"A detective film... that works too..." Zhong Yongliang glanced at the description of the detective film and found it rather interesting. He had seen it before as well, and when the time came he could explain the plot to Gu Mengyao. Since a horror film was out of the question, a detective film was an acceptable second choice.

The six of them bought their tickets and walked into the cinema together. Not many students had come to this theater to see the detective film; students, perhaps, preferred horror and romance, and had little enthusiasm for a genre as dependent on deductive logic as the detective film.

After all, most of the people here were students on dates, and it went without saying that they could not concentrate on the film. With horror and romance it hardly mattered, but a detective film was different—miss a single plot point and you might lose the thread entirely. So students generally avoided them.

Wei Zhao and the others had arrived at just the right time; the film had not yet started. The cinema staff were hawking popcorn, drinks, and other snacks. The four of them found seats together in one row and sat down. Gu Mengyao did not want to sit next to Zhong Yongliang, but what choice did she have? Who had told her to let herself be recognized?

Gu Mengyao was unwilling to go back on her word over such a trifle, and besides, with Wei Zhao present, there was no way Zhong Yongliang would dare do anything out of line.

Soon the film began, and Gu Mengyao fixed her eyes on the screen and watched with full concentration.

"Yao Yao, want something to eat?" Zhong Yongliang had had Gao Xiaofu buy a great pile of snacks, which he then presented to Gu Mengyao.

"Oh, give them to Xiaoshu." Gu Mengyao handed them straight to Shen Yushu without keeping a single bag for herself.

"Little Liangzi, you're so good to me. Back in high school you were always buying me treats, and you still are." Shen Yushu took the big bag of goodies, shared some with Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan, and began happily munching away.

"..." Zhong Yongliang was somewhat speechless, but he managed to force out: "Heh, yeah. Once I become Gu Mengyao's personal bodyguard, I'll be able to buy you treats anytime, anywhere!"

"Ooh, then you'd better work hard. Are you going to issue another challenge, by any chance?" Shen Yushu asked.

"Heh heh, hard to say. Let me think it over first." If Zhong Yongliang was going to challenge him, it would have to be in public. Otherwise, in private, he feared Wei Zhao might lose and then refuse to honor the bet, coming out with some line like "I never keep faith with villains"—and then Zhong Yongliang's victory would have been for nothing.

"Xiaoshu, can't food keep your mouth shut? Say a little less." Gu Mengyao frowned. Shen Yushu had steered the conversation back in the direction she did not want it to go, so she scolded: "Watch the movie. Aren't you Detective Shu 007? This film is quite interesting—you can do some proper deducing in a bit!"

"Oh... fine." Shen Yushu shut her mouth. "This movie isn't that interesting anyway... I can't even tell what's going on!"

Zhong Yongliang wanted to say a few more words, but Gu Mengyao would not let him, so he had to change the subject. "The beginning of a film like this is bound to be a bit dull, but the plot is about to kick in. Look—in a moment this servant is going to die!"

"Die? How do you know?" Gu Mengyao frowned.

"I deduced it, of course!" Zhong Yongliang grinned. "Don't believe me? Just keep watching!"

Sure enough, before long the murder took place—and that servant really did die.

Zhong Yongliang's words, however, annoyed a young man sitting in front of him and to his right, who turned around and glared at him, meaning to tell him to keep his mouth shut.

But Zhong Yongliang, oblivious, went on showing off his formidable powers of deduction to Gu Mengyao. "See? I told you—it's the servant who dies! Do you know who the killer is? The case really isn't complicated. The truth is this: the screenwriter has led our thinking astray. That old man is the murderer, not the guest..."

Zhong Yongliang had seen this film before, so he told Gu Mengyao everything—who the killer was, his motive, and his method.

"..." Gu Mengyao was at a loss for words. She shot Zhong Yongliang an exasperated glare. "If you're going to tell me everything, what's left for me to watch? Is there something wrong with you?"

"I... I just wanted to explain it to you in advance..." Zhong Yongliang had not expected his cleverness to backfire. He had meant to curry favor with Gu Mengyao, but who would have thought that revealing the killer's identity would only make her dislike him more.

"Kid, on your feet!" Before Zhong Yongliang could finish, the young man sitting in front of him and to his right stood up and seized him by the collar.

"You... what are you doing?" Zhong Yongliang asked in alarm.

"Do you know what kind of person I hate most?" the young man raged. "I hate blabbermouths like you! If you'd kept quiet, no one would have taken you for a mute! You've told us who the killer is—how am I supposed to watch now?"

"I..." Zhong Yongliang was about to curse him out, but then he sensed a sharp, intimidating aura that gave him a jolt of alarm. Still, he was unwilling to lose face in front of Gu Mengyao: "What I say is none of your business! Since when do you get to police other people's conversations? Do you know what kind of person I hate most? I hate self-important types like you who throw their weight around—someone says something and you just have to stick your nose in?"

"Kid, you asking for a beating?" The young man flew into a rage.

Wei Zhao glanced at the young man and was startled. An Earth-rank expert? Whose expert was this? Why did he seem somehow familiar? There was something about the man's features that stirred a vague recollection in Wei Zhao, though he could not quite put his finger on it...

"A cultivator?" Zhong Yongliang was hardly a high-level cultivator—he was not even Yellow-rank. He had only practiced a few rudimentary breathing formulas and incantations, and it was only after this trip back from the Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect that he had half-stepped onto the threshold of cultivation. Even so, he could sense the true qi fluctuations of a cultivator!

He did not know what level this man before him had reached, but he was unquestionably a cultivator.

"Eh?" The young man was taken aback. "You know about cultivators?"

"Hmph, I don't care what family or sect you belong to. I'll have you know I am a disciple of the Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable, head of the Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect. If you keep putting on airs with me, my master will never let you off!" Seeing the man acknowledge it, Zhong Yongliang breathed a sigh of relief. Since he was a cultivator, even a lone wanderer, he must have heard of the great name of the Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I belong to no sect and no school, and I've never heard of any Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect. If you're trying to compare backgrounds with me, you've made a grave mistake." The young man spoke coolly. "I won't make things hard for you. Apologize to me and reimburse me for my ticket, and we'll call it even."

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