Chapter 157: The Extreme Path in the Team

Qi Xia's hands continued peeling peanuts. He rubbed off the red skin from one with his fingers, blew on it, and then popped it into his mouth.

"Cleanse this place... so why don't you take action?" he asked.

"Because I don't want to expose myself too soon," Lin Jian said, staring ahead and taking another sip of wine.

"I don't want to hear that answer," Qi Xia said, looking down at the peanut in his hand. "I want the truth."

"Because I want to invite you to join 'Ji Dao,' so we can better protect 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di,'" Lin Jian said again.

"That's not right either," Qi Xia shook his head. "Try another reason."

Lin Jian fell silent.

Qi Xia was more cunning than she had imagined.

"Qi Xia, why don't you share your thoughts?" Lin Jian threw the question back at him. "In your speculation, what kind of person am I?"

"You're strange," Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "You've helped us multiple times, so it's hard for me to figure out your motives. I only know you mean no harm, but you're planning something."

"You can even deduce that?" Lin Jian chuckled. "Are you just bluffing me?"

Qi Xia ate another peanut and turned back to say, "Lin Jian, you couldn't possibly cleanse 'Tian Tang Kou,' because your 'Hui Xiang' is 'Ji Fa.'"

"What..." Lin Jian was stunned at first, then quickly calmed down. She gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and asked, "How could you possibly know that?"

"Lin Jian, what are you trying to do?" Qi Xia asked, still looking down. "Are you my enemy or my ally?"

"I haven't decided my stance yet," Lin Jian replied with a smile. "It's impressive how composed you've been, figuring out my identity but never mentioning it."

Qi Xia paused. "As the book says, 'The expert in battle ensures victory by making themselves unbeatable.' I won't show any weaknesses until you attack."

"Ha!" Lin Jian covered her mouth and laughed. "I don't believe in 'Sun Zi Bing Fa'; I only believe in 'Zhan Zheng Lun,' because it says 'Attack is the best form of defense.'"

Qi Xia didn't want to argue with her. He brushed the peanut crumbs off his hands and turned to ask, "So, you infiltrated our team on purpose and 'Ji Fa'-ed three 'Hui Xiang Zhe'? Is that your attack strategy?"

"Yes," Lin Jian nodded. "I was the first to wake up in the whole room. I touched the man next to me, so he 'Hui Xiang'-ed. After I stood up, I touched Han Yi Mo, so he 'Hui Xiang'-ed too. The last time we found Li Jing Guan, I ran up first to check his injuries, which let him successfully get 'Hui Xiang.'"

What Lin Jian described about 'Ji Fa' matched what Qi Xia had thought. Every 'Hui Xiang Zhe' in the team had gained their ability after she touched them.

Lin Jian continued, "Originally, I didn't have to trigger the 'Zhong Sheng,' but that woman named Xiao Xiao insisted on killing you, so I had no choice but to reveal my ability to prove my identity and save you. But I didn't expect you to be so ruthless—leaving home the very next day. Zhang Lü Shi and I searched for you for seven whole days."

"Oh?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow. Lin Jian's words seemed to have two points of doubt, and he planned to ask about them one by one. "Lin Jian, you and Xiao Xiao are both in the 'Ji Dao' organization, yet you don't know each other?"

Lin Jian grabbed another bottle of beer from the side and handed it to Qi Xia. "Could you open this for me?"

Qi Xia took the bottle opener nearby, popped the cap, and handed it back to her.

She took a big gulp of wine and then said, "First, 'Ji Dao' isn't an 'organization.' We have no leader, no rules, no fixed members, and no fixed plans. All we have is the slogan 'Ji Dao Forever.'"

"What...?"

Qi Xia had thought that 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' was a three-way standoff between 'Sheng Xiao,' 'Can Yu Zhe,' and 'Ji Dao Zhe,' but now it seemed otherwise.

"Second, every member who calls themselves 'Ji Dao' is protecting this place in their own way. I have no idea who the other 'Ji Dao Zhe' are, or what their plans are."

Lin Jian looked at Qi Xia with a touch of melancholy. "It seems I'm not the only one after you. That duo of Jiang Ruo Xue and Xiao Xiao has their eyes on you too."

Qi Xia decided not to dwell on that and changed the subject. "Why can you use your ability without triggering the 'Zhong Sheng'?"

"Now that's an interesting question." Lin Jian stretched in her chair and said casually, "Qi Xia, hearing the 'Zhong Sheng' always means someone 'Hui Xiang'-s, but someone 'Hui Xiang'-ing doesn't necessarily mean there's a 'Zhong Sheng.'"

"So you're saying..." Qi Xia pondered her words and deduced, "Some people 'Hui Xiang' without alerting that giant clock?"

"Exactly."

Qi Xia realized he had been jumping to conclusions.

After all, every time the 'Zhong Sheng' rang, it was accompanied by a 'Hui Xiang,' but who said a 'Hui Xiang' had to come with the 'Zhong Sheng'?

He had asked Jiang Ruo Xue about the principle behind the 'Zhong Sheng' before, and she only said it was about "hearing the 'Hui Xiang'" or "'Hui Xiang' disappearing." She never said 'Hui Xiang' and 'Zhong Sheng' were inevitably linked.

"This is like 'Ba Pu Luo Fu De Gou'..." Qi Xia frowned. "Is someone using the 'Zhong Sheng' to manipulate us?"

"It's not exactly manipulating you... You'll understand what I mean once you can control 'Hui Xiang,'" Lin Jian said, gently wiping her mouth before asking, "So, Qi Xia, do you think among your teammates... there might be someone who's a 'Hui Xiang Zhe' but has been hiding their identity the whole time? Someone who's been deceiving you?"

Lin Jian's words sent a chill down Qi Xia's back. If there really was such a person, their scheming would be unfathomably deep.

But how much of what Lin Jian said could he believe?

In this eerie place, everyone he met seemed to be lying. How could he unravel it all?

"I don't even care about having a 'Ji Dao' in the team, so why would I worry about a 'Hui Xiang Zhe' hiding their identity?" Qi Xia gave Lin Jian a meaningful look. "Right now, I don't want to talk about others. I just want to know your stance. How should I treat you in the days ahead?"

Lin Jian thought for a moment and said, "Qi Xia, I have a 'big plan,' but I can't do it alone. I want to bring you in on it."

"What plan?"

"Just as I said, 'Ji Dao' has always been protecting this place, but I think they're wrong." Lin Jian looked serious. "I'll lend you my power. Let's destroy this place together."

"So you're saying..." Qi Xia seemed to catch on.

"My 'Ji Fa' can greatly increase someone's chances of 'Hui Xiang.' Let's build a 'Hui Xiang army,' wreck this whole place, and finally get back to the real world."