Chapter 285 Winter Carriage's Unpredictability 3

At this moment, Dongche is in a state where he can neither remain silent nor lie.

If he chooses to remain silent or lie, his heart will burst. Considering he might not be human, even if this biological weakness of the heart is compromised, he might not die; some Witcher seem to possess similar immortality, making it difficult to determine if the real Wintercart is of this type. However, regardless of whether he lives or dies, if his heart shows signs of bursting, I can use this to determine if he is the real Wintercart.

I should have had him lead the way to Guyue Village first, and then investigated his suspicions, but I think it's more important to confirm this matter first.

Fuyuki seemed to realize his predicament, and perhaps even sensed my unwavering killing intent. He did not resist Asaha's grasp on his heart, and answered with unwavering conviction: "I am Fuyuki, and I am human."

“I have not been replaced by any person or any strange thing, nor have I ever replaced anyone. I am myself.”

Upon receiving this reply, I first looked at Ma Zao.

She seemed to carefully feel the heart she was clutching, then nodded at me and said, "He wasn't lying."

This answer is practically saying that all my doubts were just my own illusions and misunderstandings.

Could it be that Fuyuki somehow managed to evade the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring's lie detection? The possibility is extremely low. It's not that Fuyuki definitely doesn't have a way to deal with the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring, but to accomplish this under our noses, without us noticing anything amiss, is an almost impossible task.

If it were Silver Moon herself who could do this, it would be quite convincing. However, in my opinion, the suspicion that "Winter Chariot is Silver Moon in disguise" is becoming increasingly unlikely.

I don't doubt my intuition; the inhuman aura I sensed from Dongche was genuine. At the same time, I'll tentatively assume Dongche's testimony is also true. The problem then likely lies in certain preconditions; some seemingly logical arguments that form the basis of my reasoning may be flawed.

Deduction… just thinking about that word makes me chuckle. Many mystery stories strictly forbid the appearance of magic and superpowers, because that would undermine the fairness of the deduction game. But the strange events I'm facing now involve the Silver Moon, who can manipulate even time, space, and established facts at will.

Faced with such extraordinary monsters, how much of a use can human wisdom actually be?

We temporarily ended the interrogation. Asaha stood behind Fuyusha and withdrew her hand. The black rope heart-locking ring on her left middle finger had returned to its appearance, covered with burn marks.

Ma Zao could not completely repair the Black Rope Lock Heart Ring.

She explained this to me in her spare time. Although she could completely repair the fake Moon in the Water, she stumbled a little with the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring. I think it might be because my power hadn't truly awakened when I destroyed the fake Moon in the Water, but it wasn't when the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring was destroyed.

I've already taken a half-step beyond the Great Completion stage, so Mazao, who was at most a Great Completion stage at her peak, can't completely reverse the fact that "I destroyed the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring" with her power of return. Even if she could barely reverse it, the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring would revert to its burned state after her magic fades.

Fortunately, the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring is an "active skill item," so as long as it can be restored to its original form when needed, it's not a big problem as it is now. It just doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing. Asahi seems to value this ring quite a bit, wearing it on her left middle finger the whole time and refusing to take it off.

Dongche touched his heart and then asked me, "Senior Zhuangcheng... I might already be dead, right?"

"The reason you suspect I'm a monster might not be because I'm not actually human, but because I'm a walking corpse unaware that I've been dead for a long time... At least, I might not be 'alive,' so you immediately conclude that I'm not human... Is that right?"

He analyzed his situation as if it were someone else's, and I said in surprise, "You're so calm. Aren't you afraid you might really be dead?"

“Similar bizarre incidents are not uncommon in Luoshan’s archives,” he said. “Victims who died in these strange events would reappear by some strange twist of fate, forgetting that they were already dead. They would appear to be alive, communicating with people at the scene of the incident, but in reality, they would unknowingly become the accomplices of the source of the incident…”

"Although I have no recollection of encountering any specific enemies or dangers in the mist, nor do I feel any sense of death... However, Senior Zhuang Cheng, I will not disregard your judgment. Since you insist that I am not human, there must be corresponding evidence. And the only explanation for the current situation is the conjecture that I am already dead."

The fact that he believed I, a complete novice, had reached such a level made me feel somewhat flattered.

From his perspective, he felt as if he hadn't been mentally prepared at all, and had been sentenced to death in advance—even that description is too lenient. It was as if his death sentence had already been declared, leaving him no chance of escaping. How utterly unpredictable life and death are!

However, if what he says is true, and such absurd things are not uncommon in the supernatural world, then perhaps "being prepared to accept absurdity at all times" is a quality that a qualified witcher must possess.

For the first time, I truly realized that Dongche was indeed a level-one "unpredictable" Luoshan.

"If that's the case, what do you plan to do in the future?" I asked curiously.

"Let's take it one step at a time," Dongche said. "No matter what, at least I can still think. In other words, whether I live or die, at least my soul remains on this land."

"Of course, from your perspective, it's also possible that even my self-proclaimed thoughts are false, and that a mastermind is manipulating my mouth to make me say these things... However, I hope you can believe me first."

"Okay, I'll trust you first."

I was deeply moved by his attitude of disregarding life and death, and I began to look at this still-naive boy with new respect.

“Well then, let me answer your question about whether you might be dead,” I said. “I can’t tell if you’re dead or not. Although I saw your obituary, it disappeared immediately. You might be in a state of ‘uncertainty’.”

"At the very least, the strange feeling I get from you is less like a 'walking corpse' and more like a monster like Silver Moon."

I was consciously trying to put things in a positive light. During our late-night conversation at the Fufeng base, I did see a deathly palpable look on his face, but that look faded because of my denial. If my words truly possess a mystical power, then perhaps if I were to say some auspicious words to him now, things would change for the better again.

"Is that so...? Perhaps things haven't gotten to the worst point yet?" Fuyusha also revealed a hint of optimism.

“Then, I’ll trouble you to continue leading the way for us,” I said.

“I understand.” He nodded.

We continued deeper into the mist. With his guidance and the added power of Asahi's return, the surrounding white mist seemed to be growing thicker. This might be evidence that we were indeed venturing deeper into the mist.

After about fifteen minutes, shadowy figures appeared in front of us, which looked like low-rise buildings.

We moved closer to observe. Those shadows were indeed buildings—more precisely, low-lying houses constructed of mud bricks, wood, and thatch. Judging from the number of houses in view and the blurry shadows in the distance, there were probably dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of such thatched huts, densely and haphazardly built in the clearings of the mountain forest.

Could this place be Guyue Village? But the innkeeper and regular customers of Yueyin Mountain City have mentioned that Guyue Village should only have a few households now... But thinking about it again, it makes sense. Guyue Village only had a few households after the villagers moved away. There should still be a lot of houses left over from when there were more villagers in the mountains a long time ago.

He turned and glanced at Dongche, then nodded and said definitively, "This is Hujia Village."

As he spoke, an old woman emerged from a nearby thatched hut. She saw us, glanced at Dongche carefully, then turned and shouted at the top of her lungs towards the village, "We're back! We're back!"

After the sound rang out, more figures emerged from the surrounding thatched huts. There were about a dozen villagers, all of them quite old, with even the youngest looking middle-aged—just as I thought that, another person appeared, much younger than the middle-aged villager.

However, the man's attire didn't resemble that of a villager; he looked more like a hiker. He appeared to be a young man in his early twenties, wearing a dark green windbreaker, his face contorted with anxiety and fear. Upon seeing the winter car, he immediately shouted excitedly and rushed towards us, but then noticed Ma Zao and me, and hesitated before stopping.

Dongche saw him too and tried to approach him. I reflexively stretched out my arm and stopped Dongche first.

My first impression of these villagers, including that young man, was that they were very similar to Dongche.

They are not human.

(End of this chapter)