Chapter 19: Class A Yellow, Lotus Lake (8)
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“System, can you give me a warning next time?”
Xu Yiliu suppressed the urge to complain and said, “What exactly are you good for?”
The System replied, “The System cannot interfere with missions...”
She cut off the pointless response. “Does ‘unknown influence’ mean contamination?”
“The host must investigate independently.”
“Is there something seriously wrong with the status-panel data?”
Xu Yiliu looked toward the speaker. “It’s fine.”
Ji Lianxing said, “There is nothing wrong with my status-panel data.”
Her words reminded Fang Xiaoyi and the other two. They hurriedly checked their own panels.
Chen Diandian said in horror, “My... my emotional value is so low.”
“Mine too.” Whenever Ge Hua panicked, he could not help pushing up his glasses. In the space of one minute, he had done it three times. “Xu, Xu Yiliu, are you the same?”
Fang Xiaoyi did not think so. The other two were obviously frightened; anyone who looked at Xu Yiliu’s expression should have known that she was not afraid in the slightest.
Yet Xu Yiliu simply said, “Yes.”
She noticed the looks Ji Lianxing and Fang Xiaoyi were giving her and smiled faintly.
Ji Lianxing stared at her. “Are you sure?”
You won’t die?
Xu Yiliu met her gaze. “I’m sure.”
You won’t die.
Fang Xiaoyi said helplessly, “Everyone, try not to be too frightened. The more afraid you are, the easier it is to make mistakes. We must remain calm.”
Ge Hua said fearfully, “Ruyi died yesterday, and Kong Yueming drowned this morning. Will I be next...? Even if I have to die, I don’t want to die in such agony...”
Clutching his hair, he repeatedly drew in and exhaled his breath. “Calm down. Calm down. I have to stay calm.”
Chen Diandian suddenly looked at Fang Xiaoyi, then let his gaze linger over Xu Yiliu and Ji Lianxing. He pleaded, “Teacher Fang, you’ll help us, won’t you?”
Even he, slow to sense things as he was, had vaguely realized by now that a barrier had arisen between those three and the rest of them. His unease reached its peak.
Fortunately, Fang Xiaoyi still had the patience to comfort them, patiently helping them calm down. Even so, the meal tasted like wax.
The group assignments from the previous day were cast aside for the moment. After eating, Ge Hua did not even glance at Ji Lianxing before following directly behind Fang Xiaoyi.
Fang Xiaoyi did not refuse.
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Xu Yiliu was considering whether to visit Lotus Lake again when Ji Lianxing came to her side.
“You’ve been infected.”
Her tone was certain.
Xu Yiliu looked at her with a smile. “Why do you think that?”
“The three characteristics of a contaminant are transmission, infection, and mutation.” Ji Lianxing watched the departing figures of Fang Xiaoyi and the other two and spoke in an orderly fashion. “You’re intelligent, and your instincts are accurate. The mistake you made was a basic one. You came into contact with the contaminant. The pollution was transmitted, and you were therefore infected.”
Xu Yiliu scratched her head. “It’s nothing serious. My intelligence just dropped a little.”
This kind of decline in intelligence was like a top student falling ill before an exam. Even if forced to perform below her usual level, she could not possibly achieve a truly poor score.
Still, it was undeniably irritating.
“A transaction,” Ji Lianxing said.
Xu Yiliu asked, “A transaction for what?”
Ji Lianxing was direct. “My intelligence in exchange for your physical ability. When necessary, I’ll point out clues to you, and you’ll protect me, including carrying me when we have to run.”
Xu Yiliu agreed readily. “All right.”
Her instincts told her that Ji Lianxing’s intelligence was probably higher than Xu Yiliu’s had been before the decline. Anyone who had cleared an A-grade mission could not be ordinary.
Ji Lianxing’s maid, Wenqu, was clearing the dining table indoors. Using the excuse of having Wenqu soothe and accompany Jixiang, Ji Lianxing had been granted considerable freedom over the next few days.
Now the two women without maids at their sides had come together.
Xu Yiliu asked jokingly, “Do you feel guilty for abandoning Fang Xiaoyi?”
“Everyone chooses their own path and takes responsibility for whether they live or die,” Ji Lianxing said coldly. “Besides, she has two opportunities to make mistakes. She isn’t at a disadvantage.”
Xu Yiliu looked pensively in the direction the three had taken.
If Fang Xiaoyi was truly willing to let Chen Diandian and Ge Hua use those opportunities to make mistakes, then there was no problem. What Xu Yiliu feared was that Fang Xiaoyi really was a saint, and would do everything in her power to protect them.
Surely no one could be that foolish.
Ji Lianxing summed it up succinctly. “I’ll tell you some of my theories first. Then we’ll go find the opera troupe, and you’ll take the lead. Finally, we’ll go to the ancestral hall and pry open the door.”
Xu Yiliu followed her plan without protest. “No problem.”
She felt that even with her dulled mind, she had enough intelligence to manage. Still, she could not shake the feeling that she was being forced to overlook something. Having Ji Lianxing with her saved her a great deal of trouble.
Ji Lianxing’s first question was not a direct statement. Instead, she asked Xu Yiliu, “Did Ruyi say anything before she died? Something related to death, perhaps?”
Xu Yiliu thought carefully. “She didn’t say much. Either she called me muddleheaded, or she said I’d frightened her when I fell into the water... Wait. She did say ‘frightened to death’...”
A corner of the fog in her mind dispersed.
“Kong Yueming also said ‘drowned to death.’ That corresponds exactly to the way they died.” Xu Yiliu frowned. “A spoken curse?”
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A spoken curse meant words becoming reality, usually through a phenomenon brought about by the influence of a spirit.
“Most likely,” Ji Lianxing said. “Watch what you say. Trouble comes from the mouth.”
For the first time, Xu Yiliu sincerely admired Ji Lianxing’s intelligence. Ji Lianxing might not have thought of the concept of a spoken curse, but she had keenly sensed a vague direction. Once the information was aligned, the conclusion followed naturally.
They looked at each other in unspoken agreement. They both understood what needed to be confirmed.
Neither of them would tell anyone else about this, including Fang Xiaoyi.
Now that such a phenomenon as spoken curses existed, no one could be certain that another person might not condemn them through some hidden resentment. The risk was too great.
As for whether the others lived or died, neither of them had the leisure to concern herself with it.
“That’s all,” Ji Lianxing said. “I need to confirm the rest at the ancestral hall.”
Xu Yiliu smiled brightly. “No problem.”
The two walked in perfect understanding toward the cluster of houses where the opera troupe lived.
Perhaps because the troupe had been staying there for so long, several rows of mulberry branches had been deliberately planted around the houses, giving the appearance of a fence.
As they drew closer, Xu Yiliu murmured to herself, “Why aren’t they practicing their voices today?”
The instant she finished speaking, several ringing songs drifted out from the houses.
Her footsteps and Ji Lianxing’s slowed at once. Together, they carefully stepped over the mulberry branches and crept toward a wooden window.
Through the narrow gap in the window, which had not been fully closed, Xu Yiliu could see someone inside, practicing vocal exercises with his back to them.
Ji Lianxing, who was not tall enough, could only wait with her large eyes fixed on the window.
While keeping watch on the person’s movements, Xu Yiliu studied the furnishings and decorative patterns inside, searching for designs associated with Lotus Lake.
Yet amid the singing, she found herself unconsciously drawn in by the lyrics of the opera. A sudden urge to join in rose in her throat.
Her body bent slightly, and her hand quickly came to rest on her thigh, where she pinched herself hard.
The pain cleared her head, and she managed not to make a sound.
The person inside continued singing, then suddenly sensed something strange behind him. He whipped around and walked step by step toward the window.
He pushed it open, only to find nothing outside.
A moment later, someone knocked on the door.
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