Not following the expected path? Reborn and unexpectedly married to a demon.

"What's wrong?" Chu Luo asked.

"It's not eight people, it should be eight people per signal point, so three signal points should be twenty-four people."

The right guard affirmed, and Chu Luo trusted his judgment; the Cao Gang was very familiar with these signal methods.

The angler we just saw had several signals on him. Besides reporting danger, he should also have a timed signal to report safety. If he didn't send one when the time came, then something was wrong.

If a problem occurs in one place, the others will definitely be investigated. According to Xiaowan, all the children are locked up in one place, and if a problem occurs, someone will definitely come to check the place where the children are locked up.

Their people use timed signals to confirm safety. Two signals appeared in sequence, but the third signal didn't come. Then they sent a second signal of a different color to confirm.

"The organization that uses this kind of signaling is definitely not ordinary. The one who fished earlier wasn't very skilled, but the others might be. You see?"

The left guard pointed to the men in black who appeared not far away and said, "Everyone, hide."

"These are the people guarding us," Xiao Wan was terrified just looking at them.

“These people are all skilled in martial arts; it’s probably the ones who are strong but weak who are fishing and watching over the children,” the left guard said.

"Does that mean we're in grave danger?" Xingzhu asked worriedly.

Xiaowan understood what they meant: "I wasn't lying, I really wasn't."

"Don't be afraid, it's not your fault. Do you think they can be dealt with as easily as that guy who went fishing? They're hiding, so how could you know exactly how many of them there are?" Chu Luo comforted her.

Chu Luo knew very well that they were in a critical situation and needed to find a solution; talking about anything else was pointless.

“On the way here, I saw a cave. Let’s go there to discuss this further. This is not the place to talk,” Chu Luo said, and started heading towards the cave she mentioned.

When Chen Shu arrived, he hadn't paid attention to the road conditions and hadn't seen any caves. When Chu Luozhen led them to the cave, he couldn't help but admire her observation skills.

Once inside the cave, Chu Luo took off her bamboo hat.

Chen Shu had long guessed that she must be very beautiful, and sure enough, when that beauty materialized and became even more beautiful than he had imagined, he was suddenly at a loss, wanting to look at her but not daring to.

Chu Luo's words, "We may very well die here today," pulled him back to the reality of the crisis.

"Xiaowan, on the way here you said there were three fishermen fishing in two different places, and the other place was also using the same kind of child as you?" Chu Luo wanted to integrate all the information for analysis.

Yes, there are, but I'm the only living child today.

Xiaowan looked incredibly sad, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably; after all, she was still just a child.

"What do you mean by 'you' being the only living child'?" Xingzhu asked, puzzled.

"Yesterday, my friend A-Miao got bitten halfway by a fish... He was in pain all night and died... This morning they said he was still fresh, so..."

Xiao Wan was sobbing uncontrollably, and Chu Luo held him in her arms to comfort him.

"They're worse than animals! I'm going to kill them!" Upon hearing this, the left guard wished he could immediately draw his sword and rush out.

Chu Luo was angry, but she was able to remain calm; emotional reactions wouldn't solve the problem.

She continued, "Xiaowan, tell us what you know."

"I overheard them saying that they hadn't been catching any fish lately, and someone was very angry, saying that they didn't have enough time and that they planned to stop fishing slowly and instead take us all to the deepest part of the pool to set traps to catch the fish."

As for why it didn't happen later, it was because Xiaowan begged them to try him again, which is how they managed to get another day.

Chu Luo understood that this child intended to sacrifice himself to protect his other friends.

"Please, please don't abandon them, save my friends!" Xiaowan forced herself to kneel down and kowtow repeatedly.

The sight broke everyone's hearts, and Chu Luo quickly picked him up.

She gently wiped away his tears, her eyes red, and said, "We came here to save you."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Luo began to take out the things she was carrying, as she needed to make plans based on them.

"A small crossbow, a short knife, two packets of sleeping incense, and a bottle of medicine for treating injuries—that's all I have with me in this rush. We need to make some plans. Everyone, please share your thoughts."

"I'll go scout the area again later, figure out the environment better, and set up some traps using local materials to buy some time to rescue the children," the Right Guard Commander said first.

"My sleeping potion is extremely potent. If I can figure out the situation, and before the people from the other two locations return, I might be able to gather most of them together and knock them unconscious, but..."

Ideally, they would all be knocked unconscious, but those people aren't stupid, and they'll be arriving one after another.

"But what?" Chen Shu asked for the reason.

“We are outnumbered and outmatched. Even if we can temporarily save the child, we won’t be able to escape when their people come back. So we really need someone to rescue us.”

The others were at a loss for what to do, so command naturally fell into Chu Luo's hands.

“Miss, please tell us your plan. We all believe in you,” Xingzhu said, echoing everyone’s thoughts.

"Alright, I'll trouble Guard Left and Young Master Chen to use a feint to the east and a diagonal maneuver to send a message and request reinforcements."

As Chu Luo spoke, she picked up the short knife, activated the mechanism to split it in two, and handed one to Chen Shu.

The right guard then took Komaru out and made some noise to attract everyone except the guards.

"Xingzhu and I will use the sleeping potion to temporarily knock them out, and then move the child away and hide him," Chu Luo assigned their respective tasks.

"But where should we move the child?" Xingzhu asked, puzzled.

"I surveyed the area before we arrived. It's mostly mountainous and has a lot of water. There are probably quite a few caves like the one we're in. When the Right Guard goes to scout out the surroundings, he can find a relatively good hiding place. If there isn't one, we'll have to make do with this place."

After Chu Luo finished speaking, she handed the small crossbow bolts to Xiao Wan for self-defense, gave a packet of sleeping pills to Xing Zhu, and poured out the healing medicine to distribute to everyone.

"Why should I be the one to escape and get reinforcements? Even if everything goes smoothly and those villains return, what chance do those who stay here have of survival?"

After Chen Shu finished speaking, he didn't understand why he was being asked to deliver the message while they themselves remained in danger.

Looking at Chu Luo's face, he couldn't help but lower his voice and say gently, "Left Guard can go out and ask for help. I'll stay here to protect you. I can't bring myself to abandon women and children."

Chu Luo knew he was speaking from the heart. Although Chen Shu was a scholar, he was clear about right and wrong. Although he was not very brave, he was by no means a coward.

But she didn't want to owe him anything, and his staying wouldn't do much good anyway. The best solution was to ask for help and send him away, so that neither of them would owe the other anything.

"Our survival depends on how quickly reinforcements arrive. Their men are rushing back from outside, and if we encounter any resistance, one person calling for help won't be enough."

“But…” Chen Shu was about to speak again.

Chu Luo patiently explained it to him, but he was still hesitant.

“Young Master Chen, I’m entrusting this important task to you because I believe you won’t let me down. You can do it, right?” Chu Luo looked at him with sincere trust in her eyes.

Looking into those eyes, Chen Shu couldn't utter a single word of refusal. "Alright, you wait for me, I'll definitely bring people to rescue you."

The statement was made without any delay, and they set off immediately.

The task that Chu Luo had assigned to the Right Guard was also quickly completed.

"Xiao Wan, you'll have to lure their people out later. It'll be dangerous. Are you scared?"

Chu Luo asked Xiao Wan if he was not determined and might do something futile, harming everyone.

Xiaowan's gaze was firm. "Sister, I'm not afraid. I know I can do it."

Burdened by hatred and driven by a desire to save others and exact revenge, he only laments that he is too young to do more.

"Some guards are far away. If they can't all be drugged at once, then the Right Guard should keep a close eye on those who aren't drugged."

Chu Luo, fearing the worst, added further details, not wanting to be complacent. Since she couldn't be absolutely certain of victory, she could only be more thorough.

The plan began, and they went their separate ways to carry out the original plan.

Despite the pain from her wounds, the quick-witted and determined Xiaowan unexpectedly managed to lure those people out.

However, in order to hold back the two people who wanted to leave, he was slashed again on his small body. While they were entangled, Chu Luoxingzhu took the opportunity to light the sleeping incense.