Chapter 189: Daggers and Surprises

Except for the sounds of the crickets and Lyca's complaints about the TV series that she was watching, the first night of their camping trip was peaceful and silent— too silent. 

This silence however seemed like a sharp knife that hovered on top of everyone's head as everyone opened their eyes as wide as they could, hoping that they could see or feel if Lyca attacks them. They weren't so sure about her skills in attacking people, but they were sure she had some ways to make them immobile. 

The threat that she made earlier about her game was enough to keep them awake despite all the body aches that they felt from climbing the mountain. Because of this, not one of them dared to enter into a deep sleep. Some of them went as far as guarding each other as they sleep. After all, Lyca didn't tell them anything about the rules of her game. While some of them found a spot away from the camp to hide from her. Either way, one thing was for sure. Not many of them would get the rest that they needed this night.

Of course, Lyca was not aware of this. She was in her own tent, watching the TV series about cheating. A few curses would left her mouth every now and then as she cursed the female lead for being weak or for not killing her husband. Why would a woman… who already know that their husband was cheating… still chose to keep him alive? Wouldn't it be good to increase his insurance before he could change the beneficiary then kill him, secretly? 

This was clearly stressing her out!

[Working?] Lyca sent the text to Shen Qui before she turned her attention towards her laptop. She looked at the time. It was still ten in the evening. She couldn't help but wonder if he was already in the club.

[Just leaving the house. How's the training?]

Lyca smiled. [Don't text while driving. We're good.] She went back on watching her TV series as she started to wonder who will sleep or not sleep tonight. 

"Hey… Xi?" Cleo's voice echoed outside of the tent. "Can I come in?"

"Hmmm."

After hearing Lyca's acknowledgment, Cleo entered and beamed at her. "So? Are we hunting tonight?" she lowered her voice, making sure that only Lyca would hear her. 

"Hm? What are you talking about?" she paused her TV series.

"You know… you said you will hunt them."

"Oh!" Lyca nodded. "I said… I 'might'."

"Eh? So … So you won't do it?"

"Not tonight. No."

"But…"

"But what?"

"But I think they are guarding each other as they sleep outside. I think some of them chose not to sleep."

"Oh."

"I know! If they keep on doing this… they won't have energy tomorrow, right?"

"That won't kill them." Lyca already examined everyone's health diagnosis. Everyone here was healthy without any signs of heart disease or high blood pressure. A night without resting should not be enough to kill them. Moreover, she just told them she 'might' that was an unsure statement that aimed to make them more mindful of their surroundings.

"Oh! Let me tell you the real reason why I am here! It's about Hu Lan."

"What about her?"

"Well… she and the other one twelve are together."

"Oh." Lyca nodded, understanding flashed in her eyes. "Still alive?" she didn't hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Yes, sadly she is, and they are moving down the mountain. My guess is, she realized we are not going to look for her so, she forced herself and that man to come down."

"Oh. That's bad." Lyca shrugged. The forest— any forest is dangerous during the night. "I hope she dies."

"…" Why so direct? Can she at least pretend that she was worried? Cleo giggled. "Me too! I hope a poisonous snake bit her."

"Alright… you should go out and leave me alone. I am busy."

"…" Watching dramas? Cleo looked at Lyca's laptop wondering what was so good about dramas like this. "Why do you even watch drama like that? Isn't that too cringey?"

"Hm? This? I just want to practice."

"Practice what?"

"My reaction if it happens to me."

"…" Yep, this chick was definitely crazy— crazier than her. "Alright. I will leave you to your drama. I need to have my beauty sleep too." She said before leaving the tent. Lyca only shrugged as she started playing the TV series again. This should be her last episode before she sleeps. She was about to lie down when she heard the sound of branches breaking under someone's feet. She immediately wondered if it was Hu Lan.

No… that sounded too quiet. She squinted her eyes, her hands flew towards her dagger as she turned the volume of her laptop and removed the headset. Then she lowered turn down it's light, making sure that the inside of the tent was really dim.

She tightened her hands around her dagger as she rolled, making sure she was far from the walls of the ridge tent. Then she waited. After a few minutes of utter silence, Lyca slowly got up and walked out of her tent. She examined her surroundings, and when she noticed that nothing was amiss, she frowned.

She was certain that she heard the cracking of the branches earlier, and she was sure it wasn't an animal. It should be human. Was someone spying on her? 

"Boo!"

Surprised, Lyca's first response was to let out a snort. So… someone was playing a joke on her? She pivoted and suddenly threw three daggers on the shadowed spot just next to her tent. Another three small daggers left her right hand. She was preparing to attack the man when she heard Shen Qui's voice. 

"Hey! It's me!"

This time, Lyca froze. Her first thought was not the anger that was already boiling inside her but the fact that she had thrown knives— six knives towards him. Did she accidentally hurt him?

"Qui'er?" she asked, and he chuckled in response. Then he slowly walked out of the darkness, flashing her a mischievous smile.