You're Sitting on My Corpse

Time slipped away quietly amidst the patient and persuasive standoff.

The two people in the lounge chatted smoothly, seemingly in high spirits. No one knew what they were really thinking behind every leading question and every unverified answer.

Finally, Yu Xing quieted down with a smile, ending the conversation with an expression of exhaustion. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes, but he avoided the other person's bloodshot eyes.

"Hmm? Didn't you manage to get anything out of me just now?" Zhao Yijiu already knew that the purpose of this conversation was not right, but she still generously showed Yu Xing some of her thoughts, like a prisoner who was confident of victory and fearless.

"No, it's just that my constitution isn't suited for constant mental exertion; it gets tiring." Yu Xing blamed her physical condition without any hesitation, since no one would know if she was telling the truth anyway. "Brother Jiu... if you were normal, we probably would never have had such a pleasant conversation in our entire lives. It's a good thing that your ghostly state has allowed you to open up."

He seemed to speak spontaneously, unintentionally delivering a concluding speech, then closed his eyes and "recovered his strength" on the sofa.

"Heh... Hahahaha..." Upon hearing this, Zhao Yijiu seemed to have suddenly heard something particularly pleasing. A suppressed laugh escaped from his throat, like some kind of mockery, yet it was unclear what he was mocking. Was it Yu Xing, who had so quickly praised the ghost's state, or the taciturn, gloomy young man?

Yu Xing didn't open his eyes, but if his mind were represented by a tiny person, a bead of cold sweat should have rolled down that person's forehead.

This is his last attempt to test the waters today.

They had been talking for almost an hour, and he had been using a strategy of retreat to advance, hiding his real goal—"testing whether the ghost state had actually eroded Zhao Yijiu's consciousness"—among a variety of true and false purposes. He even used Carlos as a pretext and actually managed to extract some information about Carlos from him.

This was a gain, but not what he wanted most. Most of his attempts were blocked by Ghost Wine. Ghost Wine was extremely cautious when it came to the consciousness aspect. Ghost Wine probably knew that once Yu Xing and Zhao Mou sensed something was wrong, they would increase their efforts to suppress the power of the vengeful ghost, even if doing so would slow down Zhao Yijiu's progress in integrating the power of the vengeful ghost.

Becoming stronger is Zhao Yijiu's goal, but everything about this goal has one prerequisite: Zhao Yijiu must take absolute control between the two personalities or traits. Once the evil spirit touches this sensitive spot, even if Zhao Yijiu herself doesn't realize it for a while, Zhao Mou and Yu Xing will remind Zhao Yijiu.

Therefore, during this nearly hour-long conversation, Yu Xing was not entirely certain whether the vengeful ghost's consciousness and activity level were sufficient to erode Zhao Yijiu. After all, he could not truly understand Zhao Yijiu's experience of battling the vengeful ghost. In any case, from when Zhao Yijiu was a few years old until now at twenty-five, the vengeful ghost had always been a thorn hanging between Zhao Yijiu's eyebrows. In such a long time, if Zhao Yijiu had lost even for a moment, she would not exist as she is now.

Since Zhao Yijiu officially entered the Absurd Deduction Game, her own strength has been continuously increasing, and the threat level of the vengeful ghosts has gradually decreased. From being deeply afraid of them to now being able to use the power of vengeful ghosts, her progress can be described as great.

But Yu Xing and Zhao Mou had also wondered if the cunning ghost had deliberately caused this result, or perhaps deliberately given up certain abilities and temporary victories, just to create the illusion that the ghost itself was unable to turn the tide, so as to quietly transform Zhao Yijiu right under their noses in another way.

Yu Xing's probing this time must have caught the attention of Ghost Wine. If this vengeful spirit is intelligent enough, it must have discovered Yu Xing's intentions. All the answers in the conversation just now need to be carefully considered before they can be trusted to some extent.

Therefore, at the end of the conversation, Yu Xing once again set an unexpected and unprepared trap.

He deliberately made it seem like the conversation and probing were over, which gave Ghost Wine the impression that the "defense was over." Then he suddenly said something that sounded like nothing, but actually confirmed the existence of the vengeful ghost to some extent. He expressed that he was not as happy as chatting with Zhao Yijiu her ghostly state as he was chatting with her in normal state. If the vengeful ghost's consciousness was silently counterattacking and eroding, then this sentence was equivalent to a great victory.

Because as long as such a loophole is opened, it proves that the vengeful ghost can replace Zhao Yijiu in the lives of the people around her. Even when Zhao Yijiu completely disappears, at least Yu Xing's side may not necessarily feel that the new Zhao Yijiu is bad.

When people are tired, they are most likely to express their hidden feelings when they are relaxed, which is equivalent to the outward expression of their subconscious. Yu Xing created such an effect by making a roundabout suggestion. Perhaps when the ghost, who thought the test was over, suddenly received affirmation, his next action would become the most authentic feedback.

But that wasn't enough. Yu Xing knew that he had given Zhao Yijiu a mysterious and powerful impression. If Zhao Yijiu wanted to hide something from him, she would still be very vigilant even at this moment. So he closed his eyes.

"Can't see" is also a cunning suggestion. When a person faces someone who is staring at them and someone who is sleeping in front of them, their level of vigilance will be completely different. Things that they would never do in front of the former may be done without any psychological pressure in front of the latter.

The hints were all there, and when Yu Xing heard Zhao Yijiu's suppressed laughter, she had a bad feeling.

This is mockery.

There's no need to dwell on whether Ghost Wine is mocking Yu Xing or Zhao Yijiu, because it's both.

On one hand, they mocked Yu Xing's so-called care and help for Zhao Yijiu, saying it was nothing more than a pleasant conversation, while also enjoying Yu Xing's "heartless" personality; on the other hand, they mocked Zhao Yijiu for staying by Yu Xing's side for so long without gaining any real, unshakable feelings, making her seem like a pathetic wretch with unrequited love.

Yu Xing tested the waters.

Things are getting worse. Zhao Yijiu, who is currently in the form of a vengeful ghost, is controlled by the ghost's personality, not by Zhao Yijiu's consciousness.

Zhao Yijiu himself only thought that this was an inevitable effect of the personality change. In reality, it was not like that. If he were the one in control, then this effect would definitely weaken over time and eventually merge into one, leaving only the silent and gloomy young man who had mastered the powerful energy of the evil spirit.

It's definitely not like this now; Zhao Yijiu's ghostly personality is becoming more and more complete and at ease.

Tsk.

Yu Xing clicked her tongue inwardly.

As expected, the thousand-year-old vengeful ghost was completely outmatched by the human who had only lived for twenty years in terms of strategy. The reason why the vengeful ghost chose such a roundabout way of infiltrating was probably because Yu Xing summoned Yi Qing to suppress the vengeful ghost in the Fear Hospital.

Fortunately, things weren't beyond repair. He still had Yi Qing. At worst, he could have Zhao Yijiu 24/7 and suppress the vengeful ghost if it made any unusual moves, until Zhao Yijiu truly made it impossible for the vengeful ghost to recover.

He believed in Zhao Yijiu's abilities. As long as he reminded Zhao Yijiu and provided some external assistance, Zhao Yijiu would handle the remaining internal matters herself.

But for now, they still need to put on a show. First, the ghost's personality gives it a strong grip on the identity of the Shadow Wizard. Before Zhao Yijiu can achieve the same level of control when doing missions, Shadow Travel is a huge help in gaining the initiative. In addition, he hasn't found Yiqing yet and can't suppress the ghost's consciousness. For the time being, they still need to make use of this restless ghost's consciousness to help them with this deduction.

Yu Xing opened her eyes, squinted at Zhao Yijiu, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"You know what I'm laughing at." Zhao Yijiu forced herself to stop laughing, looking at him with amusement. "You know, if I switched back to my normal state and heard you say that, I would be silently heartbroken for a long time."

"Hehe, are you kidding? Even in your normal state, you wouldn't care so much about something I casually said. Besides, I was just telling the truth. Brother Jiu is a quiet type; he doesn't like to talk. Anyone else would be a better conversationalist than him. What's there to brag about?" Yu Xing waved her hand dismissively, as if she didn't understand why Zhao Yijiu was suddenly "happy."

He shifted his gaze towards the entrance to the lounge. If he wasn't mistaken, there was a slight commotion coming from the lobby; the tour group was probably returning to assemble.

In other words, the first three hours of the art exhibition may have already passed, and their leisure time is over. They will now have to spend the next five hours competing with outsiders who have bought tickets for those five spots. They will stay and see what interesting developments will occur later.

Even looking towards the entrance, Yu Xing could feel Zhao Yijiu's gaze lingering on him, a kind of scrutiny, or perhaps an interested observation. He was certain that his words had not only caused Ghost Wine to lower his guard and reveal his true self, but had also perhaps stirred up other restless thoughts within Ghost Wine: "To turn him against his will," "to please him," "to control him," "to cooperate"...

Yu Xing controlled her facial expression, then turned back to look at Zhao Yijiu with a hint of confusion. "Why are you looking at me like that? What kind of wicked thoughts are you harboring?"

Zhao Yijiu withdrew her gaze and smiled calmly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to see how you planned to get information from the testers next."

It seems that all the probing and confrontation just now were an illusion.

"Just wait and see, I'm really curious about that boy holding the rabbit." Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "If he really is from Shen's team, I wonder if there are anyone else..."

The soundproofing in the lounge was so good that even with Yu Xing's hearing, she could only faintly hear voices in the lobby, but couldn't make out the specific content at all.

He couldn't be bothered to go over and listen; among so many ghosts, there might be some with particularly keen senses, and it wouldn't be good if he were discovered.

Anyway, we'll find out from someone else soon enough...

"Click."

Just as Yu Xing was thinking about something else, a soft click came from the doorknob of the lounge.

He and Zhao Yijiu sprang up from the sofa almost simultaneously and hid behind it... The sofa was big enough to conceal their view from the doorway. With such cover, they could operate more effectively. If it was a ghost that came in, they could pretend to have just entered as well. If it was an outsider, an experience tester, it would be even easier—they could simply capture him... no, they should have a friendly exchange.

The moment the two figures disappeared behind the sofa, the door opened, and the noise from the hall, along with the flow of air, entered Yu Xing's ears. Sure enough, after a brief gathering, it was now time for free time.

There was more than one person who came in, because the first person spoke in a rather loud voice, clearly addressing his companions.

"Wow, this lounge is nice. The sofa looks really soft; it's perfect for sleeping."

Yu Xing listened intently and felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Who was it that, instead of searching for fake paintings during free time, rushed to the lounge... to sleep?

Immediately afterwards, the sofa shook, as if someone had sat down on it.

Then, the man said with some suspicion, "Hmm? Something's not right with this sofa, it's a little warm."

The other person, who hadn't spoken before, finally spoke up. His voice was slightly deep, revealing a quality unique to young people, yet his tone was flat. "Stop playing around, the person should be behind you."

A hint of interest flashed in Yu Xing's eyes. Impressive! In just a few seconds, the second person to speak guessed that if there was anyone in the room, they must be hiding behind the sofa.

In other words, he has been discovered.

Moreover, judging from the tone of the boy's voice, the first person to speak also knew there were people in the room, but they didn't expose them because they were just playing around.

Needless to say, this must be an experience tester, not a ghost whose intelligence is generally incomprehensible.

But since he'd been exposed, and the other person seemed like a playful one, Yu Xing didn't mind playing along. He gave Zhao Yijiu a "don't move" signal, and slowly stood up, afraid that his anemia would cause him to fall down before he could do anything. Sure enough, the first thing he saw was the boy standing opposite the sofa, holding a plush rabbit.

The second thing I noticed was the back of a head with a small bun.

The boy's gaze fell on Yu Xing, which piqued the curiosity of the person sitting on the sofa. Following up on the previous conversation, he said, "What are you looking at, little brother? What's behind me? Is there a ghost behind me? Don't scare me, I'm easily frightened!"

Yu Xing stretched out her cold hands, touching the neck of the person on the sofa, and deliberately disguised her voice as a faint female voice. "You're sitting on my corpse..."

"What the heck?" The person on the sofa suddenly realized that he might have gone too far. He abruptly stood up, turned around with a surprised expression, and met Yu Xing's eyes, which were filled with a wicked smile.

"... You really know how to play games, huh? Luckily, I genuinely thought it was a Female Ghost behind me." The man relaxed.