"Highway Horror": So What Exactly Did Xu Xi Figure Out?

When Xu Xi opened his eyes again and saw the scene before him, he froze.

The four of them were standing outside the funeral shop, gathered together in what was clearly a discussion about the information the old man had just given them.

What was going on? In this instance, he hadn't gone back to the very beginning!

"Then should we buy the old man's joss paper?"

Xu Xi noticed Li Kang looking at him, seemingly asking for his opinion, and blurted out, "Buy it!"

His decisive tone stunned the other three and the livestream chat.

Tan Xingyun quickly recovered and asked tentatively, "Xu, have you discovered something?"

Xu Xiuman also looked at Xu Xi with some curiosity, taking the opportunity to offer her own opinion. "I also think we could buy some, but we don't need much. After all, we can't be sure what the joss paper is really for. What if the old man is deliberately lying to us?"

Li Kang was much more straightforward. He had already seen Xu Xi in a different light, so if Xu Xi said to buy it, he would.

[Oh, 2 minutes 48 seconds finally spoke]

[I'm curious, don't you get tired of typing such a long name every time?]

[Honestly, a little. I won't type it anymore]

[So what exactly did he discover? He looks pretty confident]

[No idea]

Xu Xi pushed aside his various speculations about his ability for the moment. Looking at the others, who were still waiting for his answer, he found it difficult to explain on the spot.

He couldn't very well say they had already died once and were now living through it a second time after being reborn.

In the end, Xu Xi could only give a vague answer. "The more joss paper we have, the better. We'll need it later."

The three of them were baffled.

Tan Xingyun was the one to ask another question. "Did you find a clue, but it's difficult to tell us about it?"

That was a good excuse.

In fact, it wasn't wrong to put it that way.

Given a way out, Xu Xi nodded readily.

Xu Xi himself hadn't noticed how calm he was acting.

After dying eight times in the first instance, he no longer thought there was any problem with dying once or twice.

Yet that very composure caught the attention of the other three and the viewers.

Tan Xingyun once again studied the young man named Xu Xi in front of him.

After introducing himself, Xu Xi had barely spoken and had the lowest presence in the group, so Tan Xingyun had naturally overlooked him without realizing it.

But now, as he looked at him again, he was suddenly startled and finally realized what he had missed.

Xu Xi was too composed.

No, that wasn't quite right.

He and the woman in the denim skirt were also composed, because they both knew that the first thing they needed to do to clear these instances was stay calm. Even so, they inevitably felt negative emotions such as worry and fear.

But this young man was different from both of them. Rather than composed, he seemed unruffled.

As though he was certain this instance couldn't do anything to him.

Xu Xiuman had similar thoughts.

Li Kang, meanwhile, felt that his earlier guess had indeed been confirmed.

This young man, who looked about the same age as him, had to be extraordinary.

[What's going on? Why does the atmosphere between them suddenly feel weird?]

[Those three are probably annoyed that Xu Xi found a clue but won't tell them]

[I don't think so. It feels more strange than annoyed]

[So did Xu Xi really find a clue he can't talk about?]

[Wait, you actually believe that? Obviously, this newbie knows something but can't be bothered to explain it to them]

[I think beer-belly uncle saw that too, so he gave both sides a way out]

[That's a pretty spot-on analysis, person above]

[Oh, stop. I've just studied a little psychology]

[And did you notice? Even the relatively calm uncle and denim-skirt lady had fear hidden in their eyes when certain things happened, like when the funeral shop owner came out. They even stepped back and assumed defensive postures without thinking. But Xu Xi stayed right where he was. Other than a slightly more serious expression, he showed no sign of fear]

[Holy shit, we've got an expert at analyzing details here!]

[Looking at it that way, he definitely didn't clear his first instance through luck. People kept making snide remarks about him not talking earlier, but I think he was deliberately keeping a low profile while quietly controlling the situation. Look, when it mattered, didn't he take charge of the conversation?]

[After all that, what exactly did Xu Xi figure out? Can someone explain? I was completely lost watching the last instance, and I didn't expect this one to be the same]

[That's why he can speedrun a solo instance and you can't. That's strength]

Xu Xi had no idea that, through a combination of accidents, he had not only easily gotten a handle on everyone's thoughts, but had also successfully gone from a silent, inconspicuous nobody to a hidden expert who revealed nothing.

In the end, all three decided to listen to Xu Xi and buy more joss paper.

When the old man learned they wanted to buy a large quantity of joss paper, he smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits. "The highway's a long one. You won't regret buying it."

Hearing the familiar first half of the sentence, Xu Xi's heart stirred, and he couldn't help glancing at the old man as he rang them up.

It seemed that different second halves meant different outcomes.

This time, they should be able to get past those grave mounds without trouble.

His gaze swept over the items on the shop's shelves and paused on something. The next second, he said, "Bundle up a handful of that offering incense for us too."

The old man looked up at the young customer in surprise, but soon smiled again. "Sure. You've thought this through, young customer. Some things aren't easy to get rid of and do indeed need more expensive incense."

Xu Xi hadn't thought that far ahead. He had merely figured that a handful of incense wouldn't cost them much anyway, so he might as well buy some just in case. He hadn't expected to hear the old man say that.

The old man's words could practically be called an outright hint.

Tan Xingyun and the other two immediately looked alarmed.

Now they could all be certain the road ahead wouldn't be peaceful. At the very least, they would definitely encounter something that could only be driven away with incense.

If Xu Xi hadn't suggested buying a handful of incense, and they had actually run into those things later, then...

At that thought, the way everyone looked at Xu Xi changed once again.

[This old man isn't even pretending anymore]

[How normal do you think a funeral shop out in the middle of nowhere can be?]

[So the rumors the old man talked about earlier were actually all true, right? And he said he didn't know whether they were true or not. Liar]

[He's just an npc selling items. You're lucky he's giving you clues and items at all. Do you really expect him to tell you how dangerous the instance is?]

[The joss paper was just the old man's standard hint, while Xu Xi basically dug up a deeper one]

[How did he figure it out? I wish he'd share half his brain with me]

[These teammates aren't even asking. Maybe Xu Xi would answer if he was in a good mood]