Chapter 3  : The Man She Had Saved by Accident

There was something not right about this woman. Even the place itself was eerie!

For one thing, the village chief had repeatedly reminded them how the fog never faded in the valley, and how there wasn’t any signal around the perimeters. Obviously, Butler Shen didn’t think much of it then – believing it to be another one of that bastard’s tricks – and brought his team up the mountain.

What he didn’t expect was for all of them to get lost. Hell, it didn’t take them five minutes till his entire team had been swallowed up by this foggy mess. The worst part was? They couldn’t even call anybody for help, since there wasn’t any signal!

At that point, he decided to call it quits and not head into the valley. He could wait for Yao Tang outside just fine.

Now that he had seen her cold and frightening gaze, he couldn’t help but shiver.

He wanted to speak – snap at her even, but the moment he opened his mouth, no word left his lips. With a shrug, Yao Tang turned around and walked away. Might as well head off to more important things.

Foggy mist usually clouded around Mt. Qingyue, especially at the beginning of March.

Who would have thought that there would be a different world hidden behind this supposed “eerie and demonic valley”?

The dense forest held so much more than mist and trees, as much as some people would like to believe. In fact, just a little walk more, and she’d be greeted with a wide grassland and a crystal clear lake. It looked like heaven on earth. The corners of her lips twitched at the sight.

Of course, besides the lake, was an exquisite wooden house. She slowly moved her way to the front entrance. This had always been her safe space. Luckily, there was no one to intrude on her seemingly peaceful life. At least, until now.

As soon as she opened the door, Yao Tang immediately spotted a shadowy figure by the hallway. The smile on her face dampened, and her grip on the handle tightened.

“Why are you still here?”

The man leaning against the wall appeared quite different from the other villagers in her tribe. His skin was pale – different from the tanned hue they’d usually get from staying under the sun too much. He carried himself with so much grace and refinement that many would have initially assumed him to be a prince. However, there was something about his eyes, an unknown devilish glint that one just couldn’t decipher.

Yao Tang gritted her teeth.

If it hadn’t been for that handsome face, she would’ve left this man to die in the valley seven days ago.

Indifferent to her very murderous thoughts, he shot her a lazy smile. “I don’t think I’ve recovered yet,” he responded. “Do you really think I can survive the great outdoors?”

Her eye twitched. “You’ve already recovered three days ago.”

Interesting. Cheng Yan took a step forward, observing the way her face morphed in both disgust and frustration. This was the first time someone wanted him to leave so badly. In fact, if he had probably given her a choice, she would’ve already booted him out a long time ago.

“But you’ve just seen me.” He pouted mockingly. “Now, you want me to up and leave?”

“Have a safe trip!”

Instead of answering him, Yao Tang simply threw the door wide open.

Eyes still glinting, Cheng Yan nodded and walked up to her. “Fine, I’ll leave now, but before I go...”

He pulled out a jade ring from his pocket and placed it on her palm. There was a shift in his gaze as he glanced up at her. “If you ever need anything, all you have to do is bring this to Yale Garden in City A and look for me.”

“Hm.” She nodded lightly.

Before he could say anything, Yao Tang also pulled out a small compass from her pocket and handed it to him. “This is a compass, maybe not as fancy as your ring, but it would lead you out of the valley.” She shrugged. “Follow it out, and you’ll be fine.”

Without another word, she reentered her house and closed the door.

She truly was an interesting woman. Cheng Yan sighed audibly and shook his head, glancing at the compass. “Well, it’s now or never,” he murmured to himself. However, before he could walk out of the valley, he noticed the familiar figures of his subordinates lingering in the fog. Some appeared anxious, while others were shaking – probably from the cold.

Qin Hao was the first one to see his boss. As if he had seen a god, the young man sprinted towards Cheng Yan. “Young Master Yan! Are you all right?”

He carefully examined him up and down.

They had just come into the valley to look for someone, but how were they supposed to know that they’d be attacked? Fortunately, the Young Master was fine. Otherwise, how the hell were they going to explain this situation to Old Master Cheng?

“It’s good. You – you’re safe,” Qin Hao murmured. A few seconds later, his head immediately snapped up. “But wait, I – Young Master Yan, I still don’t know how to get through the valley. It’s...”

“I really don’t know what kind of place this is! The moment we entered, the fog just wouldn’t stop hounding us down. The GPS didn’t work, and we couldn’t even spot an animal within a hundred miles around our perimeters! You – you must’ve been wandering around for days too!”

Luckily, he didn’t have to. Cheng Yan tilted his head as the amused glint appeared in his eyes. “I know the way out,” he casually said. Even if he wanted to say, he knew that this wasn’t the right time to bother her. “Follow me, everyone.”

“You know the way out? Young Master Yan, you’re amazing!”

The group of people finally made their way out of the valley.

The next day, Yao Tang grabbed her small bag and made her way out of the valley, just as she had agreed with the butler.

At that very moment, Butler Shen was already seated in his car.

Seeing the young woman reappear from the valley, he looked her up and down with a sneer. “So, these are all the things?Miss Yao Tang has to take with her, all in one little bag?” he snarked. “Do you mind if I take a look? I want to see just how important your belongings are that you’d delay our entire trip by a day.”