The next morning, Mr. Gu tells Meilian to go gather some herbs that can be found up in the mountains, a mountain she is very familiar with. The location is very close to the cottage and people won't normally be roaming around.
Meilian has a basket with her where she puts the herbs and plants she finds. Suddenly, she hears something further in the mountains. She gets curious and decides to go check where the sounds are coming from. As silently as she can, she walks to the source silently and looks around.
Close to a river Meilian sees a few men practicing, all of them clad in dark purple. She felt uneasy, she felt a little scared even, and decided to leave the spot, making sure she makes no sound. It was none of her business what they were doing here, at least when she gets back to her cottage she could warn her father about what she saw so they could avoid the mountain in the future.
She slowly backs away, making sure she doesn't many any sounds. While being careful not making any sounds, she hits something. Meilian gets spooked and lets go of the basket in her hand. She sighs, thinking she likely hit a rock, and turns around to confirm. Instead of seeing a rock, she is instead seeing a pair of blue eyes staring down at her.
The man was tall and wore a mask, hiding his identity. His hair was dark and put neatly into a high ponytail, it was long. Before Meilian could react and attempt to flee, the mysterious man grabbed her by her arm and made her stand up. She tries to pull on her arm, in an attempt to free herself. The man's grip is too strong making it impossible for Meilian to free herself.
"Let me go," she says as she tries to wiggle her arm free.
She realizes she can't free herself, she is weaker than him so she gives up for the time being. The man begins to drag Meilian towards the group by the river. They see their boss come back, along with a girl and they become curious.
"Who is that girl?" one of them asks.
"Is she your girlfriend?" another asked excitedly. "You never told us!"
"I found this mouse sneaking around our camp," the masked man said.
Meilian knew that was half the truth. Of course, she accidentally saw them and tried to sneak away but she wasn't really spying on them.
"I was looking for herbs," Meilian began. "I just happen to stumble upon you. I promise"
"Mouse," the masked man says. "What are you doing alone up here in the mountains?"
Meilian was about to blurt out that her father had sent her, but she didn't want to put her father in any danger. These men didn't seem to be on the friendly side.
"I'm up here to collect some herbs for a sick elderly woman," she says without skipping a beat. "If I don't hurry, I'm afraid she will fall more ill"
"Are you a healer?" one asked.
Without thinking, Meilian nods her head. She bit her tongue. She could tell she got their interest.
"What type of healer?" the masked man asks her.
Cold sweats begin to form on her forehead as she looks at the man that caught her. Meilian gets the feeling she might have put herself in a dangerous situation.
"I'm a novice healer," she says. "I cure colds and make cures for injuries"
"Boss don't we need a new healer?" one says. "Didn't they say that the last one died?"
"He was killed," his friend confirmed. "And I hate the kid we have currently appointed as the pharmacist. He is going to get himself killed soon if we don't bring a new one now"
"Maybe we can bring this mouse to the sect," the masked man suggests. "She might be good if she is willing to risk her life coming to this mountain"
Meilian starts to panic. They couldn't just decide on their own if she was going with them or not. She had a say in this as well.
"Sorry to intrude on your conversation," she said. "But I really can't come with you. I still haven't cured the old woman. If I let her be she could potentially get worse or die!"
They didn't bother listening to her. Another guy had brought a rope and the masked man tied up her hands. Meilian tries to protest but it falls on deaf ears and they prepare for departure. The masked man pulls Meilian by the rope and places her on his horse then gets on, Meilian sitting at the front. Then they begin their trip down the mountain.
On the road, without anyone noticing, she tries to free her hands, but the rope is tied tightly. The guy riding the horse beside her and the masked man notices her attempt and begins to laugh. Meilian stops in her tracks and looks at the guy.
"You can try all you want," he says. "No one has ever been able to escape our boss's knots. It's futile, little girl"
Meilian looks down at her tied hands trying to figure out the complicated knot. She was thinking about what other useful things she had that she could use to free herself. Then she remembers. Her knife. Meilian couldn't use the knife in broad daylight because if they saw her try to escape they could take it away from her, then her escape plan would fail. She had to wait until nighttime when the party went to sleep. She was unable to contain her excitement and was smiling.
It becomes night time and they find a place to set camp. As she feared, not everyone went to sleep. They made a plan to stay awake in turns to keep an eye on her, which makes it impossible for Meilian to escape without being noticed. The masked man put her close to the campfire. They weren't too tight about security. They threw out the idea that Meilian might be a cultivator herself.
It's midnight and Meilian is unable to sleep. She can't sleep, because she has to keep an eye open for an opening. She couldn't miss her escape time, if she did she would never be able to escape and she would be trapped for the rest of her life. The masked man gets out of the tent and Meilian loses hope of escape. She begins to think about other alternatives she has. If she could make any noises or even send a flare signal. The flare signal would uncover that she is a cultivator herself and that could potentially mean that the men would tighten up the security.
Meilian is in deep thought that she doesn't realize that the masked man is silently approaching her because he saw that she is emersed in her own world. He watches her for a good moment. Meilian, still in deep thoughts, turns to look in the direction where she thought the masked man was standing only to see him crouched down, watching her. The masked man is taken by surprise and quickly gets up before Meilian can register what just happened. She watches him, confused.
"I asked you if you wanted anything to drink or eat," he said.
She didn't have any intention of accepting anything they gave her. She feared they might have tainted the food with any drugs to make her more compliant until they returned to their sect, or had it poisoned for some reason. The latter would become a problem if it happened because she is immune to poisons. She would have to explain why she wasn't affected and that would put her in a situation she didn't want to imagine.
"How do I know you haven't put anything in it?" she directly asks.
"Why do you think that little mouse?" he asks her.
"Who knows," she responds. "Maybe you are planning to sacrifice me instead!"
Her response has the masked man chuckling. Meilian tilts her head, confused by his reaction. She concludes that his reaction must mean she won't be killed anytime soon.
The masked man notices that Meilian is watching her, and he lets out a cough before he resumes.
"Let me prove to you it's not poisoned then," he says as he picks up a piece of bread and takes a bit, chews it thoroughly, and swallows. "Nothing happened"
He puts her food in front of her then leaves her and takes a walk around the camp. Meilian watches the food, not risking her life over food. On cue, her stomach betrays her and a loud rumbling can be heard into the silent night. She looks around to see if she sees the masked man around. She then breathes out in relief, embarrassed that her stomach betrayed her. What she didn't know what that the man had heard her and was smiling unbeknownst to him. Meilian picks up the bread piece and begins eating it.