If what the woman said was true, the kidnappers would return in the afternoon to feed them lunch and again in the evening for dinner. Senior Edina realized she had two more opportunities to devise an escape plan. She had to act by tonight because she didn’t believe the kidnappers would keep them there for more than a few days. Additionally, since Senior Edina couldn’t be active other than on Tuesdays, she wouldn’t be able to help Junior Edina if this kidnapping led to something worse. She had to resolve this situation by tonight.

Senior Edina decided she had to wait until lunch to gather more information. She needed to determine which direction the captors' base was located. When they brought lunch, she would use her Qi-sensing technique to detect the direction the captors were coming from. Then, at dinner time, when the door was opened, she would strike. Her plan was to kill the captors and have Wei and Lin run in the opposite direction of their base.

She was gambling on two things: first, if they were bringing in good quality food for every meal, it likely meant a town or village was nearby; second, that Wei, Junior Edina, and Lin would reach it before midnight, when Junior Edina would take over the body. Junior Edina was definitely not cut out to survive in the forest, so they needed to reach safety before then.

Wei exclaimed, "I don’t get why people from our sect haven’t found us yet! It’s been two damn days!"

Lin responded, "I think we should try something—somehow send a message to any nearby people to inform the Blazing Dawn Sect. We were kidnapped on the Zunzon road. There’s no way they will find us quickly."

Listening to them, Senior Edina gleaned crucial information. They had been abducted on Zunzon Road, a notorious route leading to Shenzhou Province, known for its dense forests and bandit activity. This meant it would take some time before either the Blazing Dawn Sect or the Shining Blade Sect, the governing sect of Shenzhou Province, found them.

Senior Edina deduced that the Mu siblings must have invited Junior Edina to the coming-of-age ceremony for the young master of the Shining Blade Sect. During the journey, they must have been abducted. In her previous life, she remembered attending the event a month later, after Wei and Lin had already left. She hadn't been interested in attending but had to because Aunt Li Mei was going, and she had to accompany her a month after the Mu siblings.

This time around, these two brats must have invited Junior Edina to bully her on the way, using the excuse of learning accounting together or something since all three of them were still on their trial for finance management. Junior Edina, being clever, wouldn't have been able to decline with a good excuse, so they traveled together. At least, this was Senior Edina's hypothesis, although the actual events could have played out differently.

"I don’t think we should try to do anything. They are 2nd grade and 3rd grade masters. I am barely a half-step master, and you just became a 1st grade master," Wei said to Lin. This was valid reasoning. A single 1st grade martial artist had the Qi capacity of two half-step masters, a 2nd grade had the capacity of four 1st grade masters, and a 3rd grade had the capacity of eight 2nd grade masters. The exponential growth meant that going up against three martial artists who were two levels above them was just stupid.

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“So what? We do nothing and eat that stupid porridge?! That crippled is getting better food than me!” Lin finally lashed out with frustration. She rarely ever gets so emotional this must be really taking a lot from her.

After a few hours of enduring the bickering and insults from Wei and Lin, the time had come. Senior Edina sensed three Qi approaching from the south, indicating their captors' base must be in that direction. Once she dealt with them, she would need to head north. Given the proximity to the Zunzon Road, it should be relatively easy to spot the road; bandits typically used this advantage to ambush travelers. The road was visible once you got close, but from the road, you couldn't see into the forest, making it an ideal spot for ambushes.

After being fed, Senior Edina requested to use the restroom again. This time, she listened carefully and confirmed her suspicion that they were close to the road, as she could hear the sounds of carriages moving.

Once the captors left, Senior Edina turned to Wei and said, "Hey, Wei, give me that small wooden piece."

Wei looked at her with disbelief. There was a strange confidence in her that he hadn't seen in over a year. "What are you going to do with it, cripple? It won't even help with cutting the rope!" he said, pushing the piece with his leg.

Senior Edina rolled on the floor to pick up the small wooden piece, about the size of a nail. She maneuvered it into her hand behind her back and began sharpening it against the wall.

Lin snorted, "That small wooden piece will break instantly if you try to cut the rope. I can’t believe I’ve seen someone as dumb as you." Senior Edina ignored her. Once the piece was shaped into a needle, she handed it to Wei and commanded, "Take it and do as I say! Don’t you dare mess up!" Despite his annoyance at being ordered around by someone he bullied every day, Wei complied. "Yeah, what do you want me to do with it? Dance?" he grumbled, taking the needle behind his back.

Senior Edina extended her left leg and instructed, "Stab my leg—small enough to avoid heavy bleeding, but big enough to draw some blood." Wei was confused but replied, "You want to hurt yourself? I would have gladly done it." He did as she instructed. Senior Edina felt nothing, as her left leg had been numb from the knee down for years. Once he was done, she took the needle back and waited. "Make sure no blood is on your hand. Clean it up on the floor or something," she ordered.

Wei, annoyed, retorted, "I don’t want your blood on me either! Humpf."

A few hours passed, and Senior Edina started to worry. The sun had already set, and there was no sign of the captors. If they didn’t show up before midnight, her plan would be wasted; she couldn’t be sure what might happen afterward. Holding the wooden needle, she said, "Once I’m done with them, we need to move north since the captors are coming from the south. There’s a big chance they have more people with them in the south."

Lin retorted, "‘Once I’m done with them?’ You’re talking as if you’re going to kill them. Cripple, stop daydreaming."

Just as Senior Edina was about to respond, she sensed the Qi of the three captors approaching. They were walking towards the cabin.

Senior Edina took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come. The sound of footsteps grew louder, and the door creaked open. The woman and two men entered, bringing dinner. Senior Edina focused, ready to execute her plan. As the woman approached to feed her, Senior Edina gripped the wooden needle tightly, preparing to strike when the moment was right.