Chapter 84: The Second Person

Breakfast.

The group sat around Jiang Liuxue, their faces extremely grim.

Even the food on the table had barely been touched.

After cautiously getting through the Early Morning Lesson, Ding Mo had already told the others about Jiang Liuxue foreseeing "death" once again.

"……"

A silence fell over the group.

None of them seemed prepared to accept that they might die.

After a long while, Zhu Dechang let out a sigh and finally asked:

"Who is it this time?"

Jiang Liuxue opened her mouth, said nothing, only her gaze shifted,

sweeping past Zhou Lan, Qin Yifei, and the others—everyone whose eyes met hers turned slightly pale, and only when she looked away did they breathe a sigh of relief.

In the end, her gaze settled on Xiong Lihui.

At the sight, Xiong Lihui's face gradually turned ashen.

Slap!

The next moment, he shot to his feet!

"Did you see wrong!" Xiong Lihui's face was somewhat contorted,

"……Right! Just like with Zhou Lan, in your dream, I, I was just……"

But under his somewhat fearful gaze, Jiang Liuxue shook her head slightly,

her brows lowered as she said:

"I dreamed that you would be buried by 'a tree.'"

A tree? Xiong Lihui froze for a moment, then instinctively looked out the dining hall window.

The old temple was already situated in a dense mountain forest, and even within the temple's Wall, there were no shortage of trees.

Looking out now, one could already see a dozen or more of them!

Xiong Lihui stared at them, his eyes as if he'd seen a ghost! As if every tree harbored a fierce spirit!

"Hoo-hoo-hoo!"

N-no, no good…… he couldn't help but start breathing rapidly, forcing himself to calm down.

After all, he was someone who had survived 2 Tasks; his mental fortitude had improved at least somewhat.

Xiong Lihui barely calmed himself and said:

"No, I don't believe I'm destined to die! If your dream truly foretells the future, then it should be Zhou Lan who killed Xiao Yong!"

As Xiong Lihui spoke, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him!

"Right, exactly! He swapped rooms with me that night, and although he still died, didn't it still change some things?"

At the very least, he and Qin Yifei could confirm that Zhou Lan never left her room that night,

so how could she have killed Xiao Yong?

"Whether this death dream is foretelling the future or is simply a Curse, either way it can be changed!

"I don't want to just sit here and wait to die!"

The others, hearing this, exchanged glances.

They had to admit, Xiong Lihui had a point.

"What are you planning to do?" Ding Mo couldn't help but ask.

His eyes fixed steadily on Xiong Lihui.

"I can help you!"

To be honest, if Jiang Liuxue really did harbor important clues, then through these strange dreams one by one, the truth might come to light.

But that required someone to keep exploring, exploring the secrets of her dreams.

Moreover, at this point he already understood that continuing like this, he would probably struggle to survive 7 days.

Ultimately, this was also for himself—if later on, in Jiang Liuxue's dream, it became his turn, perhaps he would have a little more room to struggle.

So this time, Ding Mo decided to do his utmost to help Xiong Lihui.

To help him, be reborn from death!

The moment these words left his mouth, the others couldn't help but glance at him again.

At this point, Zhu Dechang slightly raised his chin, seemingly pondering something.

He then said: "I, too, agree with Ding Mo's idea."

……

Soon, breakfast was over.

While carrying out their daily duties on one side, they discussed strategies to help Xiong Lihui on the other.

Time arrived at the "scripture lecture" hour.

The group once again came to the place where the Abbot lectured on scriptures.

The sky was somewhat overcast, and beneath the oppressive clouds, the scripture hall contained room after room of Zen Rooms and Quiet Rooms—Ding Mo estimated it could hold over a hundred people.

As for Xiong Lihui, he kept looking around nervously, appearing jumpy. Especially when he saw trees, he would keep his distance.

But for some unknown reason, nothing happened to him along the way.

After entering, listening to the routine scripture lecture, the group booked a Quiet Room together.

Glancing at the gloomy sky outside, Zhu Dechang closed the window, turned, and looked at Xiong Lihui:

"Alright, as we agreed.

"Go find the Abbot, tell him about Xiao Yong's death first, then bring up your own matter, and use that to ask for help."

That was the first plan.

"We... really going to do this?" But beside them, Zhou Lan glanced at Xiong Lihui:

"From the 'Precepts,' we know the Abbot and the others maintain some kind of order here. If we tell him about Xiao Yong's death, will it..."

She worried it might cause some trouble.

Zhu Dechang, however, shook his head:

"I'm more inclined to think the Abbot will side with us."

Having said that, he nodded to Xiong Lihui.

Xiong Lihui thus pushed open the door and left, his heart in turmoil.

The moment the door closed, the room fell into silence.

Ding Mo stared at that tightly shut door again, silently hoping Xiong Lihui could really get some help from the Abbot—

That would be a good thing for everyone.

Immediately, he noticed Jiang Liuxue beside him—she was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, her head bobbing slightly, nodding off.

Just then, he suddenly noticed Jiang Liuxue beside him. She sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, her head sinking lower and lower in little nods.

Sleepy, perhaps?

No wonder—everyone had stayed up the whole night, dark circles now showing under their eyes.

The Quiet Room was already quiet to begin with, and with the long wait, drowsiness swept over everyone's hearts like a tide.

Ding Mo thought for a moment, then leaned close to Jiang Liuxue's ear and whispered:

"You can get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

The warm breath against her ear startled Jiang Liuxue awake, but she froze at his words.

"Why... would you help me?"

She only now realized that, since this morning, Ding Mo's attitude toward her seemed to have softened a bit.

"Because you're my sister." Ding Mo smiled at her, his words carrying a double meaning.

"I'm not—" Not understanding, Jiang Liuxue's face went cold, and she opened her mouth to refuse.

But drowsiness kept pounding at her nerves.

Beside her, seeing her look half-reluctant, half-shy, Ding Mo—who had had a girlfriend before—understood perfectly well.

Heh, a woman's reserve.

Amid Jiang Liuxue's soft gasp, he wrapped his arm around hers and pulled her into his embrace in one swift motion!

Jiang Liuxue had been both embarrassed and angry, but the moment she pressed against Ding Mo's chest, she instantly felt the weariness in her heart grow heavier.

Besides, no one had ever forced her like this before...

Jiang Liuxue somehow felt as if she were a piece of cold, soft snowflake, landing on hard, scorching rock,

And melted in an instant with a soft "shua."

She leaned against Ding Mo's shoulder and closed her eyes.

In the oppressive atmosphere, Jiang Liuxue fell asleep.

It was the most comfortable sleep she'd had since entering the Task.

But the good times didn't last long.

At one moment, hurried footsteps came down the corridor, from far to near!

Crash-bang!

Xiong Lihui flung open the Quiet Room's door, standing at the entrance with an ashen face, facing the surprised gazes of everyone.

"I... I..." His lips trembled, but he couldn't squeeze out a single complete sentence for a long while.

"Come inside first, then talk." Zhu Dechang yanked him into the room and shut the door behind him.

Ding Mo had just shaken Jiang Liuxue awake, and seeing this, immediately pressed: "What's going on? The Abbot didn't believe you?"

Xiong Lihui, however, shook his head, his voice dry and hoarse:

"No... he believed me. Everything I told him, including about Xiao Yong... he said he'd handle the body."

Everyone froze. "Then what's with you?"

"B-but!" Xiong Lihui suddenly grew agitated, waving his hands about as he spoke:

"He said he believed me, but when I asked him for help, he only replied with one line—

"'Understood.'!"