Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

Meeting in a place like this, everything is understood without words. There's no need to ask why the other is there; both of them have an expression that says, "Oh! So you're the same way."

Of course, there are still some things to talk about, such as: "So your paralysis was fake all along."

The elder of the Ouyang brothers, named Ouyang Ming, seemed to be the brains of the two brothers. He pointed to his dark circles and said with a wry smile, "We two brothers aren't as smart as you. We never thought there was such a trick as faking paralysis. During the day, we have to gather and memorize the rules, take turns carrying water, chopping wood, and planting vegetables... There's no time to rest at all. At night, we have to dig tunnels and scout ahead... Our bodies can't take it anymore. We should have learned from you guys."

Zheng Xiaodong smiled bitterly to himself: Was I faking it? I really was paralyzed for several years! Forget it, I can't explain this to you.

The younger of the Ouyang brothers, Ouyang Liang, asked, "How did you discover the problem with Hidden Flower Pavilion?"

Li Gu, of course, wouldn't reveal that he possessed a system, so he fabricated a story: "I felt it was illogical. Any sect should want to retain its disciples and make them part of the sect's fighting force. Even if some sects allow their disciples to graduate, they would still have them return to visit their masters and fellow disciples after graduation, and would summon graduated disciples to help when the sect is in danger. A sect like Hidden Flower Pavilion is too strange and doesn't make sense, so we became suspicious. What about you?"

Ouyang Ming said in a low voice, "We judged it from the martial arts. The Hidden Flower Sword Technique that our master taught us was something we learned before we joined the sect. Its real name is the Fierce Wind Soul-Severing Sword, a martial art of the Broken Sword Sect. The Broken Sword Sect was destroyed more than 500 years ago, and its sword techniques were scattered throughout the martial arts world, where many rogue cultivators know them."

Li Gu's lips twitched slightly: I felt something was off about this sword technique, and sure enough, it doesn't match the [Hidden Flower Heart Method] at all.

Ouyang Ming smiled sincerely: "Why don't we exchange information we've gathered, and work together to escape as soon as possible? What do you say?"

Li Gu nodded: "Alright! That's how it should be. Let's help each other escape this hellhole."

Ouyang Ming asked in a low voice, "How long have you been out? How much have you scouted out of the surrounding area?"

As soon as he finished asking the question, Ouyang Ming suddenly seemed to remember something: "Junior Brother Li's paralysis happened not long ago, and it seems you only recently dug the tunnel."

Li Gu secretly praised him: "His brain is alright, his reaction is faster than Senior Brother Zheng's, but slower than Zhang Yi's. If Zhang Yi were here, he wouldn't have asked the question before realizing it; he wouldn't have asked it at all."

Ouyang Ming's smile became even more sincere: "It seems you've just come out and haven't gained much yet, but that's alright. We're all in the same boat, sharing the same fate, so helping each other is essential. My brother and I have been digging tunnels for a long time and have uncovered many secrets. We'll share what we know with you free of charge."

Zheng Xiaodong was overjoyed: "Junior Brother Ouyang, you two are really great! I always thought you two brothers wouldn't get along, but it seems I didn't know you well enough."

[Ding! The Cultivation World Anti-Fraud Handbook Lv.1 reminds you: Ouyang Ming's statement just now, "We've been digging tunnels for a long time and discovered many secrets. We will share what we know with you free of charge," is a lie. Do you want to force the lie to become true? Yes/No.]

Li Gu's heart skipped a beat: The system hadn't triggered any alarms for what this guy said earlier, which meant he really intended to exchange information with us. But when he found out that we had only been out for a short time and didn't have much information, he felt that we were of no use and immediately started lying.

Even a fool could guess that his so-called "free sharing" was all nonsense. He was trying to fool me and Senior Brother Zheng into becoming their cannon fodder. For example, he would use false information to tell us to run west while they ran east, making Hua Qianfang waste time trying to catch us so that they could escape successfully.

Okay, here's the question: should we force this statement to come true?

When the system points out a lie, it's accurate down to the sentence level. In other words, the long passage just listed was entirely a lie. By simply working backward, we can see that the Ouyang brothers hadn't been digging the tunnel for very long and didn't know anything of any use.

If I make this lie come true, will it immediately and inexplicably expose him to some secrets he didn't know before?

This is something worth testing!

Let's see just how amazing this system is!

Li Gu mentally commanded, "I choose yes!"

In that instant, Ouyang Ming stiffened slightly, as if possessed by something, and opened his mouth to say, "My brother and I have already found out that Hua Qianfang lives on the summit of the North Slope, facing south and overlooking Flower Valley. Therefore, we absolutely cannot escape to the north. The best escape route is to go east first, and then turn south to Jiangzhou. In addition, Hua Qianfang will go to Jiangzhou City at noon two days later and will not return until noon on the third day. Therefore, the night two days later will be the best opportunity to escape."

After speaking, Ouyang Ming's eyes regained their sharpness, indicating that the system's influence had ended.

Li Gu clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Senior Brother Ouyang. The information you shared with us is really useful. Senior Brother Zheng and I will go back and make a good plan. Two nights from now, the four of us will escape together."

Ouyang Ming smiled, his face full of sincerity: "Okay, we'll come to the house to find you two nights from now, and we'll all work together."

[Ding! The Cultivation World Anti-Fraud Handbook Lv.1 reminds you: Ouyang Ming's statement just now, "We came to the secluded house to find you, and we'll all act together," is a lie. Do you want to force the lie to become true? Yes/No.]

Of course, there's no need for that to come true.

Did Li Gu choose no?

He could have guessed with his bare hands that the two brothers would betray him that day, run away beforehand, and definitely choose a different direction from his own.

Let him be.

There's no need to work with someone who's a liar.

Li Gu clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Alright, then it's settled. It's not safe to chat here, let's continue exploring."

He pulled Zheng Xiaodong along and quickly waded forward along the stream.

As soon as the two walked away, Ouyang Liang asked with a puzzled look, "Brother, was all that stuff you told him just made up?"

Ouyang Ming chuckled twice: "I really admire my ability to make things up. I don't know what happened just now, but a sudden inspiration struck me and I made up a whole bunch of things in an instant. I was surprised by myself. It turns out that when I'm in a good mood, my thoughts flow like a spring."

Ouyang Liang chuckled: "As expected of your brother! In this way, they will definitely choose to escape from Flower Valley on the night of two days later. I told them that the best route is to go east first, and then turn south to Jiangzhou. So let's do the opposite, go west first, and then turn north to Bazhou."

It turns out that the Ouyang brothers had originally planned to run west and then turn north. They opened the tunnel entrance on the east slope to trick Hua Qianfang into chasing them eastward. Now, if they could trick Li Gu into running eastward, Hua Qianfang's attention would be on Li Gu, making their escape westward much safer.

Ouyang Ming said, "Okay! Let's do it that way."