thick fog
Xiao Yingzhu naturally would not answer Jiang Nian's question.
He walked forward a few steps and looked behind the huge building in front of him. Seeing that there was really nothing behind it, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Nian was amused by Xiao Yingzhu's somewhat unbelieving expression. He turned away and hid his smile to avoid Xiao Yingzhu's cold glance later. Then he looked around and was surprised to find that -
The road disappeared as they came.
The place was covered with a layer of white fog, making it difficult to see the ground clearly.
“It seems like we can’t go back.”
She turned around and asked Xiao Yingzhu to look at the woods they passed by when they came.
The forest is now covered by white fog, with only a few treetops visible, and the rest is vast.
"Is this... the room Ah He promised to prepare for us?"
The roads in the sect are bumpy. Although there are handrails, there are not many safety precautions. If you are not careful, you may fall off the cliff.
This was the first time she and Xiao Yingzhu had come here, and they only had a rough idea of the route, so they couldn't guarantee that they could get through the increasingly thick white fog.
“…”
Xiao Yingzhu looked at the thick fog in front of him without saying a word, and looked into the distance where he could still see a corner of where his grandmother lived.
"It's not far from there. If we don't see anyone there later, they will come looking for us."
Jiang Nian smiled.
Although it sounded a bit awkward for Xiao Yingzhu to admit that she had taken the wrong road, the roads in the sect were indeed complicated, and she did not say anything to stop the maid from politely refusing to lead the way. After all, she did not really want others to disturb them.
"Then- let's go inside and wait."
The temperature at night was slightly lower than at noon. Since they were almost reaching Pingzhou, Jiang Nian did not prepare any extra clothes for herself. The clothes she was wearing were a little thin. The thick fog in front of them was about to spread in front of them, and she could already feel the moisture in the fog.
Moreover, encountering such thick fog in the middle of the night, it was hard for Jiang Nian not to think of some zombie or ghost movies he had seen in modern times - for example, some strange creatures would slowly walk towards them from the fog.
Xiao Yingzhu seemed to know that she was afraid and only laughed softly: "It's just that the humidity in the mountains is heavy. You can go in if you want."
This place is connected to the mountain where my grandmother lives, and it should also be a building belonging to my grandmother's faction.
I just don't know if it can be opened.
The situation seemed a little "urgent", so Xiao Yingzhu let Jiang Nian push the door in front.
The fear rising from the bottom of her heart prompted Jiang Nian to turn around and walk quickly to the front of the building before the thick fog surrounded her. She raised her hand, picked up the door knocker, and knocked on the door gently a few times.
The building was dark outside and there should be no one inside, but out of courtesy she still knocked a few times.
After waiting for a while, as she expected, no one came to answer.
“…”
After all, it was not her home. Although Jiang Nian said she wanted to go in to hide from the thick fog, when she was about to push the door, she backed off and turned to look at Xiao Yingzhu beside her.
Receiving Jiang Nian's probing gaze again, Xiao Yingzhu glanced sideways for a moment at the thick fog that seemed to intend to swallow up the entire building.
"Open it."
"I'll just tell Grandma or Ah He later."
“…”
After getting the promise, Jiang Nian said no more, turned around and immediately opened the door in front of him.
—
It seemed like no one had been in the building for a long time. It was empty and the air was filled with dust. Jiang Nian felt a little uncomfortable after taking a few breaths. He raised his hand and waved away the air gathered in front of him.
There was thick fog outside and dust inside. Jiang Nian stood at the doorstep and looked towards Xiao Yingzhu.
Seeing Xiao Yingzhu's figure in her field of vision, she felt relieved: "...Aren't you coming in?"
Xiao Yingzhu was a bit of a germaphobe. She stood where the thick fog was approaching him without moving. She just raised her eyes and looked at the dust behind her that was not very obvious under the dim moonlight, without saying a word.
“…”
If Xiao Yingzhu didn't come, Jiang Nian didn't want to enter this dusty house. What's more, the house was built so high that he couldn't see the ceiling. It was dark all around, and he could only barely see the layout of the hall by the moonlight by standing at the threshold.
She hesitated a little, and subconsciously placed her fingers on the wooden door next to her that was open outwards. When she touched the cold door pin, thick sand and dust instantly passed through her fingertips.
It's all dust.
It's been a long time since anyone has cleaned this place.
Jiang Nianti's fishing heart finally died. She calmly closed the door and walked past the gatehouse, leaning towards Xiao Yingzhu.
Before he and I stood in front of the building for long, we saw a bright light gradually appearing from the other side of the thick fog in the distance.
The two lighted pale yellow lanterns were coming towards here.
Suddenly, a bright light like a beacon appeared in the darkness where it was difficult to see the scenery clearly. Jiang Nian was instantly happy. Standing beside Xiao Yingzhu, he looked up at him and smiled. He raised his hand to cover his face and said, "Are they here?"
"Um."
Xiao Yingzhu paused for a moment at the two lanterns and recognized the person walking in front with his excellent eyesight.
"It's Ah He and others."
After receiving the confirmation, Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to touch his chest, and sighed with relief: "I was almost going into the inner room just now. I was worried that something bad would come out of it."
Xiao Yingzhu on the side did not respond. Hearing the faint laughter, Jiang Nian stopped sighing instantly, raised his hand and pinched his hand without too much force.
"You're the only one who's brave, alright."
Before Xiao Yingzhu could say anything, a figure holding a lantern emerged from the thick fog, and the outline gradually became clear in the fog. After seeing the person clearly, Jiang Nian immediately let go of the hand that was pinching Xiao Yingzhu and walked forward.
"Ahe."
The visitor responded, and the woman's face emerged from the thick fog. Her smile did not look scary under the pale yellow lantern, and she looked particularly kind in this place that seemed like a desolate mountain.
"I didn't see anyone at the place I had prepared for you, so I thought maybe the roads were too complicated and I took the wrong path at the fork in the road."
"Over the years, the trees have all grown similar, making it difficult to tell them apart."
"Now that I see you, I feel relieved. Come back with me."
Jiang Nian nodded in response, then turned to Xiao Yingzhu, who had remained silent, and said, "Let's go."
—
Ah He and the maid walked one after the other through the thick fog that spread across the mountains, with Jiang Nian and Xiao Yingzhu in the middle.
During the time they had been back in the house, Jiang Nian hadn't seen Xiao Yingzhu speak. Although he usually didn't talk much, he would still say a little. Feeling something was wrong, she reached out and pulled Xiao Yingzhu's sleeve that was hanging by his side.
"What's wrong?"
Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes and looked at her from a natural angle: "?"
"Why aren't you talking?"
“…”
Jiang Nian asked the question in a low voice so that only the two of them could hear it. As if she was waiting for her to say this, Xiao Yingzhu leaned down slightly and glanced at her casually.
It would have been fine if she hadn't asked. After she asked, seeing the pair of eyes that seemed to imply that there was something wrong around her, Jiang Nian became careless and nervous again. She then thought of what she had heard before, that there would be some monsters in the deep mountains and forests that would pretend to be humans to deceive passers-by.
Although this kind of story was probably fake, in this situation where there were only her and Xiao Yingzhu around, and no one in front or behind said a word, just moving forward, and there was still thick fog all around, it was hard for Jiang Nian not to feel a little scared. She glanced at Xiao Yingzhu tentatively and lowered her voice: "Is the situation around here unusual?"
After getting the reaction he wanted, Xiao Yingzhu raised a smile and replied casually, "Not yet."
"?"
Jiang Nian paused for a moment and suddenly clenched his fists.
Are you teasing her again?
Just use her to pass the time.
—
After resting for one night in the sect, Jiang Nian had to say goodbye to Ah He the next day. Due to the tight schedule, Jiang Nian did not ask many questions about the sect after meeting Ah He.
In addition, the time he stayed in the sect was very short, so he didn't see Xiao Yingzhu's grandmother from beginning to end. Jiang Nian didn't care about these things.
I just spoke a few more words to Ah He when we said goodbye.
"The old lady told me that if you and Xiaozhu come here next time, she will prepare etiquette in advance. Please don't be offended if the etiquette is not fully utilized this time."
With his hands held by Ah He, feeling the warmth of his palms, Jiang Nian nodded and said, "Okay, I will."
At the foot of Zongmen Mountain, a carriage was already waiting for them on the road not far away. Ah He did not want to delay their journey any longer, so he withdrew his hand.
Jiang Nian said goodbye to Ah He again and got on the carriage with Xiao Yingzhu.
—
The scenery outside the window gradually became familiar. The afternoon sunlight weakened. Jiang Nian looked forward through the window, and the outline of the Jiang Mansion gradually became clear in his vision.
She held the wooden box beside her in her hand, lowered the curtain, and turned to look at Xiao Yingzhu opposite her.
Caught off guard, she met his gaze and saw her own shadow reflected in his dark pupils. Jiang Nian was subconsciously stunned, pursed her lips, and spoke without thinking.
After a moment, she found her voice and asked, "...Regarding the matter at the Seven Gorges Mountain Mine, if Young Master Qin has any progress, please let me know."
She was a little concerned about what she had said to Xiao Yingzhu before about the map.
According to her impression of the mountains on the map she saw in the modern era, the shape of the mountains in Huandu matched perfectly, but she didn't know how many years had passed between Huandu and the modern era...
Noticing that Jiang Nian's thoughts were somewhat distracted, Xiao Yingzhu glanced at her and asked, "Thinking about the map?"
“!”
Xiao Yingzhu keenly noticed what he was thinking, and Jiang Nian smiled helplessly.
"Yes, I'm worried... my memory is wrong. If I go to those places and don't find the mines."
"Then I'd be wasting human resources and time."
Xiao Yingzhu listened to her with half-closed eyes, tapping the table casually with his fingertips.
"No problem, those places you mentioned..."
“It was previously classified as a place to be inspected.”
"Your Majesty is planning to send someone to investigate. If the information is consistent, I will send someone to investigate the other places you mentioned."
I didn't expect the timing she mentioned would be so coincidental.
Jiang Nian blinked: "Is that so? Then I'll wait for good news next time."
The Wu Mi people always do some fancy things. Jiang Nian is really worried that Dong Lan will do something more sinister in order to attack Huandu, such as airdropping poisonous corpses, or launching another wave of plague, or infecting bugs with viruses or something...
Seeing that Jiang Nian was a little distracted, Xiao Yingzhu glanced at her for a moment and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
“…”
Jiang Nian subconsciously wanted to speak out what was in her mind, but these thoughts were too inhumane and might make Xiao Yingzhu worry too much. She looked at Xiao Yingzhu for a moment, and finally sighed and shook her head.
"Nothing, I just thought of something rather whimsical."
Seeing Xiao Yingzhu's meaningful look, Jiang Nianzheng's expression became serious and he repeated, "Really..."
I felt that if I evaded him, it might make Xiao Yingzhu even more suspicious.
Jiang Nian paused for a moment and sighed, "If I have time, I'll tell you next time."
“…”
Seeing that the gaze fixed on her face was turned away, Xiao Yingzhu didn't intend to pursue it further. Jiang Nian smiled and said, "So let's stop here for today?"
She had been paying attention to the scenery outside the carriage. Now that the Jiang Mansion was completely in front of her, she had to get off.
The curtain of the carriage was pulled open by the servant, and Jiang Nian picked up the wooden box that he had been holding in his hand and prepared to get out of the carriage.
But the moment he stepped out of the carriage, he suddenly thought of something.
"Oh, right—"
She blinked: "Is the notebook I gave you still there?"
"?"
Meeting Xiao Yingzhu's inquiring gaze, Jiang Nian said somewhat embarrassedly, "There are many clues there that can help me understand this era, and..."
Most of the content in that book records the traces encountered along the way in Cang County.
If everything that happened afterwards was recorded, then all the events related to the cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu could be collected.
But how could she possibly say such a thing openly?
"I'll need it later."
Xiao Yingzhu didn't mind Jiang Nian's somewhat ambiguous attitude and said to her, "I'll give the trade wind to you when we get back."
The notebook really hadn't been dealt with. Jiang Nian, who had previously imagined that the notebook would meet a tragic end, was surprised for a moment and nodded seriously, "Okay."
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