The next mont, everyone instinctively looked up and turned their gaze toward Adila.
Everyone had encountered those corpse-like ghosts before; it was unlikely that they did sothing like this.
Moreover, the injuries on Maria’s forehead and face indicated that even if she accidentally rolled down a slope, she would subconsciously shield her head and face with her arms.
The situation was quite clear now: Maria was attacked, left as a scapegoat by her teammates, and the culprit was Adila, who was in the sa team as her.
This was also why Adila tried to stop them from searching for the body, fearing that the revelation of his killing Maria would lead to revenge from the other teammates.
Seeing everyone’s hostile stares at him, Adila shrugged and sighed, "Yes, I pushed her, but it was an accident. She was too slow and got bitten to death by those ghostly things from behind. She grabbed my clothes and refused to let go no matter what."
"In my panic, I didn’t pay attention and used too much force, causing her to roll down the slope."
To validate his story, Adila showed everyone his ripped piece of clothing, and clutched in Maria’s shriveled fingers was a matching fabric fragnt, matching in material and color to Adila’s clothes.
"It’s indeed the sa." Hafeez squatted down, pulled out the fabric fragnt from the corpse’s fingers, inspected it for a few seconds, and then handed it to Musa.
Musa took it, examined it for a mont, and casually tossed the fragnt aside, concluding in an indisputable tone, "In a critical mont, everyone thinks about self-preservation, which is only human nature. Maria was bitten to death by ghosts; Adila didn’t even have a chance to save her. Only one person dying is better than both dying."
"Maria was a good teammate; I also thought about saving her, but I couldn’t do it."
For once, Adila lowered his stance and apologized to everyone, "Sorry, everyone, I didn’t tell the truth initially because I didn’t want to cause misunderstandings. You know how troubleso it is to explain these things."
Soon, amidst mutual understanding, this matter was put to rest. Musa made marks near the body, and everyone gathered their belongings and hurried toward the temple.
On the surface, the team appeared harmonious, but underneath, there was an undercurrent of tension, with perhaps only Hafeez truly believing in Adila’s innocence.
Yang Xiao did not believe such childish tricks, especially after seeing the fabric fragnt clutched between the corpse’s fingers.
After all, based on the traces left at the scene, Maria had struggled fiercely before her death, and no normal person would hold onto a useless piece of fabric during their final struggle.
This was clearly sothing Adila shoved into the corpse’s hand after returning to the scene later.
Yang Xiao was not the only one who understood this; Musa and Sopa must have also realized it, but everyone tacitly chose not to expose it.
This was a helpless choice, weighing the pros and cons, as they were now short-staffed, with only five people left; if they started a civil conflict, they could all be wiped out.
This wasn’t an exaggeration; currently, Musa had an injured leg, Yang Xiao’s shadow was attacked by a ghostly figure, making it difficult to lift his left arm, rendering him nearly half-disabled. Despite Sopa’s sharp mind, his skills were ordinary, and Hafeez was not even worth ntioning.
In the current situation, if they turned against each other, Yang Xiao and the other three might not even be a match for Adila alone.
Adila’s physical condition and skills were the best among everyone, and at this mont, his body was in optimal condition.
Even if, stepping back, all four managed to take Adila down, they would still suffer significant losses. If anyone was severely injured and the mission was still not completed, their situation would beco very passive.
Adila had calculated this; the fabric fragnt in the corpse’s hand was an excuse, a convenient excuse for everyone to save face.
However, with this incident, Adila’s situation beca very delicate; in the future, whoever tead with him would be very cautious and vigilant.
After much turmoil, it was already late in the night when Yang Xiao and his group returned to the temple.
The two groups, as usual, split up, with Sopa and Hafeez returning to the North Zen Room, while Yang Xiao and the other three returned to the South Zen Room.
Everyone had a premonition that the task was at its critical juncture, and it was best not to create additional complications during such a pivotal mont.
Upon returning to the room, they locked the door, and Yang Xiao, Adila, and Musa sat around the table. On the table was a book and a rather large porcelain jar.
Even without uncorking the bottle, they could sll a peculiar stench, the sa odd stench associated with the Painted Woman.
Yang Xiao’s judgnt was correct; the book indeed contained clues about the Painted Woman, and Yang Xiao and his companions understood the entire course of events from its contents.
Judging by the narrative style in the book, the author was likely the Village Chief from the village, or perhaps soone like a Priest.
Many years ago, villagers had coincidentally rescued a lost old woman in the nearby woods. Upon learning the Village Chief’s son was gravely ill and at the brink of death, the old woman offered to treat the child, revealing that she was a witch doctor.
With no other choice, the Village Chief arranged for the old woman to treat his son. She locked herself and the child in a room, and by the next morning, the child had fully recovered.
However, the old woman then fell ill for several days, with symptoms identical to the child’s original condition.
After recovering, she intended to bid farewell and leave. In gratitude for her kindness, the Village Chief held a banquet in her honor, where they drank and regarded each other as confidants.
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