Reborn Heiress: Taking Back What Is Rightfully Hers!-Chapter 611: The Night Before the Encounter

That night, Aurora rested inside the RV. Since the crew members were all men, they set up a temporary yurt outside to sleep in.

The mountain air was especially cold at night, but the RV had blankets. Aurora and Dominic watched a movie together until around eleven before finally going to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of lively chatter outside. The crew had already started breakfast.

Breakfast had been prepared by local residents—a hearty porridge with dried scallops and shrimp. Everyone ate with great satisfaction.

After getting up, Aurora changed clothes, combed her hair, and went outside to wash her face and brush her teeth with bottled water.

By the time she and Dominic walked over, Brown pointed to a metal container nearby. "I set some porridge aside for you guys. It’s fresh and really hot, but I let it cool for over ten minutes, so it should be just right now."

Wow... this young pop star was even more considerate than the crew!

"Brown, you’re so thoughtful! But why don’t you ever take care of me like that?" The music video director, a cheerful and humorous man, cracked a joke, making everyone burst into laughter.

Even Autumn forced a slight smile, but when she lowered her gaze, a heavy gloom clouded her eyes.

Wasn’t Brown’s kindness toward Aurora a sign that he liked her?

"Haha, alright! Next time, I’ll be sure to take extra care of you!" Brown responded with an easy laugh, and the group erupted into another round of laughter. The atmosphere was lighthearted and fun.

After thanking him, Aurora glanced at Caroline and Autumn, noticing that both were quietly drinking their porridge with their heads down.

She had a faint feeling that something about Autumn had changed on this trip. There was a subtle sense of hostility and rejection coming from her.

Aurora didn’t dwell on it. Autumn had been performing well, even earning several compliments from the MV director, which had made her beam with joy.

Even though she seemed less cheerful this morning compared to the previous day, Aurora decided it was best to keep a natural distance.

After breakfast, the group planned to explore the surrounding area.

They divided into three teams.

Including the crew, there were fifteen people in total, meaning each team should have had five members. However, Autumn insisted on joining Aurora’s team, and Brown also wanted to be with her, bringing their group up to seven people.

So, their team consisted of six people plus one crew member.

"Feel free to explore, but make sure to be back here by eleven! Don’t be late!" the director said with a smile.

Everyone responded in unison and then split up, heading in different directions.

Beyond the forest was a landscape of strange rock formations, and past the stone forest lay a dense woodland, rumored to have breathtaking scenery.

Aurora’s team crossed the rocky terrain and entered the forest. Fallen leaves blanketed the ground, and squirrels darted between the trees, curiously peeking at the newcomers before scurrying away in alarm.

Towering trees formed a dense canopy, blocking out the sky and sunlight, but despite the shade, they were soon sweating from the trek.

At the edge of a grove, Autumn insisted on going further. A crew member quickly called out to her, "Miss Fan, don’t go ahead! That area doesn’t seem to be open to the public. Let’s turn back!"

Aurora checked the time—it was only 9:30 AM, still quite early. The grove wasn’t large, but it was filled with unique trees, and she had already taken countless photos.

This was a protected area, where even locals weren’t allowed to cut down trees. Aurora wondered if some of them resented the restrictions.

"We can’t turn back now! Look over there—it’s beautiful! There’s a path leading ahead... and a stone monument—’Sansheng Temple’! There’s a temple up ahead. Let’s go check it out!"

Autumn smiled, and Aurora noticed how neatly the pine trees were arranged in rows.

"Alright, it’s still early. Let’s take a look."

Brown agreed, wiping sweat from his forehead. His eyes shone with curiosity. "My Grandma Carter’s house is just on the other side of this forest, but I’ve never actually been through here before."

Since even Brown was interested, Autumn and Caroline eagerly pressed forward. Aurora and Dominic exchanged glances—there was no stopping them now. With no other choice, they followed along, stepping deeper into the unknown.

Aurora was in a great mood. It had been a long time since she had gone hiking like this. Even though she was drenched in sweat, she felt a sense of release.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the legendary Sansheng Temple.

"Sansheng Temple used to be very popular. When my Grandma Carter was still alive, she would often come here to pray. But as the mountain paths grew rougher, fewer people made the journey. Plus, with modern technology, younger generations don’t believe in this kind of thing as much anymore, so the temple gradually fell into decline," Brown said with a hint of regret.

The temple was old—so old that a thick layer of fallen leaves covered its roof. Inside, the layout was simple. There was no sign of other deities, only a lone stone statue of the Old Man Under the Moon.

"This temple is for praying for love and marriage," Brown added.

Aurora examined the intricate carvings on the pillars. The ancient patterns were complex—perhaps carved by people from centuries ago.

"How old is this temple?" Aurora asked curiously.

"It’s said to be about 500 years old!"

Five hundred years!

Everyone exchanged surprised looks. They hadn’t expected the temple to be that old, yet it still stood strong.

One of the crew members, a simple and honest man, scratched his head. "Haha, well, this thing is tens of thousands of times stronger than modern shoddy construction!"

The group laughed, then continued looking around. Aurora couldn’t shake a feeling of reverence for the stone statue, but Autumn and Caroline were different. They took turns touching it and snapping selfies with it.

However, as they were about to leave, they suddenly realized—they couldn’t find the way back!

The temple was strange. It had three entrances, and all of them looked exactly the same. Aurora couldn’t remember which one they had used to enter.

The thick layer of fallen leaves left no footprints to trace, and to make matters worse, rows upon rows of trees surrounded the temple in an orderly fashion. Now, figuring out the right path back seemed impossible.

Everyone took out their phones. Brown had a compass app, but they had forgotten to note their original position before coming in.

"I remember that when we arrived, the sun was behind us. That means... we should head this way," Autumn said softly, pointing in a direction.

Aurora and Dominic weren’t great with directions, and even the young pop star looked sheepish. "Uh... sorry, I have a terrible sense of direction too, haha."

"No worries, let’s just try walking. If we can’t find the way, we’ll turn back," Caroline said.

"Hey, don’t jinx us!" Autumn playfully flicked Caroline’s forehead.

With no better option, they followed Autumn’s lead. After half an hour of walking, they still didn’t recognize anything. So, they decided to turn back.

But when they looked behind them, they were stunned—the trees now looked completely different. The arrangement had shifted, and they had lost all sense of direction again.

Tragically, they were now officially lost.