Chapter 184

Lijiang’s sunlight is more intense than Nantong’s, falling on the body with a slightly ticklish, numbing sensation.

Just like the woman sitting opposite.

Both sides exchanged friendly greetings, saying good morning, but the boy’s heart was not at ease.

Last night, a brief appearance of corpse qi on the second floor immediately woke Li Zhuoyuan.

Not long after, he heard the sound of four people walking downstairs to check out.

Their footsteps were much heavier than during the day, as if they had all gained weight.

During the brief exchange at checkout, the female voice didn’t sound like it came from vocal cords, but rather like the intense friction of a sharp object.

In short, last night was very quiet, and last night was also very lively.

At this moment, Fat Jin Ge’s parents were cleaning the rooms on the second floor, while Fat Jin Ge himself came down from the second floor hugging a large stack of sheets and quilts. These were all to be washed.

Passing by Li Zhuoyuan, Fat Jin Ge smiled and said: “The guests on the second floor last night suddenly had something urgent and checked out.”

The boy knew: They did leave.

Not long after, Fat Jin Ge called everyone to eat breakfast.

The woman didn’t come over, but continued to sit there drinking tea.

Fat Jin Ge went to invite her and asked if she wanted him to bring breakfast to her. The woman shook her head, indicating she wasn’t hungry.

Her not coming to the dining table allowed Li Zhuoyuan to peacefully eat breakfast.

After the meal, Li Zhuoyuan borrowed several straw hats from Fat Jin Ge, and with his companions, walked out of the homestay.

They had strolled for a day yesterday and were exposed to the sun for a day.

Just after walking out the door, Li Zhuoyuan’s gaze fell on the four small mounds in the field in front.

Quite particular, they killed and also buried.

As they walked along the village road towards the main road, the surroundings were empty and nobody was around, and everyone finally began to relax and exchange thoughts.

Lin Shuyou: “My vertical pupil opened last night.”

Tan Wenbin: “My two godchildren almost reacted.”

Yin Meng: “My gu insects also felt it.”

Runsheng: “Oh.”

Although the companions’ perception wasn’t as delicate as Li Zhuoyuan’s, that corpse qi, even though it only appeared for a short while, was enough to alarm everyone.

Simply because Li Zhuoyuan didn’t give a command, everyone chose to hold their ground, not even getting out of bed.

Lin Shuyou: “So, those four people who lived on the second floor last night also had broken jade on them, and last night the corpse qi within the broken jade erupted, so they immediately transferred?”

Yin Meng was deep in thought.

Runsheng gave up thinking.

Tan Wenbin thought more, and more extremely. He asked: “Xiao Yuan Ge, are those four people still alive?”

Actually, Tan Wenbin didn’t possess more details than Lin Shuyou, but he understood how to observe Xiao Yuan Ge better.

This morning, when Xiao Yuan Ge exchanged good morning greetings with the woman opposite, Tan Wenbin sensed a different seriousness.

Li Zhuoyuan opened his mouth and said: “They all died. Their bodies are buried in the field we just passed by the doorway.”

Those four small earth mounds were inconspicuous, but unfortunately, Li Zhuoyuan’s memory was too good. He saw the difference from yesterday’s memory at a glance, and the number just matched.

As soon as Li Zhuoyuan said this, everyone’s expression became extremely solemn.

Lin Shuyou asked: “She killed them?”

Runsheng: “Fat Jin Ge killed them.”

Lin Shuyou touched his head: “I was just sighing…”

There were only four groups of people in the homestay: Fat Jin Ge’s family, themselves, the single woman on the first floor, and the four people who lived on the second floor.

Fat Jin Ge’s family were genuine local ordinary people and were not on the suspicion list. Who made the move was already implied.

Tan Wenbin asked: “Xiao Yuan Ge, can we do it?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head: “Although I haven’t probed and contacted those four people on the second floor and don’t know their strength, anyone who can participate in this wave should not be ordinary.

Taking an average strength, if we wanted to make a move on them, we couldn’t do it this quickly, and it would be even more impossible for it to be this quiet.”

Except for the movement caused by the broken jade’s corpse qi leaking, there were almost no sounds of fighting, meaning it was basically a one-hit kill.

And the broken jade’s corpse qi leaking is something that must go through a process of political correctness.

Yin Meng: “That woman, is she that powerful?”

Tan Wenbin: “After all, she can walk the jianghu by herself.”

Forming a team to walk the jianghu is the norm; those who dare to walk the jianghu and stir up waves alone are all extremely formidable existences.

Lin Shuyou: “Then do we still have to return to that homestay today?”

Living under the same roof with a person who has the strength to exterminate a team alone is not scary, but nerve-wracking. They will definitely be in a state of constant tension.

Li Zhuoyuan continued to walk forward while saying: “Now it’s not just whether we return to the homestay or not. I think she should have already followed us out.”

Tan Wenbin immediately supplemented and reminded: “Don’t look back to find the person, keep walking and keep chatting.”

No one stopped to stare.

Li Zhuoyuan continued: “The four people who lived on the second floor were probably relatively anxious. They made a move first to probe and thus exposed the fact that they had a broken jade in their possession.”

Teams without a broken jade wouldn’t be anxious to probe. Everyone was very cautious, cherishing the opportunity to make a move.

Precisely because the team on the second floor probed, they were instantly judged by that woman as having the broken jade in their hands.

It seemed as if the mission of those four people was just to protect the broken jade and deliver it here. After the mission was completed, they would evaporate from the human world.

This is jianghu.

Dragons soaring in the front, dead fish and rotten shrimp in the back.

Tan Wenbin: “So, Xiao Yuan Ge, you say she is following us now… she wants to use us as a shield?”

Li Zhuoyuan: “She should also have a method to suppress the broken jade’s corpse qi, but I determine that her method cannot be long-term and will erupt sooner or later.

If I were her, I would also choose a team nearby to accompany, using us to attract attention.

She is only one person, making her actions very convenient. Additionally, she probably thinks we are weak and easy to control.”

When they heard the last sentence, everyone’s gaze sank.

We can admit you are strong, but we will not accept being looked down upon by you.

After all, strength and weakness are originally not fixed. When fighting for life, it’s not playing cards, simply comparing the size of a card face.

In the past few waves, everyone has more than once won against the strong with weakness, mainly because of Xiao Yuan Ge’s leadership. Xiao Yuan Ge has the ability to integrate everyone’s strength and play out an effect several levels higher.

Li Zhuoyuan: “She should know that we will suspect the broken jade is possibly in her hands, so next, according to the overt plan we set beforehand, we have to start targeting her.

I think we can fight her.”

Everyone was already prepared to listen to Xiao Yuan Ge’s next arrangement and planned to take the strategic route, but they didn’t expect that Xiao Yuan Ge, who was always cautious and not fond of abrupt adventures, would directly give such a scheme.

But obviously, everyone liked this scheme very much.

Everyone’s breathing quickened because of it.

Li Zhuoyuan knew that his team never needed to worry about morale issues.

But he said this not purely out of hot-blooded impulsiveness, wanting to go and fight desperately.

“Three reasons.

First, if we don’t target her, it will make her suspicious, because this doesn’t conform to logic.

Second, it is normal for us to launch an attack on her. Since she wants to use us as a decoy, in the first encounter, she will likely hold back slightly, at least not aiming for the kill from the start.

Third…”

“Beep beep! Beep beep!”

Car horns interrupted Li Zhuoyuan’s words.

At this time, everyone had already walked to the end of the village road. In front was a road where motorcycles and tricycles would come to pick up guests.

Everyone was waiting for the boy’s “third,” but Li Zhuoyuan’s expression darkened, and he didn’t continue. He turned to Tan Wenbin and said:

“Binbin Ge, call a car.”

Tan Wenbin stopped two vehicles, negotiated the price, and everyone got in, going to today’s attraction.

Near noon, they finished playing and found a restaurant nearby, ordering waxed pork ribs.

Li Zhuoyuan was the first to finish eating. He put down his chopsticks and sat quietly.

Because Runsheng wanted to eat heartily, they specially chose a position in the back corner of the restaurant. Li Zhuoyuan was facing a hillside in front.

Vaguely, he seemed to see a figure flashing past within the vegetation covering the hillside.

It was her.

Li Zhuoyuan believed he hadn’t seen wrong, because the feng shui of the mountain in front had fluctuations, and she was using a secret technique to hide her tracks.

She was very cautious, and at the same time very conceited. She indeed didn’t need to know what they were talking about; she only needed to confirm their position.

Li Zhuoyuan took out a can of Jianlibao from his backpack.

“Pa.”

The sound of opening made his companions who were eating look at each other.

In the past, Xiao Yuan Ge only drank this when he was tired and overdrawn, but now, there was no fighting, and they had just eaten.

Li Zhuoyuan drank the beverage sip by sip.

The third point he hadn’t said earlier was: [Even if we lose the fight, we will be spared. At most, we will be temporarily coerced or sign an alliance under duress, cooperate and become her shield. Anyway, there is still room for maneuver.]

Finally, there was a summary: [In summary, this fight is very worthwhile.]

An encounter where losing a fight has a safety net is indeed very worthwhile.

This was the result of Li Zhuoyuan’s earlier normal deduction.

The reason he didn’t say it was not because he felt it was undignified to say it this way. Tactical detours and retreats are sometimes necessary, their purpose is to exchange space for time and create a better strategic situation.

But the problem was here. Li Zhuoyuan suddenly realized that this kind of deduction under “normal rhythm” actually couldn’t give himself a better result.

Under this deduction, if they didn’t fight, they would become acquainted, and three paths could extend from this.

First path: Reveal cards to her, tell her that he also has a broken jade. Although this can dispel her wariness, it will also make her see that he has the ability to continuously seal the broken jade’s corpse qi.

If he could really help her seal that broken jade, then it would be fine and could be used as an important bargaining chip for cooperation.

But the fact is, he can only continuously seal the one in his hand, because that one already had a bottom-layer seal design before he entered Lijiang and the broken jade showed no change.

Thus, it would only make him a “sweet bun” in her eyes, causing her to develop further motives to intervene or even control him.

Second path: Hide the fact that he has a broken jade and proactively cooperate with her, acting as her shield while hoping to get her help to obtain the broken jade, and then he would take the opportunity to stall and wait for an opening.

The other side would likely agree. Anyway, she wouldn’t actively help him, and could even abandon him at any time.

But this second path is just given the name of cooperation, which sounds a bit better. In reality, he would still have to bear the task of attracting fire. It would be like still thinking of adding luster to his own card after acting as a shield, which is meaningless.

Third path: Pretend to be forced to be her shield and seize the opportunity to find a chance to plot against her, for example, deliberately attract some people to come, divert the trouble, and let both sides become each other’s shield.

But the difficulty of this third path is too great, and the returns and risks are completely disproportionate. With a high probability, it will become an unwilling delusion of being a shield.

The root cause is that the other side is standing from the perspective of strength, looking down on you.

In her eyes, their team and the small team she eliminated last night have no essential difference.

And when you are thinking from the perspective of the weak side, your schemes and plots will also be extremely limited.

Li Zhuoyuan quickly finished the can.

The boy’s hand, gripping the empty can, slowly rotated, his gaze sweeping over every companion at the table.

The common problem of smart people, Li Zhuoyuan actually always had it, which is holding chips in his hand, calculating back and forth incessantly, always wanting to avoid risks and seek a sure win situation for himself.

Just like the last time he met Zhao Yi in Guizhou.

The biggest difference between Li Zhuoyuan and him is perhaps because of his illness. At critical moments, Li Zhuoyuan is more willing to stake everything. He can forcibly suppress his so-called “rationality” again and again.

If retreating not only cannot exchange for a better situation for himself, but instead makes his situation more awkward… then what is the point of retreating?

“Ka cha…”

The empty beverage can was constantly being squeezed out of shape in the boy’s hand.

When established thinking cannot deduce an acceptable result, then one must consider shuffling the cards.

Although he had this realization early on, only when the matter was at hand did he truly realize that fighting with evil spirits and fighting with people are really not the same.

He just met a person yesterday, and today she has become a dark cloud lingering over his team.

Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng saw the situation and had a premonition that Xiao Yuan Ge had something to say, so they silently put down their chopsticks.

Tan Wenbin clipped vegetables into Lin Shuyou’s bowl and urged the two of them: “Eat quickly, eat a little more.”

The companions sped up their eating, and Tan Wenbin asked the boss to add two portions of waxed pork ribs.

Li Zhuoyuan’s gaze was once again cast towards the opposite mountain top. Although the feng shui pattern there had already returned to calm, it was difficult for others to see the problem, but Li Zhuoyuan, relying on his own feng shui attainment, could see that deliberate wisp.

From such a distance, actively attacking from the outside is not appropriate.

But from her performance this morning, she also seemed to know the importance of the clue that is Fat Jin Ge. She will also continue to live in the homestay.

Therefore, the battlefield can only be in Fat Jin Ge’s homestay. Only there is the distance between both sides the closest.

Li Zhuoyuan: “I want to change the plan I said earlier a bit… from fighting one, change to killing her!”

Everyone listened while continuing to eat, but they chewed with more force.

“Once we make a move, the first time, don’t hesitate:

Yin Meng, sprinkle out your most violent poison!

Tan Wenbin, immediately use ghost control technique!

Lin Shuyou, use the breaking evil talisman needle to stimulate Bai He Zi’s strongest possession state!

Runsheng, you directly fully open your qi gate!”

Even though everyone was consciously trying to eat seriously, at this moment they had to successively lower their heads and look at the rice bowls in their hands. This is… is the end of the world coming?

In the past, these means were always saved for the last crucial moment. In the early stage, they would not be used if they could be avoided.

Because after using them, except for Yin Meng, the remaining three would all be paralyzed for a long time, not only losing combat power, but even daily life ability.

And this wave has just begun, and the snatch and kill for the broken jade has just preliminarily opened the curtain. The main event still has to be a guest.

Just like this, are all the trump cards at the bottom of the box being played out?

However, although everyone was shocked, no one raised a question. The long-term trust they had formed made them instinctively and unconditionally believe Xiao Yuan Ge’s judgment.

Everyone chewed vigorously, swallowing like a whirlwind, and squeezed out a firm response from between their teeth:

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

“The card face isn’t good, so I can only change the way of playing. This time, I want to gamble big.

Since she has already made it clear that she is following us and using us as a shield and scapegoat, then we are life-and-death enemies. Rather than waiting for the corpse qi of the broken jade in her hand to erupt and attract more unknown opponents, it is better to take the initiative ourselves.

First step: Go all out and kill her.

Second step: Seize the broken jade in her hand.

This way, we have two broken jades in our hands. One is the one that I can continuously seal. The other, even if I take over midway, can only be sealed for a while and will erupt with corpse qi sooner or later.

Third step: Hold the two broken jades and hide as much as possible, delaying time.

I don’t know how long the third step can last, but I will do my best to strive.

Fourth step: The broken jade’s corpse qi erupts, attracting attention and snatching. I then publicly admit defeat and hand over that broken jade openly, ‘withdrawing from the snatch.’

In this plan, the initiative is completely in our hands, and we don’t need to look at others’ faces.

It’s just that the gamble is relatively big, and there are two places that need to be gambled on.

The first one is to take advantage of the opportunity that she will hold back in the first encounter because she wants to use us as a shield. We, with all our might, will not give her room for regret.

The second one…”

Tan Wenbin drank a mouthful of soup. It was so salty that he stuck out his tongue, but he didn’t forget to chime in: “Gamble that this time the broken jade snatch will last long enough, and the opening time will be relatively late, so that even if we are overdrawn and paralyzed at the beginning, we will still have enough time to recuperate.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Correct.”

Under normal circumstances, trump cards must definitely be used at the last crucial moment, but if they are used early enough and there is enough time in the middle… then after recuperating, at the last crucial moment, they can be used again, which is a gain.

Lin Shuyou put down his chopsticks. He had finished eating. His left hand was touching his belly, and his right hand took out a breaking evil talisman needle from his bag to pick his teeth.

Tan Wenbin pointed at him and laughed, scolding: “I say, why are you so good at pretending?”

Lin Shuyou: “Hehe, it’s all thanks to Bin Ge’s good teaching.”

Yin Meng opened her palm, and her gu insects began to cooperate with her in playing a game of climbing mountains in her palm.

Runsheng saw that none of them were eating, so he put the pot in front of himself, poured in rice, added fragrant, picked up a large spoon, and continued to eat.

Xiao Yuan still hasn’t formally seen him fully open his qi gate yet. This time he can finally display it in front of Xiao Yuan, and it is the full opening of the qi gate after eating gu children. He is also extremely looking forward to it.

Hmm, these waxed pork ribs are indeed delicious, but compared to the taste of gu children, they are still far behind.

In the afternoon, everyone went to stroll around an ancient town again.

The main reason was that returning was too close and inconvenient to discuss. While strolling in the ancient town, they went in and out of ancient buildings and arranged the combat plan for the evening.

Near dusk, Li Zhuoyuan and the others returned to the homestay with straw hats on. Except for Li Zhuoyuan, the four companions all looked at the four inconspicuous small earth mounds when they passed by the farmland at the doorway.

Fat Jin Ge brought out flower cakes and distributed them to everyone to taste, and asked if they had had a good time today.

Tan Wenbin took the initiative and chatted happily with Fat Jin Ge at the counter.

He conveniently learned from Fat Jin Ge that the woman had been sitting outside all day and drinking tea.

Li Zhuoyuan heard this, but he didn’t believe it. She should have a puppet illusion method.

Walking into the courtyard, he saw the woman.

Li Zhuoyuan knew that she, who had been tracking them during the day, had also returned here at this moment. There was still some travel dust on her body, and the tea in her cup had already lost its temperature.

The woman raised her teacup, and like in the morning, she said to Li Zhuoyuan:

“Little brother, good evening.”

“Auntie, good evening.”

——

This chapter is to supplement yesterday’s word count. There is still more in the evening.

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