Chapter 167 (First Release)...
“He even said he wasn’t human,” Qi Lin added.
Ning Wanwan nodded: "Hmm...actually, I'm inclined to believe him, but it seems too absurd..."
Ning Wanwan cautiously expressed her opinion.
Qi Lin glanced at Ning Wanwan's conflicted expression.
Then he thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, I also think what he said is probably true."
Ning Wanwan's eyes lit up: "You think so too? You don't think I'm just overthinking it?"
Qi Lin shook his head.
"Actually, besides selecting and recruiting talented individuals, there was another reason why we left the royal city: to search for traces of demons."
“Zhou Yanyao has always been too lazy to get involved in these kinds of things, so he doesn’t know much about demons.”
Ning Wanwan, the "devil," paused, realizing something. "Is it that... person... disguised as Jeremy?"
Qi Lin didn't rule it out, but answered, "Most likely."
Ning Wanwan slowly exhaled, unsure whether to feel nervous or relieved: "So, besides monsters, there really are things like demons that ordinary people can't understand..."
"Um."
Qi Lin pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Why do you think that monsters are also things that ordinary people cannot understand?"
Ning Wanwan was taken aback by the question: "The existence of monsters is already strange enough..."
Qi Lin remained silent for a long time, then looked at Ning Wanwan with a deep gaze that she couldn't understand, and said, "However, in everyone's eyes, the monsters that they were born with are taken for granted."
Who would think that something they've known since childhood, something as common sense, is strange and abrupt, something that shouldn't exist in this world?
Ning Wanwan was also stunned.
"So that's how it is? Oh, I see..."
Ning Wanwan subconsciously felt that monsters were too abrupt. She always had a feeling that monsters shouldn't exist, like a messy stroke forcibly added to a harmonious painting.
The way others treated monsters made her rarely mention it.
She never tried to unravel this sudden feeling, attributing it solely to a sense of vigilance and fear of danger beyond her control.
Something seemed to be becoming clearer, yet I was plunged into even greater confusion.
Ning Wanwan pursed her lips and whispered, "Qi Lin..." She swallowed the word "My Lord" and quickly asked, "Do you know any places where there are no monsters?"
Qi Lin narrowed his eyes, understanding her meaning: "When you say there are no monsters, do you mean a place where there are none, or even where the concept of 'monster' might not exist?"
Ning Wanwan: "Mmm!"
She was pleasantly surprised; she hadn't expected that Qi Lin would understand the deeper meaning behind her words.
She looked at Qi Lin expectantly, but Qi Lin remained silent for a moment and simply said three words: "I don't know."
Ning Wanwan was somewhat disappointed: "You didn't know either?"
Qi Lin: "Of course there are things I don't know."
Moreover, after meeting you, there is no one who fits this statement better than you.
However, the words only hovered in Qi Lin's throat; he didn't say them aloud.
Moreover… Qi Lin frowned.
It's not just a matter of knowing or not knowing.
As far as he knew, places without monsters simply did not exist in this world.
Everyone knows that the monsters are numerous and omnipresent.
Even Qi Lin himself had never considered whether the existence of monsters was reasonable before Ning Wanwan raised this question.
The blind spots created by this kind of environment are like the darkest place under the lamp, making it almost impossible to discover.
Qi Lin finally began to take the recent events seriously and connected them together.
All of this seems to revolve around this village. Or rather, it could be said to revolve around Ning Wanwan.
In the past, he might have reported the new clues to the capital, gaining assistance before getting into bigger trouble, but now...
He looked down at Ning Wanwan.
The consequences of how others in the capital treat her are unpredictable.
Let's prioritize her safety.
After that, we need to send more people to thoroughly and carefully investigate everything again.
Ning Wanwan was still thinking about demons and monsters when she looked up and suddenly found Qi Lin staring at her with deep, dark eyes, seemingly pondering something.
Ning Wanwan: "What's wrong?"
Caught red-handed, Qi Lin calmly looked away, as if nothing had happened: "It's nothing."
After a pause, Qi Lin continued, "Demons are very dangerous beings; he might be targeting you."
"Try not to be alone after this. Be careful to avoid it. If you really can't avoid it, stall for time and wait for me, or we can come."
Ning Wanwan nodded vigorously, looking very obedient and serious.
A slight smile appeared on Qi Lin's face.
"You've provided a very important clue."
"Afterwards, I will have someone investigate Jeremy himself," Qi Lin said finally. "I will let you know when I have the results."
Ning Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Okay, thank you..."
The girl's face finally relaxed slightly, and a faint smile unconsciously curved her lips.
Qi Lin's gaze lingered on the girl's slight smile, then he nodded to her, thus ending the conversation.
Then he strode away, his steps still steady, yet with a hint of urgency, as if he was about to take care of important business.
Ning Wanwan watched the other person leave, and was about to turn around and leave as well, when she suddenly noticed that the other person had stopped and turned back to look at her.
"You..." He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
Ning Wanwan had always seen composure, steadiness, and rationality on Qi Lin's face; it was rare to see him show any sign of struggle or doubt.
At this moment, Qi Lin, like Zhou Yanyao, also seemed like a young man.
Ning Wanwan thought he had something else to say, so she stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"
Qi Lin paused again, considered his words carefully, and then continued, "Ning Wanwan, I had some dreams last night."
Ning Wanwan noticed that Qi Lin said "some" instead of "one".
Qi Lin didn't seem to be planning to tell her about his dream right now, but for some reason, he called her back.
"What kind of dream was it?" Ning Wanwan immediately asked.
Is it related to my past memories?
Qi Lin: "I dreamed about you, I dreamed about Zhou Yanyao, and I dreamed about myself."
Ning Wanwan's heart started beating faster involuntarily.
If what Qi Lin said is true, then my familiarity with Qi Lin and Zhou Yanyao is not without reason; they really did know each other before!
Although I don't know why, apart from myself who genuinely has amnesia, even Qi Lin and Zhou Yanyao have no recollection of it...
Ning Wanwan said softly, "Did you dream about... anything else?"
As she spoke, Ning Wanwan realized that her voice was trembling slightly from nervousness and excitement.
Qi Lin: "...Yes."
Qi Lin's expression was cautious and heavy. Even though he had already decided to speak, he seemed to be constantly thinking, wanting to be more certain about what he was about to say.
“Ning Wanwan,” he said, “it’s like we weren’t in this world before.”
"...!"
Ning Wanwan slowly opened her eyes wide.
Her mind raced for a long time, but it still felt somewhat sluggish.
"Not in this world... what does that mean?"
Ning Wanwan hurriedly stepped forward, even though she hadn't fully understood Qi Lin's meaning yet, she still felt that his words were very important.
Qi Lin fell silent again.
After a while, he continued to speak.
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure right now, and I haven't had time to investigate anything. I was planning to tell you after I had other evidence and inferences."
But for some reason, driven by a kind of urgent intuition, he first told Ning Wanwan about his dream as a reminder.
"The matter of demons is not simple; it is very likely directly related to what happens in our dreams."
"As for other things, I don't know much more right now. Just take this as me saying something casually, because I might also fall into a misconception and be misled."
"You can remember it for now, but you don't need to take it too seriously," Qi Lin said, something that didn't seem like something he would normally say.
He frowned, clearly also caught up in a problem that was puzzling him.
Ning Wanwan: "Okay..."
The girl's face was contorted with worry because of Qi Lin's words; she was clearly very concerned.
He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept well all day.
Qi Lin suddenly felt that it might be better to wait until he had found out the truth before telling her.
"Don't overthink it." He reached out and extended his palm toward Ning Wanwan, trying to comfort her.
But in the end, it was taken back.
The two are still not close enough.
Perhaps it will take some time before we can make further progress.
However, Qi Lin is not lacking in patience.
“I’ll do it as soon as possible,” he said. “When I get back tonight, I’ll explain things to you more clearly. Zhou Yanyao will be with us too.”
"Does that make you feel more at ease?"
Qi Lin's words gave Ning Wanwan a slight boost of spirits, although she knew that in just one day, she probably wouldn't get any more important information.
But having one more person, no, two people to help her sort out the clues is something to look forward to.
Confused and lost, Ning Wanwan desperately needed companions at this time.
"I'll wait for you to come back," Ning Wanwan said softly at the end.
Qi Lin was a little surprised. He knew that given Ning Wanwan's socially awkward and introverted personality, it was already quite remarkable that she would take the initiative to say something like that.
"Okay, I'll be back soon." Qi Lin's dark eyes showed a hint of a smile as he nodded to her, then turned and left.
This time it's for real.
He had many urgent matters to attend to, whether it was the blizzard, the chaos in the village, the mystery of the dream, or the traces of the demon... The reason he made a special trip back was because Zhou Yanyao told him about Ning Wanwan.
Ning Wanwan exhaled a breath that seemed to have been held in her chest for a long time, finally escaping the feeling of suffocation.
"This world..."
Ning Wanwan lowered her eyes and murmured a sentence almost silently.
She didn't finish her sentence.
"What is Wanwan saying?" A familiar voice suddenly rang in my ears.
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