Chapter 159 Tarot Game (9)

By crossing out Xie Qiuying, it could be regarded as the people tarot cards corresponding to the actors one by one…

Ren Ze’s heart jumped wildly.

[Oh my god!!!]

[I am looking from a god’s perspective. Why didn’t I see that Xie Qiuying had a problem???]

[Fuck, I suspect that Xie Chi is God Erlang who can open the eyes of Heaven.] (A Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.)

[Is this real or fake??? Fuck, what about Liang Wen’s death???]

[Xie Qiuying did it?!]

[No, if this is true, Xie Chi is a bit faster than Jiang Shuo.]

[Wait, I’m a bit dizzy. Wu wu wu, it is still unclear.]

Ye Xiaoxiao looked around to make sure no one was around. She hesitated before expressing her doubts. “Why must it be Xie Qiuying?”

She organized her next words. “Among the actors, apart from Liang Wen who is sure to be the Fool, the actresses still alive are me, Liang Zhen, the woman in the couple and Xie Qiuying. There are a total of four actresses. The one in the couple is excluded because only their pair conformed to the characteristics of the Lovers card. However, why can’t Xie Qiuying be one of the female cards while Liang Zhen or I am the extra person? Why can’t either Liang Zhen or I have a problem?”

Ye Xiaoxiao felt that it was too hasty to match the tarot cards based on the actor’s personality alone.

“Of course, it isn’t me. Still, why can’t it be Liang Zhen?” Ye Xiaoxiao was full of doubts. Ren Ze already felt clear but became confused again once he heard Ye Xiaoxiao’s words.

Xie Chi answered, “It is because lightning recognizes the room, not people.”

Ye Xiaoxiao was shocked. Yes, this was a red movie. Regardless of quality, it was a horror movie. Or to put it more broadly, it was a movie. This movie wasn’t a true reflection of reality. Otherwise, there would be no time increases to artificially speed up the process. Instead, it would let them experience and explore around a bit. Yet obviously, the audience wouldn’t allow it. This would make them feel like it was a waste of time.

A movie was carefully arranged and condensed. The quality of a movie wasn’t directly related to difficulty but was related to manufacturing precision. The higher the quality of the movie, the less useless information there was. There was even precise one-to-one correspondence.

Life was full of meaningless information because people couldn’t decide if they should listen or not. In addition, human eyes kept seeing things. This was actually a process of subconscious input but this information was actually useless for humans.

Horror movies were different. In horror movies, every picture and every word that the NPCs said had special significance. Previously, the servant clearly stressed that ‘the room selected can’t be switched.’ It implied that ‘lightning recognizes the room, not people.’

Of course, it was possible that their information comparison was incorrect. The sentence emphasized by the servant wasn’t a clue to the trigger condition of the Tower’s punishment. It was actually for an event that hadn’t occurred yet. However, the probability of this was small.

Moreover, guessing itself was based on existing information and didn’t consider the meaning of guessing in the future. It was to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in the future.

Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao were silent.

Xie Chi stared at the Wheel of Fortune and spoke calmly after a moment. “The meaning of the tarot cards is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.”

“Metaphysics isn’t predestined. What it actually calculates is what will happen if you don’t change yourself and follow the current trajectory. Then you will receive this ending.”

“Humanity itself can change their own destiny because if the known is untrue, the calculations naturally won’t be true. For example, the tarot cards tell you that your laziness will lead to you being fired. However, if you work hard then you won’t lose your job. Metaphysics is the result of the cause.”

“So if Liang Wen stays in her room while the moon is dominating the sky, she will be struck to death by lightning. This is the inevitable result of her death condition.”

Ye Xiaoxiao and Ren Ze were both quietly listening. Then Ren Ze hesitated before saying, “But Liang Wen made a change. She didn’t stay in her room but she still died…”

This didn’t make sense.

Xie Chi nodded and directly affirmed it. “In fact, my previous example took too much for granted. Laziness leads to unemployment but if you work hard, will you really not be unemployed? The answer is no.”

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He paused before adding, “Laziness might no longer be the reason for unemployment but there are other reasons for losing your job.”

“For example, there are layoffs caused by economic depression, bosses fleeing the company with the money, being squeezed out and framed by colleagues…”

“My previous sentence was based on a presupposition that is extremely harsh and almost impossible to achieve without the influence of other factors.” Xie Chi paused and sighed. “Obviously, fate has a butterfly effect.”

Ren Ze’s hands shook when he heard ‘butterfly effect’ and he became slightly numb. Yes, just because it didn’t exist didn’t necessarily mean fate would change. It was because there might be other factors involved that caused everything to go the same way.

“If you escape one disaster, can you really avoid another disaster? Liang Wen’s disaster was told to her by the Wheel of Fortune. The solution was told to her but what did she do? Where did her judgment go?”

“In Liang Wen’s death, there is… Xie Qiuying’s figure.”

“We can all feel it. As the person involved, why couldn’t she notice? What was she doing?”

Xie Chi was just stating a problem without any opinions or emotions but Ren Ze was speechless by these questions and even felt a bit ashamed of himself.

Liang Wen was the person involved and the one closest to the crisis. She could see it the best but why didn’t she question Xie Qiuying’s abnormal actions? Instead, she chased an unreliable sense of security and finally fell into the arms of the devil.

It was she herself who fell into the vortex of fate.

Therefore, people who didn’t change had a similar ending. This was also fate. Liang Wen didn’t change to the end. She didn’t learn to control her own destiny and metaphysics. Ye Xiaoxiao helped her but she herself didn’t learn the true meaning of the tarot.

Liang Wen died foolishly on her own.

If Xie Qiuying really had a problem then it was extremely easy to avoid. Liang Wen just had to realize something was wrong with Xie Qiuying and be courageous enough not to be with Xie Qiuying.

During the entire moon phenomena, she just had to avoid any rooms and stay peacefully in the hall. This could completely avoid the threat of lightning striking her because the traces of lightning only appeared in the rooms. There were no black traces in the hall.

Of course, Liang Wen might encounter other crises in the lobby that triggered her death but this wasn’t caused by the Tower card so it was beyond their consideration. For the death to trigger, lightning only struck people in their rooms when the moon was in the sky.

This is the single condition of the Tower card. It was very harsh and must be neutral. It was because once triggered, it was instant death. The person hit would undoubtedly die. Thus, the trigger conditions were extremely harsh. This was fair so as to not meaninglessly take a person’s life.

Ye Xiaoxiao obviously figured it out as well and wasn’t worried about Xie Chi. Life could be changed by people if one had a clear mind and decisive judgment. She wasn’t afraid of Xie Chi being killed due to the death order.

In the silence, Ye Xiaoxiao stared at Xie Chi in a trance. Everything she tried to get rid of in the real world flooded her like a tide.

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Ye Xiaoxiao’s family was strict and she was subjected to a lot of discipline since she was a child. If she indulged herself even a little bit, she would be punished by her father. She wouldn’t be allowed to eat or would be severely slapped. It was difficult to have her own thoughts staying in such a home. She always felt suffocated and like a beautiful Barbie doll in the shop window, used by her parents to show off.

From a young age, she couldn’t control her fate at all. Everything she did was always arranged. The university she would go to, who to fall in love with, marry and even how many children to have were all set.

She remembered smiling all the time but she was never happy. It turned out that smiling had nothing to do with happiness. However, her name was Ye Xiaoxiao. She always hated this name (Xiao Xiao = smile smile).

She was desperate for freedom and control of her own destiny. Thus, one morning, she was selected by the app and came here.

It was very exaggerated for a third-tier to consider a newcomer as her idol but when Ye Xiaoxiao thought about it calmly, she knew that she worshipped Xie Chi’s ability to control his own fate, not his face or personality.

That was what she had been missing and longing for.

She learned to be presumptuous from Xie Chi, to do whatever she wanted no matter what others thought and to not please anyone. This was why she came to Tarot Game.

In fact, staying in the app made her feel much more relaxed and happier than she did in reality. She became kind and alive. She didn’t want to be depressed and die early, so that in the end, her parents would even decide on the color of her coffin lid. This was too funny.

“Ye Xiaoxiao?” Xie Chi called out in a slightly puzzled voice.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s mind immediately returned. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment and asked a question to conceal it. “Why are you sure the Hermit is the gray named male actor? Why can’t it be Xie Qiuying?”

Xie Chi was taken aback and looked at her with strange eyes.

Ren Ze was also stunned before laughing. “On the Hermit card, the hermit is a man so everyone else is ruled out. The Hermit can only be that male cannon fodder. What is wrong with you?”

Ye Xiaoxiao blushed. “…I’m sorry, I forgot.”

Ren Ze couldn’t wait to speak. “So in fact, Xie Qiuying is the uncertain factor?”

“Perhaps she is the tarot witch hidden among us? The maid said she is the greatest tarot witch so she must have an ability that goes against the sky. Liang Wen escaped the death condition by chance but due to Xie Qiuying’s guidance, she stayed in Xie Qiuying’s room. Then Xie Qiuying secretly led the lightning to change direction and kill Liang Wen who wasn’t supposed to die? So the door was locked by Xie Qiuying to prevent Liang Wen from suddenly realizing and escaping?”

Ren Ze’s mind became more and more clear. This explanation could explain everything. There wasn’t a single point that was groundless speculation. He continued, “So our guess is correct but there is the variable of Xie Qiuying, right?”

“Doesn’t this mean that Xie Qiuying is our opponent in the tarot game?” Ren Ze’s eyes lit up.

Xie Chi was silent. If only it was that simple.

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Ren Ze recalled the scene of the crows dancing and felt more and more that Xie Chi was right.

At that time, the crows danced in groups of three or five. Two were acquainted with each other and two pecked at each other with their mouths and fought. One was alone. In fact, this implied that there were several interpersonal relationships between the actors.

The pair was the couple. The groups of three to five could be their group, Jiang Shuo’s group, or the group of cannon fodder. Liang Zhen was alone and the two fighting against each other might be Xie Chi and Jiang Shuo.

Since the content of the dance implied interpersonal relationships, the crows naturally represented people. So the order in which they flew to the actors’ hands symbolized the order of death. This was logical.

The east and the west had completely different attitudes toward crows. The east regarded the crow as a divine bird and a symbol of good fortune while the west regarded the crow as an ominous animal.

In some legends and movies, crows could smell corruption and predict a person’s death. The order of the crows, replace ‘crows’ and it was… the order of death. It couldn’t be more appropriate. It just so happened that the crows represented actors so it became the order of death for the actors.

Ren Ze figured out the causes and consequences. Then he saw that Xie Chi’s expression didn’t look very good and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Xie Chi pinched his brow and frowned. “I always feel that I have missed something very important and crucial.”

Ren Ze was about to speak only to see Xie Chi and Ye Xiaoxiao fall silent and stare behind Ren Ze. Ren Ze didn’t know when it happened but a hand was gently touching his shoulder. He stiffened and turned his head mechanically to find Xie Qiuying smiling at him.

Ren Ze tried to stay calm but Ye Xiaoxiao clenched her hands nervously. Xie Chi walked over and calmly removed Xie Qiuying’s hand from Ren Ze’s shoulder. He pulled Ren Ze to sit down and looked up warmly at Xie Qiuying. “Are you okay after before?”

Xie Qiuying retracted her hand. Once she heard the words, fear seemed to linger in her dark eyes as she nodded. “I’m fine.”

“I saw you here. I was a bit scared alone so I came over. However, I seem to be disturbing you. I will go straight away…”

Ren Ze wanted to push Xie Qiuying along but Xie Chi spoke in a gentle tone. “It’s okay, we’ve finished talking. You can stay here.”

Ye Xiaoxiao and Ren Ze glanced at each other, secretly anxious. In accordance with the order of death, the next one to die was Xie Chi. He knew that Xie Qiuying had a problem so how could he keep her by his side? After all, Liang Wen in the past was a lesson.

Xie Qiuying froze for a moment. She seemed a bit surprised and then smiled at Xie Chi. “Thank you.”

She was sweet-looking with clear and active eyes. She looked clever and thoughtful but Ren Ze stared into her too dark eyes and was terrified.

Ye Xiaoxiao watched Xie Chi and Xie Qiuying talking happily. Ren Ze recalled that the last time Xie Chi was so attentive and thoughtful toward a woman was Xia Yao. That was also profitable.

Otherwise, most of the time he left them alone and didn’t even bother taking a look. Ye Xiaoxiao was pretty but Ren Ze felt that for Xie Chi, she was no different from a strong man with a height of 1.8 metres and a weight of 108 kg. He only had gender awareness when it was profitable.

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Ren Ze sighed deeply.

Xie Qiuying looked flattered and overjoyed. She soon became acquainted with Xie Chi. Ye Xiaoxiao and Ren Ze were squeezed out, unable to insert a single word. Compared to Ye Xiaoxiao’s shock, Ren Ze soon calmed down.

Xie Chi wondered, “Aren’t you curious about what we were discussing before?”

Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao were startled. Xie Qiuying was also obviously taken aback and hurriedly answered, “I’m curious but not curious. I know that I shouldn’t ask. It is what you found and must be very important information. I…”

Xie Chi interrupted with a laugh. “It isn’t important information. I can tell you. After all, one more person is more strength.”

He had the cheek to speak in such a dignified manner while not showing his true intentions at all. Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao were dumbfounded but lowered their heads. They were afraid that their instinctive expressions wouldn’t help Xie Chi.

In addition… Xie Qiuying might have a problem but she wouldn’t know what they had said before. Xie Chi was probably testing her or had a plan. In any case, the two of them couldn’t drag him back.

“Really?” Xie Qiuying’s eyes shone and she leaned forward, ready to listen.

Xie Chi smiled and nodded. “Really.”

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For the next 10 minutes, Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao listened in amazement as Xie Chi revealed the correct information they found to Xie Qiuying one by one.

During this period, Xie Qiuying was often puzzled and asked a lot of questions. Xie Chi patiently answered and was so detailed that it was terrifying. Then Xie Qiuying understood and showed shock and surprise. She started to praise Xie Chi. Xie Chi humbly spoke back and continued explaining.

In the end, Xie Qiuying looked panicked. “Do you think I have a problem? I’m not the extra one, I’m really not! Please believe me! I’m just a cannon fodder. What can I do…?”

“Don’t be nervous.” Xie Chi soothed her with a soft expression. “It is because I believe you that I dared to tell you this.”

Ren Ze’s head was about to break. His eyes flashed with shock and his expression was almost demented.

Xie Qiuying moved around on the chair in an anxious and frightened manner, “I really have nothing to do with Liang Wen’s death. Please believe me. Why do you and Jiang Shuo believe it is me? I have no grudges with her. How could I hurt her? I don’t know who the extra one is but it really isn’t me!”

Xie Qiuying was so anxious that tears formed in her eyes. “Everyone is possible. Why must it be me? I am being wronged…”

She felt extremely wronged. Xie Qiuying lowered her head and tears started to fall.

Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao were shaken for a moment. Was it really not her?

“It isn’t you, it isn’t you. This is just a speculation.” Xie Chi reassured her while handing her a paper towel he had on him. Xie Chi took it and wiped her tears. She didn’t feel like talking and just sobbed dully.

Ren Ze and Ye Xiaoxiao exchanged looks.

Xie Chi’s eyes were unfathomable for a moment. Then once he raised his head again, his softness had returned. He spoke gently and in a certain manner, “Xie Qiuying, look into my eyes. If you say it isn’t you then I believe you.”

Xie Qiuying’s mouth curved almost invisibly. Then she raised her head. Her eyes were red and she stared into Xie Chi’s concerned eyes, declaring seriously, “It really isn’t me.”

Ren Ze was dazed. Did they go in the wrong direction or was Xie Qiuying too capable of acting?

Xie Qiuying’s heart was probably hurt so she found an excuse to leave the three of them.

Three hours later, Xie Chi was waiting for the crisis only to hear news about Xie Qiuying’s death first.

Proofreader: Purichan