"Well said!"
A fourth party has emerged within this domain.
The Taowu was wary of unfamiliar visitors, and he protected himself with ice walls on all sides.
The familiar black robe, the familiar mask— He Piaojian's primary target changed instantly.
The stranger casually took a step and arrived beside Taowu. He covered his mouth through the mask and mocked, "Tsk tsk tsk, you're really pathetic."
Taowu tried hard to recognize the voice of the person who approached, but couldn't recall it at all.
He was about to blurt out, "Who are you?" when He Piaojian preemptively said, "You still say he's not a member of your Four Fiends Cult! Now that the evidence is out in the open, are you still going to deny it?"
"No, I really don't know who he is!" Taowu was dumbfounded.
Dao Er's voice echoed softly, "I am Taowu ~"
"You Taowu? Who do you Taowu?!"
"Huh?" Dao Er tilted his head, re-examining this part of the plot, "Ah... of course you're Taotie ~"
Taowu was stunned. "What the hell?"
He Piaojian, witnessing this dramatic display of social ethics, quietly approached Fan Daoyi and asked, "Dao Yi, what's going on?"
"... Although I hate to admit it, my brain might have been infected and isn't functioning properly."
He Piaojian didn't catch the subtext, and he nodded as if he understood. "Indeed, their brains don't seem to be working very well right now."
So, which of them is the Taowu?
Not to mention He Piaojian was dumbfounded, even Taowu himself was confused.
They were arguing there.
You said you were me?
No, no, no, I am not you.
"Then what are you?"
"I am Taowu."
"Then what am I?"
"You are Taotie."
"I am the Taowu!"
"Taowu."
You are not me!
"So, you're not Taowu."
"I'm not... no, that's not right..."
They spoke in quick succession, Dao Er's rapid responses left Taowu completely bewildered, causing it to clutch its head in pain and mutter to itself in thought.
I am Taowu, and he is also Taowu. There is only one Taowu, so I am equal to him. But I am not him, so relative to each other, I am not a Taotie... No, I am undoubtedly Taowu, and he is not Taowu!
Just as Taotie reached its conclusion and was about to refute it, Taowu preemptively Dao Er, "Taotie, stop pretending. Don't fool yourself with that fake face."
Taowu's pupils contracted sharply, and as if possessed, it reached out to touch its own face.
"After all, only the Taotie itself truly understands itself, doesn't it?" Dao Er pressed his advantage, "How did you know the other person was a swordsman before they even used their abilities!"
Taowu... He's about to believe.
"Taotie, stop playing around. I've seen them before, they recognize me. You can't fool me, I am Taowu." Dao Er finished his attack with those final words.
Upon hearing this, Taowu immediately recalled He Piaojian's tone of questioning earlier, as if he were disdainful of him. Now that he thought about it, he didn't believe that he was Taowu at all.
Could I really be Taotie?
Taowu grabbed its own face and ripped it off, revealing its Taotie face.
"Yes, yes, I am Taotie!"
The Rainy Ice Domain has been replaced, and the layers of mountains have taken their place.
Fan Daoyi lowered his eyes. As he expected, this was also a creation of Guixu — Hundred Forms, Thousand Faces.
It can perfectly impersonate someone, but the downside is that if you lose yourself in the process, you may no longer be yourself.
"That's right, that's right, you are Taotie, and I am Taowu." Dao Er's expression was playful beneath his mask; he seemed pleased with himself.
He Piaojian subtly nudged Fan Daoyi and asked softly, "Should we take advantage of their argument and try to sabotage them?"
Fan Daoyi responded, "One is manageable, but two is difficult."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dao Er gestured with two fingers to indicate himself and He Piaojian.
He Piaojian's expression suddenly changed, and he bared his teeth in a sarcastic retort.
Fan Daoyi slapped him on the back of the head. "What are you doing?"
He Piaojian withdrew his bared teeth and scratched the back of his head. "Try provoking them back."
Fan Daoyi's lips twitched, and he silently gave him a thumbs up.
"Genius."
Fan Daoyi had figured it out; when faced with certain situations, their brains were completely thrown out of their minds.
Regardless of which side.
Regardless of the disparity in strength, the two sides have surprisingly reached a bizarre balance under these circumstances.
Dao Er faced Taowu again, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Let's go. The mission failed. Let's go back first."
Taowu was stunned, somewhat at a loss for words. "But if the two of us beat them both, we should..."
Dao Er immediately interrupted, "No, we can't win."
"But..."
"We can't beat them."
Taowu immediately denied every word Dao Er said, and in the end Taowu had no choice but to admit defeat.
He Piaojian and Fan Daoyi stood at a distance, watching helplessly as Taowu was taken away by Dao Er.
As they left, the invisible force of that domain slowly dissipated like the tide.
He Piaojian seemed to snap out of a daze, his brows furrowed, muttering to himself in confusion, "Why did I just stand there like an idiot and do nothing?"
Oh, silly kid, you've suddenly figured it out?
Fan Daoyi sighed inwardly.
"I don't know." Dao Yi shook his head.
"Their organization has such complicated internal relationships; are they deliberately trying to mislead us?"
I don't know.
"Dao Yi, how come you know nothing when I ask you anything? Did your brainstem amputation cause you to become brain-dead?"
"No... uh," the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back. "Let's take care of some miscellaneous matters first, and then go back and tell Qian Heaven and the others the details."
He Piaojian was easily fooled; he was immediately swayed to a different topic. "Oh, okay, whatever you say."
On the other side, Dao Er followed the Taowu's lead to the hiding place of the Four Fiends Cult.
"Not hidden in the Guixu, yet closely connected to it?" Dao Er looked around at his surroundings.
Hearing a faint sound, Taowu asked in confusion, "What are you muttering about?"
"Oh, nothing, just curious."
Taowu's hands hung limply, head drooping. "What's there to be curious about? Meetings every day, even the leadership has their grievances, you know."
As luck would have it, they received another meeting notice just as they got back.
At this moment, the real Taotie in the conference room looked at the two people who entered with a bewildered expression.
Taowu, equally bewildered, stared at Taotie.
"Who are you?" Taotie asked Taowu.
Taowu frowned. "I Taotie."
Taotie glanced at Dao Er to the side and asked, "And who are you?"
Dao Er smiled through his mask, "I Taowu!"
Taotie rotated its head ninety degrees, looking at all four people in the conference room.
Qiongqi, Chaos, Taowu, Taotie... Hmm, all four are here, plus me.
The Four Fiends Cult has five leaders, that's normal, right?
Normal my foot!
Am I Taotie? Am I really Taotie?
The Taotie roared silently.
"Taowu, you are lost," Chaos spoke.
Taowu subtly elbowed Dao Er, saying, "I'm talking to you."
Dao Er pulled up his black robe and hood, then adjusted his mask. "I'm talking to you."
"Um?"
Chaos and Qiongqi attacked Dao Er together, but Dao Er calmly used a Shrinking the Earth to an Inch to sit down in the main seat above.
He propped himself up on one hand, resting his chin on his palm, crossed his legs, and looked at the four people below with a mocking expression. "Wow, so fierce~"