"Working together is no problem at all. But how exactly do you want to do it?"
Bai Xiaoxiao crossed her long legs, propped her chin lightly on one hand, and batted her eyes at Tang Jiao.
Tang Jiao didn't seem to much enjoy being appraised like that, and her brow creased faintly.
Her instincts told her this Bai Xiaoxiao... was no newcomer.
And anyone who wasn't a newcomer was usually not easy to fool.
"Cooperation... is simple enough."
"Our most urgent task is to find this Blood Door's path to survival within six days."
"I assume everyone received the hint on the Blood Door before entering. But the hint alone will never be enough to get us out of here alive. We need to gather more clues."
"And the clues... are at the village's various tourist sites."
Here Tang Jiao swept her gaze over the silent room, her tone taking on a firmness that brooked no argument:
"I propose we split into groups of two or three and each visit a different site. Barring accidents, we can gather every clue within a day or two!"
"It's the safest, fastest way to find the path to survival!"
"The faster we find it, the fewer of us die!"
As her voice fell, another girl in the room asked timidly:
"Will there... will there be ghosts at those sites?"
Everyone looked over. It was the girl who'd been shoved forward in front of Ning Qiushui that morning—her name was Zong Fang.
She was timid in the extreme; she had spent the entire day in her room, never once leaving the guesthouse except to eat.
Tang Jiao said flatly:
"This is the world behind a Blood Door. What do you think?"
Zong Fang's small face went white.
"Then... then can I not go..."
There was already a hint of tears in her voice, but Tang Jiao spared her no tenderness whatsoever, saying coldly:
"Of course you can."
"But if you won't go, then the survival clues the rest of us risk our lives to gather don't have to be shared with you, either."
At that, Zong Fang panicked instantly:
"No—I'll go! I'll go!"
New as she was, she had cleared a first Blood Door; she understood what survival clues meant—and what happened to those without them...
Inside a Blood Door, everyone is marked for death!
Only by finding the path to survival do you get a chance to live!
Seeing no objections, Tang Jiao nodded, satisfied.
"Since everyone agrees, let's form our teams and go clue-hunting... Night falls here around seven, but don't worry—as long as you're back at the guesthouse before midnight, the odds of running into danger should be low!"
In truth, by now everyone who was going to team up already had; the last few unattached people simply became a team by default.
"There are eight of us left—three teams. We already covered Square-Inch Pond; that site's clues are in hand, so no one needs to go there."
"Four sites remain. Divide them among yourselves—each team takes one today. If you're back late, we'll meet in the canteen tomorrow and pool the clues."
Tang Jiao had barely finished when Bai Xiaoxiao drawled:
"We've already visited a site too. And came away with an important clue."
"Oh? Where did you go?"
"The Nightmare-Binding Shrine."
The instant the words left Bai Xiaoxiao's mouth, an odd gleam flashed deep in Tang Jiao's eyes—and she made a thoroughly unreasonable demand:
"In that case, you three can cover one more key site this afternoon."
At that, Liu Chengfeng shot up in his seat, eyes bulging:
"On what grounds?!"
"Why don't you go?"
Tang Jiao folded her arms and said coldly:
"You want to know on what grounds?"
"Fine. I'll tell you on what grounds—"
"First: the clues I collected were at Square-Inch Pond, the farthest site from the guesthouse. The round trip alone takes nearly two hours—meaning the greatest chance of accidents en route. The most dangerous road!"
"Second... we had already decided to check the Nightmare-Binding Shrine ourselves this afternoon."
"I've taken the lead on the most dangerous work, and now I'll be double-checking your site for anything you missed... Asking you to cover one extra site—is that really so unreasonable?"
Liu Chengfeng opened his mouth to fire back, but Ning Qiushui caught his arm.
He signaled him to say nothing.
Bai Xiaoxiao, however, pressed her lips into a smile:
"Not unreasonable... not unreasonable in the least."
"Then it's settled."
After some discussion all around, Bai Xiaoxiao chose the Never-Dry Well for the afternoon.
That well was the very one that had kept the whole village alive through the great drought.
It was also the farthest site from the guesthouse after Square-Inch Pond—less than half a kilometer from the pond itself.
Only after everyone dispersed did Liu Chengfeng let his discontent out:
"On what grounds, though?!"
"Calls it cooperation, then orders everyone around like servants. Just looking at her makes my blood boil!"
Bai Xiaoxiao said:
"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"
Liu Chengfeng:
"To live, obviously!"
Bai Xiaoxiao:
"Then quit whining and come with me."
Liu Chengfeng goggled at them:
"No, seriously, are you two professional doormats or what? Fine, we're scared of ghosts—but even of people..."
Before he could finish, Ning Qiushui cut in:
"That woman Tang Jiao was lying."
Liu Chengfeng's belligerence stalled out. He blinked:
"Huh? Lying? Bro, how could you tell?"
Ning Qiushui's gaze was razor-keen:
"Keep track of the time on this trip. Once we've been to the Never-Dry Well, you'll understand."
Liu Chengfeng stared at his watch—and then it hit him.
"Bro, you mean... that Tang Jiao woman never went to Square-Inch Pond at all?!"
Bai Xiaoxiao spoke up as well:
"Think about it—where would she have found the time?"
"That round trip is nearly two hours, and that's assuming nothing goes wrong on the way."
"The shrine alone took us the entire morning. Do you imagine Tang Jiao groped her way to Square-Inch Pond in the dark last night?"
"If not, then she had no window at all—because when we went out for breakfast past eight this morning, she was right there outside the guesthouse!"
Now Liu Chengfeng understood completely: this woman Tang Jiao had lied to everyone and meant to use them all as her cat's-paws!
"Holy shit... she's fucking using us as cannon fodder?!"
Liu Chengfeng's temper blew, and the curses came out with it.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. What she's lied about and hidden from us goes far beyond this one thing..."
"That woman is riddled with problems!"
Bai Xiaoxiao's frosty words sent a shiver through both men.
Liu Chengfeng swallowed:
"Sis Bai... what else did you find?"
Bai Xiaoxiao shook her head, then broke into a bright smile:
"What if I told you that the two who died at the Nightmare-Binding Shrine, and the three who went to the back hill... very likely all went on her instructions?"
Liu Chengfeng's pupils contracted; enormous shock flooded his eyes.
"Damn... that poisonous woman!"
"Why would she do that?"