The communicator fell silent.
Both parties on the call were very quiet during these ten seconds.
Bai Shu was somewhat lost in thought, his face enveloped in the dim moonlight, unaware of his current expression.
If there were a mirror... he would see that his face, which had been somber for twenty years, showed a very faint, very slight smile.
"Everything you’ve done has been worthwhile."
Zhou Jiren thoughtfully gave Bai Shu some time to process, then spoke again, his tone filled with conviction, "If he is the right person, then nothing is impossible!"
Bai Shu came back to his senses.
He asked in confusion, "If he is the right person... why didn’t I notice when leaving the uninhabited zone? I didn’t see any unusual spirit fluctuations on him."
"Enough about the uninhabited zone... Gu Shen has already noticed. It’s your fault the aura you had was too frightening," Zhou Jiren muttered in complaint, then added sentimentally, "We only know that the ’key’ is the greatest treasure at the spiritual level, but nobody knows what the ’key’ actually is, or perhaps Allen Turing’s ’key’ also has its own consciousness, or maybe it was a pure and lovely girl, and seeing your shabby appearance, she must have been scared."
Bai Shu could only remain silent.
"Moreover... the area bordering Da Du near the uninhabited zone, those Heavenly Eyes, they all failed, didn’t they?" Zhou Jiren said calmly, "Our entry into Da Du was exceptionally smooth, although you hid your tracks, my clearance wasn’t able to be that clean and precise, perhaps this is the ’key’ telling us in its way that it is aware of our presence and willing to cooperate with our actions."
Bai Shu could only gently utter this one word in the end.
Further discussion was pointless.
The communication ended.
He looked up at the large moon, his figure once again enveloped by the snow-white fog.
The pitch-black silhouette stopped in front of Lion Alley.
The noise from Freedom Hall dissolved in the night wind.
The nocturne came to an end.
Now, only silence remained in the long night.
Although the night was deep, it was not dark, as dim yellow lights lit up one by one on both sides of the old street, linking together as if reaching straight to the horizon.
Unlike the bustling areas near the river bank, the old city of Da Du quieted down early, but even if no one passed through during the long night, the old city always kept a light on... perhaps to tell those living there that no matter how dark it gets, just keep walking forward, and there will always be a gleam of light.
A man and a woman walked under the mottled lights of the old city.
Song Ci focused on walking forward, dressed in an expensive suit and a meticulous hairstyle, but walking awkwardly. Despite looking good in his clothes, he felt they weren’t as comfortable as his floral shirt and flip-flops.
After returning to the ancient house in Lion Alley, the lady proposed to have a private talk with Dr. Xiao Gu.
So he and Nan Jin took a walk around the alley.
Song Ci felt both proud and a little guilty; he wondered if this counted as him returning home in glory with Xiao Lu, yet he worried about being recognized by acquaintances who might spill embarrassing things he’d said over drinks throughout the years.
Fortunately... it was already late at night, and the shops in the old city were closed.
There shouldn’t... be anyone to see, right?
"Why are you so nervous?"
Lu Nanjin sharply caught Song Ci’s unease.
She frowned at the man with the strange and awkward walking posture, who was constantly looking back, and asked, "Are you worried about my sister?"
Song Ci whispered, "But I’m more worried about bumping into someone I know."
He was not the type to be fidgety!
If he couldn’t hide it, he might as well be honest about it.
"Why worry about bumping into someone you know?" Lu Nanjin was somewhat puzzled.
Song Ci was just about to speak.
"It’s so late ... are any shops still open?" Lu Nanjin tiptoed slightly, catching sight of a shop in the distance on the old street. Song Ci’s expression turned very strange—it was Old Xu’s Beef Noodle House. Isn’t this guy usually closed early?
At the entrance of the noodle house, the owner, with a towel draped around his neck, was squatting down ready to pull down the metal rolling door when he suddenly paused, scratching his head as he looked at the man and woman approaching together in the distance.
Lu Nanjin immediately recognized an old acquaintance she hadn’t seen in many years.
Song Ci could only silently commend her in his heart for her great eyesight and memory.
He had thought that, after not returning to Da Du, after not coming back to the old city district for ten years... the memories here should have faded in his mind, but unexpectedly, Lu Nanjin remembered everything, and very clearly at that.
She pulled Song Ci along as they jogged towards the noodle house, then suddenly slowed her steps as they got close, walking lightly and slowly. She remembered that long ago, the wife of Xu’s Noodle House’s owner had quite a bad temper.
Old Xu chuckled foolishly. He wanted to lift the rolling door back up, but Lu Nanjin stopped him from doing so. She had just left Freedom Hall, still dressed in the formal attire of the ball, a black yarn long dress, which nobody in the old city district ever wore.
Like a princess who had escaped from a palace.
She slightly lifted the edge of her dress, not because it was dirty, but simply because "stooping" was inconvenient. Luckily, she wore this dress today; if it had been a trench coat... there would be three long and short knives at her waist, making this movement inconvenient.
She slowly leaned back, her core tightened, and bit by bit tilted her body to get past the metal rolling gate.
Song Ci followed right behind Lu Nanjin, picking up the excess of her skirt, bending over as he entered. The two, dressed in a suit and a long dress, looked like a couple who had just finished a wedding photoshoot... After entering the noodle house, Old Xu gestured with his hand, signaling that someone was resting upstairs.
Lu Nanjin gestured with her hand, indicating that she understood, then she raised her finger to her lips and whispered softly, "Old Xu’s wife can be quite fierce... Be careful."
Song Ci quickly nodded to show he understood.
He couldn’t help wanting to laugh, because he really wanted to tell Nanjin... that not long ago, he and Gu Shen had come here for a late-night snack, and when they left, they had also thoroughly thrashed Zhao Qi.
The two sat at a small table, and soon Old Xu brought over two steaming bowls of beef noodles.
Old Xu smiled foolishly, "Xiao Lu... you... you’re back."
Lu Nanjin smiled too, "Yes, I’m back."
Old Xu scurried off to scoop two big spoonfuls of beef, earnestly saying, "This is on the house for you."
Lu Nanjin hesitated a moment before accepting without further refusal.
She held the bowl with both hands, expressing her thanks respectfully.
This scene, observed by Song Ci, somehow plucked at a string in his heart.
In everyone’s impression, Lu Nanjin had always been very lonely, very cold... but in Song Ci’s impression, this girl was not like that; she was just habitually hiding herself beneath spikes. In fact, beneath that cold façade, there was a warm heart.
It’s not about love, nor about kindness... those words that describe noble traits are too big, too vague, too inaccurate.
Lu Nanjin was just carefully, cautiously interacting with the world in her own way.
Two big spoonfuls of beef were delivered into Lu Nanjin’s bowl by the owner.
Song Ci made a gesture to Old Xu, giving him a thumbs up to express his gratitude for this assist.