clue

The sudden sound startled Jiang Nianxin and she reflexively turned her head to look back.

The brown pupils reflected the man's dull face. Time stood still for a moment, and the pupils shrank to the size of a needle point.

"you--"

It was the soldier from before.

The familiar golden eyes... have been replaced.

The fingertips on the railing turned white for a moment, and Jiang Nian slowed down his breathing.

"Is it an inner offering?"

Although she had never met Zhu Wang's inner worshiper in person, she still remembered his figure that flashed by under the lantern that night when she went to the sect.

The soldier took a few steps forward, lowered his head and bowed to Jiang Nian.

"Miss, I think you need help."

Unexpected people.

Jiang Nian suppressed the confusion that was rising in her heart and looked directly into the other person's golden pupils. After a moment, she gently curled her lips and her brows relaxed.

"You appear here, do you think you can change the current situation?"

The soldier gave her a long look.

"As you can see, Time Outsider, do you wish her to 'dissolve'?"

“The stamens of flowers under the dark clouds of spring are easily withered.”

“…”

Jiang Nian brushed away the hair that was scattered on her cheeks and turned to look at the tree.

The white fog there was frozen in a diffused state, and the nobles who were fleeing in panic and the guards who swarmed over to protect their respective masters were all like pressing the pause button, maintaining their movements at that moment.

Before she noticed, all the chaotic and noisy events behind her were forcibly stopped by him.

Or was it that she was pulled by him into another dimension where she could see the current situation of the Huachao Society clearly?

Jiang Nian turned his head, ignoring the huge changes happening around him, and met the soldier's gaze again.

"...What's the price?"

"So what's the price?"

The soldier lowered his eyes coldly and bowed his head slightly: "You don't need to pay the price."

His hands had been hanging at his sides, but now he changed his stance, with his palms spread out towards her and his body slightly bent forward.

It looks like the salute of a medieval European knight.

In the face of Jiang Nian's astonishment, he spoke indifferently:

"This should be my apology to you."

“——”

apologize?

Before Jiang Nian could speak, the soldier stood up and slowly placed his finger on his lips, signaling for silence.

After a long silence, he met Jiang Nian's gaze again, his eyes like a calm ocean.

"Besides them, there is another group of people keeping an eye on your whereabouts."

"They are trying to get information from Yu He."

"Intelligence?" Jiang Nian's expression became serious after catching the important keyword. "How did you get this information?"

Because of the height difference, Jiang Nian would not be able to see the soldier's expression if he did not lower his head.

Therefore, when answering this sentence, he raised his eyes, and his face was obscured by the light coming from the sky, with only his long black eyelashes showing through, making him look like a gorgeous and cold statue.

"You don't need to know, Meng Jian is watching you in the dark."

Is he from Meng Jian's side?

Ever since he came to Cang County, he has been hiding in the dark and not showing up.

There must be something behind this.

Jiang Nian suppressed his thoughts and brought the topic back to its original point.

"I understand, but right now... I don't need your help."

It was surprising that there would be people in the world who would refuse the extraterrestrial power that was within their reach. The golden light in the soldier's eyes shone brightly, then disappeared into the increasingly foggy atmosphere.

This space began to emit gas from the corners, which was a sign of collapse.

“You trust them.”

Jiang Nian instinctively felt that she should be overly cautious towards this "soldier" of unknown origin, but deep down she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity that prevented her from saying anything indifferent to distance herself from him.

"Naturally, they are my most trusted companions."

There was no need to hesitate, she had always trusted them. Even though there were some entanglements, she could not stand firm in this chaotic land without their protection.

The soldier turned and began to disappear into the growing fog.

"Really? Then continue to trust your intuition."

From behind, his profile became increasingly blurred.

"Don't be sad, we will definitely meet again next time."

—

“!”

The sound of receding tide hit my ears, and when I came to my senses again, my feet had landed on the solid ground.

Jiang Nian looked down at his hands, and the perception of everything around him was close and familiar.

...is back.

The observation deck was empty, and the soldiers who had just appeared had long since disappeared.

Intuitively, Jiang Nian felt that he and Shou Zan had some connection.

But now is not the time to analyze him.

Jiang Nian looked up at the route with Xuan Gui, then tilted his head to look at the tree below -

The white mist there had completely dissipated, along with Ai who had taken action, the guards who were running hard, and Meng Yao and Shuanghua.

All gone.

The only people still standing in the open space were some nobles who had not come into contact with Meng Yao. They were looking at the tree in confusion, discussing the unexpected events in front of them in low voices.

Jiang Nian tapped the railing with his fingertips.

Meng Yao was not very careful. Those nobles who followed him... were not all brainwashed, nor did they take any drugs. He was really not afraid that these people would run out of the gathering place in a while and go to the teahouses on the street to spread the "royal secrets" they encountered.

But her worries were soon resolved.

The commander's subordinates, who were dedicated to their duties and wanted to prevent the royal family from losing face, came from not far away. They quickly took out the token and asked the nobles to leave with them.

Speech is controlled, but what about those who escaped?

Hyun Kyu wouldn't really do it directly.

As far as he could see, the route had returned to calm. Due to the obstruction of buildings, Jiang Nian could not see Xuan Gui's figure, but those nobles were no longer there.

We can only pray that the nobles are not infected and that Hyun-gyu successfully arrests them.

Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his stiff limbs, glanced at the horizon and estimated the time.

Just now, the soldiers pulled her into another space where the flow of time was slower than here, but even if it didn't take much time, there would inevitably be omissions.

Although I spent most of my time observing if there was any sign of 'Lu'...

In light of the accusation, Jiang Nian thought about it and decided to go downstairs and walk around to prevent any fish from slipping through the net.

—

As if she knew that Jiang Nian would come downstairs because of the changes below, she saw Yan coming towards her before she even walked out the door.

Surprised that he would appear here, Jiang Nian had not yet spoken when Yan answered her question.

"It's Duke Xiao's order."

"This is a turbulent time. I'm worried that something might happen to Miss Jiang."

Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Is that so... Then I'll have to trouble you to survey the surrounding area with me."

Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and responded.

"Well, Miss Jiang, go ahead and I'll just follow behind."

Jiang Nian didn't respond. According to what Ai Tong had told her about encountering thieves, she walked towards the direction of the rockery.

Yan followed behind him not too far away, his hand on the hilt of the knife.

If he had been a moment later and the young lady had walked out, he would probably have been doubly punished.

The sun sets and the green shade on the grass gradually fades.

Where Jiang Nian couldn't see, next to the building where he had just been, two headless corpses with their heads separated were piled together.

The people who killed them were efficient and killed them instantly.

—

Returning to the place behind the rockery yesterday, Jiang Nian avoided the fallen leaves on the ground, raised her hand to tuck her hanging hair behind her ears, and observed her surroundings carefully.

Since Ai didn't give her a clear direction, she could only search in the jungle.

The soldier had seen the thief.

If the soldier didn't want to see him, he could have simply avoided the thief, and the thief wouldn't have needed to lie in such a place...

Now that they knew for sure that the soldiers had no hostility towards them, why not go and look for them.

The site where the accident occurred was under scrutiny from all sides, and Jiang Nian planned to survey the areas he had already visited before returning to the observation deck.

Time was limited, so she took the attitude of "since I was already here", and walked around the woods behind the rockery.

Yan followed behind her, glancing around from time to time.

As time passed, Jiang Nian didn't notice anything wrong.

Could it be that person was on his way? Or... was she really just overthinking it?

She always felt like she was being oppressed by something unknown. If she didn't explore it carefully, she would probably think about it all day long.

Jiang Nian sighed and looked down at the place he had just stepped on.

Because I didn't want to deform the grass by stepping on it, I was careful to avoid it when I was looking for it just now. Now it's not much different from when I first came.

She hesitated for a moment, turned to look at Yan, and smiled at him gently.

"Excuse me...can you help me?"

After all, Yan and Ai have different interests, and they are Qin Lan's subordinates. Jiang Nian does not intend to sell his gentle personality and plans to go with the flow.

If he can help, he will help. If he can’t help, that’s fine too. It’s not within his job scope.

Yan withdrew his gaze from a distance, looked at her for a few seconds, and nodded slightly.

"Miss, is there anything I can help you with?"

“!”

If you agree, then things will be much easier.

Jiang Nian walked to the side, stood outside the bushes, and gave him a general explanation.

"...Anyway, can you help me find where that person was supposed to have stayed yesterday?"

Xuan was silent for a moment and sighed.

"good."

Simply put, it is to search for traces of people passing by.

I don’t know if it was really a problem with my observation ability, but after a while, I found the place where the thief stayed yesterday.

"The creases here are different from those in other places. They are man-made, and..."

As Yan explained, he tapped on it with his finger.

Jiang Nian bent down and looked forward in the direction of his finger. When their eyes fell on the objects on the ground, they were both stunned.

A piece of paper.

A cool breeze blew through the woods, turning the page over and revealing the back.

When he saw the pattern above, his pupils shrank.

He reached out and picked it up and showed it to Jiang Nian.

"Miss, do you want to keep it yourself?"

A pattern he had never seen before flashed across Jiang Nian's eyes. It was the first time he saw other emotions appear on Yan's calm face. Jiang Nian shook his head.

"It doesn't look like a good thing, but it's also a clue."

She turned and looked around.

The commotion that had just occurred under the wishing tree had completely discouraged the nobles around them from climbing up the ladder, and they all went back to their homes and looked after their mothers.

Now, everything is gray at a glance.

It was so quiet that only the occasional sound of a bird flapping its wings and flying over the trees could be heard.

It's deserted.

The coolness brought by the woods made the already not-so-warm sunlight even cooler. Jiang Nian frowned slightly and raised his hand to stroke his arm.

"Let's stop here for today."

Perhaps because of Yan's company, Jiang Nian's discomfort with this dead and silent place was alleviated and he became less sensitive.

She looked up and smiled gently at Yan.

"Thank you for your help. Let's go back to where we came from."