Duosheng Danyuan

After sharing the intelligence, Lin Xu, Zeng Yixi, and I bid farewell to Chen Yu's hut and returned to our respective huts.

"Qian Zhe is suspicious." I said to Lin Xu, who had just closed the door, as soon as I got back to the hut and hadn't even sat down on the sofa. "And Zeng Yixi, they're in cahoots. At least, Zeng Yixi and Qian Zhe are in cahoots; they're cooperating."

"Really? How did you figure that out?" Lin Xu's reaction wasn't strong. He closed the door, took off his shoes and coat, walked to the sofa in the living room, and sat down.

"Attitude." Following Lin Xu, I sat on the sofa opposite him. "At first, Qian Zhe's attitude almost convinced me that he was a stupid idiot who couldn't figure things out. And his arrogance towards Zeng Yixi later confirmed my opinion."

"And then what happened?" Lin Xu asked me as he poured himself a glass of water and drank it.

"The later turn of events was too abrupt." I leaned my head back on the sofa and continued, "Qian Zhe's two instances of being annoying were a bit too much, causing a lot of people to be unhappy, which may have been their intention. But after you issued your ultimatum, Qian Zhe's change in attitude towards Zeng Yixi was too fast."

"I sensed that too," Lin Xu nodded after hearing my words. "I didn't see anything wrong with Zeng Yixi's attitude towards Qian Zhe, but there's a very obvious problem with Qian Zhe's attitude towards Zeng Yixi. Given the persona he's cultivated in front of us, he shouldn't have been so quick, or at least not so readily, to share his analysis of Zeng Yixi's information with us."

"Well, in general, at the beginning, Qian Zhetang's approach was just right, making people feel disgusted, but not to the point of being unable to communicate; later, his style became too overpowering, and many people began to show hostility towards him; finally, he cut himself off from his previous self too quickly, and spoke as normally as a normal person."

"Isn't he a PhD student? What do you mean by acting like a normal person?"

"Because I always felt he wasn't a normal person," I waved my hand and asked again, "What about you? Do you feel the same way I do?"

"It's not quite the same," Lin Xu paused, then continued, "In the end, after I warned Qian Zhe, his attitude did change somewhat, which didn't make me too suspicious. What really made me feel uneasy was how well the two of them transitioned between topics."

"What exactly does it mean?"

"How should I put it? It's like a husband and wife working together. Normally, someone receiving this information for the first time shouldn't be able to process it so quickly. You see, Wang Hao kept asking questions because Zeng Yixi's words contained so much information. But Qian Zhe didn't. On the contrary, he was able to calmly clarify what Zeng Yixi hadn't made clear. This means he's definitely not as dull as he tries to appear. Or rather, if he were really that dull, he must have known Zeng Yixi's information beforehand, and he must have asked Zeng Yixi many questions privately before he was able to explain it to Wang Hao."

"That's right. So judging from Wang Hao and the others' attitudes, Qian Zhe and Zeng Yixi's collaboration must not have been told to anyone else. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so disgusted with Qian Zhe."

"Really? Wang Hao is one thing, but if you're saying the other three on Zeng Yixi's side were also unaware... maybe they're just acting?"

"A normal person facing Qian Zhe's over-the-top, exaggerated acting, if they knew beforehand it was all an act, would definitely feel awkward first, rather than disgusted. It's impossible that everyone in that room was an Oscar winner, right? Seriously, did I just wander into a world of supernatural fiction or the Oscars?"

"Pfft! Why are you suddenly telling lame jokes?"

"Ah, it's just a habit." After Lin Xu reminded me, I realized that I hadn't treated him like an outsider, and apologized, "I always like to make jokes when I'm chatting with friends."

"That's good. Qian Zhe and Zeng Yixi, if I'm not mistaken, they reached this agreement when Wang Hao came to us?"

"It should have been around that time. However, it's understandable that Chen Yu and Wang Hao were unaware of it. Qian Zhe took the initiative to go to Zeng Yixi's place. How did he manage to reach a cooperation agreement with Zeng Yixi alone in that kind of place?" I wondered.

"I don't know, since no one installed surveillance cameras in their living room."

"Too."

"..." Silence for a moment.

"What are your plans for the afternoon? Or are you just going to rest in your rooms? Although there's no internet, I have quite a few books in my room. If you're interested, I can lend you a few." Lin Xu stood up, stretched, and said to me.

"No need, I can't concentrate on my book." I rubbed my eyes and stood up, saying, "This afternoon, I'd like to wander around the Shengdan Academy. If possible, I'll probably visit Mingling Residence."

"Mingling Residence? Why go there? And isn't it too dangerous to wander around like this?" Lin Xu frowned slightly after hearing my words.

"Wasn't the conversation clear enough? There are no fools here who would share information with us for free. If you want more information, you have to go get it yourself," I said.

"...Indeed, but what if you run into one of those truants from before while wandering around the Shengdan Academy? You mean that weirdo who's got his eye on you and Su Wanqing?"

"Let's run."

"run?"

"Well, what else can we do besides run?" I shrugged helplessly at Lin Xu's bewildered gaze and said, "Su Wanqing was taken away by the elders. There were four elders who took her, and one of them was someone we'd never seen before. What do you think that means?"

"Representative...is Su Wanqing highly regarded?"

"Well, that's not what I wanted to say. This also means that most of the elders of the Shengdan Academy will be focused on Su Wanqing right now."

"What exactly are you trying to do? Elder Jianshan said that we disciples are only allowed to enter places he has taken us to visit. Don't do anything reckless."

"I won't do anything reckless, but this opportunity is truly rare. You should know that if the Sheng Dan Academy has any secrets that require the elders to guard, now is the best chance for us to find them."

"But it's also possible that you'll break a hidden rule, and in that case..."

"You won't die, will you?" I said casually.

"......All right."

"Aren't you coming with me?" I tilted my head and squinted at Lin Xu.

"I really want to go, but I have some things to do and I have to stay at the Retreat House."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Things I don't want to talk about."

"Oh, okay then." I nodded, not surprised by Lin Xu's words.

After all, he took off his shoes and clothes as soon as he entered the door, clearly indicating that he had no intention of going out again.

"Weren't you going out?" Lin Xu asked, watching me walk towards the room.

"I have a habit of taking a nap in the afternoon, and I'm feeling a bit sleepy at this time." As I said this, I yawned.

"Okay." Lin Xu nodded and walked towards his room.

I entered the room, closed the door, sighed, looked around my dorm room, and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets. What I was looking for, of course, were things belonging to my roommates from the real world.

When I first saw this familiar dormitory yesterday, I was almost entirely surprised. Later, as the room's appearance and rules were in place, my preconceived notions returned.

Only now, after my conversation with Zeng Yixi, have I truly grasped the meaning of the third rule of Jingxi Lodge. What does it mean to provide a home-like warmth?

Before Zeng Yixi shared the information, she specifically tested me to find out if I knew anything she had discovered. At that time, I hadn't yet uncovered her collaboration with Qian Zhe, and to avoid provoking Qian Zhe too much, I simply smiled politely and remained silent. But actually, what I knew at that time was not the same thing as what she thought I should know.

What I know is that Zeng Yixi obtained some information elsewhere, which is why she was able to ask the question related to cultivation rather than the "Heart-Refining Purification Pool" during her questioning of Elder Huaizhen. This is the reason I concluded that Zeng Yixi had some special information, but it is not the reason why Zeng Yixi thought I knew she had special information.

Why? Because the order was reversed! Zeng Yixi asked her question after we had all passed through the "Heart-Refining Purification Pool," that is, before class. That's right, before class. Those two booklets were only given to us by Elder Huaizhen after class started! In other words, the information Zeng Yixi shared with us couldn't be the reason she could ask that kind of question during the Q&A session. In other words, her information came from another source.

What could this be? I pondered for a long time, recalling everything I had seen and heard since I arrived in this world yesterday, and finally arrived at the answer through the process of elimination.

Zeng Yixi's source of intelligence could only be Jingxilu.

First of all, during our visit to Lianxin Hall, Yangyuanzhai, and Gudanjinglou yesterday, we shared the same perspective. None of us could possibly gather information that only we knew and no one else did, right under everyone else's noses. Even if we did manage to collect it, it would be seen by everyone else, just like it was for Lin Xu and me.

At that time, everyone was bound by the reminder on their arms that "those who conform do not lose their minds," and almost everyone subconsciously chose to stick together. Qian Zhe also said that during the Ancient Alchemy Scripture Pavilion incident, only we went up to the second or even third floor. The implication of this statement was that everyone else was on the first floor and did not look at the scrolls in the Ancient Alchemy Scripture Pavilion. If Zeng Yixi had looked at the scrolls or left the group's sight at that time, given Qian Zhe's character, he would definitely have been refuted by those who disliked him, unless they were in cahoots. And as I had already analyzed with Lin Xu, his only collaborator was Zeng Yixi; the others were unaware of this.

As for the Refining Heart Hall and the Nourishing Essence Hall, it's even easier to explain. In the Refining Heart Hall, I was sitting in a relatively back position. Zeng Yixi is a rather tall woman, and before I realized I had turned into a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, she was quite conspicuous in my eyes. So, if she had made any moves at that time, it's impossible that I wouldn't have seen them at all. Even if I hadn't seen them, Lin Xu was sitting behind her. I don't believe that Lin Xu wouldn't have noticed anything either; that would be too extreme. The Nourishing Essence Hall, on the other hand, was completely empty, leaving no space for her to discover information on her own.

Secondly, up to this point, all of us have only been active in the Refining Heart Hall. The only time we've been apart has been when we passed by the 'Refining Heart Purification Pool.' Apart from Zeng Yixi, no one has said they discovered any intelligence in the Refining Heart Purification Pool, so I conclude that Zeng Yixi didn't discover any intelligence either. To be honest, my judgment is rather hasty, but thanks to Qian Zhe's annoying persona, I'm even more convinced of my judgment.

Qian Zhe's arrogance in front of everyone was simply due to his backing by Chen Yu and his access to extra information that no one else possessed—nothing more. So why didn't Zhang Muyun, who later clearly showed hostility towards Qian Zhe, and Tang Anran, who was obviously close to Zhang Muyun, criticize him regarding the intelligence? Was it because they didn't want to? No, it's simply because they hadn't obtained enough information, which is why they were hostile towards Qian Zhe yet unable to simply walk away.

After eliminating all other places where Zeng Yixi could obtain information independently, there was only one place left where she could still obtain information independently.

That is, a quiet room where each person will definitely rest alone.