"This... our Golden Fortune Escort Agency has always offered 'blind escort' services where we don't ask about the contents," Yue Zhenqiao responded nervously to Lin Yu's somewhat accusatory tone. "The client paid very generously, so..."

"Who was it?"

Lin Yu asked immediately.

Yue Zhenqiao hesitated. "Since the employer requested a 'blind escort,' revealing the employer's information to you, Female Warrior, I'm afraid that would be against the rules..."

"You fool, this carriage has been sealed with methods to block detection, but they left an opening for demonic qi sense perception, allowing them to know the cargo inside is exceptionally alluring," Lin Yu said coldly. "The person who commissioned you, even if they didn't deliberately intend to feed you to demons, certainly intended to harm you to some degree. At a time like this, you still cling to the agency's rules?"

As Lin Yu spoke, the Deputy Head Escort beside him, who seemed to have a fiery temper, couldn't help but speak up. "Boss Yue, Yue Boss, Old Yue, I think what this Female Warrior says makes sense."

Yue Zhenqiao's face shifted between dark and light, and he finally spoke. "It was a short, stocky man, dressed like a wealthy merchant, with a mole on his left cheek. He claimed to be a wealthy householder from Yan Town."

These three large carts were also personally driven here by him with two cart drivers when they set off.

After saying this, he added with some doubt. "But, Female Warrior, it's not that I don't believe you... it's just that we've already covered about a third or a quarter of the journey. If the thing inside truly has a fatal attraction for demons, why did it only manifest now when we entered Fuyuan Mountain?"

He then looked at the Deputy Head Escort. "You participated in planning the route we took. We've passed through three places similar to Fuyuan Mountain with many demons. Why was there no trouble at the first three places?"

The Deputy Head Escort was left speechless. "This... this..."

Lin Yu also fell into thought because of Yue Zhenqiao's statement.

However, since Lin Yu knew the Mountain Demon Leader definitely wouldn't lie to him, he didn't doubt his own deduction. He was only thinking about the "reason" for this phenomenon.

"Did you feel the thing inside was full of temptation from the very beginning, or did you only sense it later?"

Lin Yu asked Sanyang again.

Sanyang then answered. "Wu gah!"

Then, Sanyang added a few more gibbering sounds.

Its answer was that it sensed it as soon as it entered the range of its qi sense perception, and then could feel it getting closer and closer, more and more distinct.

Moreover, that temptation was like the most delicious human flesh in the world.

Lin Yu listened, then fell into deep thought.

"So why is that?"

He looked at Yue Zhenqiao. "Escort Head Yue, my suggestion is... it's best to open the carriage and take a look."

Yue Zhenqiao's face changed slightly. "How can we do that? That's a major taboo, breaking the rules!"

Before Lin Yu could persuade him further, Yue Zhenqiao spoke somewhat agitatedly.

"Even if we die, the agency's rules cannot be broken!"

And after Yue Zhenqiao invoked the "rules," the Deputy Head Escort who had originally sided with Lin Yu actually fell silent.

Clearly, he had been persuaded by Yue Zhenqiao.

"What a troublesome world."

Lin Yu frowned again.

Encountering living people in the wilds of the Prison Mountain Realm, especially those you can communicate with, was extremely rare. Thinking about reaching Willow Town, it was still best to rely on these guides who were essentially "assigned" to the three of them from the start.

Otherwise, Lin Yu could have just knocked Yue Zhenqiao out, tied him up, and forced the carriage open himself.

At that moment, Li Nian's voice rang out.

"Ah... why go through the trouble of breaking the rules to open the carriage and inspect the goods."

Lin Yu turned his head and saw Li Nian with one hand pressed against the carriage wall, standing loosely and leaning to one side.

"What does this Female Warrior mean?"

Yue Zhenqiao looked at Li Nian warily.

Lin Yu also asked directly. "Did you just 'make your move'?"

He was naturally asking if Li Nian had stolen something from inside.

Li Nian shook her head.

"It's good you didn't make a move."

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't succeed."

Li Nian's answer made the breath Lin Yu hadn't even finished sighing tighten right back up.

"What do you mean, didn't succeed?"

Lin Yu looked at Li Nian and asked.

Li Nian calmly explained. "They are all living things inside. My basic ability failed."

Although using the Limit-Breaking Jue combined with those gloves seemed to allow Li Nian to perform operations like live organ harvesting.

However, harvesting parts through obstacles, or trying to steal an entire "living thing" as a whole, Li Nian still couldn't do it.

"Are they living things inside?"

Li Nian nodded. "Yes. That being the case, it can also explain why the demons were fine for the first half of the journey, but now the Mountain Demons have come—because what's loaded inside is alive."

"Living things easily undergo 'state changes'—asleep before but now awake, awake before but now shaken unconscious from the cart ride and fallen asleep, all are possible."

Li Nian said calmly, and Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully.

"That is reasonable... can you further confirm what's inside?"

Lin Yu asked, and Li Nian shook her head. "No clues. I'm just a Thief, not a Detective."

Then, she lowered her voice. "How about we force it open?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "No need for such trouble. You don't have a convenient method, but I still have a way, just a bit more roundabout."

Lin Yu responded in a lowered voice.

Then, she looked at Yue Zhenqiao again. "Escort Head Yue, we didn't open the carriage to inspect the goods. We just vaguely guessed what's inside based on our own observations and the accident. That shouldn't count as breaking the rules, right?"

As Lin Yu spoke, Yue Zhenqiao was put on the spot.

"This... should be... shouldn't count..."

He seemed not to have expected Lin Yu to ask this and answered somewhat uncertainly.

"Of course it doesn't count," the Deputy Head Escort immediately reacted again, realigning himself with Lin Yu. "If this also counted as breaking the rules, then in the future if an accident happens on the road while delivering a 'blind escort,' the cart overturns and the box opens, would we have to immediately gouge out our own eyes?"

"Accidentally breaking the rules doesn't count as breaking the rules!"

Lin Yu looked at the Deputy Head Escort and nodded with satisfaction.

"Sound reasoning."

He had been waiting for the Deputy Head Escort to say exactly that.

Then, with a thought from Lin Yu, a small jar quietly fell from his hand to the ground.

The Mountain Demon Leader Sanyang suddenly took two quick breaths, then its flesh turned red and swelled up. It let out consecutive roars, suddenly went berserk, and threw Lin Yu off its back.

Lin Yu, caught off guard, fell to the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and spoke in a tone of shock and fear.

"What, it actually broke free from my restraints?! This vile beast has some skill!"

They saw the Mountain Demon Leader charge towards the direction of the large cart and with one motion, overturned the carriage!

"Clang!"

The metal carriage deformed slightly under the Mountain Demon's immense force. Then, two rough, large hands grabbed the edges of the sealed carriage door and began tearing with force!

"Crack!"

The sound of metal deforming rang out. The carriage door was forcibly torn open, creating a gap.

"Not good!"

Yue Zhenqiao also shouted loudly, drawing his blade and slashing at the Mountain Demon Leader.

The Mountain Demon Leader, whose physique was much larger than his, seemed not to have fully recovered from Lin Yu's heavy blow. Its thigh was slashed by Yue Zhenqiao's blade, creating a deep, bone-visible gash. It then lost its balance again and was directly knocked flying by Yue Zhenqiao's charge!