Lucian's expression turned serious: "Rover, you've misunderstood."
Rover raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Do elaborate."
Lucian pointed to the last line of the letter.
"Look, what does this sentence say?"
Rover glanced at it: "'Let us reconvene' what's the issue?"
Lucian narrowed his eyes, seeing through everything: "The issue lies right there!"
Lucian: "Think about it. She used the word Reconvene.'"
"As everyone knows, I'm not from Mt. Firmament—I'm not even from Solaris."
"But you're different. You're Jué's master, and you've left untold stories behind on Mt. Firmament."
"So, Changli is inviting you!"
"But since you weren't awake this morning, she changed her plans last minute and handed the letter to me. Perhaps she meant to invite both of us!"
Rover looked half-convinced: "Really?"
"By that logic… could it be that Changli likes me?"
Lucian clicked his tongue and shook his head slightly: "Rover, you're overthinking it."
"Who said an invitation has to be about romance? Couldn't it be about friendship?"
"Couldn't it be because she needs a favor?"
"Couldn't it be a gesture of gratitude for our help in Jinzhou?"
Rover was stunned by Lucian's three rhetorical questions.
She took a moment to collect herself before nodding in realization: "Now that you mention it, that does make sense…"
Lucian nodded in satisfaction: "You're teachable."
Rover took the letter and examined Changli's words herself, scratching her head in confusion: "But if she wanted to invite us, why not just say so directly? Why make it so complicated?"
Lucian pondered for a moment: "Maybe she has something she can't say outright?"
"Either way, let's try to decipher what she wrote first."
Lucian took the letter back: "Behold Hongzhen in its entirety, next to a ring and hanging eaves…' This probably refers to a high vantage point where you can see all of Hongzhen."
"When eternal snow thaw into flowing streams must refer to a specific time."
Rover frowned thoughtfully: "When eternal snow thaw into flowing streams… If taken literally… Does it mean the moment snow melts into water?"
"So, when the sun is strongest… would that be the Hour of Wei?"
Lucian sighed: "Seems like it's similar to how she gave us the sundial and all those strange objects before."
"Looking back now, it really was Changli testing us from behind the scenes back then."
Rover nodded slightly: "It does feel familiar."
"Still, these hints seem tied to Hongzhen's local culture. Let's ask some Hongzhen natives about it."
Abby tilted his head in confusion: "How did you two extract so much meaning from such a simple sentence?"
Lucian grinned: "I'm a thousand Chixias smarter than you, Abby. Of course I can figure it out."
Rover deadpanned: "Since when is 'Chixia' a unit of measurement?"
Abby stomped his foot angrily: "Hey! I'm not stupid at all!"
"It's just that thinking drains a lot of my energy, so this Echo doesn't do it lightly!"
Lucian: "That's what you say, but whether you think or not doesn't make much difference, does it?"
Rover laughed: "You'll hurt his pride if you keep this up."
"You—!" Abby's head practically sprouted visible veins: "I'm ignoring you both!"
With that, Abby vanished into Lucian's Tacet Mark.
Lucian: "Ah, peace and quiet at last."
Abby, from inside the Tacet Mark: "…" Follow current novels on NovelHub(.)net
Rover stopped a young man named Qihong, who appeared to be a local of Hongzhen.
Lucian asked him about the "Eternal snow thaw into flowing streams" reference in the letter.
"Eternal snow thaw into flowing streams?" Qihong chuckled. "Ah, you're outsiders, so it's natural you wouldn't know this tale. It's a legend of Hongzhen—it actually refers to the Hour of Wei, when Hongzhen is at its warmest."
Rover smirked triumphantly: "See? I told you it was the Hour of Wei."
Lucian wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pinched her cheek playfully: "As expected of the woman who tamed dragons."
Weren't you two just asking for directions? Why the sudden PDA?
He turned to the young man: "Is there any story behind eternal snow thaw into flowing streams?"
Qihong recalled the storyteller's words, a hint of nostalgia in his voice: "They say that centuries ago, a wanderer passed through here and saw the mountains buried in snow, the villagers out of firewood. So, using the power of Resonance, they carved a path through the mountains and diverted a hot spring down."
A wanderer? Lucian's expression turned odd.
…Could that wanderer have been Rover?
Ever since he arrived in Jinzhou and met Rover, nearly every legend or story involving some mysterious "wanderer" seemed to tie back to her in some way…
A sudden realization struck him—could Rover be some kind of world-creating deity?!
At that thought, his arm around Rover tightened slightly.
The young man named Qihong continued: "The mist and melted ice flowed westward along the river, like immortals returning to the sea—a breathtaking sight… But as the town developed, the phenomenon faded. Only the phrase as a reference to time remains."
Lucian mused: "Hongzhen has so many stories… Just earlier, I heard an elder speak of one about watching a chess game."
Qihong smiled: "This eternal snow thaw into flowing streams tale is also something I heard from Elder Zou. I never saw it myself, but legends… most are fiction."
Lucian raised an eyebrow curiously: "Oh? You don't believe in these legends?"
Qihong thought for a moment: "Well… it's not that I don't believe them. You mentioned listening to Elder Zou's stories earlier—what did you think?"
Lucian answered bluntly: "A mix of truth and fiction."
Stories like these often had kernels of truth, but the original events might not have been particularly interesting. So, storytellers embellished them into tales the audience would enjoy.
Thus, after being passed down again and again, the stories grew increasingly fantastical.
That's why Lucian usually took such folktales with a grain of salt, never digging too deeply.
Qihong chuckled: "You're quite straightforward."
"But I feel the same way."
"Elder Zou's great-grandfather was a descendant of Hongzhen's early settlers. He grew up hearing tales of Mt. Firmament. When he heard that Hongzhen had been saved by Magistrate Jinhsi's grace, he came here to trace his roots."
"Some townsfolk are curious about what the outside world has become, others wonder how outsiders view them. Elder Zou enjoys answering their questions, and to his surprise, he's become quite popular. The old man's gotten more and more into it…"
Lucian nodded slightly: "So it's turned into a tall-tale contest."
Qihong burst into laughter, finding Lucian's bluntness refreshingly incisive.
"Though I understand why outsiders find Hongzhen mysterious, hearing my hometown spun into something so mystical feels… strange."
"Especially recently, with people from Jinzhou coming to Hongzhen for… research? To them, we're practically figures from historical legends. Someone even asked me if eating Phoenix Tail Fruit could prolong your life."
"Time… what a terrifying thing…"