Not wanting to kill the yao ghost? How could that be possible?
Hao Lan thought things were going badly—why were these two powerhouses confronting each other?
He quickly tried to mediate: "Yu Li, you must have misunderstood. Brother Tian would never refuse to kill the yao ghost! He's probably just worried we won't complete the mission in time and get penalized."
Then he turned to persuade Tian Jianmu: "Brother Tian, if we work together, killing a yao ghost shouldn't be a problem. We still have over an hour—that should be enough time. Yu Li is probably concerned the yao ghost might interfere later and snatch the scarf from us even if we get it."
Hearing this, Tian Jianmu's eyes darkened as he remained silent.
Instead, Jiang Xi spoke coldly from the side:
"Is she really worried about the yao ghost interfering...or worried it might expose her boyfriend's true identity?"
Yu Li tilted her head and raised an eyebrow before finally laughing:
"So it seems you've heard something from the yao ghost."
Meanwhile, Hao Lan still hadn't caught on and asked blankly: "What do you mean about her boyfriend's identity?"
Wasn't Yu Li's boyfriend Bo Jingmo?
What other identity could Brother Bo have?
Wasn't he just the referee?
Huang Ya sensed something was off and grabbed Hao Lan's arm to signal him to stop talking.
Meeting Yu Li's gaze, Jiang Xi stared back fearlessly.
"Yu Li, Bo Jingmo's real mission is to kill us, isn't it? By making us kill the yao ghost, you're helping him break free from his restraints, right?"
She scanned their surroundings as she spoke: "The yao ghost has told me everything. Everyone knows about my skill—Heavenly Fortune never fails. Your and Bo Jingmo's goal is to use us to eliminate the yao ghost."
"And now, look—she still hasn't completed the wooden plaque's requirement because she never intended to help any of you escape this dungeon. Yet she has her own way out."
Her voice rang with conviction, every word logical and well-reasoned.
The scene fell into complete silence after her speech.
Until Hao Lan's confused voice suddenly piped up:
"What Heavenly Fortune? What's that? I don't know—mmph!!"
Huang Ya swiftly covered his mouth and gave an awkward smile to the others: "Ignore him, please continue."
Jiang Xi turned back to Yu Li: "Yu Li, can you honestly say anything I've said is false?"
The woman didn't answer directly, only smiling: "So what do you plan to do now? Not kill the yao ghost...so does that mean you want to kill Bo Jingmo instead?"
Seeing Jiang Xi freeze and press her lips together silently, Yu Li leaned against a tree and sighed.
"And this is your so-called 'peace'? Accusing me of using you to kill the yao ghost, while you're just using me to get the scarf before burning bridges to kill Bo Jingmo."
Her gaze landed on Tian Jianmu as she smirked: "No wonder you were in such a hurry for me to complete the requirement—you wanted to kill Bo Jingmo after getting what you needed, didn't you?"
Tian Jianmu clenched his fists and met her eyes: "But you didn't deny any of those points either. What's wrong? Afraid Yu Jiao might see through your lies?"
"Why should I prove anything to you?"
Yu Li spoke expressionlessly.
"What exactly are you to me? I never forced you to believe me, nor begged for your help killing the yao ghost."
Bo Jingmo pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her face as he whispered: "Forget it, Li Li."
Tian Jianmu averted his gaze: "So Yu Li, are you going to complete that mission or not?"
In response, the woman stared calmly at him and clearly enunciated two words:
These words poured oil on the fire.
Tian Jianmu's eyebrows shot up: "So you're dropping all pretenses now?"
Purple lightning began gathering in his palm—a major clash seemed imminent.
Huang Ya gasped and released Hao Lan to pat his shoulder urgently: "Think of something!"
This fight would benefit no one!
But she overestimated Hao Lan's mediation skills.
"Hey hey stop fighting already! You're all good people, stop fighting!"
She should have known better than to hope.
Taking matters into her own hands, she turned to Jiang Xi: "Are you absolutely certain? You'd believe a yao ghost? What if it's lying to you?"
Jiang Xi paused: "...There can't be a mistake. Didn't you see? Yu Li didn't even dare deny it. Why won't you believe me?"
In previous dungeons, people had trusted her unconditionally even without knowing the paths or clues.
And she had never been wrong before.
This was Jiang Xi's confidence.
Yu Jiao stood silently behind them, watching Jiang Xi's self-assured demeanor with a dazed expression.
For a moment, she seemed to see her younger self.
Back when she had the skill to detect lies, and no one ever doubted its reliability.
So when she heard Limu lying back then, she spoke up again to accuse her.
Yet the outcome remained unchanged.
She survived only because Limu valued her skill.
Now Jiang Xi had become her younger self—
Arrogant, confident, yet...
—Overly reliant on her skill.
Dungeons were unpredictable—skills were merely aids. This was a lesson Yu Jiao learned through bitter experience.
People can't teach lessons—only experience can.
So she remained silent, standing behind Yu Li without a word.
Noticing this, Tian Jianmu's expression shifted slightly.
The lightning in his hand weakened imperceptibly.
The group now seemed split into two factions.
Hao Lan was stuck awkwardly in the middle, unable to side with either.
He looked helplessly at Huang Ya: "What do we do?"
Huang Ya scanned both sides before settling on Jiang Xi:
"I have a question—how exactly do you plan to achieve victory? By killing all the monsters?"
Jiang Xi bit her lip—she couldn't say.
The yao ghost was listening from the trees behind them. She'd made a deal—if they killed Bo Jingmo and Yu Li, it would let them go.
But she knew the yao ghost wouldn't keep its word. After dealing with Bo Jingmo, they'd have to kill the yao ghost—which was easier than killing Bo Jingmo.
So she only said quietly: "I have a way. Trust me."
Huang Ya was speechless and turned to Hao Lan.
"Do we even need to choose?"
He looked baffled: "Huh?" They were deciding already?
Facepalming, Huang Ya grabbed his collar and pulled him toward Yu Li's side.
She raised her eyes to Jiang Xi:
"Bo Jingmo saved us once. If he's really using us...consider it repaying that debt."