Fantastic

Even someone thinking with their feet could figure it out. Could Hyoga really fail to see through it?

Gen being tied up was probably just a smokescreen, which meant he had already switched sides.

The man standing on the branch narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on that intriguing person.

Was this the onion-head's idea, or... that black-haired woman's? None of that mattered anymore.

He turned and said to Homura, "You keep watch on them. I'll head back and tell Tsukasa first."

"Yes, Lord Hyoga." The woman named Homura lowered her gaze slightly, looking toward Gen.

Gen Asagiri was securely tied to a wooden post, looking utterly aggrieved.

The entire camp appeared peaceful, but everyone's nerves were stretched taut as they quietly waited for Tsukasa's scouts to walk into their trap.

They waited for quite some time, but the figure lurking in the shadows remained motionless, showing no sign of coming out.

Since their prey refused to come to them, they would have to take the initiative.

Li Xiang glanced into the depths of the dense woods, a faint smile curling her lips. "If we're putting on an act, we have to commit. You won't come out, huh? Then I'll go catch you myself."

With that, she immediately turned to call Watermelon and Chrome, who were standing by nearby.

"Watermelon, Chrome, come with me."

Both immediately answered and followed, flanking Li Xiang as the three walked in step. Pretending to inspect the Back Mountain and patrol the woods, they deliberately headed slowly toward the forest off to one side.

At that moment, a scout lay concealed in the shadows of the woods, watching every movement at the village entrance. It was Homura, who had appeared on the Back Mountain earlier.

Following Hyoga's orders, her primary objective was to keep a close eye on Senku and the bound Gen Asagiri.

According to their assessment of the mission, Senku was the central threat, and Gen was the opening created by a betrayal. As long as they watched those two, they could gather all the information they needed and wait for the right moment to act.

Lord Hyoga had said so.

"Don't worry about the others. Just watch Senku and Gen for now. Focus on their movements and wait for the best opportunity to strike."

Homura kept her gaze fixed on the wooden post at the village entrance, but when she caught sight of Li Xiang and her two companions moving farther away, a strong, inexplicable sense that something was wrong arose within her.

Compared to Senku and the others, who stayed put, Li Xiang leaving with her own little group was far too unusual.

Everyone else remained in camp to maintain the setup, yet she alone insisted on taking two people away. No matter how Homura looked at it, it seemed deliberate and strange.

Besides, before they set out, Tsukasa had specifically warned them that, of everyone there, Li Xiang was the one they most needed to watch and could least afford to overlook.

That woman was meticulous and full of tricks. Every seemingly insignificant move she made always ended up throwing everyone's plans into disarray with pinpoint accuracy. They absolutely could not let their guard down.

The more Homura thought about it, the more uneasy she grew, her brows drawing together slightly.

Homura had already lifted her skirt a little and softened her footsteps, silently following them.

She believed she had concealed herself perfectly, without giving anything away.

But what she did not know was that, from the moment she rose to follow them...

Li Xiang had never intended to actually search the mountain. She deliberately slowed her steps and led Chrome and Watermelon farther away, all to lure out the tail lurking in the shadows.

As Homura followed, the woodland path grew increasingly secluded and quiet.

Then, as she walked, only Chrome and Little Watermelon suddenly remained in her field of view. Li Xiang had vanished into thin air amid the shadows of the vegetation ahead.

Homura's heart lurched. Instantly sensing something was wrong, she was about to stop, retreat, and check her surroundings.

The next instant, a faintly cool presence suddenly drew close behind her.

Before she could turn and react, a hand rose with swift, precise efficiency.

Thump!

A clean, accurate knife-hand strike slammed into the vulnerable spot at the back of her neck.

The tremendous blunt impact instantly swept through her body. Homura went rigid, her limbs lost all strength, and her eyes lost focus as her vision blurred.

Her body stiff, she turned her head with difficulty, staring in disbelief at the empty air behind her. Her voice trembled with shock.

"How... did you get... behind me?"

She had watched the path ahead the entire time. She had never noticed anyone circling behind her, much less spotted any trace of her opponent!

Li Xiang straightened and watched Homura sway on the verge of passing out, her tone airy.

"Sorry, young lady."

"Your countersurveillance skills still need some work."

She lowered her eyes slightly, her tone dripping with casual bragging.

"I'm an elite expert forged by three years of my high school homeroom teacher staking me out from every angle and finding endless ways to catch me skipping class. I've mastered it all."

"I could see through your little tailing tricks at a glance. How could you possibly compare to me?"

From her very first step out of the village, she had sensed the eyes watching from the shadows and deliberately put on an act the whole way to lure her pursuer in.

Homura's head swam, feeling as though it would split apart. Her consciousness rapidly faded, and she swayed, about to collapse completely.

To keep her from waking halfway back and causing trouble, Li Xiang decided to play it safe. She raised her hand and delivered another crisp knife-hand strike with a measured amount of force.

This time, the force was just right: enough to knock her senseless without damaging her brain.

Homura's eyes closed. She lost consciousness completely and crumpled limply to the ground, sinking into a deep blackout.

With the trailing scout dealt with, Chrome and Little Watermelon, who had heard the noise up ahead and doubled back, came running over.

"How did it go? Did you catch someone?"

Li Xiang dusted off her hands and nodded calmly.

"All done. She's completely out cold. She won't be waking up anytime soon."

"Let's carry her back first. We'll deal with the rest at camp."

The two immediately stepped forward to help, supporting the unconscious Homura on either side. Together with Li Xiang, they carried her steadily back toward the village camp.

The moment the three returned to camp with their captive, Ginro, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, lost his composure.

"Hey, Li Xiang!"

"How come every time you go out, you somehow bring back a bunch of weird people?"

Li Xiang raised an eyebrow at that and shot back casually, "Personal charm. You wouldn't understand, brat."

Kohaku looked at Homura, who had been carried back securely and was utterly unable to resist. She pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed softly, giving up on commenting as she stepped forward to help.

"All right, enough chatter. Hurry over and help."

They worked quickly, fetching sturdy hemp rope and trussing up the still deeply unconscious Homura in no time. They secured her tightly to the other side of a post, facing the previously bound Gen Asagiri from a distance.

After waiting a little longer to confirm there was no movement from any other scouts outside the camp, Senku finally raised his hand in a signal, and the ropes binding Gen Asagiri were untied.

After spending most of the day bound up, Gen Asagiri's whole body was stiff, and his shoulders ached. At last, he had regained his freedom.

He immediately raised a hand to rub his aching neck and shoulders, looking utterly miserable as he wailed helplessly at Li Xiang.

"Li Xiang-chan! Next time you want to put on a life-threatening act and tie up your undercover agent, could you ask whether he's willing first?"

"Tying me up without any warning is seriously stressful! What if I botched the performance? Wouldn't that blow my cover on the spot?"

Watching him grumble and complain, Li Xiang remained calm and promptly assigned him a new task.

"Stop complaining. Go get Senku first. It's time for the real show to begin."

Gen Asagiri let out a long sigh, resignation written all over his face.

There was no room for negotiation, and resisting was useless.

"Fine, fine. I give up."

He waved a hand, abandoned all resistance, and obediently turned to find Senku.