Chapter 3: The True and the False, Indistinguishable [Please Follow and Review!]

What’s going on?

Xia Hong couldn’t help but feel his heart race with fear.

Two Xia Ding?

Is the one outside fake?

“Don’t panic. It’s the wraith trying to trick the door. Stay quiet. The wraith chases light—we haven’t lit a fire, so it doesn’t know anyone’s inside. It’ll leave soon.”

The Xia Ding inside the cave seemed startled too; though he was reassuring everyone, his voice betrayed clear panic.

“Brother, what’s happening?”

Xia Hong was still dazed until Xia Chuan, who had quietly slipped beside him, called out his name, jolting him back to awareness.

He paused, thinking for a moment, then whispered to Xia Chuan:

“When Father came back just now, did you notice anything unusual?”

Xia Chuan realized the importance of this question, his face tightening with tension as he strained to recall the moment Xia Ding and the logging team returned.

But after long thought, he still shook his head.

Xia Hong exhaled. This was exactly what he’d expected.

He’d been present when Xia Ding returned with the hunting team—and there had been absolutely no anomaly.

The one inside the cave must be Father.

But the moment Xia Hong reached this conclusion, an unexpected event occurred.

The “Xia Ding” outside began pulling aside the branches blocking the cave entrance.

Though dawn had not yet broken, the moment the entrance opened, a faint glimmer of light seeped in.

The cave remained unlit, pitch black; even this faint light was enough to reveal every face’s terror in full clarity.

And seeing the scene outside the cave, their terror multiplied many times over.

For standing outside the cave wasn’t just “Xia Ding.”

The twelve members of Xia Ding’s logging team stood there too.

Everyone froze in shock.

The brothers Xia Hong and Xia Chuan were stunned, their pupils shrinking.

Just moments ago, it was they who had greeted the thirteen men returning from the logging team.

Now another identical group of thirteen appeared—how could they not be terrified?

The “Xia Ding” entered.

The Xia Ding inside the cave, accompanied by the twelve logging team members, hurried toward the entrance and blocked the way before everyone.

The two Xia Dings locked eyes—first, both simultaneously showed expressions of horror.

Then came fear and fury.

Xia Hong, though silent, stared fixedly at the two Xia Dings and the men behind them, not daring to miss a single detail—even the faintest flicker of expression.

By now, it was one hundred percent certain.

The “wraith” of Hongmu Ridge stood before them.

Of the two Xia Dings, one must be the wraith.

According to the Xia Ding inside the cave, the Hongmu Ridge wraith killed by gaining trust—so if they could determine which was real, it might help.

So he painstakingly studied them under the faint light, searching every possible clue.

But after repeated scrutiny, he realized in despair: there was no difference at all.

From appearance and clothing down to minute expressions and trivial details, both Xia Dings—and even the logging team members behind them—were utterly identical, indistinguishable.

While he was still analyzing, the two Xia Dings had each led their twelve logging team members into combat.

The once spacious cave grew cramped under the struggle of over twenty men; the camp dwellers all retreated toward the rear of the cave.

Xia Hong retreated too, but his gaze never left the two Xia Dings—he feared that if he lost sight of them even for a moment, he’d no longer be able to tell which was inside and which was outside.

Originally, when the first Xia Ding returned, dawn was nearly here.

Sealing the entrance, extinguishing the fire, and now this fight—so much time had passed that the white light outside the cave had grown noticeably brighter.

This white light carried a bone-chilling cold; those huddled deep inside the cave felt their fear deepen, their bodies trembling.

Though Xia Hong’s expression remained calm, his heart grew heavier by the second.

In this world, daytime temperatures were half as warm as nighttime.

And during the day, cold beasts grew even more active.

If the cave entrance remained open like this, even if they somehow survived the cold, they’d likely attract a cold beast—and all of them would die together.

They had to find a way. They had to find a way!

Just as he was frantic with urgency, the two “Xia Dings” spoke.

“Hong, Chuan—the sky’s about to break. Take everyone and seal the entrance first. I’m here; this wraith can’t harm you.”

“Now you still pretend? Hong, Chuan—don’t listen to him. Help us drive it away first, then seal the entrance.”

Xia Chuan, named in the call, instinctively lunged left.

The one on the left was the Xia Ding who had returned first to the cave.

Clearly, Xia Chuan had also been watching the two Xia Dings closely—he could tell them apart.

But he’d barely taken two steps when a hand yanked him back violently.

“Brother?”

“Don’t act rashly. Is he real? Can you be one hundred percent certain?”

At Xia Hong’s question, Xia Chuan froze.

He naturally favored the Xia Ding who had returned first to the cave.

After all, that Xia Ding had not only helped extinguish the fire and seal the entrance, but had also warned them about the wraith.

But could he be one hundred percent certain? He dared not say.

After all, whether the two Xia Dings or the two logging teams, their appearances, movements, and every tiny detail were truly identical.

Even their combat strength during the fight was indistinguishable.

“The wraith takes the form of someone you know, gains your trust, and once you fully trust it, it instantly turns you into a human stake, leaving you helpless to its slaughter.”

These words flashed through Xia Hong’s mind—his heart rose to his throat.

Whether the Xia Ding who returned first was real or not,

at least this line, Xia Hong now knew for certain, was true.

The wraith had gone to such lengths to stage this scene.

That proved it needed absolute trust from the camp dwellers.

Right now, there were two choices:

One: obey the second Xia Ding’s order—seal the cave entrance first.

Two: help the first Xia Ding defeat the second Xia Ding.

In this life-or-death moment, whichever choice they made would represent the camp’s absolute trust.

That meant: if they chose wrong,

all of them would become human stakes.

They would die!

At this realization, it wasn’t just Xia Ding who understood.

Xia Chuan, and a few others in the camp, now wore tense expressions.

Many turned their gazes toward Xia Hong.

They placed their hope in him not only because he was the leader’s son,

but because, among everyone in the camp except Xia Ding and the twelve logging team members, Xia Hong was the strongest.

And the two groups fighting at the entrance clearly realized this too.

Both Xia Dings showed urgent expressions, seeing that everyone had left the decision to Xia Hong—they immediately turned to Xia Hong and his brother, pleading their case.

“Hong, I returned first—I’m real. Don’t believe him. If you trust him, we’ll all die.”

“Hong, I’m the real one. That wraith excels at deception. It first took my form, returned to the cave, and deliberately gave you information to make you trust him now—don’t believe him.”

“Hong, last month when you were knocked unconscious by an ice pillar, I was the one who applied the ointment.”

“Chuan, last night I sharpened a stone dagger for you—remember?”

…………

But this only confused everyone further.

Both could recount details about Xia Hong and Xia Chuan—even their old, long-healed wounds.

Only Xia Hong, upon hearing each claim their own unique memories with him and Xia Chuan, trembled slightly, his grip on Xia Chuan’s right hand tightening sharply.

Xia Chuan turned back, puzzled, meeting Xia Hong’s gaze.

In an instant, Xia Chuan’s pupils also shrank sharply.

Clearly, he had realized something too.

…………

PS: Which one’s real and which’s fake? Should be obvious, right?

(End of Chapter)