At these words, everyone fell into silence.
Divination had failed, deduction yielded nothing, and the heavenly secrets were sealed.
At this point, all supernatural methods of investigation had been completely neutralized.
Now, all they could rely on was Zheng Gang's archival research, physical evidence analysis, and... that unfathomable Lady Ming, the Ghost Immortal who had been quietly observing everything from start to finish.
Noticing the subtle and overt glances from the players and Wu Daoqing, Bai Ci began calling on her internal support for answers.
There was no helping it; she was basically playing on a blank-slate account right now.
Since the others couldn't see Bai Ci, they didn't know her exact location, so their gazes usually drifted vaguely around Wu Daoqing's side or behind him.
But Ou Li was different. She could see her. Plus, she had absolutely no intention of hiding it, staring straight at Bai Ci.
Ming Yi originally had no intention of paying any attention, finding that direct stare rather annoying.
Did mortals with Yin-Yang Eyes have no sense of awe these days? How dare she stare so brazenly at a Ghost Immortal.
She truly had a death wish.
If he were a petty Ghost Immortal, she would have at least seven or eight curses stacked on her by now.
Feeling the tolerant attitude of his benevolent soul—a soft, gentle emotion wrapping around him—Ming Yi felt his irritation being smoothed away.
No wonder those senior Ghost Immortals who had absorbed their benevolent souls and advanced further tended to be so peaceful.
The petty, half-measured punishments he had intended to mete out were completely withheld.
“Tsk... I only care about the safety of my devotees. I will not entangle myself in other karma.”
Ming Yi responded to Bai Ci's call for help and gave his answer.
The Zhao family were not his believers, nor were they under his protection. The karma they carried was incredibly heavy, and on top of that, this situation hit right where his abilities fell short.
Heaven simply hadn't opened a door for Ming Yi to save the Zhao family.
Hearing even the most mysterious and unfathomable Lady Ming say this, their only hope seemed to lie with Zheng Gang.
Wu Suowei let out a soft sigh.
He looked at Zheng Gang, who was currently examining the crystal fragments, placing all his hopes back on the most reliable, mundane clues.
“We have no other choice right now, Zheng Gang. It all depends on you.”
“We have quite a few scattered clues in our hands, but we can't string them into a coherent logic or a clear, directional path. Not knowing where to investigate next is our biggest hurdle.”
Hearing this, Zheng Gang nodded slowly and placed the crystal fragment back on the table.
He had stared at the fragment for a while but couldn't for the life of him see how a pendulum shard differed from ordinary crystal.
Was this what they meant by “different fields are like different worlds”?
“Organizing information is my strength, so I won't back down from this. However, this will take some time, and you won't be of much help.”
Though his words sounded blunt, he wasn't actually as smug as he let on.
After all, he relied on his class skills to sort through information; others really couldn't assist with that.
At that moment, Ou Li finally caught on to what Wu Suowei meant.
She immediately became displeased and protested on the spot, her tone carrying a stubborn, competitive edge.
“Hey, hey, hey, don't talk like that.”
“I'm still here! What about me? Isn't it just finding things? I can do that too. I haven't even tried yet, so why assume I can't do it!”
Zheng Gang was slightly taken aback. He pushed up his glasses, his eyes filled with confusion. “What? Are you talking to me?”
From the context, Ou Li's words did seem directed at him, but he felt a strange mismatch between her phrasing and emotions compared to what he had just said.
“No, I'm talking to Wu Suowei.”
Under everyone's collective gaze, Ou Li puffed out her chest and raised her head, looking completely serious.
“Why did you skip over me and say we can only rely on Zheng Gang? Don't look down on me. I'm a proper spirit medium. I can perform planchette writing to track down clues, I just haven't had the chance to show it off yet.”
Wu Suowei cleared his throat. It was because she behaved a bit unreliably that he had subconsciously forgotten she also had a supernatural-related class. But could he actually say that?
Of course not. Saying that so bluntly would directly harm the team's unity.
Wu Suowei smoothly covered his tracks, masking the fact that he had subconsciously ignored her.
“Ms. Ou, I have never doubted your abilities. I trust you.”
“It's just that the mastermind behind this is extremely guarded. Even the crystal of the divination pendulum was shattered by a counterattack. The other party has definitely set up defenses.”
“If you try to divine and end up injured by the backlash, it would do more harm than good.”
It had to be said, as expected of a veteran slickster, Wu Suowei's silver-tongued rhetoric showed he indeed had some serious skills.
Ou Li pondered for two seconds and found it made perfect sense.
She had seen exactly how the divination crystal had exploded; her planchette writing might not fare any better.
But she still wasn't willing to just slack off like this.
“I get it, but we can't just sit around waiting for Zheng Gang to look up information by himself, right?”
“If everyone just stands by doing nothing, it's a huge waste of time. What if the enemy keeps making moves while we're idle? We'd end up dying a miserable death.”
Mi Ke, who had been sitting quietly to the side, spoke up: “I don't know if this counts as a direction, but I have another path.”
“My pendulum is ruined, yes, but I don't just do divination. I can also perform spirit channeling, which doesn't require a pendulum.”
“Later, I'll ask where the deceased of the Zhao family are buried and head to the cemetery myself to channel their spirits. Let's see if those dead souls know any secrets the living don't.”
“Whether you want to come with me is up to you.”
“But I'd like to request someone to accompany me. I don't have much combat capability, so splitting up alone is risky.”
Zheng Gang was slightly startled. “Do we really need to be this cautious? It's just going to a cemetery to channel spirits.”
In his eyes, investigating graves was just standard evidence gathering; there was no need to be overly paranoid.
Mi Ke nodded heavily, her tone solemn, each word a hard-learned lesson. “We must be on guard. This is based on experience. I've been ambushed more than once. It's definitely not making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“Besides, considering the mastermind's habit of using peeping paper figures, someone who isn't bound by morals is capable of anything.”
Zheng Gang thought about it and found it made sense. He weakly chimed in.
“Then... should I also apply for a bodyguard? I'm just a weak intellectual. I don't have the strength to truss a chicken. If I run into monsters or ghosts, I have absolutely no way to protect myself.”
Zheng Gang claimed he didn't have the strength to truss a chicken, yet his rolled-up sleeves revealed arms with firm, well-defined muscle lines.
They weren't the bulky, useless muscles built from supplements, but the result of genuine physical training.
What a “weakling.” Had the chicken he couldn't truss evolved backward into a dinosaur?
“Not having the strength to truss a dinosaur”—now that would be a fitting description for those muscles.
Looking around at the others, they were all suppressing their laughter at Zheng Gang's words, and the tense atmosphere eased up a little.
Rate on N.U.
