Lan Wangji hesitates. Anyone can lie, but he is inclined to believe Gideon's stammering denial that she has ever killed anyone. For all her bravado and irreverence, he has thought mostly of her desperation and vulnerability since their first meeting. "For most spirits, the first step is liberation. That entails resolving whatever business keeps them from moving into the reincarnation cycle." He intends this evocative silence to, essentially, mean I doubt we can kill God, in this case.