Chapter One

p dumplings and lean meat porridge, along with some pickled vegetables.Looking at the steam rising from the hot soup dumplings before her, Yan Luoxi sensed something amiss by instinct, but she couldn’...Chapter 1

Liyi led his people along a secret path into the jungle. It was already late in the evening, and under the deepening twilight, distant mountains loomed black against the sky, steep and towering as if touching the heavens.

"Brother, we've returned to this place," said冼四勇 with some dejection, pointing at a clearly flattened patch of grass where they had rested during lunch earlier that day.

Liyi's stern face darkened. They were lost; they had been wandering here for three days and could find no way out.

Since Liyi took over the Dynasty Empire, he gradually curbed his family’s illicit businesses, but there were many entangled relationships that couldn't be severed immediately. He still made two trips to the Golden Triangle each year. Liyi had no experience living in the Golden Triangle and wasn’t very familiar with the area, so whenever they came here for business without wanting it to be widely known, they would hire a guide.

This time, their mission was conducted secretly, and once again they hired a well-known guide.

Three days ago, after completing their objective, as Liyi and his people were about to head back, an unknown force suddenly attacked them. The assailants were professional armed forces; the quality of personnel and the weapons they wielded were highly standardized. During the clash of firepower, two of their men were injured, and most critically, their guide was shot dead.

In this place where vegetation was lush, grasses grew wild, and trees blocked out the sky, without a guide or any communication signals, no matter how capable one might be, it would amount to being blindfolded and disoriented.

For three days now, they had run out of food and water. If they didn’t find their way out soon, there was indeed a risk to their lives.

Liyi sat on the ground with his people and took out his phone again, but there was still no signal. He pursed his lips tightly and looked up at everything before him that he had seen countless times.

This was a primary secondary forest, where lush branches and leaves covered the old shade. Tall trees were closely connected, their roots entangled with various vines and creepers, forming a deep green as dark as ink in the depths of the forest.

The distant mountains stretched continuously, full of desolation; who would have thought that he could get lost or even die here!

Liyi was very much like his father, Li Haonan—wise, steady, and ruthless. But what good was all his capability when he didn't know the way

When he came out this time, he hadn't expected an accident to happen; there were only a dozen or so bodyguards with him. Although these bodyguards were skilled in hand-to-hand combat, sharp-witted and clever, they still didn't recognize the path here!

Liyi sat down and thought it over, telling everyone not to waste energy by blindly wandering around any longer. They had been circling this place for three days without being able to get out; even if they spent another three days trying, they wouldn’t be able to leave. Now, all they could do was hope that someone at home would notice their loss of contact and send people to rescue them.

Two bodyguards signaled Liyi before heading off to look for food and drink nearby when suddenly, they heard a series of delicate footsteps. The entire group immediately held their breaths and listened intently.

The footfalls were monotonous and light; it was clear that there was only one person moving and that this individual was very slight in build. They moved quickly without any hesitation, indicating that they were a local who at least knew the path.

Liyi subtly signaled to his bodyguards, and the group immediately entered combat readiness, drawing their guns from their waists and chambering them calmly. If it was possible to capture this person alive or if this person could lead them out of this vast expanse of dense forest, that would be a solution.

Ni Xuanyi briskly walked on the forest path. This area of woods was very secluded and quiet; without her grandfather, who had been a guide since childhood, leading the way, she would be lost in this vast expanse of similar primary secondary forest.

Her grandfather had left five days ago. According to what he said before leaving, they should have returned home three days ago. But until now, there was no sign of him returning. Ni Xuanyi was about to leave for university and couldn’t wait at home any longer; she feared her grandfather would be like her parents and never return.

Ni Xuanyi knew the route her grandfather had taken this time. She had already searched along his possible path several times but saw neither her grandfather nor his clients, only the chaotic aftermath of a gun battle.

She anticipated the worst-case scenario but still held on to hope, following faint footprints into this disorienting primary secondary forest.

Perhaps her grandfather had been injured or fallen unconscious and couldn’t guide them, causing them to get lost in these woods.

Ni Xuanyi looked at the barely visible footsteps underfoot and observed changes in the branches and leaves around her. She felt certain that these people must be somewhere nearby. Every step she took was cautious, as she constantly kept an eye out and stayed alert, but the next second, a gun barrel pressed against her temple from behind.

This was truly an expert; she hadn’t heard any sound at all.

Lǐ Yì stared at the small figure under his weapon. The dim light only revealed that the person had short hair and wore thin shirtsleeves. With a quick move of his big hand, he disarmed them, retrieving a sleek gun—this wasn't unusual here, nor did it mean the person was an evildoer; in this place, even children could play with explosives, which could take lives at any moment.

"Which village are you from" Lǐ Yì asked softly. He believed that anyone daring to walk alone in such a dangerous area late at night couldn’t be ordinary; in their part of the world, villages were ranked by prosperity, and once he knew which village someone belonged to, Lǐ Yì could figure out who was in charge.

"I don't belong to any village, I'm from Duwang Town. I'm looking for my grandfather," Ni Xuanyi's voice wasn't loud, but her pleasant tone still easily revealed that she was a girl.

The person who came turned out to be a girl!!!

Li Yi and his group of bodyguards were somewhat surprised. After all, in such a dangerous and dark place, it was clearly inappropriate for a girl to appear here.

"What's your grandfather's name" Li Yi moved the gun aside; this girl seemed credible. The guide they had hired came from Duanwang Town near the border, known as an experienced guide.

"Ni Dazhi." Ni Xuanyi pulled out a piece of black iron plate from her waist, engraved with "Duanwang Town" and "Ni Dazhi."

Li Yi secretly heaved a sigh of relief; this girl was one of them and a knowledgeable companion. If she could enter here, it meant she could get out as well. They finally had hope to leave this place.

"Where's my grandfather"

In less than half a second, Li Yi found himself at a loss due to the girl's urgent and anxious gaze. Some things were too cruel to say but he couldn't avoid saying them; Li Yi cleared his throat lightly, "We encountered an ambush halfway through, your grandfather..."

Ni Xuanyi’s body swayed slightly in the darkness of night. Although she had prepared for the worst possible outcome, upon hearing this terrible news, she still found it unbearable to accept.wn from the helicopter into a no-man's land near the Southeast Asian border. Not far from here was his family’s massive castle-style entertainment complex, along with one belonging to the Sang Kun fam...