“Switch, Xiu Xiu.”
Before the others had fully recovered from Wen Shan’s explanation, Senior Sister’s voice rang clearly through the chamber.
Huang Xiu Xiu nodded.
Her small hand, still holding the Wood Orb, released it without the slightest trace of reluctance. She reached instead for the final orb, the one radiating a heavy yellow glow.
Earth.
Wen Shan said nothing.
He merely glanced at Senior Sister.
Perhaps from the very beginning, she had trusted Huang Xiu Xiu without reservation. No matter what choice the girl made, she likely would have supported it without hesitation.
Her earlier request for Wen Shan to explain himself might simply have been to convince the others and avoid unnecessary conflict.
Yet what truly astonished him was Huang Xiu Xiu herself.
Her judgment to switch had likely not come from careful step-by-step reasoning, as his had.
Her calculation was something else entirely.
When sufficient conditions were placed before her, she seemed able to skip the cumbersome process and arrive directly at the conclusion.
But she could not explain how.
Was this what true genius looked like?
Or was this the innate harmony Senior Sister spoke of, the rare compatibility with the Path of Hai-Suan?
Wen Shan sighed inwardly.
He knew he was no genius.
The story he had told was fabricated.
Since transmigrating into this world, he had spent his time struggling for survival within the demonic sect. He had barely stepped into the mortal realm, let alone encountered such a clever merchant.
He had recognized the puzzle instantly for a different reason.
In his previous life, there had been a famously counterintuitive probability problem known as the Three Doors Problem.
Many who first encountered it assumed that once a wrong option was removed, the remaining two must each hold equal probability. Fifty-fifty. Switching would make no difference.
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Most people stubbornly trusted their initial choice.
But Wen Shan remembered the problem the moment he saw the lock’s hint.
That was why he had known immediately what to do.
Huang Xiu Xiu, however, was different.
She had likely never encountered such a scenario, yet her near-demonic intuition had allowed her to pierce straight through to the correct answer.
For the first time, Wen Shan began to understand why Senior Sister had gone to such lengths to bring her here.
Perhaps this inexplicable ability was precisely what this secret realm required.
Still.
The most pressing matter was opening the door.
Huang Xiu Xiu’s hand now rested upon the Earth Orb.
In her pale fingers, the glowing sphere looked fragile, as though it would shatter at the slightest squeeze.
Yet she did not move.
She stood quietly, as if awaiting Senior Sister’s final command.
The air inside the chamber grew unbearably heavy.
Everyone held their breath.
Eyes locked onto Huang Xiu Xiu’s hand.
They longed to know the outcome.
Yet they dared not rush her.
Only then did Wen Shan truly grasp their state of mind.
They were still afraid.
Switching did not guarantee success.
It merely raised the probability from one quarter to three quarters.
Seventy-five percent seemed high.
But what if the correct answer lay within that remaining twenty-five?
This choice determined all of their lives.
If they failed again, they would be trapped here forever.
With their spiritual power sealed, starvation in endless darkness awaited them.
Wen Shan himself was only a clone. He could discard this body at any time. Life and death held little weight for him.
That was why he had not immediately understood their fear.
Now he did.
Under such pressure
Even Senior Sister must be hesitating.
That was why she had delayed giving the order.
But Huang Xiu Xiu seemed utterly unaware of the suffocating atmosphere.
Seeing that Senior Sister had not spoken, she turned her head slightly.
“Senior Sister,” she asked plainly, “may I break it now?”
Senior Sister blinked.
Then she laughed softly at herself.
“You’re right. Since we’ve made the choice, there’s nothing left to hesitate about.”
She drew in a deep breath. Determination filled her eyes.
“Even if we chose wrongly, then that is our shared decision. It would simply mean that this is our fate.”
“Now—let us see what fate has in store for us.”
Her resolve seemed to steady the others.
“Senior Sister is right! Overthinking is useless now!”
“Life or death, we leave it to heaven!”
“I trust Junior Sister Xiu Xiu! We’ll make it out!”
Yet just as the crowd voiced their convictions, Huang Xiu Xiu tilted her head again.
“If the answer has already appeared,” she said quietly, “then it can’t be wrong.”
The chamber froze.
Confusion spread across every face.
Senior Sister frowned.
“Xiu Xiu, what do you mean? According to Wen Shan’s reasoning, switching only increases our probability to seventy-five percent. There is still a chance of failure. Why do you say it’s impossible to be wrong?”
Huang Xiu Xiu’s reply was as simple as ever.
“Because this is what the secret realm wants us to choose.”
“If I’ve chosen what it wants, then my choice cannot be wrong.”
Her words sounded almost circular.
But the moment they reached Wen Shan’s ears
He understood.
This was a Hai-Suan secret realm.
The trial was never about luck.
It was about whether they could, given the information presented, select the option with the highest probability.
The moment Huang Xiu Xiu chose to switch, she had already passed the test.
Opening the door was merely the reward.
The trial measured not the result
But the reasoning.
Wen Shan smiled faintly.
Even so, until he saw the outcome with his own eyes, he could not fully relax.
So like the others, he held his breath.
And waited.
Huang Xiu Xiu’s pale fingers tightened.
With a single, effortless squeeze
She crushed the Earth Orb to pieces.
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