Chapter 226

Chapter 226: The One Sent to Die

Yi Lan smiled with her eyes narrowed as she looked at Rou Shan and the little girl, then asked: “How about these five dishes, have you picked yet?”

Rou Shan glanced at her, and two huge hammers appeared in his hands; pointing straight at Li Shuang, he said in a low rumble: “Let the newcomer choose first, and have her pick the dish in the middle.”

Li Shuang lifted her brows and stayed silent.

She did not hurry, but Yi Lan hurried for her, snapping at Rou Shan: “We’ve met before! Don’t think I don’t know the middle dish is the deadly one! Li is my friend, and I will not watch her die! Leave the middle dish for your Devil Path. I think that little girl suits it well.”

The little girl let out a cold laugh, a thin gleam of frost flashing in her eyes.

Rou Shan shifted his heavy body to stand squarely in front of the little girl, then growled: “Since we can’t agree, let’s fight. The strong rule. That’s the way it has always been.”

He swept a hammer through the air, and in an instant a Gale Formation roared to life; the wind churned so hard that Yi Lan and Zi Guang both looked uneasy.

Yi Lan hurried to Li Shuang’s side and said softly: “Li, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. We’re both of the Righteous Path, and no matter what, I won’t abandon you.”

She stopped, just a little stunned.

Facing Rou Shan’s threat, she had expected Li Shuang to show panic or at least some nerves.

Yet Li Shuang’s reaction was as if Rou Shan had not named her at all; she was still studying the five dishes with interest, as if she had not heard his threat.

Zi Guang clicked his tongue and complained: “Look at you, acting like some saint for no reason: she doesn’t even want to talk to you! Righteous Path or Devil Path, staying alive is what matters. If you ask me, let her be the one sent to die.”

He did not even bother to hide it and said it right in front of Li Shuang.

Yi Lan showed a troubled look and told him: “Zi Guang, you’re my friend. I promised to get you through this place, and I will. I’d rather die than fail you. But Li is also Righteous Path. We can’t just throw her away. As long as the three of us stand together, we won’t fear those two.”

Li Shuang’s fingers brushed lightly over the five plates.

At once, a faint change crossed her eyes.

Among the five dishes:

The meat in the center had Value Points at a middle level, worth about 750 Value Points.

The eyeballs were worth 400 Value Points.

The iceberg dish was worth 900 Value Points.

The egg custard was worth 700 Value Points.

The most expensive of all was the bone marrow, priced at 1000.

She also saw the note from the Heaven and Earth Furnace:

“Seventh-Tier Tiger Bone, simmered by a special method to produce gelatinous marrow. This tiger bone is highly poisonous. Anyone under the Integration Stage who consumes it will burst and die.”

[So it’s obvious.]

Yi Lan and Rou Shan had both claimed the middle dish was the fatal one.

But in truth, going by the Furnace, the meat did have poison, yet nothing close to the danger of that marrow.

[Did Yi Lan and Rou Shan really get it wrong? No.]

These two were not newcomers to the Gluttony Hell. If they could keep returning alive, their skill at telling poison apart was beyond doubt.

[That leaves one answer.]

Yi Lan and Rou Shan looked like enemies.

In reality:

[They are likely on the same side.]

Li Shuang could guess: after once entering the Gluttony Hell together, something happened, and they reached an unspoken deal.

[As long as someone else takes the death trial, those two stay safe.]

She glanced at Zi Guang.

[They pushed me out first as the scapegoat.]

But Zi Guang was not much better.

[He is probably the second one they plan to throw away.]

As for the little girl, Li Shuang could not tell her role, but judging by Rou Shan’s respect, she was not in the same category as the victims.

So:

[In this five-person Skull Banquet, in their eyes, Zi Guang and I are already dead.]

Li Shuang looked calmly at Zi Guang.

He was still grumbling in anger, calling Yi Lan a foolish do-gooder and saying newbies should be the ones to die, while Yi Lan kept trying to persuade him with a troubled face.

Li Shuang’s lips curved, and she said suddenly: “All right. Let me choose first. I pick the meat dish in the middle.”

She agreed in one breath.

Yi Lan froze, whipping her head around to stare at her.

A strange gleam lit Rou Shan’s eyes as well.

Li Shuang smiled and added: “I’m a newcomer. Thanks for looking after me. I’ll take the meat.”

“See? She agreed herself,” Zi Guang said, delighted, and looked at Li Shuang like she was a big fool.

“But,” Rou Shan’s thick voice rolled out, “who can guarantee you will pick the middle dish? If you go first and pick another one, we can’t stop you.”

Li Shuang raised a brow and said lightly: “Believe me or not, that won’t be up to me.”

Silence fell.

Yi Lan bit down, as if making a decision, then said: “Li! Give the middle dish to me! I said I would protect you. My Secret Art is special. I might live through it. Don’t worry. I will not watch you die.”

In that moment, light seemed to glow from Yi Lan’s body.

She looked so kind, so lovely, so moving.

In Li Shuang’s sea of consciousness, the Azure Lotus flickered faintly.

When Li Shuang looked at Yi Lan again, she was still the same ordinary woman.

[Soul Method.]

Just now, Yi Lan had used a Soul Method on her, a technique that heightened others’ trust in the user.

Even Zi Guang, who had been calling Yi Lan a foolish do-gooder, now showed a faint hint of admiration in his eyes under its influence.

And he did not notice the change at all; it all felt natural.

A chill pricked Li Shuang’s heart.

[If I had not forged the Nine-Petal Azure Lotus early in my sea of consciousness, then even with an elixir bearing three pill lines, once I entered this Soul Prison I would be as good as dead. Even with a treasure like the Heaven and Earth Furnace, if my soul were swayed, I might not even remember to use it.]

[This Soul Prison is danger at every step.]

Li Shuang put on a moved expression and said softly: “Daoist Friend Yi Lan, but…”

Yi Lan reached out and patted her shoulder, telling her: “It’s fine. I’m more experienced than you.”

Then she looked at Rou Shan and said sharply: “Rou Shan! I’ve already picked the deadliest dish. What about you? These five dishes have different toxins. I chose the most toxic one. The second most toxic, that platter of eyeballs, should be yours!”

Rou Shan frowned and asked: “Why?”

Yi Lan’s face darkened with anger, and a fiery red curved saber appeared in her hand as she said: “I take a step back and you think we’re easy to bully? Either you pick the eyeballs, the second most toxic dish, or we fight right here.”