Just as Gu Jin opened her eyes, the cave entrance shifted slightly. She turned her head quickly, ready for anything.
But then she saw familiar faces.
Jiang Wei, Ming Rou, and Qin Ye entered the cave one by one. They looked a little tired, their clothes dusty, but their expressions were bright.
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow when she noticed what they were holding.
"Are those... the plant stones you mentioned?" she asked, pointing to the strange green stones in Jiang Wei and Ming Rou’s hands.
Jiang Wei smiled and nodded. "Yes. We found a few near the east side of the mountain."
Ming Rou added, "They’re very rare. But we knew you’d need them, so we searched carefully."
Before Gu Jin could say anything else, Qin Ye stepped forward, holding a bunch of bluish stones in his hands.
"Aren’t you going to ask me what I brought?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Gu Jin gave him a side glance. "I never asked you to bring me anything."
Qin Ye chuckled. "Still, since you brought me to this world and even trusted me enough to stay in your group... I figured I should share something too."
He lifted the stones slightly. "These are thunder stones. Very useful."
Gu Jin’s eyes landed on the stones for a moment, but she didn’t say much. Her mind was too focused on other things.
I’ll collect those later... once Long and Jiang Xuelan are safe.
Suddenly, she turned to Jiang Wei. "I think I’ve found your daughter."
Jiang Wei’s eyes widened. "You did?!"
"I need to confirm her name first." Gu Jin took a breath and said, "I heard that someone named Jiang Xuelan is going to be executed in two days."
The moment the name left her mouth, Jiang Wei and Ming Rou both fell to their knees. Their eyes filled with tears.
"She... that’s her," Ming Rou whispered, trembling. "That’s our daughter."
Gu Jin’s expression turned serious. "She’s alive. But not for long if we don’t act fast."
Jiang Wei clenched his fists. "We have to go. We’ll save her now!"
He stood up, ready to run.
"Stop," Gu Jin said sharply.
"I already have a plan," she continued. "If you rush in without thinking, you’ll only get all of us killed."
"But—what if she’s hurt?" Jiang Wei said, his voice shaking. "What if she’s already—"
"She won’t be killed early," Gu Jin said calmly. "They plan to execute her in public. That means they want to show it to everyone. If they hurt her too much before then, they’ll have to answer to the people."
Jiang Wei lowered his head. "But she might be beaten..."
Gu Jin closed her eyes. "That’s possible. But right now, we can’t let emotions take over."
She opened her eyes again and looked at them both. "We have healing pills. When we get her back, we’ll heal her."
Jiang Wei bit his lip.
"As for revenge," Gu Jin added, "that’s your choice. Once I return your daughter to you, you can do whatever you want. But I won’t join in that part. My job is to protect you and get her back."
Her voice was cold but steady. It brought Jiang Wei and Ming Rou back to their senses.
Ming Rou looked at her husband. "Maybe... maybe we shouldn’t wait. Let’s just attack now."
Gu Jin shook her head. "No. As the execution day nears, the security around Jiang Xuelan will increase. It’ll be nearly impossible to move without being seen."
Jiang Wei frowned. "Then what do we do?"
Gu Jin leaned forward and shared her plan.
When she finished, the cave went silent.
Everyone stared at her.
"That plan..." Jiang Wei began, "It’s... very risky."
Gu Jin crossed her arms. "Do you have a better one?"
He lowered his head. "No."
Ming Rou didn’t speak either.
Quin Ye, who had been listening quietly, suddenly said, "You’re really smart, Gu Jin."
Gu Jin shook her head. "Not smart. I just know when to act."
Two days passed quickly.
The morning of the execution arrived.
Gu Jin, dressed in the same plain clothes as before, met the auntie shopkeeper early.
"I want to go there one hour before," Gu Jin said. "I want to see everything from the start."
The auntie smiled. "So excited, huh? Alright. Let’s go, child."
They walked toward the Central Plaza together. It was still early, but people were already starting to gather. Everyone wanted to watch the big event.
Once they reached near the plaza, the auntie sat down on a stone bench. "You go on and look around. You don’t need to listen to an old woman like me."
Gu Jin paused and looked at the woman.
For two days, this auntie had fed her, helped her, and treated her kindly. She was loud and nosey—but also warm and honest.
Gu Jin lowered her head slightly.
Once this is over... I’ll repay her kindness.
She gave a soft smile and walked away.
It looked like she was just wandering around, like a curious girl checking out the area.
But in truth, Gu Jin was watching everything.
She traced every alley, every side road, every roof.
In the last two days, she had already mapped out a basic escape plan. But there was still one problem—she didn’t know which way Jiang Wei would come from.
There was no fixed route.
The plaza was huge, shaped like a circle, with a tall wooden platform built in the center.
That was where the prisoner would be brought.
Soldiers stood around the stage, all of them armed and alert. There were people on the rooftops, too—some guards, some nobles.
She had already studied everything.
Her eyes moved smoothly from one side of the plaza to the other. There, in the east, she spotted Jiang Wei dressed like an ordinary traveler, holding a walking stick.
In the west, Ming Rou was carrying a basket filled with fake herbs. She looked like a wandering medicine seller.
And in the north, Qin Ye was leaning against a fruit cart, pretending to munch on a pear. But Gu Jin knew that his eyes were sharp and alert behind that relaxed face.
Now, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, a loud horn blew.
The crowd became silent.
A group of golden-armored guards marched forward, surrounding a small carriage pulled by spirit beasts. Gu Jin leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing.
Inside the carriage, bound in chains, was a young woman with messy hair and blood on her clothes.
Even from far away, Gu Jin could see her weak breathing. Her face was pale, but she was still alive.
Gu Jin’s fists tightened.
She gave a small signal by tossing a coin onto the ground and stepping on it.
Qin Ye saw it and instantly dropped the pear. He pulled out a thin flute hidden in his sleeve and blew into it once.
No sound came out, but Gu Jin heard the signal through the small mana thread they had set between them.
Everything was in motion.
Just as the guards reached the stage, Gu Jin lifted her hand slightly.
She released a wave of her plant element.
From underneath the stone pavement, thin green vines shot out like snakes, wrapping tightly around the legs of the guards at the front.
Before they could even shout, their knees buckled, and they crashed to the ground.
The crowd gasped in confusion, unsure what was happening.
In the same moment, Jiang Wei charged forward from the east, tossing a flash bomb Gu Jin had given him earlier. Bright white light exploded, blinding everyone nearby.
Ming Rou ran in from the west. She used her wind element to create a fast gust, blowing away the dust and smoke around the platform.
And from the north, Qin Ye pulled out two thunder stones and smashed them against the ground.
Blue lightning burst across the stone floor, shocking the remaining guards and creating loud, crackling noise. The sound made it harder for the others to call for backup.
With the chaos starting, she jumped forward and ran straight for the carriage.
She summoned another vine, this time from underneath the carriage itself. It slid up and wrapped around the locks on Jiang Xuelan’s chains.
With one tight squeeze, the locks snapped open.
Jiang Xuelan looked up, dazed. "Who—"
"No time," Gu Jin said quickly. "I’m here to get you out."
She pulled Jiang Xuelan into her arms and jumped off the platform just as another flash bomb exploded behind them.
"Retreat!" she shouted.
Right away, everyone moved.
Qin Ye disappeared into the crowd, using a smoke talisman to vanish.
Ming Rou picked up a small girl from the crowd and pretended to be a mother escaping danger.
Jiang Wei grabbed a fallen guard’s cloak and used it to cover himself.
Gu Jin, carrying Jiang Xuelan, raced toward the southern alley—their escape route.