Chapter 171 Help Her…
It felt as if her entire arm had been forcefully twisted seventeen or eighteen times, with nearly every inch of muscle sending sharp pangs of pain…
After a moment, the pain in her arm gradually subsided, and her blurry vision slowly became clear again. Nanling Yaohua finally saw the scene within the “illusion” once more.
“This is…” Nanling Yaohua’s lips trembled slightly.
The sunlight was intense, spilling onto the weathered stone pavement, almost blinding.
The view encompassed a marketplace wide enough to accommodate several horses side by side; looking ahead, amid the stone walls and green tiles, the eaves jutted out, with shop banners hanging high, swaying gently in the warm breeze.
In the street, carts and horses moved together, and pedestrians flowed continuously.
If the previous scene that had appeared in her mind could have been mistaken for a highly produced film scene, then the moment this current scene flashed through her mind, any lingering doubts she had completely vanished.
This could absolutely not be a film set!
Just considering the enormous scale of this marketplace, which seemed endless at a glance, it was rare to find a production that could replicate such an extensive realistic scene, not to mention the pedestrians and shopkeepers along the streets.
With just a little careful observation, one could see that they were living, breathing people, each with their own lives, diverse in appearance and behavior; they were far from the crowd actors who hurriedly step in based on a few lines of dialogue or even just a brief description.
Each one of them appeared to be “the protagonist,” the main character in the grand play of their own lives.
Nanling Yaohua felt almost certain that this was a true illusion akin to Dream City.
However, because of this, she felt dizzy and couldn’t find Luxianbei in the crowd at first.
For a brief moment, she even doubted whether she had skipped too many “plot points” and inadvertently missed Luxianbei’s “scene,” until she caught sight of Xia Lianqing’s figure and turned her gaze back, finally spotting Luxianbei, small and somewhat stealthy, trailing behind Xia Lianqing.
At this moment, Luxianbei had changed into a simple coarse cloth outfit, her long hair hidden under a yellowing headscarf. She had even deliberately smeared some dirt on her face to cover her stunning beauty, looking no different from a young worker loitering on the street.
Nanling Yaohua, “…”
No wonder she couldn’t find this person earlier; it turned out she had successfully infiltrated!
But where were they going in such a disguise?
Nanling Yaohua pondered and attempted to call out to Luxianbei several times without success, then decided to calm down and secretly observe the movements of Luxianbei and the unknown woman.
Including Luxianbei, their group consisted of exactly twenty people. Apart from Luxianbei and that woman, there were also eighteen robust men with a somewhat cold demeanor.
These strong men were distinctly different from the pedestrians in the marketplace.
It was as if a pack of wolves had mixed in among a group of huskies.
Nanling Yaohua had noticed their presence from the very beginning.
But it wasn’t until they left the bustling market via a side street and headed toward a relatively secluded alley selling paper and brushes that she distinguished the robust men.
The group walked along the relatively quiet side street until they reached the end, entering a somewhat dilapidated and desolate old bookstore, where they paid a handful of copper coins to the old man watching the shop. They then seemed to be searching for something, rummaging around in the old bookstore before quickly departing.
After leaving the old bookstore, the group did not stop at all and hurried on to an abandoned temple, an old charity home, a chaotic earthen dwelling… all remote locations, mostly scattered throughout the corners of the city, and many concealed hidden rooms.
It appeared like some secret base had been intentionally prepared.
During this process, Nanling Yaohua vaguely recognized that they were traversing Yumen Pass, and she could see that they seemed to be searching for someone. As time passed without success, anxiety and gravity appeared on each of their faces.
Yet what she couldn’t understand was why Luxianbei remained silent the entire time, following that woman like air, completely lacking presence. Although other people were intentionally ignoring her, this was…
Not like her at all!
It was already strange for BB Ji not to speak; it was even stranger for her to do nothing while remaining silent.
Usually, even if Luxianbei started as an outsider, she would find a way to stir things up and create her own situation, becoming the core insider…
But now, this BB Ji seemed broken.
Could it be that the illusion affected her, causing some chaotic memories and a complete personality change? Nanling Yaohua wondered.
Just then, she finally heard Luxianbei say her first words.
“Sister, we’ve pretty much wandered through the entire city and still haven’t found the person you’re looking for. I’m a bit tired; how about we head back first?”
“I don’t know, but have you not heard the saying ‘Nothing in the world is difficult if you are willing to give up’? Perhaps the guy you’re looking for isn’t even in the city, or maybe he came in before but has already left?”
“Rather than continuing to waste time like this, we might as well go back and wait—when that guy has some news, we can go find him, resting while waiting for the enemy… Sister, you should know that once you learn to let go, the world will become see-through, just like a remixed DJ version.”
As she spoke, her tone was drawn out, carrying a touch of laziness, making one feel an impulse to give up and just lie flat, even without listening to the content.
Upon hearing this, Nanling Yaohua’s eyes lit up, and a faint, gratified smile appeared on her face.
Now that was right!
Her first words were such a high-density output of negativity; Luxianbei was still the same Luxianbei…
————
Listening to Luxianbei’s continual output, Xia Lianqing, who had already searched through her sister’s usual hiding places yet had not seen a single trace of the enemy, gradually darkened in expression and finally couldn’t help but roar in a low voice, “Shut up!”
After her words fell, she suddenly recalled the chilling demeanor that “Shen Baiwei” had exhibited in Dai Mu Institute and stiffened slightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
Having experienced the earlier incident, she found Shen Baiwei completely inscrutable and couldn’t help but feel a touch of wariness.
As she fell into silence, the group of Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers began to whisper among themselves.
“What does a young girl know? Allowing the enemy to roam within the city, how could that be acceptable?”
“Speaking of which, whose child is this?”
“I’ve never seen her; I don’t understand why Miss Xia must bring her out…”
Xia Lianqing, “…”
I beg you all to be quiet!
This Shen Baiwei, truly a sage-witch’s words; if she accidentally angered her, wouldn’t it only make an already difficult situation even more severe?
But the words had been spoken, and all eighteen Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers had thirty-five pairs of eyes looking on; how could she backtrack now?
Xia Lianqing thought anxiously, stealing a glance at Shen Baiwei, only to be surprised to find she seemed unconcerned about her rudeness, as if she had experienced this countless times and was already accustomed to it.
After a brief pause, she looked around at the Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers, reached out, grabbed Shen Baiwei’s sleeve, pulled her aside, and whispered, “You insisted on coming with us; now you want to advise us to go back. You can’t just want to stroll around, right? What are your intentions?”
Even though she had been coerced by Shen Baiwei and worried that Shen Baiwei might cause trouble in Dai Mu Institute, prompting her to bring her out, she also knew Shen Baiwei must have some purpose. Along the way, she had been wary, but now she oddly hoped Shen Baiwei had good intentions.
Luxianbei shot a sidelong glance at Xia Lianqing, curled her lips, and remained silent.
She, of course, had her own plans—her plan was to do nothing and let Xia Lianqing find her foolish sister on her own… Most likely, Xia Lianqing wouldn’t find her, and then she could persuade Xia Lianqing to return to Dai Mu Institute.
As long as Xia Lianqing returned to Dai Mu Institute, she would likely no longer be seized and tortured to d*ath by the enemies infiltrating the city, then her task would be considered complete.
Speaking of which, if she altered Xia Lianqing’s fate and fulfilled their request, she should be able to return, right?
A lot of time-travel stories write it like that, Luxianbei thought.
Of course, besides these reasons, her continued silence was also due to the fact that on the way here, she vaguely heard the voice that had exposed her identity before echoing in her ear.
Scary, dare not move!
“……” Seeing Luxianbei remain silent for a long time, Xia Lianqing bit her lip and, in a huff, said, “Fine, if you’re not going to talk, then just keep following us! Anyway, I’m not going back until we find the enemy.”
“Oh.” Luxianbei nodded expressionlessly, “Then I estimate that before you start moving tomorrow, there won’t be any results.”
“Moving tomorrow…” At Luxianbei’s words, Xia Lianqing’s heart jolted, and she blurted out, “How do you know…”
“What do I not know?” Luxianbei rolled her eyes, “I know all about your trifles!”
Although part of it was overheard, another part came from having seen the dilapidated state of Yumen Pass, deducing from the results… Luxianbei supplemented in her heart.
Xia Lianqing stared suspiciously at “Shen Baiwei” for a long time, took a deep breath, and deeply bowed, saying, “Please help me, senior! Even if it’s for the innocent civilians, we must find those enemy soldiers; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
Luxianbei, “…”
What kind of moral coercion is this?
Aren’t I just trying to prevent you from getting killed?
Moreover, when did I become a senior?
While she was grumbling inwardly, it was as if a hallucination appeared; a gentle voice suddenly echoed in her ear.
“Help her…”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei paused slightly. Her first instinct was that it was the strange voice that had exposed her identity, but she quickly realized that the voice resembled that of Proxy Player Sister.
However, it was only similar in voice, and the feeling it conveyed was entirely different…
It could be described as gentle.
What was even stranger was that the source of that voice seemed to come from the core of her urban legend entity.
