Chapter 1245: The Two-Way Door

Yan Zhichun had already heard from Bai Yang about similar situations. This black sheep would stop at nothing to take Tian Niu's life, and when the time came, it would unhesitatingly use the bodies of the "Ji Dao" people as weapons to throw at Tian Niu.

Although the "Ji Dao" members were destined to die here eventually, this method of death was something many couldn't accept.

Since the mission had to be completed no matter what, they would just have to adjust their approach.

"I’ll go first," Yan Zhichun said.

The "Ji Dao" members all looked at her. Not only did they not want to go first themselves, but they also didn't want Yan Zhichun to go first.

If Yan Zhichun died, the "Ji Dao" would be like a leaderless group, making the situation even more precarious.

"I object," Jiang Ruoxue said. "Zhichun, you stay back. I’ll go first."

"You..." Yan Zhichun turned back with an angry expression and whispered, "This isn’t the time to mess around. Only if I go first will the others follow me."

"I won’t," Jiang Ruoxue replied, also a bit angry. "If you go first, I’ll turn around and leave right then. You can handle it yourself."

"Ruoxue!"

"Are you saying you don’t want to keep an eye on the black sheep?" Jiang Ruoxue continued in a low voice. "What if he’s up to something by going last? If we all go through the door and he locks it behind us, what then?"

Yan Zhichun paused slightly, realizing Jiang Ruoxue had a point. Bai Yang had only said this black sheep would be "ruthless," but how far would it go?

Would it send all the "Ji Dao" as vanguard troops, use various "echoes" to injure Tian Niu, and then swoop in to reap the benefits?

"But..." Yan Zhichun tried to argue back, but after thinking it over, she realized there wasn’t a better option.

"Let's settle it like this, little sister," Lao Sun said, waving his hand. "I’ll go with Xiao Jiang. If anything happens, I can look out for her, and you take charge of bringing up the rear for everyone."

Yan Zhichun thought for a few seconds and finally nodded.

The group of about fifty people lined up, with Lao Sun and Jiang Ruoxue leading the way, and they stepped into the bottomless staircase.

The black sheep stood nearby, watching indifferently as if it were none of its business. Yan Zhichun couldn't read anything from its expression.

Although she had spent seven years with Bai Yang, she still couldn't decipher information from a sheep's face.

"It's hard for us to be honest with each other, isn't it?" the black sheep asked Yan Zhichun softly.

"The only reason we're all here together is because of Bai Yang," Yan Zhichun replied. "I don't know you, and I'm only willing to fight alongside you and my people out of trust in Bai Yang, not in you."

"Same here," the black sheep nodded. "It's not just you ordinary 'participants'—even as fellow students of Yang Ge, I'll fight who I need to fight and kill who I need to kill."

Yan Zhichun stared into the black sheep's eyes and changed the subject. "So why are you going through the door last? Are you really counting on these 'ordinary participants' to give Tian Niu a hard time?"

"Not entirely," the black sheep answered. "Letting Tian Niu kill a few people might wear down some of her resolve, but these 'participants' aren't enough for her. She might not even use 'Xianfa' to kill you all."

"So what's your plan?" Yan Zhichun glanced at the group advancing ahead; only a small portion remained.

"I'm worried about 'moles'," the black sheep said frankly. "I don't know if it's just my suspicion, but in this team of yours, the 'own people' don't seem very familiar with each other. We've come this far, and hardly anyone has spoken... Do they even know each other?"

"You're right," Yan Zhichun nodded. "In this organization, a lot of people don't know each other. It's an 'isolated organization' built by 'isolated ones'."

"Good... That means even if a 'mole' has infiltrated the team, as the leader, you wouldn't be able to identify them, right?" the black sheep asked.

"Yes, but I think that worry is unnecessary."

"How so?"

Yan Zhichun sighed. "From the moment I gathered everyone, every step we've taken has been life-threatening. For a 'mole' to embed in this kind of organization would be like signing their own death warrant. I can't see the point."

"That's a solid reason," the black sheep nodded. "But I still have to be as careful as possible."

"So staying at the back is your way of being 'careful'?" Yan Zhichun said. "Once everyone else is through the door, you'll know who the 'mole' is?"

"Hopefully not," the black sheep replied. "What I'm worried about is someone closing the door early, leaving us cut off and unable to retreat."

"What...? Unable to retreat...?"

The black sheep turned its head, fixing its bright yellow eyes on Yan Zhichun with a serious expression. "This door only leads to the 'Huo Cang' if Tian Niu opens it or if she's inside."

What the black sheep said was beyond Yan Zhichun's expectations, yet it felt strangely familiar.

Different people opening the same door could lead to different places.

Like "Cangjie Qi".

"Conversely... only if Tian Niu is inside or opens it herself will this door let us return to the 'Lietu'."

Yan Zhichun quickly thought through the situation and spotted a critical issue. "Then if... Tian Niu dies inside... can we still come back?"

"I'm not sure," the black sheep shook its head. "No one's ever experienced that."

"Isn't that too risky...?" Yan Zhichun said. "We might end up wandering in another space forever after killing Tian Niu."

"'Space'," the black sheep nodded. "Not bad—you're clearly close to Yang Ge if you figured out this complex issue so quickly."

Yan Zhichun knew her understanding came not from being close to Bai Yang, but from her experiences with "Cangjie Qi".

"Now that you get the idea of 'space', this is easier to explain," the black sheep said. "My suggestion is for you to stay here and block the door with your body—so it doesn't close and no one else can approach."

"Huh...?"

"That way, even if we kill Tian Niu down there, we can still get back the same way," the black sheep explained. "At least that's what Yang Ge instructed. Since he couldn't predict what would happen if Tian Niu died inside, he told me to plan ahead as much as possible."

"I... guard here?"

Yan Zhichun hadn't expected the black sheep's final strategy to involve leaving someone behind, let alone that it would be her.

"Truth be told, in this mission, the only people I trust are you and me," the black sheep said. "Everyone else could be a 'mole' or under threat from other 'Shengxiao'."