Chapter 74 Waiting for the Light Strip~
"You can't keep everyone here just because you have a close relationship with Shen Mi."
Gan Tang spoke with a firm tone, her words conveying rational insistence, yet remaining polite.
From the moment she began to speak, Jing Yuan maintained a smile on his lips. After listening, his gaze briefly swept over Gan Tang, but he did not directly respond to her words.
He then looked around at everyone, his voice steady and powerful, ensuring everyone could hear him clearly: "I am truly sorry, leaving you all here was not my intention. According to the Cloud Cavalry's investigation, the mastermind behind Shen Mi's kidnapping is still lurking nearby and has not yet left. In other words, he may very well target others, and the risks are unpredictable. Anyone who leaves without authorization will greatly increase the danger."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions immediately tensed up. Some whispered among themselves, their unease and fear barely concealed.
Gan Tang took a deep breath, steadied herself, and looked up at Jing Yuan: "Alright, I didn't think of that, and I'm sorry for the trouble. May I ask one more question? How can we protect ourselves? What plans does the Cloud Cavalry have to ensure everyone's safety?"
Jing Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze firm: "At present, the most important thing is not to act rashly. If necessary, the two of you should go together. The Cloud Cavalry will strengthen patrols and defenses, and I will personally lead the search to find Shen Mi as soon as possible and eliminate the threat."
As everyone gradually calmed down, Gan Tang returned to the group and began to ponder what the general had said. Although the amount of information was limited, every sentence was crucial.
She looked around at the slightly uneasy faces in the crowd and Bai Xuan, who was comforting everyone. She seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment, she silently pulled Song Hou, who was about to doze off, to her side.
Our gaze returned to Jing Yuan, who was intently staring at the area map floating in the air. The instrument projected the terrain in 3D, clearly showing the movement trajectories of the Cloud Cavalry. The real-time updated signals from the search device intertwined to mark the blind spots that were not yet covered.
After Jingyuan finished assigning the new search mission, squads of soldiers carrying torches dispersed along the designated route, their flames like flames of hope burning in the woods, gradually fading into the night.
Seeing that Jing Yuan was temporarily alone, Qing Cu quickly stepped forward, lowered his voice, and asked impatiently, "General, what you just said... is it true? Have you already identified a suspicious target?"
Her eyes were burning, and her words were filled with obvious tension and urgency, as if she couldn't wait to know the truth, catch the criminal immediately, find out Shen Mi's whereabouts, and rescue her.
Jing Yuan lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. His tense shoulders trembled slightly. In front of someone he knew and trusted, he seemed to have shed all his pretense.
After a moment, Jing Yuan slowly raised his head. His golden eyes were like a turbulent lake, as if the sky was covered by dark clouds, making even the light dim. He looked up at Qing Cu, forced a bitter smile, and told the truth: "Qing Cu... that was fake. I deliberately spread false information to buy time."
After he finished speaking, his gaze slowly fell on the flames floating in mid-air in the darkness in the distance. The flames swirled and the fierce fire reflected in his eyes, as if they were also burning in his heart.
Qingcu looked at the general's almost suppressed expression and felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. As Shen Mi's close friend, she felt like she had been struck by lightning when she learned of her disappearance. But at this moment, she couldn't lose her composure. If even they lost their calm and judgment, then Shen Mi would truly have no hope.
“General, why don’t I go and ask the people who stayed here again?” Qingcu stepped forward and said in a low voice, his eyes clear and firm. “I don’t believe that not a single one of them saw Shen Mi.”
Upon hearing this, Jing Yuan turned his head slightly to look at her, his golden eyes flashing faintly in the firelight. He didn't answer immediately, as if he was thinking or weighing his options. After a moment, he said softly, "Wait a moment."
Qingcu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, General?"
Jing Yuan's gaze passed over her and landed on the innocent civilians gathered in a circle not far away. His voice was low as he explained his thoughts: "If it's just a simple kidnapping... don't you think this is too much of a coincidence?"
Jing Yuan paused, then lowered his voice even further: "Among those present today, there are many scions of prominent families and sons of merchants. In terms of status and value, any one of them is far more suitable to be the one to be kidnapped than Shen Mi."
Qingcu frowned slightly, vaguely realizing something.
Jing Yuan continued, his tone becoming even more somber: "But the other party specifically chose her, and took her away silently right under the noses of so many people, without even leaving a trace. Qing Cu, don't you think... there are too many 'coincidences' here, and the direction of the actions and the situation presented is too obvious?"
The night wind swept by, and the firelight flickered in his eyes, reflecting a deep and unfathomable chill.
He suddenly realized something, his expression hardened, his gaze narrowed, and he said in a low voice, "I seem to have overlooked someone."
After saying that, he bent down and quickly wrote a line of words on the 3D topographic map with his fingertip. Qingcu looked down and his expression changed slightly. He looked at Jingyuan in disbelief.
Before she could speak, Jing Yuan had already raised his hand and erased the writing, as if it had never appeared.
"Investigate and respond immediately." His gaze was sharp, and his tone left no room for argument.
Qingcu nodded immediately, then turned and dashed into the night like an arrow.
*
The sky had darkened, and outside the small skylight was pitch black, heavy as ink, swallowing up even the starlight. It was as if the place she was in had been abandoned by the universe.
Shen Mi lay quietly on the pile of withered grass in the middle of the room, her gaze listlessly fixed on the narrow patch of sky. Her eyes were empty, yet she stared intently, refusing to give up, as if searching for a faint glimmer of light through the darkness.
"Finally, you know you're tired?" Blade leaned to the side, his empty eye sockets already dry, dark red scabs solidified on them like red crystals growing abruptly in a dense forest.
After listening to Shen Mi's calls all afternoon, his ears were practically sprouting golden branches.
Shen Mi did not respond immediately, but slowly reached her fingers into the straw, grabbed a handful of dry straw stems, and the hard, dry touch reminded her that this was not a dream, this was real.
"Do you think I want to scream? I'm just trapped here and have no choice," Shen Mi said irritably to Ren, who was leaning against the wall.
Since she agreed to share the latest information about Yin Yuejun with him, Ren has put away his aggressive demeanor. Although he did not do anything that would threaten Shen Mi's life from the beginning, the demonic yin body that could be activated at any time still made people uneasy.
"Don't be anxious. Don't you want to think about why they arrested you?" Ren listened to the rustling sounds coming from Shen Mi's side. He raised his hand slightly and drew a semicircle in the air, trying to figure out his surroundings.
Seeing this, Shen Mi grabbed his hand and led him along the surrounding walls.
When warm hands touched cold skin, more than one person was surprised and trembled.
Chen Mi was astonished that Ren's body temperature was so low.
Ren was surprised that she was so bold as to touch him first.
Shen Mi used her elbow, which was supporting the blade, to help him up. She carefully looked up at him and, seeing that he didn't show any disgust at her touch, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A deep voice sounded from above: "Little girl, what's your name?"
“沈弥, 弥散的弥”.
"That's quite special."
"Should I still call you 'Yingxing'?" Shen Mi asked, tilting his head back.
During the conversation, Chen Mi, supporting herself against the cracks in the brick wall, slowly moved to the center of the room. Standing there, she could see the pale moon in the night sky, but her gaze was fixed on the thin figure in the corner.
A sliver of moonlight shone in, illuminating Ren's face. Compared to when they first met, the deathly pallor on his face seemed to have faded somewhat, replaced by a bit more color. However, his hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, and he was covered in grime, looking nothing like a savage.
Shen Mi's question vanished into thin air, and he remained silent for a long time, seemingly hesitant or perhaps avoiding something.
After a long while, Ren finally spoke in a low voice: "No."
"Then what should I call you?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ren retorted, "Is a name that important?"
Shen Mi gazed at him quietly, and said in a gentle yet firm tone, "A name may not be important, but it is an important anchor that carries memories. Didn't I also say when we parted last time that I wanted to know your real name?"
Ren tilted his head slightly, his disheveled hair obscuring half his face, his voice low and hoarse: "The glory of the past has turned to ashes, like a broken sword blade..."
He paused, then slowly uttered, "Then, call me 'Blade'."
Shen Mi gazed at him, a sudden, irresistible sense of destiny welling up within him. No matter how the plot twists, no matter who he faces, even if given another chance to choose, he would still choose the name "Blade." It was more than just a name; it was an unshakeable concept, a mark deeply embedded in the story's background.
She couldn't tell whether it was an unseen force ruthlessly blocking his future, or whether fate itself was guiding him toward that predetermined direction with an invisible hand.
“Alright, then I’ll call you ‘Blade’.” Shen Mi said softly, turning to observe the expression of the person in front of him. He saw that the corners of his lips were slightly raised, indicating that his physical condition was good and there was no sign of the demonic yin body flaring up.
"No need to be so polite, there's no one else here." He snorted lightly and said casually, seemingly distant but actually to let Shen Mi not be bound by formalities.
“Um…” Shen Mi hesitated before speaking, seeing Ren looking up at the small skylight. Although she didn’t know if he could still see anything, she still felt a little uneasy looking at the two bloody holes on his pale face.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally tentatively said, "How about... I take a look at your eyes? If we don't treat them, they seem to be getting worse."
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Author's Note: Chen Mi: I'll always be there for you, your emotional support, in the light strip.
What's coming next is something big, something that Danheng and Jingyuan have never done before [winking emoji][winking emoji][winking emoji]. You can guess what it is.
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