“Cooperation? Of course, no problem. But how exactly do you propose we cooperate?”
Bai Xiaoxiao crossed her long legs and propped her chin lightly with one hand, blinking playfully at Tang Jiao.
Tang Jiao didn’t seem to appreciate Bai Xiaoxiao’s kind of scrutiny. She frowned slightly.
Her instincts told her that Bai Xiaoxiao… wasn’t a newcomer.
And those who aren’t newcomers are usually much harder to manipulate.
“Cooperation… is quite simple,” Tang Jiao said.
“Our top priority right now is to find a way out of this Blood Gate within six days.”
“Before entering, I assume everyone received the hint from the Blood Gate. But relying on just that hint alone, it’s impossible to survive and get out. We need to gather more clues.”
“And those clues… are hidden within various points of interest in the village.”
At this, Tang Jiao swept her gaze across the silent group, her tone firm and unquestionable:
“I propose we split into teams of two or three and each head to a different location. If all goes well, we can gather all the clues in one to two days!”
“This is the safest and fastest way to find a way out!”
“The sooner we find the escape route, the fewer people will die!”
After she finished speaking, a timid young woman asked weakly:
“Will… will there be ghosts at those sites?”
Everyone turned to look. The girl was Zong Fang—the same one who had been pushed toward Ning Qiushui that morning.
She was extremely timid and had stayed in her room the entire day, only coming out to eat.
Tang Jiao said coolly:
“This is the world behind the Blood Gate. What do you think?”
Zong Fang’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
“Then… c-can I not go…” she asked, her voice quivering with the beginnings of tears.
But Tang Jiao showed no sympathy and responded coldly:
“Of course you can.”
“But if you don’t go, then the clues we risk our lives to find won’t be shared with you.”
Hearing this, Zong Fang immediately panicked:
“N-no… I’ll go! I’ll go!”
Even though she was a newbie, having passed through the first Blood Gate, she already understood how critical the escape clues were—and what would happen without them.
In the Blood Gate, everyone is doomed to die.
Only by finding the way out is there any hope of survival.
Seeing no one object, Tang Jiao nodded in satisfaction.
“Since everyone agrees, let’s form teams and go search for clues… It gets dark around 7 p.m. here, but don’t worry—as long as we return to the guesthouse by midnight, the chance of encountering danger should be low.”
By now, most people had already formed their teams. The remaining two or three unpaired individuals naturally grouped together.
“We now have eight people left, split into three teams. We’ve already searched Fangcuntang, and we found the clue there—no need for you all to revisit it.”
“That leaves four more locations. Discuss among yourselves—each group will visit one today. If you’re back late, we’ll hold another meeting in the cafeteria tomorrow to exchange clues.”
Just as Tang Jiao finished speaking, Bai Xiaoxiao lazily added:
“We also went to one of the locations and obtained an important clue.”
“Oh? Which one did you go to?”
“Fuo’e Shrine.”
As soon as Bai Xiaoxiao spoke, a strange glint flashed in Tang Jiao’s eyes, and she made a rather unreasonable suggestion:
“In that case, you can go visit another important site this afternoon.”
The moment she said that, Liu Chengfeng couldn’t hold it in any longer. He glared and said:
“Why should we?!”
“Why don’t you go?”
Tang Jiao crossed her arms and said coldly:
“You want to know why?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you why—”
“First, the clue I found was at Fangcuntang, which is the farthest location from the guesthouse. Just going there and back takes nearly two hours. That means the chances of something going wrong along the way are the highest—it’s the most dangerous route!”
“Second… we originally planned to check out the Fuo’e Shrine this afternoon.”
“I’ve already taken the lead in handling the most dangerous tasks, and even helped check if you missed anything… Asking you to visit one more location to look for clues—is that really too much?”
Liu Chengfeng still wanted to argue, but Ning Qiushui held him back.
The latter gestured for him to stay quiet.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaoxiao gave a faint smile and said:
“Not too much at all… not one bit.”
“Then it’s settled.”
After some discussion, the group decided that Bai Xiaoxiao would go to Buhuo Well in the afternoon.
That well was the one that never dried up even during the great drought—it had kept the entire village alive back then.
It was also, aside from Fangcuntang, the farthest scenic location from the guesthouse—less than half a kilometer away from it.
Once the group dispersed, Liu Chengfeng grumbled:
“What the hell was that?”
“That woman talks about cooperation, but acts like she’s in charge of everyone—bossing people around. It’s infuriating!”
Bai Xiaoxiao replied:
“Do you want to live, or die?”
Liu Chengfeng:
“Of course I want to live!”
Bai Xiaoxiao:
“Then stop talking nonsense and follow me.”
Liu Chengfeng stared:
“No, I’m serious—are you two just doormats or what? I get being scared of ghosts, but even scared of people—”
Before he could finish, Ning Qiushui cut him off:
“That woman, Tang Jiao, lied.”
Liu Chengfeng was stunned, the fire in him suddenly extinguished:
“Huh… lied? How do you know that, bro?”
Ning Qiushui’s eyes were sharp:
“Start keeping track of the time. Once we visit Buhuo Well, you’ll understand.”
Liu Chengfeng looked at his watch, then suddenly had a realization:
“Wait—you’re saying that woman, Tang Jiao, never even went to Fangcuntang?!”
Bai Xiaoxiao added:
“Think about it—when would she have had the time?”
“The round trip alone takes nearly two hours—and that’s assuming nothing goes wrong.”
“We spent all morning just going to Fuo’e Shrine. Do you really think Tang Jiao hiked out to Fangcuntang in the dark last night?”
“If not, then she couldn’t have gone—because we saw her outside the guesthouse at 8 this morning when we went out for breakfast!”
Now Liu Chengfeng fully understood. That woman Tang Jiao had lied to everyone—she was using them as pawns!
“Damn it… she’s using us like tools?!”
Liu Chengfeng exploded with rage.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The things she’s hiding and lying about… this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.”
“That woman… she’s very suspicious.”
Bai Xiaoxiao’s chilling tone made the other two shiver.
Liu Chengfeng swallowed hard:
“Sister Bai… what else have you figured out?”
Bai Xiaoxiao shook her head, then smiled sweetly:
“What if I told you… that the people who died at Fuo’e Shrine and those three who went to the back mountain—were very likely acting on her orders?”
Liu Chengfeng’s pupils shrank, and his eyes were filled with shock.
“Damn… what a venomous woman!”
“Why would she do something like that?”
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