The Overlord Flower's Guide to Intercepting a Woman's Wife's Death and the Male Lead&

When Zhou Bingheng received the call, he was marking new coordinates on an unfolded topographic map.

"grandfather."

There was a sound of someone switching hands on the other end of the microphone, and the old man's deep voice came over.

"This doesn't involve military secrets, just tell me the current situation."

Zhou Bingheng remained silent for a few seconds before giving a brief report on the situation.

At Dinghe Station, human traffickers encountered Su Xingmian and Song Qingqing, who were kidnapped at the same time. Song Qingqing has escaped and returned to the division headquarters, but Su Xingmian is still missing.

There are some things that can't be mentioned, and Grandpa understands.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long time.

Zhou Bingheng grew up to the point where he could hear the old man's breathing change from rapid to even.

"Did that girl from the Song family run away on her own?"

Zhou Bingheng paused for a moment.

That's what she said herself.

Another silence followed.

The old man fought wars his whole life and interrogated more prisoners than Song Qingqing had ever eaten.

He doesn't need to know the details; what his grandson says is enough.

"How confident are you about Mianmian's situation?"

"Grandpa, Mianmian is not as fragile as you think."

Zhou Bingheng spoke gently, but his voice was very low.

"She's smart. I believe she can wait until I come to rescue her. It's only a matter of time before I find her."

The old man took a deep breath.

"Your grandma just had a crying fit, and I've kept quiet about your mom's side."

"Don't tell Mom yet."

"I know."

The old man lowered his voice, carrying the same decisiveness he had when commanding battles back then.

"Bingwen can't stay in Helan Mountain. He just called me three times, insisting on going to the front line, saying that his second sister-in-law is missing and what use is he staying there?"

"Let him stay there."

"Second brother, Bingwen is an orthopedic doctor. The girl we rescued over there needs to be treated. Let him go there as a military doctor. It's perfectly legitimate, and no one can find fault with it."

The old man added another sentence.

"Besides, if something bad happens to him back home, your mother will be the first to hold you accountable."

Zhou Bingheng quickly went over his younger brother's personality in his mind, and then recalled his brother's composure on the operating table.

"Let him only handle medical matters and not touch anything else."

"OK."

The phone hangs up.

Zhou Bingheng put down the microphone and placed his hand on the topographic map. The shape of the Helan Mountains was clearly visible under his fingertips.

His gaze fell on the area on the southern front, and he stared at it for a long time without moving.

*

A bowl of plain noodles was placed in front of Su Xingmian.

The soup was clear, with chopped scallions settling at the bottom, and steam rising from it, carrying a precious touch of moisture in the dry environment.

Su Xingmian held the bowl, her eyes lowered, and ate slowly and carefully.

She was indeed hungry.

He Yaozu sat opposite him, his book open in his hand, turning the pages at a steady pace, but his eyes never moved; he wasn't actually reading.

She finished the last drop of soup in her bowl, put it back on the table, moved back towards the head of the bed, hugged her knees, and curled up into a ball.

Both of them were acting.

She played a frightened country girl for him, and he played a gentle scholar for her.

Since that's the case, there's no need to pretend too hard; it would be more troublesome if he thought she could see through this.

"Thanks."

Her voice was soft, with a hint of awkward ingratiation.

He Yaozu closed the book and put on a perfectly measured laugh.

"What's your name?"

"Su Xingmian".

He read those three words aloud, then looked them over at her face, lingering for a few seconds longer than a normal scrutiny.

Su Xingmian pretended not to notice.

"Have you been to school?"

"I only learned a few words from my grandmother."

She rested her chin on her knees, and after speaking, she lowered her eyes and refused to look at him.

He Yaozu picked up the sharpened pencil from the table, wrote a word on a blank piece of paper, and turned it to show her.

Do you know him?

Su Xingmian peeked out.

"Mountain."

He Yaozu nodded and wrote another one.

Su Xingmian hesitated for two seconds.

"……water?"

"Um."

He turned the paper over and put down the pencil.

Su Xingmian turned that light, tentative approach over.

He never tested her literacy; he tested her reaction speed.

She answered quickly with the character for "mountain," but deliberately took two seconds longer with the character for "water."

If she answers both quickly, he will keep challenging her.

If she doesn't know any of them, he will lose interest in her.

She gave him an answer that he could barely recognize a few simple words.

It fit perfectly within his expectations. Neither outstanding nor foolish.

"Where...where are you going to sell me?"

His voice trembled, each word quivering, his breath caught in the middle.

He Yaozu tapped his finger on the table.

"Who said I was going to sell you?"

He spoke slowly and casually.

"You are safe here, no one will harm you."

Su Xingmian buried her face in her knees, her shoulders twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything.

He stood up.

"Go to bed early, the blanket is at the foot of the bed, it gets chilly at night."

He picked up the lantern, walked into the inner room, paused at the door, and did not turn back.

"My surname is He, and my name is He Xiu. You can call me Mr. He."

The door closed, the room went dark, and the two spaces were separated.

Su Xingmian waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and only after confirming that there was no movement from the inner room did she slowly lie down and pull the blanket up to her chin.

Soon, her breathing became long and even, and her shoulders rose and fell slightly with her breath, like a girl who was extremely tired and finally fell asleep.

The demonic power was quietly spread out.

It seeped into the inner room through the cracks in the rammed earth wall.

Just then, the outline of a figure appeared in the darkness.

He Xiu.

He stood in the darkness, staring at her, without approaching or making a sound, just standing there.

Silent and unnoticed, with no sense of oppressive gaze.

Su Xingmian was incredibly perceptive; if it weren't for her demonic power sensing his presence, she wouldn't have known he was watching her at all.

She became more cautious, even acting out the scene of a young girl being startled awake upon arriving in an unfamiliar place.

I took a few shallow breaths in the darkness, then slowly sank back down until my breathing became long and even again.

The two remained locked in this stalemate in the darkness for two hours.

Until four in the morning, the most exhausting hurdle for humans.

He Xiu turned and went inside, closing the door silently.

Su Xingmian waited for a while before her demonic power began to seep back in through the crack in the door.

This method consumes a great deal of her demonic power; if it weren't for the merit she received earlier, she wouldn't be able to hold on at all.

The layout of the inner room became a flat plan in her perception.

The table is in the center, and in the right corner there is a small, well-made device with several thin wires leading out from the back, connected to an antenna, which is mounted on a wooden stake.

Su Xingmian didn't immediately realize what it was.

He Xiu sat in a chair with a large piece of paper on the table, its edges weighed down with stones. The paper was densely covered with writing, which gradually became clearer to her demonic power.

She doesn't recognize military symbols, but she can read.

At the very top of the map, three characters are written neatly.

Helan Mountain.

There was a moment of silence in the inner room, then the sound resumed.

beep.

tick.

Ta-ta-ta.

The Morse code was extremely fast-paced, and she didn't understand what it meant, but she memorized the length and interval of each tick exactly, without missing a single one.

The telegram continued for almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it stopped.

The pencil fell onto the map with a soft rustling sound.

He Yaozu was muttering to himself.

Su Xingmian immediately increased the output of her demonic power.

I heard it clearly this time.

"Outpost No. 7, change of guard at 3 PM."

"West exit of the tunnel, marked."

The sound of pages turning.

"Southern route, exit point of the no-man's-land..."

pause.

"Leaving in three days."

Su Xingmian quickly withdrew her demonic power, a thin layer of sweat beading on her forehead.

This time, the demonic energy was greatly depleted, but it was all worth it.

She memorized the Morse code in her mind until she could remember it correctly.

Three days later, we left. In the no-man's-land on the southern route, at 3 PM, the No. 7 outpost was changing shifts at the western exit of the tunnel.

The last one is the most important; the old fox certainly knows what it means.

The problem is how to get these things out.

She didn't know the old fox's current location, and even if she could escape, she didn't know where to run.

He Xiu is too cautious; we need to find a way to avoid being discovered.

Su Xingmian closed her eyes, feeling the arrival of dawn.

Three days, only three days left.

He Xiu appeared at her bedside at some point, looking down at her.

"Did you have a nightmare?"