders, two furry ears twitched on each shadow. The “blind bears” had returned, and they had her surrounded.

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