Movement suddenly occurred outside.
Hearing this, Jia and Lou Yi immediately shifted their gaze towards the wooden door. Then, as they grew puzzled, a maid's voice came in, "This should be the place."
Upon hearing this, Lou Yi and Jia exchanged a glance. After confirming that the coachman and the others were not awake, they stood up.
Outside the woodshed.
The dirty-faced man, sent on a mission by Mu Anxiao, was looking with suspicion at the maid who he had persuaded and who was now helping him. He whispered, "Are you sure," he said, looking down at the portrait in his hand, "that he... was locked in here."
The maid listened to the dirty-faced man and couldn't help but glance at the portrait, saying, "I only saw a few people being locked in."
"But it's pitch black here, how could anyone be locked in?"
Ouyang Ye had cast a spell on the woodshed, making it appear pitch black from the outside to any 'ordinary person'. Conversely, to the maid, the woodshed was 'brightly lit'. Since the maid was unaware of this situation, she frowned upon hearing the dirty-faced man's words.
The dirty-faced man looked down at the maid's sudden frown and asked, "What's wrong?" He assumed she saw the same thing he did.
Before the maid could react, she showed an angry expression, "It's so bright, and you say it's pitch black." Killing intent flickered in her eyes. "I think you're trying to stall for time."
"You..."
"Just tell me the truth, are you lying to me?" the maid interrupted sternly.
The dirty-faced man was speechless. He knew the maid was stubborn. He had spent a long time persuading her, and now she was like this again. Naturally, he had lost the energy to persuade her further. With a faint sigh, he glanced at the maid and turned his back to her.
The maid looked up at the dirty-faced man's 'deep' back and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
"I'm not lying to you," the dirty-faced man said, tilting his eyes slightly.
To this, the maid did not respond quickly but fell into thought.
The dirty-faced man understood the maid's rhythm and deliberately remained silent, waiting for her.
Inside the woodshed.
Lou Yi and Jia stood together by the door, listening to the conversation between the maid and the dirty-faced man outside, both showing expressions of confusion.
Then, Lou Yi whispered, "Who do you think they are?" He then squatted down to facilitate communication with Jia.
Jia paid no attention to Lou Yi's movement but stared at the door panel, thinking, "I think they can't hear us." He then fixed his gaze on the door lock.
"But that woman can see light inside," Lou Yi said.
Jia glanced at Lou Yi and said, "Seeing doesn't necessarily mean hearing." He then looked up.
At the same time, the maid walked gracefully to the door. Coincidentally, she stood in the direction Jia was looking. "You say you can't see light inside. If that's the case, I'll ask myself," she said, reaching for the door lock.
Immediately after, as she was about to cast a spell to unlock the door, a current of electricity 'drilled' into her palm. The next second, stimulated by the current, she shivered a few times and quickly withdrew her hand. "What's going on?" she exclaimed, with smoke rising from her head.
Hearing this, the dirty-faced man turned around and saw the 'smoke' above the maid's head, asking, "What's wrong?"
"There's something wrong with this door lock," the maid said, looking down at her almost scorched palm, then turning back to the dirty-faced man.
"Something wrong... is it..."
"If you want to know, why don't you come over and see for yourself?" The maid, due to the recent shock, was in a very bad mood.
Seeing the maid's strange demeanor, the dirty-faced man dared not say more and obediently walked to the maid's side, saying, "I'm here. You said there's something wrong with the door lock." He then looked down at the door lock.
On the other side of the door.
Lou Yi listened to their words while shifting his gaze to the door lock inside. "Ouyang Ye is really cautious, there are two of them."
"You didn't see when you came in," Jia said, stating the obvious.
Lou Yi glanced at Jia without speaking.
Outside.
After staring at the dirty-faced man for a few seconds, the maid said, "Why aren't you talking anymore?"
"This..." The dirty-faced man stared at the door lock, which looked like an ordinary one. After a few seconds of hesitation, he said, "This... I think it's just an ordinary door lock."
"Ordinary? Then try it," the maid said, deliberately holding her hand out in front of the dirty-faced man.
Immediately, the dirty-faced man looked at the maid's palm and was stunned. "It's almost scorched, it's this door lock... that did it," he said.
The maid smiled.
"What are you smiling about?" The dirty-faced man was truly startled by the maid's smile.
The maid said, "Since you think it's an ordinary door lock, then it is." Her gaze sharpened, and she quickly reached out with her good hand and grabbed the dirty-faced man's arm.
The dirty-faced man stiffened. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the maid's hand, his heart starting to panic.
Then, the maid continued to face the dirty-faced man with a smile. "You said it's ordinary, so let's try it." After saying this, she widened her eyes, gritted her teeth, and put on a fierce expression.
"You... you don't have to, right?" the dirty-faced man said with a forced smile.
"Let's try, and you'll know," the maid said, directly pressing the dirty-faced man's hand towards the door lock.
For some reason, the maid's strength was astonishingly great. Thus, at this moment, the dirty-faced man lost the ability to resist, closed his eyes, and awaited the pain to come.
Lou Yi and Jia listened carefully to the sounds outside, feeling anxious for the dirty-faced man.
At the same time, Lou Yi asked, "Can they really not hear us talking?"
"Yes, they just can't hear," Jia said, looking down at the door lock, which had lost its light, and muttering, "It's over."
Lou Yi was stunned. Just as he was about to initiate his 'why' mode, he was interrupted by Jia's "Shh."
"Fine, I won't say it," Lou Yi mumbled, turning his head back.
Outside, the maid looked at the dirty-faced man's hands pressed against the door lock with disbelief, exclaiming in shock, "What's going on?" She felt indignant because that touch had truly hurt.
Hearing this, the dirty-faced man opened his eyes and, just like the maid, looked at his unharmed hands with surprise, sighing with relief. "I told you it was just an ordinary door lock," he said, withdrawing his hand.
The maid also released her hand. "Consider yourself lucky," she said. Reminded by the door lock, she thought back to what the dirty-faced man had said not long ago and asked, "Right, you really can't see that it's bright inside?" She pointed to the window, which was almost completely sealed by wood.
The dirty-faced man followed the maid's finger and glanced over, saying, "It's still pitch black."
"Is that so?" the maid said. She thought about it and realized that what she saw was indeed different from what he saw.
Seeing that the maid was silent, the dirty-faced man also fell silent. He knew that if he spoke again, it would definitely anger her, and things would become more troublesome. So, to save himself trouble, he decided to wait for her.