3 meters.
2 meters.
1 meter...
As the distance grew shorter, Zhu Jie could even make out the patterns on the First Lady's veil. Things could change in an instant, so Zhu Jie stopped hesitating. She quickly circled around the First Lady, moved to her side, and reached for the basket behind her.
At that moment, everyone held their breath. Zhu Jie didn't disappoint them—she actually managed to lift the basket's lid.
"It worked!"
Tang Qisheng, who had been worried about Zhu Jie, was so excited he bit through his lip.
But as Zhu Jie lowered her head to look into the basket, her body suddenly froze. Watching from a distance, Jiang Cheng and the Fatty both felt their hearts sink. The scene looked eerily familiar.
Sure enough, misfortune struck again. Zhu Jie stood rigidly in place, as if someone had hit pause, while the First Lady shuffled away without lifting her feet, as though nothing had happened.
The First Lady hadn't reacted to Zhu Jie's actions at all.
"Fall back!"
Seeing the First Lady shuffle in their direction, Jiang Cheng pulled the Fatty along. They kept low and quickly retreated under cover of night.
Strictly speaking, their hiding place wasn't in the First Lady's path. But what had happened to Zhu Jie had sounded an alarm. There was something deeply wrong with the First Lady nearby; even getting close to her could bring disaster.
Jiang Cheng also suspected that if someone who hadn't been summoned got caught, the outcome would be completely different from what had happened to Li Bai and Zhu Jie. The two women were only in a state of false death. If it happened to them, they would probably really die.
Everyone watched the First Lady shuffle out of sight and disappear completely before daring to