Chapter 18 Trust Crisis

"Brother Jiang, I know you're companions, but this kind of thing can't be taken lightly. If you find it difficult, I can..."

Before Tang Qisheng could finish, Jiang Cheng interrupted, "You're overthinking it. You're right, this matter concerns whether we can all survive, so it must be investigated thoroughly."

Hearing Jiang Cheng say this, Tang Qisheng finally felt relieved. Then, the two discussed that Jiang Cheng would call Li Bai into the room, while Tang Qisheng would be responsible for preparing the incense ash.

Fortunately, Tang Qisheng had a few incense sticks with him, which they had brought from the Marquis's mansion.

There were no candles lit in the room, and the environment was very dim. The incense ash was spread in a thin layer behind the threshold, so thin that it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

After preparing, Jiang Cheng called Fatty and asked him and Yao Shunyu to find a way to call Li Bai over.

Soon, Li Bai followed Fatty into the room. Only when Li Bai crossed the threshold did Jiang Cheng finally feel relieved.

Li Bai didn't notice the incense ash at all after entering the room, which was what Jiang Cheng was most worried about. If Li Bai had really discovered the hidden incense ash, it would have aroused his suspicion. After all, he didn't believe that the real Li Bai could do that.

Li Bai couldn't help but feel nervous when she saw everyone in the room, and immediately explained, "I don't know why they are so attentive to me. I've tried to probe them, but these people are tight-lipped and haven't revealed any useful information. They must have some ulterior motive for being so nice to me."

Yao Shunyu, standing by the door, nodded to Jiang Cheng, indicating that there was no problem with the incense ash behind the door. Li Bai's footprints were clearly imprinted on it.

There were two footprints in total; the other one belonged to Fatty.

"Li Bai, don't overthink it. We believe you're not the problem," Jiang Cheng said, trying to soothe her nervous emotions, while simultaneously helping her analyze, "You're right, they probably have some ulterior motive for you. We must find out what it is. We will all help you get through this."

"Now we need you to cooperate with us. Later, find an opportunity to distract those people. We'll find a way to enter Grandpa's room and check the painting."

Li Bai agreed. Everyone was hungry, so they ate some simple food in the room. These were all dry rations brought from the Marquis's mansion, and even the water was stored in waterskins.

Shao Tong took a bite of the hard biscuit, swallowed some water, and said with a strange expression, "These fishermen in the backwater are really rich. They even eat white rice openly. Life inside the Marquis's mansion isn't even this comfortable."

Fatty's face changed, and even the biscuit in his mouth didn't taste good anymore. Only then did he realize why the doctor hadn't touched his chopsticks.

In this era, everyone struggled to get enough to eat, and rice was even more precious. The Marquis's mansion was one thing, but how could the poor families in the fishing village afford to buy rice? And everyone was eating a big bowl of it openly?

"This... is there something wrong with this rice?" Fatty asked belatedly.

Tang Qisheng put down the waterskin, his face cold, and said quietly, "It's not just the rice that's the problem. I think there's a problem with the entire Wugong Village."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Shunyu, who was guarding behind the door, made a shushing gesture. A few seconds later, a figure walked to the door, raised a hand, and knocked, "Outsiders, are you busy?"

Yao Shunyu opened the door. Standing outside was a woman in her early 40s. The woman's skin was dark, but her eyes were very shrewd. Her gaze swept over everyone and finally landed on Li Bai, she said with a smile, "Sorry to interrupt your meal, Miss Li. Are you busy? My mother misses you so much. The stories you told her earlier made her very happy! Since her beloved granddaughter left, I haven't seen the old woman so happy in a long time."

Jiang Cheng stood up politely and said, "Since the old woman is happy, then Li Bai, if you have time, spend more time with the old woman and take her for a walk."

Li Bai nodded very naturally, then the woman grabbed her wrist and left. From beginning to end, the woman's focus was on Li Bai, and she almost ignored everyone else.

At this moment, several people were gathered outside the door. Seeing Li Bai appear, their tense expressions relaxed, as if they were worried that Li Bai would run away.

"Damn it, they're really haunting," Fatty cursed in a low voice. The people outside were like wandering souls, staring at Li Bai, which was a bit creepy.

"Time is of the essence. Let's hurry and take action," Tang Qisheng said impatiently, "Brother Jiang and I will find a chance to sneak into the room to look at the painting. The rest of you will help us divert the villagers' attention. Is that okay?"

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Tang Qisheng turned around and was about to take action, but Jiang Cheng stopped him the next second. "Wait," he said.

Tang Qisheng turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng smiled and pointed to the incense ash on the ground, saying naturally, "No other meaning. Since Brother Fugui and Li Bai have tried it, then we should all try it, so everyone can feel at ease."

Jiang Cheng understood the principle of darkness under the light better than anyone else. Although Tang Qisheng proposed stepping on the incense ash, who could guarantee that he was not a problem? In Jiang Cheng's opinion, Tang Qisheng, who had discovered so many doubts in such a short period of time, was the most suspicious.

Unconsciously, Yao Shunyu and Fatty stood on either side of the door, Zhang Qizheng also stood beside Jiang Cheng, Shao Tong watched the excitement, and Zhu Jie's expression became tense. The atmosphere was obviously not right.

Tang Qisheng obediently walked forward and stepped firmly on the incense ash. Zhu Jie followed closely behind. After seeing two clear footprints, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Jiang Cheng and others stepped forward one after another, and everyone's footprints were fine.

Suspecting teammates was not a good thing. After realizing that Tang Qisheng was indeed not a problem, Fatty suddenly felt a little embarrassed, worried that it would cause a gap in the team. However, to his surprise, Tang Qisheng was not annoyed at all, but nodded in satisfaction, "No wonder Brother Jiang can get this far. You're indeed amazing. In the next mission, we will follow your lead."

Jiang Cheng quickly waved his hand, smiled, and said self-deprecatingly, "You're too kind, it's just a little cleverness. It's not comparable to Mr. Tang's real talent and learning. I'm already lacking in ability, if I'm not careful, I'm afraid I won't even know how I died." Then he changed the subject, and his tone became serious, "But if Mr. Tang trusts me, I believe we will cooperate very happily."

With the trust crisis resolved, the entire team began to operate like a precise instrument, with everyone performing their duties.

Li Bai gathered those villagers together, and everyone chatted happily. Some people were responsible for keeping watch near the courtyard gate, and others were sweeping the floor not far from Grandpa's room, actually keeping watch. Jiang Cheng and Tang Qisheng secretly sneaked to the other side of Grandpa's room, and after confirming it was safe, they pushed open the window and jumped in.

The room was very dark. Listening to the occasional laughter coming from outside, Jiang Cheng turned on the flashlight on his phone. The light swept across the room, and the painting hanging on the wall became even more eerie. The Xiuling in the painting was lifelike, as if she was smiling at them.