Lily Bennett took out the gold pocket watch and stuffed it into the old woman’s skirt pocket. “Return this to Mike Harris. Tell everyone it wasn’t Eric Carter who stole it. You found it in the woods and forgot to give it back to Mike Harris.”

The old woman looked at the gold pocket watch, her expression a bit muddled. “It was you—who stole the gold pocket watch and framed him… and he even stood up for you? What kind of spell did you put on him?”

Lily Bennett patted her on the shoulder. “That’s not something you need to know. Just do as I say.”

But the old woman’s eyes darted around, as if she sensed this was a good chance to sow discord.

However, Lily Bennett had worked hard to gain Eric Carter’s trust—there was no way she’d give her the opportunity to stir things up.

She took a deep breath, imagining herself as a desperate, fierce person with nothing to lose. She jabbed her elbow into the old woman’s temple, then bent down, looked her straight in the eyes, and said:

“Do as I say, or you won’t be able to keep your other hand either!”

This was the first time Lily Bennett had used acting to threaten someone. Honestly, it didn’t work that well, but her elbow almost sent the old woman straight to heaven.

The old woman was left dizzy, sweating cold, terrified she’d get hit again. No matter what Lily Bennett said, she nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Just like that, Lily Bennett successfully convinced the old woman to accept her terms.

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Eric Carter, but he had left at some point.

Lily Bennett shrugged, unconcerned. For the next two days, she needed to focus on planning her escape.

First, she had to bring her hiking backpack.

The hiking backpack was crucial—it had everything: hat, jacket, underwear, snacks, canned food, sanitary pads… Right now, this body was malnourished, periods were light, and gauze could get her by for now, but what about later?

She definitely didn’t want a urinary tract infection.

There was also the backup phone and power bank.

The backup phone was her old fruit phone, battery health down to just 85%. It could shut off without warning, but the system ran smoothly, had lots of storage, and was loaded with e-books.

She read all sorts of things and had bought a bunch of e-books in one go—novels, as well as social science and professional books.

There was even a book called “How to Skin a Lion,” which included life tips from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era: how to tame a horse, make hand cream, keep your breath fresh, and, of course, how to skin a lion.

She’d only bought it out of curiosity, never expecting it would actually come in handy now.

Most importantly, this era already had generators.

As long as she was lucky enough, she could totally live a comfortable 21st-century life here.

She had to get the hiking backpack, no matter what it took.

The problem was, her hiking backpack had already caught the manager’s attention and had been moved to the big tent—the circus’s largest tent, guarded by hired gunmen on rotating shifts day and night.

There was no way she could get the bag out on her own.

But she didn’t want to ask Eric Carter for help.

—Given their current relationship, she was already grateful that he didn’t kill her, didn’t use a dagger to make his point, and was willing to take her away from the circus.

Asking him for help would change their relationship.

She didn’t have the courage to face the consequences of that change.

Lily Bennett could only think of another way, to see if there was anyone else in the circus she could use.

For the next three days, she stopped paying attention to Eric Carter’s every move and forced herself to interact with others.

The circus people weren’t as scary as she’d imagined.

Most of them were drifters, illiterate, uneducated, unable to even spell their own names.

Except for Eric Carter, the most educated person here was the manager, followed by a magician named Richard Reed.

It was said that Richard Reed used to be the circus’s star magician.

He was quite handsome and knew a lot of tricks—making apples float in midair, pulling a coin from behind an audience member’s ear, pulling a live rabbit out of a hat.

Many audience members were his loyal fans; some even came from New York, hoping he’d perform on Broadway.

However, after Eric Carter appeared, Richard Reed was demoted to a second-tier performer in the circus. Only when Eric Carter was on break could he headline the show as he used to.

These past two days, Lily Bennett had seen him pacing outside the big tent, seemingly hoping to use Eric Carter’s injury as a chance to reclaim his spot as lead performer.

Lily Bennett thought maybe she could use this magician to get the hiking backpack.

At dinner, Lily Bennett carried her plate and sat down next to Richard Allen.

Richard Allen was quite good-looking, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge—a gentle, melancholy young man.

He wore a thin wool coat, a white shirt and velvet vest underneath, and a fake gemstone ring on his thumb.

“Mr. Simon Reed.” Lily Bennett smiled at him.

As soon as she spoke, a tingling chill ran down her back, like needles pricking her skin.

Someone was watching her, the gaze so intense it felt almost tangible.

Lily Bennett turned around in alarm, but saw nothing.

Was it just her imagination?

At that moment, Richard Allen responded to her greeting. “Good evening, Polly Clark.”

Lily Bennett forced herself to snap out of it.