After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

The day of the sacrifice was a cloudy day.

Only men participated in the ritual; no women were present. They wore dark-colored clothing and identical black cloaks. At first glance, it didn't look like a traditional ritual but rather like some kind of cult activity.

I asked the innkeeper and learned that only men aged fourteen and over, and under sixty, could participate in this sacrificial ceremony. This rule was introduced because the elderly, weak, women, and children in the town could not bear the terrifying atmosphere during the ceremony.

The Crown Prince and Zuo Yi, along with several bodyguards, disguised themselves and mingled with the crowd of people participating in the sacrifice. Liu Ying stayed behind, while Lu Zhiyuan took Lu Yun to the Zhang family once again.

Last time, they let Master Zhang go, but on the day of the sacrifice, he and the Zhang family will definitely take action.

Last time we used the main gate, this time we used the side gate, the one the Zhang family hadn't used for years. We poured molten copper into the rusty lock, took out the master key, and with a click, the lock opened. The seemingly intact wooden door creaked and groaned with a jarring sound when pushed.

Next to the side gate is a bamboo grove. The bamboo grove is not trimmed, and part of it leans over the side gate, blocking it.

Lu Zhiyuan crouched down and slipped through the gaps under the bamboo grove. When she turned back to remind Lu Yun, she saw that the guy lazily used his sword to split the leaning bamboo and then toss it back into the bamboo grove.

Well, her reminder seems unnecessary.

As soon as they emerged from the bamboo forest, they smelled a faint fragrance, a rather peculiar scent, similar to that of camphor trees. At the same time, Lu Yun, who was following behind Lu Zhiyuan, sensed a strange gaze and instinctively stepped forward, shielding Lu Zhiyuan behind him.

It was a hard-to-describe feeling. Even though he couldn't see anyone, he could clearly sense someone watching him. That gaze was cold and calculating, making Lu Yun involuntarily tense up and stare directly into that corner.

There are "people" over there!

Lu Zhiyuan's instincts as an assassin were also reminding her.

Without the slightest hesitation, she gave Lu Yun a wink. Lu Yun looked up, then disappeared behind her, leaping onto the rooftop the instant he vanished into the bamboo forest, heading straight for that corner. Lu Zhiyuan walked in a straight line, but was a step slower than Lu Yun.

A piece of clothing lay scattered in the corner, covered in patches, the patches still carrying the scent of the one I had just smelled.

The clothes belonged to a girl, and judging from the size, she was about four or five years old, which matched the size of Cui'er who disappeared at the Niangniang Temple. The clothes were rolled up in a ball and then unrolled, and the peculiar fragrance lingered only on one side.

An image of a woman appeared in his mind, shrouded in a black cloak, just like the men in the town who went to participate in the sacrifice. She wrapped Cui'er's clothes around her arms and silently watched them from the shadows in the corner.

When Lu Yun noticed that gaze, he quietly pulled his head back.

Her goal was to attract their attention. Once she achieved that, she dropped her clothes and, relying on her familiarity with the Zhang residence, quietly escaped unnoticed.

Luring the tiger away from the mountain, then leading the army into the trap.

Looking up, he saw Lu Yun crouching on the roof ridge. Lu Yun understood and followed the strange fragrance.

Lu Zhiyuan didn't chase after them, but leaned against the wall in quiet contemplation. That person knew they would come to the Zhang family, knew that Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Yun had unusual noses, and that the fragrance different from the Zhang family's was a clue she had deliberately left behind.

Who is she? Is she friend or foe?

What is her relationship with the Zhang family, and why is she so familiar with the Zhang residence? What role does she play in the inn where they are staying?

From the shopkeeper to the waiter, from the waiter to the general servant, from the servant to the cook and the cook's wife, the final image is that of a hurried, fleeting face, hastily concealed.

Lu Zhiyuan smiled; Master Zhang was still hiding something from her.

Clapping his hands, he used the momentum to climb onto the roof, then traversed the ridgeline, and soon arrived at Master Zhang's side room.

Thanks to those few silver needles, Master Zhang was "paralyzed," and he didn't need to attend today's sacrificial ceremony in person. With extremely gentle movements, I moved two tiles aside and just in time to see Master Zhang venting his anger on his servants.

"Where's the doctor? Didn't you say you found a miracle doctor? Where is he? Do you want to see the master lying paralyzed in bed, unable to move?"

The servant replied, "Master, don't worry, the divine physician is on his way."

Master Zhang pounded the bed: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious! How can I not be anxious? If we delay that person's important matter, you and I will both die! Do you think that I, the master, enjoy my wealth and honor so easily? Your head and my head are both tied to other people's belts. They can chop them off or take them as they please."

The servant lowered his head and took a step back: "It's not that bad. Master has served them for many years. Even if he hasn't done anything meritorious, he has certainly worked hard. Besides, Master has something to restrain them. At worst, it's a fight to the death."

Master Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his servants, saying, "Still haven't found Fourth Sister? The town is only so big, I don't believe she can turn into a fly and fly away. And that Cui'er from the Liu family. Five years old, just arrived at the manor, and she ran away too! Fourth Sister must have saved her. Search, send people to search for me, I want to see her alive or dead. If you still can't find her, don't come back."

The servant wiped his sweat with his sleeve: "Is death acceptable? We almost caught her several times, but you ordered that she not be harmed, which is why she escaped."

Master Zhang was furious. He grabbed something and threw it at the servants: "Bring back the living if you find one, and bring back the dead if you find one. If you turn a living one into a dead one, I'll make you all pay with your lives!"

The servant's lips twitched as he answered Master Zhang's words while plotting to kill him.

Seeing that Master Zhang had stopped speaking, the servant picked up the ginseng soup that was on the table. Lu Zhiyuan could clearly see that the servant had sprinkled some medicinal powder into the soup and had deliberately stirred it with a spoon.

Master Zhang had thrown a tantrum, and being quite hungry, he picked up the ginseng soup and drank a few mouthfuls. Seeing the servant still standing there, he sent him away.

The servant lowered his head and curled the corners of his lips into a smile.

He came out of the side room and spat on the ground. When he turned his head, he found something on his neck.

"Girl, please spare me! I'm just a servant."

Lu Zhiyuan led the servant aside and asked in a low voice, "Who is Fourth Sister? Why did your master arrest her? What is her relationship with that Cui'er?"

The servant chuckled softly, but felt the dagger at his neck tighten. He immediately stopped laughing and resumed his trembling, fearful demeanor.

"Fourth Sister is my master's fourth concubine. She is favored by my master because she looks very much like my wife when she was young. My young lady is the daughter of Fourth Sister and my master. Fourth Sister does not like my master. She tried to commit suicide several times while pregnant with the young lady, but my master saved her each time. I don't know anything more. I am just a servant. You are beautiful and kind-hearted, please let me go."

"Who ordered you to drug your husband?"

"Drug? What kind of drug? I don't know what you're talking about, young lady."

Before the servant could finish speaking, Lu Zhiyuan slit his throat. As she wiped the dagger, she brushed against his hand, where he was also holding a dagger.

She doesn't take lives easily, unless that person wants her dead.