"This is... Muyun County?"

Tang Nian looked up at the yellowish sky, then looked up at the large characters carved on the city wall, which clearly read "Muyun County".

She gently patted her head, feeling as if she had forgotten something.

"Sister Tang? What's wrong? It's getting dark, we need to get into the city quickly."

Ming Huan folded up his oil-paper umbrella, took a couple of steps, and then, noticing that Tang Nian wasn't following, turned around and asked.

Oiled paper umbrella?

She always held the oil-paper umbrella herself, so how did it end up in Minghuan's hands?

She pursed her lips, turned to look at Muyun County shrouded in black mist, and asked softly, "Minghuan, weren't you...?"

Yes, shouldn't Minghuan be by my side?

Where else can we go?

It seems I haven't been getting enough rest lately.

Tang Nian lowered her head and smiled, putting her wild thoughts to the back of her mind.

But she couldn't remember at all why they had come to Muyun County.

Why did we come to Muyun County?

"Sister Tang, have you forgotten? I heard about the strange things in Muyun County at the inn, so you told me we were coming to Muyun County to investigate."

She tilted her head and thought about it, and it seemed that there was indeed such a thing.

But she still felt something was wrong.

"Is that so?" she murmured.

Ming Huan felt that Tang Nian was acting strangely. As soon as he got a little closer to Tang Nian, Tang Nian took a step back without making a sound.

Ming Huan was completely unaware of what was happening. He naturally lowered his arm, turned around, and walked towards the city gate.

"Sister Tang, the city gates are about to close if we don't leave now!"

Ming Huan stood in front of the city gate, waving frantically.

Tang Nian didn't have time to think too much and quickly stepped forward.

She took out her documents and subconsciously flipped through a few pages, only to find them completely blank.

She paused for a moment before turning to the page with the stamp.

The guards on the city wall were getting impatient with Tang Nian's dawdling manner and were about to send her away when they noticed her name on the travel document.

The impatience vanished instantly, replaced by respect and hope.

He let the two of them into the city without even opening the bag Ming Huan was carrying.

There were only a few scattered travelers in the city, and every household had its doors tightly shut, with not even a candle lit inside.

The bells rang out from the city wall.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

Tang Nian turned her head and looked back at the city gate.

It was the bell on the city wall that rang.

The sound of bells echoed in every corner of Muyun County, striking Tang Nian's heart deeply.

The soldiers outside the city gate all returned to the city, and the gate began to slowly close.

The people queuing outside the city to enter were not making a fuss; they seemed to be watching something that had nothing to do with them.

Tang Nian frowned and stood there until the city gates were completely closed, shutting out the numb faces of the common people outside the city. Then, a voice came from behind her.

"Sister Tang, what are you looking at? We need to find an inn. Once it gets dark, there will be nowhere to stay in Muyun County."

Minghuan was very anxious, as if something bad would happen if he hesitated even a moment.

As they walked, Tang Nian became the one leading the way.

She didn't know why, but it seemed like there was always someone subconsciously reminding her where she should go.

Soon, she stopped in front of an inn.

Compared to the surrounding dark and gloomy houses, the inn seemed to belong to a completely different world.

The inn was brightly lit, and loud shouts and noises could be heard from inside.

Tang Nian looked up and saw that the Bagua mirror and peach wood sword were still hanging on the inn's signboard.

etc……

Why did she use the word "still"?