Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1265 - 19: Counterfeit?

Chapter 1265: Chapter 19: Counterfeit?

The soul demon thrown out by the Ghost Bride had self-healing properties. After occupying Lu Taijiang’s body, it made him extraordinarily durable. Under Lin Weiguo’s brutal beating, his nasal bridge collapsed and his eye sockets swelled while all his teeth fell out. His face was beyond recognition, only a bloody, fleshly outline remained, yet he stubbornly did not die but instead gradually healed.

The Wild Cat, wearing only one boot, shivered with fear, wanting to sneak away. But Tang Zheng pulled the rope, yanking her back.

"How can the Ghost Bride be killed?" Tang Zheng was initially planning to ask Lin Weiguo to be gentler, but seeing this scene, he suddenly thought that the bride must be tough to deal with since her minions possessed self-healing abilities. The boss would likely have them too.

"She can’t be killed. The souls the bride devours become parts of her, just like possessing countless lives. There were once some who, unwilling to submit to her, tried to assassinate her. Now, they have become corpses hanging at the entrance of Fairy Tale Town, wind-dried into jerky!" The Wild Cat thought Tang Zheng had to have a screw loose.

Slap, Teng Yuangxiang slapped the Wild Cat on the head, sending it spinning like a top.

"The Trojan doesn’t dictate that we must kill the Ghost Bride; why don’t we take a detour?" Jing Xiang murmured weakly, her dread of combat undeniable. The image of Tao Tao’s torn corpse kept haunting her, chilling her to the bone.

"I agree with Jing Xiang’s suggestion. Given our current team configuration, we’re not cut out for a tough fight!" Normally silent, regardless of whatever Tang Zheng suggested, Li Xinlan unusually began to engage in the discussion.

"I have no objections!" Dantai saw Tang Zheng look over and shrugged his shoulders, showing a rare silence.

"Then let’s put it to a team vote!" As soon as Qin Yan finished speaking, the Trojan spoke up.

"Attention, sub-mission in Fairy Tale Town activated. You have twenty-four hours to kill the Ghost Bride. Failure will result in the annihilation of the entire team!"

"Looks like we’ve no choice now!" Lin Weiguo grabbed Lu Taijiang by the hair and threw the unlucky, deformed brute in front of Tang Zheng. "Seems he really doesn’t know anything."

"Don’t rush; there’s still another one!"

All eyes immediately riveted on the Wild Cat, who quickly turned sideways and covered her groin and breasts with her paws.

"Don’t look at me like that; I’ll be shy!"

Slap, Teng Yuangxiang slapped the Wild Cat across the face, sending it flying into the fallen leaves, losing its riding boot.

"Okay, I’ll confess. It’s said that Frankenstein, the Mad Scientist has a dagger that can completely erase a soul and seems to be the Ghost Bride’s mortal enemy," said the Wild Cat, muddy, as it stood up. Seeing that Teng Yuangxiang was poised to hit again, it quickly raised both hands in surrender.

"Lead us to it!" Tang Zheng clapped his hands. "Everyone, get up, let’s get moving!"

Lu Taijiang took out a Soul Jewel and suddenly hurled it at Tang Zheng, intending to extract his soul. Tang Zheng reacted by kicking him in the face, flipping him over, then stepping on his head, grinding it into the ground.

Lu Taijiang suffocated and struggled, but it was to no avail. Tang Zheng drove his snowy dagger into his heart, killing him completely.

"We can’t just act on this Wild Cat’s unreliable word. If it turns out to be useless, we’re not only wasting time but also provoking a strong enemy for no reason," Li Xinlan objected. "Anyone capable of being the Ghost Bride’s enemy is probably not far behind in strength. It’s probably better to fight fiercely."

"Song Xin, continue!" Tang Zheng picked up the Soul Jewel, glanced at it—just a Level A prop that could form a shield. The more souls it stored, the stronger its defense. It was of little use to Conquerors, but since Song Xin was a medic, holding onto it was better than nothing, as extra care was necessary.

"What are you waiting for? You go ahead, Lu Fan, stay back, I need to talk to you." Tang Zheng waved his hand, urging the others to move on.

Little Lolita looked up, swallowed her chocolate, and looked at Tang Zheng, puzzled.

"Hurry, or you’ll get lost," Lin Weiguo advised and then, clutching the Wild Cat, led the way. Once they had disappeared into the dense forest, Tang Zheng suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Lu Fan’s neck.

"You’ve discovered some secret, haven’t you... Uh!" A severe choking sensation hit, and Lu Fan dropped his snacks, grabbing Tang Zheng’s wrist, his feet flailing wildly and his face wearing a look of horror, completely bewildered as to why he was being attacked.

Bang, Tang Zheng smashed Lu Fan against the nearby tree trunk. The violent impact made Little Lolita cough, but as the big hand tightened around her neck, it was forced back down her throat.

"Lu Fan, can you give me a break? I’m sick of you causing trouble and being useless!" Tang Zheng’s face was cold as he stared intently at Little Lolita, "So, please just die!"

Lu Fan had been struggling, continually hitting Tang Zheng’s arms but when she heard these words, she suddenly became like a soulless zombie, her hands dropping to her sides, giving up all resistance.

"So Uncle has always seen me as a burden!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Lu Fan pursed her lips, heartbroken.

"Look at you, a crybaby. Why won’t you just die and stop wasting air!" Tang Zheng’s grip tightened, and due to the suffocation, Lu Fan’s complexion began to change; still, she did not use her power to resist.

"Fanfan won’t cry, Fanfan needs to be strong. If dying will relieve Uncle, then I’ll die!" Lu Fan looked into Tang Zheng’s eyes, remembering their first encounter when this older brother had saved her, a complete burden, against all odds, "This time, let it be my way of repaying your kindness."

Lu Fan closed her eyes, ready to embrace death, but suddenly felt the hand on her neck loosen, and her body thudded onto the dry leaves.

Coughing, Lu Fan gasped for air, looking joyfully at Tang Zheng and clumsily crawled a few times, wrapping her arms around his right leg.

"I knew Uncle wouldn’t really kill me. Don’t worry, Uncle, I’ll try harder and won’t be naughty or act cute anymore!" Lu Fan cried again, rubbing her cheek against Tang Zheng’s calf like a homeless kitten.

"I’m sorry, Fanfan, I had no choice!" Tang Zheng squatted down, lifting Lu Fan and gently stroked her head.

"Had no choice?" Lu Fan asked, puzzled.

"Before you all returned, there was internal strife in the team. Xu Liangmao, Sha Ou, and Shen Qingshuang, they all died." Tang Zheng pulled out a paper towel, wiped Lu Fan’s face, and briefly explained the conflict.

"And Tao Tao and An Fei too," Lu Fan cleverly pinpointed the core of the issue, "That’s not right, Uncle Xu, this good person, doesn’t even dare to speak loudly against others; his wife cheated on him and he didn’t even confront the lover, according to his power, he could have retaliated against anyone, yes, there must have been a problem."

"Shen Qingshuang died too, which is unreasonable. He was a meticulous thinker, good at rallying teammates. Why would he provoke Ruan Feifei at that time? He was very good at assessing situations and was a defensive type. Under sensible circumstances, he wouldn’t provoke strong enemies..." If others had died, Tang Zheng wouldn’t find it odd, but why had the most cautious team member perished?

"Keep going!" Lu Fan enjoyed listening to Tang Zheng’s deductions, finding him cool at that moment.

"Dantai and Qin Yan should also be problematic, being the second and third in command of the team. Why did they ignore their private fights rather than stopping them? Simply saying ’the fog was too thick, couldn’t see’ certainly doesn’t cut it." Tang Zheng thought about Sha Ou and Ai Yixin’s fight, too many doubts had emerged.

"If I could inspect the corpse on the spot, it would be ideal, but if it’s a real person, they’re already dead." Lu Fan crossed her arms over her chest, and with her right hand supporting her chin, she slipped into detective mode, her brain firing on all cylinders, deducing from every trace.

"The female anchor is very proud; it’s normal for her to counterattack when provoked, but why would Li Xinlan stir up trouble? She usually prefers peace and would definitely be the first to break up a fight, but this time, she initiated it." Tang Zheng sighed, "So I don’t dare trust anyone now, even those I used to think were normal like Lin Weiguo and Teng Yuangxiang."

"If it were me, I wouldn’t trust them either." Lu Fan felt much relieved and rubbed her back, "You looked so scary just now, I thought you really were going to kill me. Were you just testing me?"

"Sorry, I guessed that you wouldn’t attack me," Tang Zheng softly ran his fingers through Lu Fan’s hair, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile as he continued to apologize, "Alright, next time, I’ll take you to the amusement park."

"Hmph, let’s go twice. No, five times!" Lu Fan held up her small hand, making a counting gesture, then furrowed her brows, "What if I had attacked just now?"

Tang Zheng did not respond, but Lu Fan already understood. If she had struck, he would have definitely broken her neck, because if it was a sham, she would surely have retaliated.

"I am real," Lu Fan pouted, looking frustrated, "If there’s a counterfeit in the team, why can they mimic us so closely? Ability, equipment, everything perfect, only slightly different in personality. But you can’t use that to confirm their identity, right? Even I could have a moment of irrational behavior when I’m feeling down."

"With Silver Trojan’s power, creating a batch of identical counterfeits is no problem at all. Actually, it’s simplest just to kill them off, but I’m worried that Xin Lan and the others have had their souls swapped. Without a cure, simply killing them would also mean destroying their bodies, likely being deemed as dead," Tang Zheng raked his fingers through his hair in frustration, feeling isolated and trapped in a strange cycle, needing to confirm a few trustworthy teammates before the upcoming boss fight.

"I understand. What do you plan to do?" Lu Fan jumped up, unable to think of a solution, "Let’s hurry, watch out not to get lost."

"I have an idea that might test the authenticity of Xin Lan and Qin Yan, but how to handle it is a problem. Also, there’s no way for the others," Tang Zheng suddenly regretted, "In reality, I’ve interacted too little with them, I’m not familiar, which means there’s very little usable information."

"Don’t worry, things will straighten themselves out when we get to the bridge," Lu Fan comforted Tang Zheng, and when he wasn’t looking, she flashed an eerie smile, then returned to a calm demeanor, (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes and provide support, which is my greatest motivation.)