I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Back Again

Wu Ya’s expression was incredibly grave.

Hidden beneath his foolish exterior was a soul that had seen the world. Narrowing his eyes as he watched the youth washing clothes upstream, he whispered back, “Deep? That’s an understatement. It’s like a thousand-year-old fox wearing a teenager’s skin. ‘Clinging to his thigh’? Qiaoqiao, I don’t think we’ll even get the chance. We’d be lucky if he doesn’t treat us as stumbling blocks and kick us into a ditch.”

Li Qiaoqiao’s face turned pale. “You mean… he, he already holds a grudge against us in the Fourth House?”

“Hard to say,” Wu Ya said, his gaze calm. “But he definitely knows his mother’s outburst started with us. And I’d bet anything he doesn’t believe a word of her excuses. Just because he isn’t moving now doesn’t mean he won’t later.”

The two exchanged a look, both seeing deep dread in the other’s eyes.

Simultaneously, they thought of the plot in that ragged book.

In the story, the “fool” of the Fourth House was one of the earliest cannon fodder characters to get “offed” just to clear a path for the protagonist, Wu Canghai.

Previously, they had harbored a bit of wishful thinking—that as long as they didn’t cause trouble and stayed away from the lead, they’d be safe.

But now, trouble has found them, and they might already be in the crosshairs of the future’s ultimate boss!

Once Wu Canghai helped Mrs. Wei carry the large basin of washed clothes and the mother and son walked home, Li Qiaoqiao and Wu Ya finally crept out from behind the rocks, heading back with heavy hearts.

Along the way, they ran into several villagers returning from work.

“Oh, Tie Niu, Qiaoqiao! Doing the laundry?” someone greeted them.

Wu Ya instantly switched to his standard foolish grin, spittle nearly leaking from his mouth. “Hehe… wash… wash-y clean…”

Li Qiaoqiao managed a strained smile and a nod.

The villager, however, craned his neck to look toward the direction Wu Canghai had left, clicking his tongue in praise. “That Canghai boy is really going places! See? Someone who studies in town is just different—so polite and filial! He was even helping his mother carry the basin. He’s definitely high-ranking official material!”

“You said it! The Wu family’s ancestral graves must be smoking with good fortune to produce such a star student!”

“We’ve got to be respectful when we see Canghai; the whole village might depend on him one day.”

The villagers’ words were filled with genuine respect for Wu Canghai, as if he already had one foot through the door of the imperial bureaucracy.

Hearing this, the last bit of optimism in Li Qiaoqiao and Wu Ya’s hearts was crushed to dust.

Is this the protagonist’s ‘halo’? He was only this old, yet he already commanded such prestige in the village?

What did they have to fight back with—one “fool” and one “child bride”?

The walk home felt exceptionally long.

They walked in silence, the oppressive atmosphere making it hard to breathe.

Finally, Li Qiaoqiao couldn’t hold it in anymore. She nudged Wu Ya—who was still working hard to maintain his idiot grin—with her elbow and said bitterly, “Hey, ‘Heir to the Fortune,’ where are those business brains and scheming skills of yours? Hurry up and think of something! We can’t just sit here and wait for a ‘plot-kill’!”

Wu Ya’s lip twitched, and he squeezed words through his teeth. “A plan? I’m a fool right now! What can a fool do? Should I go eat dirt in front of him and hope he laughs himself to death?”

“Pah!” Li Qiaoqiao was so frustrated she wanted to hit him. “I’m being serious! We’re transmigrators who know the plot—that’s our biggest advantage!”

“Advantage?” Wu Ya secretly rolled his eyes. “The advantage of knowing we’re likely to die a horrible death? If I knew I’d be dropped into this trash-tier setup, I would’ve preferred being provoked to death by my rivals at a negotiation table!”

Despite the words, both knew that bickering was just a way to vent the terror threatening to drown them.

Their greatest reliance was their foreknowledge of the plot.

But facing a protagonist with a mind as deep as the sea and a lucky “halo” to boot, they had no idea how much use that foreknowledge would actually be.

As they neared the end of the road, the picket fence of the Wu courtyard came into view.

Li Qiaoqiao took a deep breath, as if bracing herself and Wu Ya at the same time. “Whatever! We’ll deal with things as they come! Let’s be careful, save up as much money as possible, and if all else fails… we’ll run for it!”

Wu Ya tried to make his foolish smile look more sincere, muttering vaguely, “Mmm… save money… buy candy…”

They looked at each other; both knew their worries hadn’t lessened one bit. But for now, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep going.

Adjusting their expressions, they stepped into the Wu family courtyard, one after the other.

…

In a secluded thicket on the back mountain of Wanfu Village, Wu Ya and Li Qiaoqiao met up secretly again.

Wu Ya clutched the half-piece of the “Concentric Lock” so tightly his fingers turned white. He took a breath, steeling himself. “Let’s try one last time! This time, when the door opens, don’t think about anything, don’t worry about anything—just put your head down and bolt! Whether we can leave this dump and go back to our world depends on this one shot!”

Li Qiaoqiao’s heart was in her throat, but the temptation of returning was too great.

Electric lights, phones, flush toilets, takeout milk tea… every single thing made her heart ache with longing.

She nodded heavily, her eyes filled with desperate resolve. “Yes! Bolt! Once we’re out, we’re never coming back!”

The surroundings were silent, save for the rustle of leaves in the wind and the thumping of their hearts. They looked at each other and brought the two halves of the lock together.

The lock clicked a light sound, but a perfect fit.

The familiar world-spinning sensation returned. The scenery before them faded rapidly and then reconsolidated.

When their feet hit solid ground again and they opened their eyes…

Hey! Success! We’re back!

Before them was Li Qiaoqiao’s cozy, modern three-bedroom apartment!

The white walls, the soft sofa, the sparkling glass coffee table even the electronic clock on the wall were still ticking away!

“Quick! The door!” Wu Ya reacted instantly, shouting as he grabbed Li Qiaoqiao’s trembling hand and lunged toward the front door!

Hope was right in front of them!

Li Qiaoqiao fumbled to turn the handle. Click! The lock opened!

Wu Ya used every ounce of his strength to throw it open 

The door opened, indeed.

But outside wasn’t the expected hallway plastered with small ads, nor was it the familiar greenery of the housing complex.

Beyond the door was a boundless expanse of white.

The whiteness was so thick it was inseparable like the densest fog or an endless wall—silently blocking the doorway.

There was nothing. Nothing could be seen. It radiated an indescribable eeriness.

“This… what’s going on?” The joy on Li Qiaoqiao’s face froze instantly. Her voice cracked as she instinctively stepped back.

Wu Ya was stunned too, but he refused to give up!

They were just one step away!

“I don’t care what’s out there! Just jump!” His eyes were bloodshot; his mind held only the thought of “going back.” He grabbed Li Qiaoqiao and, regardless of the consequences, stepped out into that vast white void!

Their feet stepped into nothingness simultaneously.

It felt like stepping into a pile of cotton, or suddenly missing a step on a staircase. A violent sense of weightlessness hit them!

The white light ahead became blinding, swallowing all vision.

That dizzying, rotating sensation appeared once more, more violent than ever before!