Xiao Qi’s gaze was filled with scrutiny; they considered their location rather hidden, yet this young boy had found them directly, which piqued their curiosity.
"I’ve been following you guys just now, so that’s how I found you."
He admitted straightforwardly.
Scratching his head sheepishly and blushing, he looked towards Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi watched him in return; this boy was rather interesting.
An entire month had passed. Mu Yi, Mu Fang, and the factory manager had been taken away for investigation. They confessed without reservation, and it seemed that the results were already in. The mastermind behind the scenes had been found, leaving only the final cleanup.
But... was everything really over?
Such a meticulous beginning and yet such a sloppy ending—Xiao Qi didn’t believe it, which is why they had encountered this situation; it was their last breakthrough.
Finding Bai Zhi had also been a desperate measure. Without Xingxing, and with Mu Yi and Mu Fang reverting to their old ways, there was no tension at all, like dead pigs unfazed by boiling water.
It’s all the same to me what you do.
Xiao Qi and the others were infuriated but helpless, forced to look for another breakthrough.
"So that’s it. By the way, do you like reading magazines? If there’s something you like, I am rather fond of ’Fang Yuan’. What about you?"
Bai Zhi’s sudden question caught the boy off guard. He paused awkwardly before he spoke.
"I do read. I like that one, Mingyu..."
He was too embarrassed to look at Xiao Qi as he said that, "Even though I try hard, sometimes I still borrow magazines from classmates. Everyone here really likes that magazine."
"Oh, the serialized stories in ’X’, right? You know all the scriptures in there, don’t you? There are so many, I didn’t read them."
Bai Zhi said with a smile; both were probing each other, passing messages back and forth. It all came down to one thing; they were testing each other out, wondering if they could trust, and whether they could glean any information from one another.
"Not really, but I can look at explanations, which they usually have. My favorite is, ’A clear mirror is not a stand, originally there is nothing, whence can dust alight?’"
His eyes sparkled as he spoke, as if he truly was a fan of the author.
"Is that so? I wonder if he might be some sixty-year-old man. After all, he’s into Buddhism," Bai Zhi mused seriously, resting her chin on her hand.
"How could that be possible? He’s probably in his thirties or forties, right?"
He wasn’t entirely sure, but he was certain the author couldn’t be in his sixties.
"Oh, I think I’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go, lead the way..."
Bai Zhi smiled, stood up, and continued to carry her things, asking him to lead the way.
"By the way, did you see us hitting someone?"
Bai Zhi threw out the question suddenly as they walked, causing the boy to come to an abrupt halt, visibly nervous.
"No, no. You’re so young; you hit people? I saw you guys at the Iron Chain Bridge on my way back."
He hurried to explain, and Bai Zhi nodded indifferently.
Wasn’t it the weekend today? Would he not usually be coming from school? Maybe the order was reversed, how interesting.
The boy led them through the mountains; an hour later, he looked back and saw that aside from Xiao Qi, who seemed a bit out of breath, Bai Zhi and Wu Wa’s breathing was still as steady as at the start.
"Do you guys climb mountains often? You don’t seem tired at all."
He still pretended to be a city-dweller, wondering how those people could possibly believe him.
"Not tired, I think it’s quite fun," Wu Wa thought it wasn’t much different from their usual training. She could even go faster.
Xiao Qi: "..." He definitely wasn’t that composed.