Chapter 29: The Liar
“An examiner?”
Qin Xi could hardly believe it as he looked at the little ghost, its entire body smoking from being scorched by his righteous Confucian aura.
Suddenly, several figures appeared inside the thatched cottage. A moment later, the figures vanished, and several wisps of translucent vapor gathered before the four of them, taking shape as a man, a woman, and another little girl.
There were now four ghosts in the area.
“I never expected you to be Confucian cultivators. In that case, there is no need for us to put on any mysterious tricks and frighten you,” the man said. His voice was deep and resonant, and every word could be heard clearly even from a great distance.
He appeared to possess considerable cultivation.
“May I ask if Senior is an expert from the Soul Refining Sect who is cooperating with the Great Thousand Sect?” Qin Xi asked with a cupped fist salute.
Since the other party did not appear particularly hostile, there was no need to start a fight immediately.
After all, anyone qualified to serve as an examiner was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage. Qin Xi would never recklessly clash head-on with a Foundation Establishment cultivator without preparation.
“We are not members of the Soul Refining Sect. We are souls.”
“...I noticed.”
“The true disciple of the Soul Refining Sect is waiting for you at the end of the checkpoint. The four of us are merely souls and revenants under his command,” the man explained. “Our entire family of four died in a disaster. A disciple of the Soul Refining Sect happened to pass by and, seeing that our family had been harmonious and that we still harbored grievances against the world, we willingly allowed him to refine us into servant ghosts. Once we cultivate to the Core Formation stage, we can become soul cultivators or ghost cultivators and regain human form.”
“That is true, but although that is how things are, the progress of our cultivation is linked together. This fellow has such poor talent that, in theory, the rest of us should have entered the middle Foundation Establishment stage long ago. Instead, he has dragged us down for more than a decade.” The female soul showed no consideration for the male soul’s dignity as she pointed at him and complained.
The male soul gave an awkward smile and did not dare contradict her.
After hearing the whole story, much of Qin Xi’s fear of ghosts faded away. Before their deaths, they had merely been... well, a harmonious family of ordinary mortals. Even after becoming spirits, there was nothing particularly frightening about them.
Qin Xi therefore asked again, “Then, Senior, could you tell us why you have stopped us here?”
“Hahaha! Naturally, to test your wisdom!” The man laughed several times. “You must answer a question. Only if you answer correctly can we allow you to pass.”
“Once the test begins, only one of us will be allowed to lie. You must analyze everything we say and identify that person!”
Qin Xi was stunned for a moment. He felt as though he had heard this question somewhere before.
After a brief moment of thought, he asked, “May I ask you questions?”
“You may, but I will decide for myself whether answering your question would affect your judgment of this puzzle. I may answer, or I may refuse.”
In other words, whether he answered or not depended entirely on his mood.
Qin Xi nodded, and an idea immediately formed in his mind.
“I am ready!”
The male soul spread his arms wide. “Then let this trial begin! The test starts now!”
At once, the four souls floated into a line and, in order, each spoke a sentence.
The female soul said, “I am not the liar.”
The male soul said, “What I said is true.”
The elder brother said, “Either Father or Little Sister is lying.”
The younger sister said, “Both Mother and Big Brother are telling the truth.”
“This question doesn’t seem very difficult.” A-Ling pondered. In the briefest moment, she had already begun to form an answer.
Bu Wei was a little slower in his deliberation, but he also felt that the problem should not be hard to solve.
Only Jiang Baiqiu stood there blankly, looking left and right with an expression that suggested he had no idea what was going on.
Qin Xi, meanwhile, stepped forward. He looked extremely confident.
He walked up to the little girl’s soul, patted her on the head, and asked gently, “Do you like your father or your mother more?”
The little girl froze.
In an instant, countless gazes focused on her.
Naturally, her parents were among them. It seemed that they, too, had begun paying close attention to the question.
The little girl was completely bewildered. Why was he targeting her again?
“I... I like... I like Mo—”
Before she could finish, the female soul’s lips curved into a smile, while the male soul’s face gradually turned green.
It really did turn green.
The little girl saw that her father was unhappy and hurriedly added, “No, I like Da—”
The male soul’s expression improved considerably.
The smile that had just begun to appear on the female soul’s face disappeared.
Seeing that no answer would satisfy either of them, the little girl simply burst into tears.
“Wahhh...”
Qin Xi quickly determined that the little girl was telling the truth.
In the blink of an eye, he shifted his target to the male soul.
“May I ask Senior a small question? Of course, you may choose not to answer. Everything depends on ‘your own will.’”
He placed heavy emphasis on the words “your own will,” as though deliberately stressing them.
The male soul had an ominous premonition, but there was nothing wrong with what Qin Xi had said, so he remained silent.
“Ahem. Senior, if your mother and your wife both fell into a river, whom would you save first?”
The male soul’s eyes went perfectly round.
What the hell, brother? Are you trying to kill me?
But Qin Xi wore an utterly innocent expression, as though there were no trick whatsoever. He genuinely seemed to be waiting for the male soul’s answer.
“It’s just that I don’t know the answer to this question either, so I still can’t determine whether what you say is true or false... Even if you answer, it won’t affect the test.” Qin Xi’s smile gradually became sinister. “Of course, if you choose not to answer, that is also entirely your own will. I won’t force you...”
The male soul finally understood why this bastard had emphasized the words “your own will.”
It meant that whether he answered or not depended entirely on whether he felt guilty. None of it had anything to do with Qin Xi!
The female soul fixed the male soul with a chilling gaze. “He seems to have a point... You can answer the question. I am curious too.”
The male soul was sweating profusely.
His lips trembled as he stiffly said to the female soul, “Of course I would save you...”
“Hm?” The female soul’s expression immediately changed. “Is that what you were supposed to say?”
“Ah—yes, yes! I would definitely save my mother!” the male soul hastily corrected himself, refusing to yield.
“That sounds so unpleasant...” The female soul clicked her tongue.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, the male soul turned and stared at Qin Xi with the resentful expression of a neglected wife.
Qin Xi ignored him and only became more ruthless.
“Since Senior does not wish to answer that question, I will not make things difficult for you. I will simply ask another.”
“Suppose your current wife were not the female Senior standing here, but another woman. If you then met this Senior, would you cheat on your wife?”
Qin Xi’s eyes gleamed.
The female soul’s gaze grew even colder. “That is a good question... Are you going to answer?”
The male soul’s face turned pale, as though he had seen a ghost.
Then again, he was a ghost.
“I, I, I, I... Of course I would...”
“Hm?” The female soul’s pitch rose.
“Of course not! No, no, I wouldn’t...”
“Hm?” Her voice rose even higher.
With a thump, the male soul dropped to his knees. Grabbing Qin Xi by the arm, he cried, “You are my living ancestor! I’m the liar! I confess everything! Please, just go on through!”
“That doesn’t seem right... I still have a few questions to ask.”
Qin Xi’s smile was pure and utterly free of impurities.
It was simply a little too wicked.
“My living ancestor, this way, please! Please don’t ask anything else! Whatever you say goes. If you say pigs are flying through the sky, I won’t contradict you!” Tears were nearly spilling from the male soul’s eyes. “I’m begging you—please, just go on through!”