Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 25

“Unbelievable, we actually managed to slip past the Ziwei Emperor’s detection…”

Upon landing on Yingzhou Island, the demons looked at Miss Wang with a mixture of shock and fear, as if gazing at a demon of unparalleled cunning.

“Hey, how did you pull that off?” While the others hesitated, Jiang Jiu immediately circled around Wang Wanrou, bombarding her with questions. “How did you manage it? That’s the Ziwei Emperor! Are you saying you’re smarter than an Emperor?”

“Obviously,” Wang Wanrou replied coolly. “The power of celestial flames only enhances one’s strength—it doesn’t inherently increase intelligence.”

“I don’t get it. Explain it to me,” Jiang Jiu said with a mischievous grin. Her curiosity to uncover the truth had already surpassed any jealousy she felt toward Miss Wang’s looks.

“Actually, I’d like to know too,” Su Lili chimed in from the side.

Wang Wanrou ignored them.

“Don’t bother asking,” Cheng Jinyang interjected jokingly. “If you must know, it’s a principle so mind-numbingly simple that even if she explains it, our IQs wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.”

“Heh.” Wang Wanrou let out a cold laugh. “Murong Shu, Ye Ru, Su Lili—the Ziwei Emperor knows of your existence and is familiar with your specific powers. However, she has no understanding of the combination of abilities Cheng Jinyang possesses.”

“So that’s why you had him and me act as bait…” Ye Ru suddenly realized.

Aside from Ye Ru’s spatial manipulation, none of the other demons had any means of rapid movement over the open sea, a fact the Ziwei Emperor was fully aware of.

However, Cheng Jinyang—despite only being in the Fifth Grade Realm—was able to employ multiple mental shockwaves to momentarily boost his speed, escaping the Ziwei Emperor’s detection range. Then, using unlimited acceleration through gravitational amplification, he broke free from the Emperor’s subsequent carpet search.

It was precisely because the Ziwei Emperor knew nothing about his abilities that Wang Wanrou was able to use him to execute her plan.

Everyone fell silent. The logic really was embarrassingly straightforward.

“This place feels… odd.” The princess glanced down at the ground, poking at the soil with the tip of her boot.

Yingzhou Island was still shrouded in fog, with visibility limited to about five or six meters. Objects ten meters away were barely discernible outlines.

The soil was dark red—scientifically speaking, likely due to its high iron content.

But it also seemed strangely viscous.

As for the absence of living creatures on the island, that had been anticipated and was relatively easy to accept.

“What’s next?” Jiang Jiu, feeling inexplicably uneasy in such an eerie environment, turned again to Wang Wanrou for guidance.

“Next…” Wang Wanrou’s voice abruptly cut off. “Jinyang, what’s wrong with you?”

…

“Huh?” Cheng Jinyang snapped out of it and laughed. “Nothing’s wrong. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Before we set out,” Wang Wanrou said, “we eliminated all potential risks. Jinyang, were you possessed just now, or were you daydreaming? In that instant, was your consciousness clear or blurred? If clear, what did you see?”

Everyone immediately felt a chill run down their spines, goosebumps rising in unison.

Su Lili quickly stepped to Cheng Jinyang’s side, clutching him tightly as if to anchor him. Meanwhile, the princess had already taken Su Lili’s hand and placed her other hand on Cheng Jinyang’s shoulder, signaling them both to stay calm.

“Your intuition is as sharp as ever, Wanrou,” Cheng Jinyang said with a wry smile. “I think I experienced a hallucination just now.”

“A hallucination?” Wang Wanrou frowned. “Are you certain?”

“Of course I’m certain,” Cheng Jinyang replied. “When it comes to hallucinations, trust me—I’ve got plenty of experience.”

“What did you see?” the princess asked.

“A figure,” Cheng Jinyang said, “wearing a semi-transparent cloak, beckoning me to follow them.”

“In which direction?” Wang Wanrou pressed, her tone sharp. “Be precise.”

Cheng Jinyang hesitated for a moment before pointing slightly to the right of their front.

“Alright,” Murong Shu spoke up. “This could be a trap. Some ghosts are capable of inducing hallucinations in humans to lure them into their vicinity and then devour them.”

“We’ll proceed in that direction,” Miss Wang stated decisively.

“Hey!” Murong Shu was visibly displeased and snapped in protest.

“Even if, against all odds, it is a ghost, what’s there to fear?” Wang Wanrou said dismissively. “There are three Great Demons here, after all.”

“I see now,” Cheng Jinyang said, a sudden idea lighting up his expression. “You mentioned earlier that every newly ascended Heavenly Emperor Demon attempts to visit Yingzhou Island.”

“In other words, there’s some kind of information embedded in the Celestial Flame of the Heavenly Emperor, compelling them to undertake this ‘cross-ocean journey to Yingzhou Island.’ After all, every Heavenly Emperor Demon has vastly different personalities, abilities, and life experiences. The one thing they all have in common is obtaining the Celestial Flame.”

“Go on, Jinyang,” Wang Wanrou said, her tone as cool as ever.

“Moreover, in the era before demons emerged, Sima Zhongda also came to this island,” Cheng Jinyang continued. “Because, apart from Yingzhou Island, there’s really nothing else offshore worth such an extensive expedition—or at least, nothing we’re aware of.”

“Okay, so historical visitors to Yingzhou Island include both humans and demons. And from the records, Sima Zhongda eventually found what he was looking for, just as the Heavenly Emperor Demons seem to have done.”

“The difference lies in the fact that the Heavenly Emperors received guidance from the Celestial Flame, while Sima Zhongda, as a human, did not… Sister Xinnan, is there any mention of the Celestial Flame in the royal records?”

“Not from the era of Emperor Xuan,” the princess replied. “The information we have on the Celestial Flame in the royal database comes almost entirely from the Demon Era.”

“Alright. Then we can assume that even though both Sima Zhongda and the Heavenly Emperor Demons came to Yingzhou Island, the information they had was fundamentally different,” Cheng Jinyang speculated. “If we hypothesize that there is some kind of consciousness on this island, one that wants to guide visitors to a specific location, it could embed certain information into the Celestial Flame to direct demons here. That information might even include the route to take once on the island.”

“For those without any prior guidance—like Sima Zhongda—this consciousness might use hallucinations to show them the way. Since none of us received information from the Celestial Flame beforehand, we’re essentially being treated like Sima Zhongda, relying on these hallucinations for direction.”

“A clumsy deduction,” Wang Wanrou remarked, clapping her hands slowly. “But at least in terms of ‘daring to hypothesize boldly and think creatively,’ you’ve done quite well, Jinyang.”

Cheng Jinyang: ……

As unpleasant as her words sounded, I knew full well that this was a rare compliment from Miss Wang. Having spent so much time with her, I could be certain of it.

“You’ve all heard it,” Wang Wanrou continued. “There’s a very simple way to test this: follow the direction indicated by the hallucination.”

“Of course, you could also completely ignore the guidance and opt for either a grid search or a freeform exploration. Just pray to the heavens that, before the Ziwei Emperor regains her wits and returns to the island to hunt us down, we somehow stumble upon what we’re looking for.”

Everyone: ……

Given the ever-present threat of the Ziwei Emperor breathing down our necks, it really seemed like our only option was to bet on the legitimacy of Jinyang’s hallucination.

But seriously, could you not phrase it in such an infuriating way?