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The sky quickly darkened, and we found a slightly elevated spot to set up camp, erecting four military tents. The arrangements were as follows: my senior sister and A Li shared one tent, Old Qiao and Cold Bench shared another, my junior brother had one to himself, and Third Granduncle Master and A Chen shared with Liu Zi.
Except for the older Third Granduncle Master and Old Qiao, everyone else took turns on watch duty. With seven of us, we formed a perfect rotation, each person only needing to stand guard for about an hour.
After nearly ten hours of intense activity without much food, everyone was starving. Even the notoriously picky Third Granduncle Master was no longer choosy, grabbing whatever food was available. The oppressive bourgeoisie had finally mingled with the commoners; all beings were equal.
After wolfing down dinner, I glanced at my watch—it was just past eight o'clock.
Old Qiao felt tired and went to sleep first. Cold Bench, who never liked crowds, followed him into the tent. My junior brother A Chen and Liu Zi somehow caught a large black rat and were arguing about roasting it together. Third Granduncle Master, being older, showed signs of fatigue as well; he reminded A Chen not to make too much noise late into the night before crawling into his tent.
My eyelids had been fighting each other since dinner. My junior brother volunteered to take the first watch, assuring me I could sleep soundly. I yawned and informed my senior sister and A Li before slipping into the tent.
The exhaustion from days of travel had worn me out completely; as soon as my head hit the sleeping bag, I fell asleep without a dream. It wasn't until a faint voice murmured in my ear that I stirred.
At first, I thought I was dreaming. Suddenly, someone pinched my nose shut, cutting off my air supply completely. I gasped awake with a "huff." The person quickly covered my mouth to prevent me from making any noise. Just when I thought I might suffocate, they released their grip. I opened my eyes to see—oh no—it was my senior sister.
She glanced at my junior brother, who was sound asleep nearby, ensuring he wouldn't wake up. Then she waved her hand, signaling me to follow her outside.
Though it was September, the night air was still quite chilly. In this desolate mountain forest, a gust of wind made me shiver involuntarily as I tightened my jacket around me.
My senior sister walked until we were about twenty or thirty meters away from our camp before stopping under an old fir tree. It seemed she wanted to avoid being overheard by everyone else; she had something private to discuss with me.
I suddenly had a premonition that it was likely about Bai Cold Bench's identity. Immediately, I began calculating in my mind that as an exchange, I would also ask her a question.
As soon as my senior sister opened her mouth, she unsurprisingly asked about Cold Bench. I recounted our first meeting in detail, but I felt it unnecessary to mention the later events at Emerald Villa; after all, my experiences in the Bagua Underground Palace were enough to demonstrate Cold Bench's character.
While my senior sister pondered my words, I quickly organized my thoughts. Although I had many questions, the opportunity was rare, and I needed to choose the most important one to ask.
My mind raced, and in an instant, I said, "Senior sister, there's something I want to ask you. You've played tricks on us several times; is it because..." I hesitated, fearing that being so direct would lead her to deny it.
"Because of what?" She smiled at me as if she could see right through my thoughts. "Come on, do you really need to play mind games with me? When have you ever outsmarted me? Just say it."
My ears turned red, and I cleared my throat awkwardly. "It's about that... Bronze box. Didn't you disguise yourself as Zhao Qian on the train and trick me into handing it over?"
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes. "Is your box Yao Tai? It wasn't me who stole Yao Tai; it was your friend. I've already told you this. What? You don't believe me?"
I felt a bit disoriented and quickly sorted through my thoughts. So the Bronze box was indeed Yao Tai, and it originally belonged to Cold Bench. But I had clearly taken it from the belly of a corpse that had been dead for over two thousand years in Qinling Shaft. How could it possibly be his? And why was he in my senior sister's Illusionary Realm?
Suddenly, a realization struck me: "Could it be... that Zhao Qian who appeared on the train was the real Zhao Qian and not an illusion created by you?"
She nodded with a smile. "It seems my junior brother isn't as hopeless as I thought."
Now I was even more confused. "How is that possible? Aren't you an Illusionist? Without your control, how could he appear in the illusion? And he even had that incense burner with him?"
Her expression grew serious. "About that, I'm quite curious too. The Illusionary Technique can ensnare people in an illusion without their awareness, but it's not infallible. Some individuals with exceptionally strong willpower can consciously enter an illusion by leveraging their own mental strength. I've only heard my master mention such people once while studying the Illusionary Technique; he told me not to take them seriously since they are incredibly rare—one in a hundred years at most. Who would have thought we would encounter one now? So your friend is definitely not as simple as you think."
I suddenly recalled something: "So Zhao Qian was also on that train?"
She nodded and added, "However, he must have been deliberately concealing himself because when I encountered you all, I didn't see him. If I'm not mistaken, he was hiding in the shadows, witnessing everything that happened in the illusion. He likely deduced the rules of the Illusionary Technique and realized he could use them to obtain what he wanted—the Yao Tai—so he barged in. As for the incense burner... it serves as a means for him to successfully retreat from the illusion!"
I quickly overturned my previous conclusion: "It seems that this person did not learn about the Illusionary Technique through observation of you all; he must have known the truth from the very beginning! How is that even possible?!"
Suddenly, I recalled how Cold Bench had once explained the Illusionary Technique, and I relayed his words to my senior sister verbatim. Upon hearing them, her eyes widened even more, and she shook her head vigorously in disbelief.
Clearly, everything Cold Bench said was factual. He understood the Illusionary Technique to such an extent that it was as if he had personally studied it. Even more frightening was the fact that he could navigate through illusions without being controlled by the Illusionist... My goodness! No wonder he showed no fear when facing my senior sister; to him, she was like a blank sheet of paper with no secrets—completely transparent!
I couldn't help but shiver. The feeling of being seen through, of being utterly exposed, deeply shocked me. Who exactly was Cold Bench? How did he understand our craft so well? What was his true purpose in approaching us?
I had never been so desperate to know Cold Bench's identity as I was now. If only I had known earlier, I wouldn't have intervened so recklessly!
"Where are you going?" my senior sister suddenly stopped me.
I hadn't even realized I was already racing toward our camp. It felt as if a raging fire was burning in my chest. "I'm going to confront him directly."
After a moment of thought, my senior sister replied, "Alright, I'll go with you, but we mustn't alert anyone else."
When we stormed up to Cold Bench's tent and flung open the curtain, we were taken aback—there wasn't a single person inside.
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