Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

’First, I’ll use the Heart-Connected Fruit to send some intel back to Qingxu Temple, and then let the Sect Leader decide.’

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiedi’s spirits lifted. Feeling he could finally be of use, he immediately replied with conviction:

"Yes, Senior Sister!"

...

It was the dead of night, and all was silent.

Eldest Brother Lin Qingfeng had already finished his bath, returned to his cavern residence, and logged off to do other things.

After confirming no one was around, Wang Xiedi tiptoed out of his thatched hut and made his way to the prearranged ancient tree in the middle of the wilderness.

Before long, a red figure appeared silently and landed before him. It was Su Ling’er.

"Where is it?"

Su Ling’er got straight to the point, her voice filled with an irrepressible urgency.

This was her only key to escaping this living hell, and her only chance to warn the world of the existence of this demonic sect.

Wang Xiedi nodded quickly and reached into his robes, preparing to take out the jade box containing the Heart-Connected Fruit.

However, he fumbled around for a good while, but his robes were empty, save for that gleaming Heart-Protecting Mirror.

???

"Huh?"

’What’s going on?’

The expression on his face froze instantly.

Seeing his reaction, the ominous feeling in Su Ling’er’s heart instantly swelled to its peak.

"What’s wrong?"

"Don’t you dare tell me you lost it!!!"

"N-Nothing, Senior Sister. Maybe I just misplaced it."

Wang Xiedi gave a dry laugh as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He began to frantically search himself, from his sleeves to his belt, even taking off his boots and shaking them out.

’Still nothing.’

’The jade box... The jade box is gone!’

’The fruit is gone too!’

’Th-This is impossible?!’

’I clearly kept the jade box on my person the entire time. How could it have vanished into thin air?!’

Watching his frantic, sweaty scramble, Su Ling’er’s heart plunged into an icy abyss.

"Wang Xiedi, seriously, don’t tell me you actually lost something so important!!!"

"Senior Sister, I... I really don’t know! I had it with me the whole time, how could it be gone?"

’It’s over.’

’Our last hope... is gone.’

She felt all her strength drain away. Her vision swam with black spots, and she nearly lost her footing.

She steadied herself against the nearby tree trunk.

’I can’t get out...’

’I’m going to be refined into an Immortal Sword...’

’I’m going to be trapped in this demonic den for the rest of my life...’

Anger and despair intertwined. She whipped her head around, her eyes—bloodshot from sleepless nights and stress—fixed on Wang Xiedi.

She wanted to scold him, to interrogate him, to pry open his head and see if it was stuffed with straw!

’How could the Sect Leader have sent such a... useless oaf...’

But when she saw Wang Xiedi’s face, on the verge of tears, her anger subsided, replaced by a deeper sense of powerlessness.

’What’s the use in scolding him?’

’We’re... we’re both just pitiful souls thrown into this hell.’

"Don’t panic..."

Su Ling’er took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Think carefully. What has happened since we entered the sect? Has there been... anything strange?"

Startled by his Senior Sister’s sudden composure, Wang Xiedi tried his best to recall.

Suddenly, he slapped his thigh.

"Senior Sister! I remember!

In the Spirit Beast Garden!

That disciple, Yan Buliu, he was tossing a red fruit in his hand. I thought it looked familiar at the time!"

’Yan Buliu!’

’She also recalled the conversation between Eldest Brother and Yan Buliu—something about "getting a nice Spirit Fruit" and "a wise man has his ways."’

’Combining that with how Yan Buliu had dared to target Mr. Qian and successfully stolen the elder’s socks...’

’...and how she had seen that same figure at the sect gate when she went to meet her Junior Brother.’

’It wasn’t a question of if it was possible! It was practically a certainty!’

When all these clues were pieced together, a terrifying truth was on the verge of revealing itself!

’That Spirit Fruit was, in all likelihood, the Heart-Connected Fruit!’

’And the stolen Heart-Connected Fruit has most likely already been sold by Yan Buliu to Wang Xian of the Beast Taming House!’

’But why would he steal a junior brother’s Spirit Fruit?’

’Was it just for the thrill of it?’

’No!’

’This is the Guixi Sect! A demonic den!’

’Here, behind any seemingly reasonable explanation, there must be a deeper, demonic logic hidden!’

"It wasn’t a theft..."

"This might not be a simple theft..."

"I understand now!"

"It’s a hunt! From the very beginning, we were his prey!"

"A h-hunt?" Wang Xiedi was completely bewildered.

"That’s right!"

"When I first joined the sect, I saw this person! Right in front of me, he stole a pair of... socks... from the Skill-Imparting Elder!"

Wang Xiedi was even more confused. "Socks?"

"Yes! Socks!"

"At the time, I just thought he was an eccentric weirdo, but now I understand!"

"It wasn’t about stealing something at all! It was a demonstration! A declaration!"

She grabbed Wang Xiedi’s shoulders, her voice low and rapid as she analyzed:

"He was telling me, and possibly all the other ’newcomers’ like us! ’Look closely. I can take an elder’s personal belongings as easily as reaching into my own pocket. The pitifully few possessions you have are mine for the taking whenever I wish!’"

Wang Xiedi was completely stunned by his Senior Sister’s shocking analysis.

"He... He must have recently cultivated some kind of evil technique!"

Su Ling’er’s eyes were filled with apprehension.

"An evil technique that can sniff out the aura of treasures!

When we entered the sect, he was near the main gate!

He must have used his evil technique to scan every single one of us at that moment!

That Heart-Connected Fruit was the most precious treasure on you. The aura it gave off marked you as his prey the very moment you stepped into the sect!"

Wang Xiedi shivered in fear and subconsciously touched his Heart-Protecting Mirror.

"So... he didn’t just happen to run into us... he came specifically to take my Heart-Connected Fruit?"

"Precisely!"

"They think we’re at the end of our rope, which is precisely our opportunity!"

"That Yan Buliu said the fruit needed ’secondary cultivation,’ which means he hasn’t used it himself. He’s planning to sell it to Wang Xian at the Beast Taming House!"

Her gaze shifted toward the Spirit Beast Garden.

’The Spirit Beast Garden, the Beast Taming House!’

Although Su Ling’er had wandered through the Spirit Beast Garden before, she had never ventured deep into a core area like the Beast Taming House. She had no idea what kind of lion’s den it was.

’But now, it seems I have no choice but to enter.’

Su Ling’er’s expression became incredibly solemn.

"It’s late now. The sect may seem quiet, but it’s fraught with hidden dangers."

"We must conserve our energy for this matter and make a plan tomorrow."

...

That night, Wang Xiedi tossed and turned in his thatched hut, nervous about the heavy responsibility he was about to undertake, but also... feeling a secret sliver of excitement.

Meanwhile, Su Ling’er lay awake all night in her small bamboo house.

She gazed at the lonely moon outside her window, her heart filled with both worry for the future and grim resolve.

To escape this place, to expose the truth, for the sake of the world... and for her own path to immortality, which she refused to let be cut short here.

’This time, no matter what, I must succeed!’