Duosheng Danyuan

"I believe you!" Unlike Lin Xu, who remained silent and conflicted, Su Wanqing immediately smiled at me and said, "I think everything Brother Gu said makes a lot of sense. Oh, I didn't mean to say that Brother Lin's words were unreasonable, but I think things might be more in line with Brother Gu's thinking... right?"

"I...have to believe it. Although I don't think I'm wrong to apply the logic of reality, but...as things stand, the facts confirm your conjecture."

"It's only temporary. Perhaps we'll still need you to help us escape from here in the future." I pursed my lips and gave them both a smile in return.

"Oh, right, Brother Gu, at that time, Brother Lin Xu and I were both attracted by the seven people who had just arrived, so when we turned around, we saw the three thatched huts. But you seemed to be facing the thatched huts the whole time? You should have seen how those thatched huts appeared, right?"

"Um."

Su Wanqing's keen intuition caused Lin Xu's pupils to dilate imperceptibly. He glanced sideways and realized that the girl he had always wanted to take care of might not actually require his much attention. Perhaps, beyond the fog of fear, Su Wanqing possessed a precious gem within.

"How did that hut appear? Was it like in the movies, suddenly springing up? Or like in comics and novels, where countless threads come together to form the hut, and sand and mud become the windows and doors, and it's built in an instant?"

"Neither."

"Hmm... what is it? Hehe, I can't guess."

"It came out in an instant."

"Eh?"

"What do you mean? Sigh, I don't know how many times I've said this today," Lin Xu said helplessly.

"Literal meaning. When I sensed Chen Yu and the others getting close behind us, I was certain there was only one thatched hut in front of us. But in the blink of an eye, the hut instantly became three. Then, you turned around."

"In the blink of an eye?" Su Wanqing's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"Wait, repeat that again," Lin Xu immediately sensed something was wrong after hearing my words. He looked at me urgently and asked with some anxiety, "Repeat what you just said."

"I said, in the blink of an eye, the thatched huts turned into three."

"Not this sentence, but the one before it."

"Huh? Oh, I mean, when Chen Yu and the others were almost behind us, I was certain there was only a thatched hut in front of us. What's wrong with that?"

"That's the problem!" Lin Xu slammed his hand on the table and ran back to his room. To my and Su Wanqing's surprise, he ran out again in less than half a minute, but this time he brought a suitcase with him.

"What's this?" Su Wanqing asked, pointing to Lin Xu's briefcase.

"These are my drawing tools, don't worry about them. Just wait a moment, I'll draw it, and you'll understand."

As he spoke, Lin Xu picked up a pen and began to draw quickly on the white paper. Before long, a simple sketch was completed. However, this sketch was not a human face; it resembled a small part of a map navigation.

"This is a map showing the route from the entrance of the Quiet Retreat to our hut," Lin Xu said, placing the paper on the coffee table and pointing to it.

"What?"

"You've only walked this route once, yet you can remember the route?" I asked, slightly surprised by Lin Xu's amazing skill.

"It can't be perfect, but in terms of physical sense, the general direction shouldn't be wrong. Like I said, the architecture in this godforsaken place is very sophisticated, and naturally, the route is no exception."

Looking at the route map Lin Xu had drawn on the coffee table, I nodded, deeply agreeing with his words. In Lin Xu's drawing, from the rocks at the entrance of Jingxi Lodge to our thatched hut, we had traversed a long, S-shaped bend.

The thatched huts we saw, not guided by the dim light, radiated out from this S-shaped bend. And to be fair, the direction of this radiating outwards was quite deliberate; it wasn't simply a random, haphazard spread along the S-curve. However, lacking the knowledge in this area, I couldn't quite figure it out.

"Is the route we're taking an S-curve?" Su Wanqing asked, tilting her head as she looked at the blueprints on the coffee table.

"It should be," I nodded, agreeing with Lin Xu's drawing. "From a tactile perspective, the curves we followed along the dim light all match this S-shape."

"Of course, please trust my professional abilities." When talking about painting, Lin Xu finally put on the same calm smile that I had when we first met.

"So, what's wrong?" I asked, looking at the confident Lin Xu.

"The problem lies in what you said."

"Is there a problem with what I said?"

"Your words are fine on their own, but when put together with what Chen Yu and the others said, they become very problematic."

"What's wrong?"

"Look," Lin Xu said, pointing to the last part of the route, "although Chen Yu is still quite a distance away from us, the winding path is enough for them to see us. In fact, we saw the thatched hut at the end of the ghostly light before we reached it, but we didn't know it was our hut because we didn't know it was the end of the ghostly light."

"Is that so?" Su Wanqing muttered, trying hard to recall.

"Indeed." To avoid the man who was eyeing me, I kept my attention focused the whole way and naturally didn't miss the detail Lin Xu mentioned.

"I've forgotten the details, but considering that we only found one hut at the end of the road, there must have been only one hut we saw at that bend, right?"

"It's just one," I said definitively.

"That's the problem. After the number of huts suddenly changed, I specifically asked Chen Yu and the others to figure out why. Guess what they said?"

"How so?" Su Wanqing asked curiously.

"..." I remained silent, having already guessed what Lin Xu was about to say, something even more unbelievable.

"Because we were standing in front of the thatched hut, Chen Yu and the others naturally focused their attention on us and the thatched hut in front of us. They said there were three thatched huts."

"What's the problem?"

"Time difference," I replied.

"Time difference?"

"That's right, the time difference," Lin Xu nodded and continued, "According to Chen Yu, in their eyes, there have always been three thatched huts."

"What!?"

"Just as I thought."

"At first, I thought the thatched hut appeared suddenly and overlooked the time difference. It was only after Su Wanqing reminded me and Brother Changfeng said that I realized the trickery involved."

"You mean, when Chen Yu and the others saw three thatched huts, Brother Gu only saw one?"

"That's right."

"Is that so?" Su Wanqing asked me incredulously.

"I'm afraid so." I nodded.

Why?

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head.

"I don't know yet, but I have a feeling that this time difference is very important," Lin Xu said after a moment's thought.

"Yes, you're right. Let's write this down for now and compare it later when we have more information," I nodded.

"Um."

There was silence for a moment.

"There's one more question," Lin Xu suddenly said.

"Why do you have a hundred thousand whys?" I said, speechless.

"Consider it as clearing up my doubts, Brother Gu."

"you say."

"Even if you're certain there's a tenth person, why would you leave beforehand? In other words, why would you hide from this tenth person?"

"..."

"What's wrong? Is this a difficult question to answer?" Lin Xu asked, puzzled, seeing that I hadn't spoken for a long time.

"No," I shook my head and said, "If I had to put it into words... it's just a feeling."

"Feelings?" Su Wanqing asked blankly.

"Yes, the existence of the tenth person is a mystery. In the Refining Heart Hall, we sat at the same table with our senior brothers and sisters, which was the beginning of this mystery. The man we met on the road was both the obstacle and the answer to this mystery. In the Nourishing Yuan Hall, there were ten senior brothers and sisters, which was the most obvious clue to the mystery, allowing even the most clueless person to discover that there were ten people in the class. As for the Ancient Elixir Scripture Building, it was the verification of this mystery and also a piece of evidence. In such a spacious place, there were still only ten senior brothers and sisters, which could not be a coincidence. In conclusion, the answer to the mystery is self-evident."

"Um, Brother Gu, are you reviewing the game?" Su Wanqing said, somewhat speechless. "But didn't Brother Lin ask you why you avoided the tenth person?"

"I'm saying why I should avoid the tenth person," I said calmly and seriously. "Shouldn't I, as the one who solves this deliberately created, meticulously hidden, and logically sound puzzle, receive a reward that surpasses that of others?"

"You mean, like completing levels in a game, you should get a reward for completing the task?" Su Wanqing nodded thoughtfully.

"A riddle that's both hinted at and hidden. After solving it, I should get some clues, right?"

"Logically speaking, there's no problem," Lin Xu replied after a moment's thought.

"In that case, the answer to this riddle is that there is a tenth person among us who has not yet appeared, and this place is a classic hotbed of trouble. Under these circumstances, should I welcome the tenth person who is about to appear, or should I be wary of him, or even should I stay away from him?"

"..."

"Elder Jianshan said that we'd be divided into three groups. Do you think the tenth person is more likely to be in a separate group, or more likely to join one of our three groups?"

"this......"

"When you're poor, you should focus on your own well-being. But we're in a precarious situation right now, so it's best to keep our distance from guys who clearly have some secrets."

After I finished speaking, the three of us fell silent for a moment. Su Wanqing, who had been relaxed, became noticeably nervous again after hearing what I said.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped through the dim sky outside the window, turning the heavens abruptly white. Then, a deafening, rolling thunder roared like a surging wave, engulfing our ears.

"Ah!" Su Wanqing involuntarily screamed as she covered her ears tightly.

Fortunately, the thunder didn't last long. About half a minute later, the thunder subsided, and the torrential rain began to fall softly. The dim light outside the window appeared even more dim in the rain.

"Just now, a demonic beast invaded the sect. Disciples, there is no need to panic. The Quiet Rest Hut is protected by a formation and is an absolutely safe place. Please close the doors and windows, rest well, and don't let the storms caused by the demonic beast disturb the cleanliness of the hut!"

After hearing Elder Jianshan's voice soaring through the sky, I glanced at Su Wanqing, who had rushed into Lin Xu's arms, stood up, and quickly ran to the living room window to close it.

Just as I was about to remind Lin Xu and Su Wanqing to close their room windows, I suddenly noticed that on the wall next to me by the window, a cluster of black lines began to neatly arrange themselves, seemingly forming a string of characters.

In just a moment, the first line of text appeared.

The five words "Rules of Jingxi Lodge" suddenly appeared before my eyes.