"You mean..." Lu Qing understood Zhu Yu’s intention.

Zhu Yu took out the detoxification pills from her bosom: "We have these, are we still afraid of his confusing smoke?

Let’s go back and pretend like we encountered Evil Spirits and aren’t confident, trying to verify. When the time is right, we’ll pretend to be knocked out by the smoke. When those in the building think we’ve completely lost the ability to resist and come out to deal with us, we’ll catch them off guard!"

After hearing her words, Lu Qing immediately nodded in agreement.

"Master... won’t it be risky?" asked the rune with some concern.

"No worries, if the opponent were genuine villains, you wouldn’t find detoxification pills on me right now." Lu Qing laughed.

The talisman realized that this made sense.

If the opponent were cunning or skilled in deception, they would thoroughly search the people they knocked out, even if it was just for profit.

After all, who would trust to keep their valuables in their baggage while traveling?

The fact that the person didn’t search them suggests that they weren’t interested in their wealth, only in the cloaks, clothes, and dry cookies in their baggage...

The people inside the little wooden building might either be hiding from something and too scared to spend money, making gold and silver as useless as stones, or they’re cowardly, trying to quickly dump people out and then hide, not daring to waste any time.

The window covering has a Qilin pattern, capturing those inside is crucial.

After making their decision, the four of them didn’t rush to approach the small wooden building to avoid alerting the enemy.

The four of them had nothing to eat and no extra clothes, looking a bit ragged.

Though they had money in their pouches, here in the desolate wilderness, there was no place to buy food.

Going back to the previous river to catch fish wasn’t realistic; cooking them would require starting a fire, which would draw attention.

Going further wasn’t possible—Zhu Yu, knocked out by the smoke the previous night, was weak and starving, lacking the strength to walk far.

So, the talisman wandered around the surroundings and found some edible wild fruits in the forest. Though not delicious, they could barely fill their stomachs.

"Master, we found such wild fruits in the forest. The trees have many unripe ones but few ripe ones, and we can’t find any that have fallen and rotted under the tree," said the rune, describing what they observed while picking fruits to Lu Qing. "We think someone regularly harvests fruits here, making it feel like this."

"How far is the fruit-picking spot from here?" asked Zhu Yu.

The talisman gestured backward with a finger: "Only a few dozen feet away."

"Seems like the people in the building... aren’t such meticulous, calculating types," Zhu Yu said to Lu Qing with a wry smile. "They dumped us near their fruit-picking route..."

Lu Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

This, indeed, was not the level of "a master."

The four of them ate some wild fruits, relieving their hunger a bit but not truly satisfying it, then continued to observe their surroundings.

Night fell, but no one came out to check if the "uninvited guests" had been driven away.

The small wooden building remained silent from start to finish.

At night, in the silence, the four swallowed the detoxification pills left by Yan Daoxin with Zhu Yu. After waiting a while to ensure the pills took effect, they once again cautiously approached the wooden building.

Upon entering, it was still silent and pitch-dark, as if abandoned, never inhabited.

If the four hadn’t been knocked out and thrown out, they might have believed it was abandoned.

Zhu Yu stepped lightly beside Lu Qing. To be safe, Lu Qing held her hand tightly, the warmth and grip giving Zhu Yu a sense of security.

Last time, they were cautious, hiding behind the stairs yet still fell into the trap. This time, they didn’t bother hiding, neither making noise nor hiding deliberately.

Their goal was to flush out the hidden attackers.

This time, Zhu Yu saw the building’s layout clearly; the ground floor was utterly empty, without even a door, let alone the eight octagonal doors claimed to exist.

The four of them searched everywhere, confirming no hidden doors in the walls.

Zhu Yu stayed alert, walking closely with Lu Qing, gripping his hand tightly, not daring to let go.

It wasn’t long before a faint fragrance emerged in the air, likely someone sensing the intrusion.

Smelling it, Zhu Yu’s heart froze but relaxed slightly upon recalling the detoxification pills they’d taken, gaining a little peace of mind. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The fragrance grew stronger quickly.

Not wanting to linger, and having confirmed the ground floor was empty, they planned to head upstairs.

Just a couple of steps into it, Zhu Yu suddenly tripped, instinctively trying to grab Lu Qing’s hand to steady herself, only to find her grasping at air and falling uncontrollably.

Oh no!

Alarms rang in Zhu Yu’s mind, knowing Lu Qing wouldn’t just let go of her hand for no reason.

The only explanation was: she’d fallen into a trap again.

Possibly all of them had; if it were just her, Lu Qing wouldn’t have let go even if she fainted.

This was strange; Yan Daoxin’s detoxification pills couldn’t resist the smoke?

In astonishment, Zhu Yu climbed slowly to her feet, taking deep breaths to calm her rapid heartbeat.

The detoxification pills were ineffective, a surprise she hadn’t anticipated. Aware she was in an illusion, she felt a bit more grounded, reminding herself not to panic.

She recalled the previous illusion vividly—be it labyrinth or quicksand, she felt confident she could manage it.