After Mo Bai finished her tea, Mo Xiangyou closed his eyes and began to meditate, as if seriously examining her future.

Mo Bai waited, somewhat nervously.

About a minute later, Mo Xiangyou opened his eyes and said, "I can't see anything."

Mo Bai: "…"

Resilient, formidable, and sharp enough to see through everything, Mo Bai actually felt a flicker of confusion upon hearing this.

After all, she was someone who had never been at a loss even when facing an Ultra-Star Rank monster or uncovering the secrets of the Observation Group.

"Can I default on the payment?" Mo Bai said bluntly. "I don't think the three hundred thousand points were worth it."

"No," Mo Xiangyou replied. "I've already made the prophecy. Seeing nothing is also an answer."

Mo Bai said seriously, "You charge this much and give such an outrageous answer. Aren't you afraid someone's going to beat you up?"

Mo Xiangyou smiled. "Of course, I have my strategy. What kind of people do you think come to me to predict their future?"

"People who aren't confident about surviving their next forced instance," Mo Bai said.

"They come to me because they want to hear one thing: 'I'll survive.' Paying three hundred thousand for a prophecy isn't worth it. But paying three hundred thousand to buy your life? That's a bargain."

"But I remember you said that your prophecies can't be changed," Mo Bai countered. "If someone receives a prediction that they'll live, they'll gladly pay. But if you tell them they're going to die, and they know it's unavoidable, why would they still hand over the points?"

"Well, that's naturally…" Mo Xiangyou paused, looking at her. "You're too upright. With your intelligence, you should be able to think of a way to get the money without risking retaliation."

After a moment's thought, Mo Bai said, "Simple. Before giving the prophecy, you tell clients that it must not be disclosed. If they reveal it, the future will change and your prophecy will become inaccurate.

With that premise, whether you see life or death, you can always tell them they'll survive the next forced instance.

That way, the clients fall into three categories. First, those who were destined to live anyway. Second, those destined to die, who keep the secret to themselves. Third, those destined to die but can't resist telling their friends and family, 'Mo Xiangyou said I'll be fine in the next instance. I'll survive.'

The first group survives. They received a 'correct' prophecy. After clearing the instance, they'll tell everyone, 'Mo Xiangyou's predictions are incredibly accurate. I thought I was doomed, but thanks to his prophecy, I made it.' That's positive publicity for you.

The second group dies without saying anything. Even if you lied and told them they'd live, no one knows what answer they received. No one comes to collect a debt. No one accuses you of fraud. The dead simply have no voice.

As for the third group, those who leak the prophecy and then die, their loved ones will come demanding an explanation. You'll tell them that the deceased altered their fate by revealing the prophecy in advance, which led to their death. After that, no one will dare reveal their prophecy prematurely.

In the end, only the survivors will spread word of your accuracy, and you'll become the number-one prophet in Peach Blossom Land. Your price will rise accordingly, three hundred thousand per reading, and no one will call you a fraud."

"Spot on." Mo Xiangyou leaned back in his chair, his expression calm and mysterious.

In terms of temperament, he really did resemble some half-immortal sage. No wonder he managed to deceive so many people.

"That's pretty unethical," Mo Bai said.

"I'm doing good deeds," Mo Xiangyou replied. "Those destined to die can't change their fate anyway. If I tell them they'll live, they get to spend their final days in happiness instead of despair. Isn't that better than crying?

"As for the three hundred thousand points, once they die, the system reclaims them. If they transfer the points to me beforehand, it prevents the system from taking them back. You could say that's another good deed."

"That's sophistry," Mo Bai said.

If she wanted to deceive people, she could devise schemes even more insidious than Mo Xiangyou's. But she wouldn't.

Still, his character required further observation. She didn't want someone untrustworthy on her team.

"So what about my three hundred thousand?" she asked. "You saw nothing. Do I really have to pay?"

"Yes," Mo Xiangyou said. "Because I offer after-sales service. I'll enter the same instance as you. Once inside, I can see events that will occur within the next twenty-four hours and send them to you one by one."

"That's more like it." As she sipped her tea, Mo Bai casually asked, "I know your basic ability and title. What about your intermediate ones?"

"Are you always this direct when asking about other people’s abilities? Don't you know that these are secrets?" Mo Xiangyou asked.

"A good strategy and teamwork can create miracles where the weak defeat the strong," Mo Bai replied naturally. "I want to cooperate with you in the next instance and increase everyone's survival rate. I don't believe your prophecy about yourself, and I don't accept fate.

Why should the Observation Group's destiny be to become cards? I can die, but I refuse to die that way.

I want you to live. To live long enough to see me shatter your prophecy."

"Naïve!" Mo Xiangyou scoffed at her conviction.

"Maybe it is," Mo Bai said firmly. "But I'll stick to it."

"I don't believe that your naïve ideals will come true, but I’ll still team up with you. I need someone to collect my corpse, after all. Better you take my card than let the Combat Group get it." He spoke of life and death as though his own demise were already set in stone.

"My intermediate ability is Fraudster, and my intermediate title is Bones Beneath the Fragrant Rosebush."

The phrases made Mo Bai's brow twitch. She couldn't help but ask, "Your basic ability is Lingering Scent, a prophetic ability that tracks by scent. How does a prophet evolve into a Fraudster?"

"Because the greatest prophets are all masters of deception. Aside from someone as strong and perceptive as you, how many people in this world are willing to face the truth of death?" A trace of mockery flickered in his violet eyes.

"What does Fraudster do? And your title?" Mo Bai asked.

"Fraudster lets me use my prophetic ability to deceive others, whether players, NPCs, or instance monsters. When the deception succeeds, I gain energy. The energy doesn't harm the body, but it lowers intelligence. Once their intelligence drops, they'll believe everything I say. Even if I say something absurd like 'you've forgotten your ability,' they'll accept it as truth and actually lose access to their ability, losing all resistance."

"So everything you did in Peach Blossom Land, including selling false intel to the Count's Castle players, was to accumulate energy for Fraudster?" Mo Bai asked.

It was somewhat similar to Liu Congyi's E-type ability, but the way the energy was gathered and used was entirely different.

"You dare bring that up?" Mo Xiangyou said resentfully. "You rescued two players from Count's Castle, which cost me a huge amount of energy. When they tracked me down afterward, I had to spend points to silence them. In total, I lost five hundred thousand points. I kindly helped you clear the instance, and this is how you repay me?"

Mo Bai remained unmoved. "Don't try to guilt-trip me. I didn't know your ability at the time. And even if I knew, I would still save those two innocent, harmless players."

Mo Xiangyou snorted. "I hate ‘good people’ like you and Sheng Lei. Whenever I start hating this world, someone like you shows up and makes me think maybe it isn't so terrible after all."

"I'm not a good person," Mo Bai sighed softly. "In the last instance, for the sake of a cleaner, more perfect victory, I foresaw the deaths of four players and didn't stop them."

Perhaps because Mo Xiangyou already knew too many secrets, this was the first time she had confessed that darkness to someone.

He didn't judge her. Instead, he asked, "Why didn't you save them this time?"

After thinking for a moment, Mo Bai said, "Because I was barely managing to survive myself."

"If you tried to save them then, you wouldn't have been a 'good person,'" Mo Xiangyou said mockingly. "You would be a candle flame trying to outshine the sun and moon. That's called overestimating yourself. In my view, your desire to save me and help me live is just as overconfident."

"I…"

Mo Bai wanted to explain that she'd had another option back then, but Mo Xiangyou cut her off.

"You have no idea what I saw in my prophecy. You don't know what my future holds. Yet you declare you'll save me and expect me to believe you. On what grounds should I?

The prerequisite for saving others is having a clear understanding of your own strength. You don't save people with words. No matter how special your ability is or how smart you are, intermediate is still intermediate. Your rank limits your power.

Mo Bai, you're just a candle. You're not the sun hanging in the sky, capable of lighting up everyone in this world.

In Disease Town, if we face a life-or-death crisis and only one of us can survive, I will abandon you to save myself. And you must abandon me to protect your own life. Don't ever do something foolish like sacrificing yourself. I won't thank you for it.

A candle that can make itself burn a little slower is already doing well enough. Don't fantasize about using a flicker of candlelight to illuminate the entire night."

Mo Xiangyou's words were harsh, yet they untied the knot in Mo Bai's heart from Biological Research Institute No. 7.

She had always felt that she had been hypocritical back then, ignoring others' deaths for the sake of her own team's survival.

Now, Mo Xiangyou was telling her: You weren't hypocritical. You just weren't bright enough. For a candle to light itself is already remarkable.

Despite his sharp tone, Mo Bai felt as though she had been forgiven by the world.

"Thank you," she said softly. "You've already helped me twice."

Once, when he provided information about the Phantom Butterfly before Count's Castle and warned her that it would infiltrate the castle. And now, by helping her resolve the burden in her heart.

Mo Xiangyou called himself a villain, yet he kept helping her.

"It's good that you understand. And since you do, stop clinging to naïve ideas. Be realistic," he said.

Mo Bai smiled brightly. "The greatest reality is that I should work hard to grow stronger. Become a brighter candle, then a flashlight, an LED lamp, a lighthouse, the moon, and finally the sun. Then I'll be able to do more."

She thought of Professor Yang and the Ultra-Star Rank monster lurking underground.

She had once fused with that monster, so she knew how powerful it was. She understood how much that strength could accomplish.

Mo Xiangyou gazed at her smile, his violet eyes focused with complex emotions hidden within.

Just as Mo Bai was about to speak again, he abruptly changed the subject. "Time to wake up from your dream. Let's talk about my title's effect."

Playing along, Mo Bai said, "Bones Beneath the Fragrant Rosebush sounds like a painting. Just imagining it creates a strong contrast. It certainly has aesthetic value. But what does it actually do? How is it different from your previous Poisonous Flesh?"

"It represents the hidden truths beneath a glamorous exterior. Its effect is similar to a truth serum: those enveloped in the fragrance are more likely to reveal secrets. At the same time, it symbolizes the deadly poison hidden within that fragrance. If a monster consumes too much of my flesh at once, it will die. That second effect is an advanced version of my beginner title," Mo Xiangyou explained.

"Your abilities and title effects are both geared toward solving mysteries. You can obtain information easily, but you don't have strong offensive power," Mo Bai analyzed, already considering how best to apply his abilities.

"That's why I like teaming up with players like Sheng Lei. Simple-minded and physically strong. Obedient and easy to use. I can apply a little intelligence reduction on him. It doesn't cost much energy, but it ensures he follows my commands completely." A sly smile curved his lips.

Mo Bai: "…"

Mo Xiangyou was the most troublesome teammate she had encountered since entering Peach Blossom Land. Cunning to the extreme, half-truthful in speech, and morally ambiguous. One careless step and he would trick you.

"Mo Xiangyou, have you ever lied to me?" Mo Bai asked seriously.

This was Peach Blossom Land. There were rules to maintain balance. Mo Xiangyou couldn't use his intelligence reduction ability on players, or the system would judge it as a mental attack. She was certain he had never used it on her.

But she couldn't be sure whether his words contained lies.

She couldn't even tell which sentences were true and which were false.

"You guess," he replied provocatively.

"I'm leaving," Mo Bai said coldly.

She had already obtained the information she wanted.

"Wait," Mo Xiangyou called as she turned away. "How long does your ability last?"

"After I leave, the environment will gradually return to normal. In about half an hour, it'll be completely restored," Mo Bai said.

"About an hour per day…" He rested his fingers against his chin, thinking. "Can I hire you to come once a day to disperse this strange fragrance? Ten thousand points per visit."

The number was tempting, but Mo Bai still refused. "I need to run instances to level up. I want to reach Intermediate-9 before entering Disease Town."

"Trying so hard to level up? Are you unhappy that you're not turning into a card fast enough?" His tongue seemed barbed, and his words always pierced straight to the heart.

"If I don't level up, I'll die in Disease Town!" Mo Bai retorted.

She understood that the higher her level, the greater the risk of becoming a card, but she couldn't just stagnate.

"Then you can't possibly run instances every day. Come find me on your off days," he said.

"Once every three days. I'll try to make it thirty times within these eighty-six days. That way I won't have to pay your prophecy fee," she said.

"Cheapskate. Miser," he scoffed.

"Fraudster," she shot back.

To prevent him from firing another retort, Mo Bai turned and ran.

When she reached the garden, she suddenly remembered something.

Her previous title, Broken Porcelain Doll, was built upon the idea of being incomplete. Gu Tiandong's change in appearance was based on being genderless. The original form of Xu Qirui, the Information Extraction card, must have developed toward an enlarged head. So what about Mo Xiangyou?

He looked mysterious and handsome... There was nothing visibly wrong with him.

"Why did you stop running?" Mo Xiangyou stood by the doorway, arms crossed, watching her.

Mo Bai turned around, "You look perfectly normal."

Bones beneath the rosebush, the truth hidden beneath splendor. What was his aesthetic value?

Mo Xiangyou guessed the unspoken question. After a moment's thought, he said, "Once you see it, please forget it quickly. I'm afraid you'll have nightmares."

With that, he unfastened the tightly buttoned collar of his shirt and removed the dark fabric, revealing the body beneath.

There was nothing alluring about the sight.

The flesh on his chest and back was rotting, like dead meat, exuding the stench of decay.

Mo Bai controlled her expression, doing her best to remain composed and not letting sorrow or pity show on her face.

Mo Xiangyou calmly dressed again and walked slowly toward her. "Fortunately, you didn't show that disgusting look of sympathy. Otherwise, I would have killed you."

"Does it hurt?" Mo Bai asked quietly.

"Rotten flesh doesn't feel pain. It just looks revolting," he replied. "I think this body is quite good. I don't feel pain or get injured when using my title's effect."

"Yes… it's pretty good," Mo Bai said with a strained smile.

"I'll tell you another secret," Mo Xiangyou said, extending his hands toward her. "Healthy, living flesh is not poisonous. It's what allows me to use Lingering Scent to foresee the future. Only the rotting flesh is toxic. That is the true meaning of Bones Beneath the Fragrant Rosebush."