Left, or right?

  At the fork, the two mountain paths stretched silently into the clouds.

  At first glance, it seemed they had endless chances to choose. Even if they guessed wrong, they could simply return and take the other path.

  In reality, they had only one chance.

  Every single person present had nearly reached the limits of body and mind.

  The relentless climb had drained the last of their strength. They were moving forward on sheer will alone. If they chose wrong and wasted what little stamina remained, the result would be simple, collapse, and no strength to rise again.

  Senior Sister turned, her gaze falling on the girl slung over Wen Shan’s back.

  “Xiuxiu. Which way?”

  Huang Xiuxiu gave no response. Her hollow eyes remained fixed ahead, unfocused.

  After a brief silence, Senior Sister patiently repeated every word carved on the three steles.

  Only then did Huang Xiuxiu react.

  Without hesitation, in a flat and emotionless voice, she said two words.

  “The right.”

  In truth, before she had even spoken, Wen Shan’s foot had already stepped onto the right hand path.

  There had been no hesitation.

  The line behind him did not pause for even a heartbeat.

  Senior Sister noticed.

  “You calculated it too?”

  Wen Shan nodded, then shook his head.

  “What is it? Is there a problem?”

  “No.” He gave a faint, wry smile. “It’s just… this question was too simple.”

  “I thought the third trial would be harder than the first two. I didn’t expect it to remain this straightforward.”

  “Straightforward?” There was a hint of self mockery in her tone. “At least I cannot see the answer at a glance.”

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  Wen Shan explained calmly.

  “The left path has only one chain. The stele states the chance of ruin or preservation is half. So the probability the chain is intact is fifty percent.”

  “The right path has two chains. Let us call them A and B. Without additional information, there are four possible combinations. Both intact. A intact, B broken. A broken, B intact. Both broken.”

  “Then we are told one of them is already broken. That eliminates the case where both are intact. That leaves three possibilities.”

  “In two of those three, exactly one chain is intact. That means choosing the right path gives us a two out of three chance of finding a usable chain. That is higher than the left path’s fifty percent.”

  He spread his hands lightly.

  “Simple, isn’t it?”

  Senior Sister looked at him for a long moment before smiling faintly.

  “Simple? Not for most. Perhaps this secret realm does not test brilliance. Perhaps it tests who can see through confusion the fastest.”

  She paused.

  “Wen Shan, perhaps you truly are, like Xiuxiu, exceptionally suited to this path. If only I had found you sooner. Then Ling’er would not have had to…”

  “I’m sorry, Senior Sister,” Wen Shan interrupted gently. “I may not be any sort of genius.”

  She fell silent again.

  The climb continued.

  Most were already on the brink of exhaustion. To scale such a towering mountain as mortals required time and supplies. They had neither.

  The fact that everyone was still standing amazed Wen Shan.

  If, after reaching the summit, they discovered no intact chain at all, these people teetering on despair might truly collapse on the spot.

  Wen Shan did not worry about that.

  He was completely certain the intact chain lay on the right.

  What troubled him was what came after.

  Even if the chain was intact, how many would have the strength to cross a swaying iron link suspended over a bottomless abyss?

  And beyond that?

  If there were a fourth trial, a fifth, what then?

  Would anyone have any strength left?

  For now, he could only hope the opposite peak marked the end of this secret realm.

  Otherwise, he might fall before success, leaving the final hope to Qin Yi.

  After an unknown stretch of time, the narrow path suddenly widened.

  A few more steps brought him onto a vast, flat summit.

  The first thing he saw was a broken iron chain, snapped in the middle, half of it dangling into the abyss.

  Not far from it, however, a second chain remained intact. Thick iron links disappeared into the mist, stretching firmly toward the towering peak opposite.

  Wen Shan finally released a long breath.

  Carefully, he lowered Huang Xiuxiu from his back.

  He had carried her the entire way.

  Strangely, she had grown lighter and lighter as they climbed. By the end, he could scarcely feel her weight at all.

  The anomaly gnawed at him.

  He looked at the girl before him, expression blank, like a doll carved from porcelain.

  “Senior Sister… what happened to Xiuxiu? Why is she getting lighter? Why is she becoming less and less responsive? She doesn’t feel… alive.”

  He hesitated.

  “Can Senior Sister Ling’er still come back?”

  Senior Sister did not seem surprised by the question.

  She looked at the intact chain, then at Huang Xiuxiu, and sighed softly.

  “Very well. It is time you understood—”

  Wen Shan focused intently.

  But at that very instant, Senior Sister’s expression changed dramatically.

  Almost instinctively, she seized Wen Shan by the shoulder and yanked him violently backward.

  Caught off guard, he stumbled as she dragged him behind her.

  Huang Xiuxiu remained where she stood.

  A terrifying force struck her squarely.

  Her small body flew like a leaf torn from its branch, hurled past the edge of the summit.

  And before anyone could react, she fell straight down into the immeasurable abyss below.

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