Chapter 97
The group searched inside and outside the church for two full rounds, but there was still no sign of Jiang Liu.
Zhao Ziming’s face was pale as he collapsed on the spot. “It’s over, it’s over. What do we do now?”
Tang Rui hadn’t expected that a single sentence from him could make a living person disappear. He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He mimicked Jiang Liu’s actions, sitting under the wall and staring at it for a long time, then hesitantly picked up the still-unlocked phone.
“Should we try it again?”
Jiang He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, his expression still grim. “It’s fine if we all disappear together, but what if we have to leave one by one each time?”
He had seen it clearly. Jiang Liu had only asked where Tang Ruo and the other were. It was Tang Rui’s sentence, “find them,” that made Jiang Liu disappear. Did this thing require two people to be present to make a wish?
If so, wouldn’t one of them inevitably be left behind in the end?
Jiang He’s questions came one after another, giving Zhao Ziming a headache. He waved his hand. “Let’s not think that far ahead. If the Holy Wall granted Tang Rui’s wish, what will happen to him next?”
Thinking of this problem, his face grew even paler, and he stared intently at Tang Rui. “Do you feel uncomfortable at all?”
Tang Rui was also taken aback by the question and shook his head blankly.
While the three of them were lost in confusion, on the other side, Jiang Liu slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she felt being rising heat.
Not far away was a constantly burning fireplace. The thick overcoat she was wearing now felt like a burden. She impatiently unbuttoned it, staring blankly at the strange yet familiar surroundings.
If one hadn’t experienced it personally, it would be hard to believe that one could be teleported to another place in such a short time. And looking at the layout and furnishings around her—it was just like the room in the wall’s image.
Perhaps she had made a noise on the bed, as a wary voice suddenly came from outside. “Who’s there?”
The voice was kept low, like a whisper in the night, still carrying a breathy quality, but its tone was stern and grave, very much like Tang Ruo.
Jiang Liu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly jumped off the bed. Sure enough, she saw a familiar figure by the window.
Tang Ruo was wearing an ill-fitting European-style formal dress, its cumbersome skirt ridiculously rolled up at her waist. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes when she saw Jiang Liu clearly, and her expression finally relaxed a little. “Jiang Liu?”
“It’s me.” Jiang Liu nodded, then turned to look behind her. Xu Meng was indeed at the table. Seeing her clearly, her expression became excited, her face flushing as she cried out, “Sister Jiang! How did you get here!”
Jiang Liu was about to ask about the situation when a series of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, followed by a man’s voice asking, “I heard some noise just now. Did the two young ladies encounter any trouble?”
It was the voice of a strange man, who was now standing by the door.
Jiang Liu saw Xu Meng’s face turn pale as she quickly covered her mouth, her brow furrowed in annoyance as if she had done something wrong.
But Tang Ruo reacted quickly. She made a shushing gesture to Jiang Liu and then calmly spoke, “It was just Frina having a nightmare. It’s nothing serious.”
The man outside was clearly not reassured. He spoke again after hearing her. “Is Miss Frina all right?”
As he spoke, a clicking sound was heard. The man was trying to push the door open, completely disregarding that there were two unmarried ladies inside.
A hint of annoyance appeared on Tang Ruo’s brow. She gestured to Jiang Liu, signaling her to hide on the bed. She herself picked up a coffee cup from the table and walked to the door, pushing it open and forcefully smashing the cup on the ground, acting like an arrogant young lady.
“Frina is fine! And we’d be even better if you didn’t try to peek in on us every so often!”
The glass cup smashed on the corridor floor, making a crisp noise. The flying shards startled the man, who didn’t dare to dodge and could only swallow his anger and reply in a low voice, “You’re right. I hope you two rest well.”
As he spoke, he didn’t forget to quickly glance around the room. Seeing no one else inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, quickly helped Tang Ruo close the door, and one could faintly hear him calling for someone to come and clean up.
Jiang Liu’s eyes darted around, and she understood everything. “You’re being watched? You can’t get out?”
After what had just happened, she subconsciously lowered her voice, afraid of being heard.
Tang Ruo frowned and shook her head, her voice still very soft. “It’s that we’re not allowed to go out.”
Can’t get out and not allowed to go out represented completely different meanings.
The three of them huddled on the bed, discussing everything in hushed voices. Xu Meng’s face was pale, and she still looked a bit drowsy. “Sister Jiang, how did you get here?”
This place was heavily guarded, with people on watch day and night, which was why Tang Ruo hadn’t made a move yet.
Asked this, Jiang Liu touched her nose with a bit of embarrassment. “I just… came over.”
After speaking, she even made a horizontal line with her hand. “With a swoosh, I went from the church to here.”
Tang Ruo and Xu Meng exchanged a look, both speechless.
What was this swoosh situation? Could she explain it clearly?
Fortunately, Jiang Liu didn’t waste words. She coughed lightly and explained the current situation. “We went to the church. I prayed at the Holy Wall and found out your location, and then I was here.”
She thought Tang Ruo would ask what the Holy Wall was, but to her surprise, she just frowned, looking at her nervously. “The Holy Wall? You actually went near there?”
Jiang Liu couldn’t help but frown and asked back suspiciously, “You know about the Holy Wall?”
Tang Ruo didn’t speak, but her face looked grave. Her hands tightly gripped her slingshot, never relaxing.
Xu Meng sighed softly and chose her words carefully to explain.
“As soon as we entered the instance, we were in the mayor’s manor. The townspeople mistook us for the mayor’s daughters and locked us in here. We haven’t been able to get out.”
“Then where are the real mayor’s daughters?” Jiang Liu was puzzled.
“They were secretly sent away by the mayor to take refuge when the disease broke out. They don’t know about this, so they mistakenly locked us in the room.”
Tang Ruo finally spoke, looking at Jiang Liu with a complicated expression. “The entire manor is under control. The mayor is bedridden, and the outside is full of guards from the residents.”
Jiang Liu slowly pursed her lips, her expression gradually becoming grave.
This was not the same story they had learned.
“We can’t leave because they need to use people to threaten the mayor to hand over something.”
Tang Ruo continued, pulling out a roll of old parchment from her rolled-up skirt. “I found this in the room. I think… this is probably the mayor’s plea for help.”
She spoke so quickly that Jiang Liu didn’t even have a chance to interrupt. Then, she gestured towards the window. Jiang Liu tiptoed over and saw eight soldiers guarding in the dark, each with a sword at their side, occasionally glancing at the window as if to check if they were still there.
“It’s almost time for the shift change. Now is the best time to leave. I was going to take this opportunity to send Xiao Meng out to inform you, but now that you’re here, things are much easier.”
Although the defense here was tight, she had seen Jiang Liu’s skills. Evading these people should not be a problem at all.
Seeing that Jiang Liu still wanted to say something, Tang Ruo slowly shook her head at her. “Don’t worry, we won’t be in danger here. Come find us after you’ve read the notes.”
Jiang Liu heard the tension in her voice and knew that now was not the right time. She could only grip the notes tightly, glance at the two of them, and then, while Tang Ruo distracted the guards, opened the window and rushed out.
From the thick, heavy parchment notes, Jiang Liu finally understood the meaning of the church’s existence, and also finally understood—Qiao Ke’s purpose in setting up this side quest.
By the time she successfully returned to the church, the sky was already getting light.
There were already a few scattered figures on the street. The wind and snow that had blown all night had finally subsided. The thick snow on the road almost came up to Jiang Liu’s ankles. She jumped up a few times, avoided people, and climbed over the wall into the church.
Before she had even landed, a soft voice sounded from behind her. “Where did you run off to fool around again?”
Jiang Liu’s movements instantly stiffened. She braced herself and turned around to see that Yang Caisi had appeared under the wall at some point.
For some reason, a sense of guilt, like a wife catching her husband staying out all night, rose in her heart. She couldn’t help but cough lightly. “It’s all because of this godforsaken instance.”
Yang Caisi chuckled, and her originally cold face instantly melted away, like melting ice and snow, as she brushed past Jiang Liu’s shoulder, gently patting off the falling snow. “What are you feeling guilty about?”
After speaking, her expression changed strangely. She squinted and looked at Jiang Liu suspiciously. “Sister, you’re not really hiding something from me, are you?”
Jiang Liu subconsciously hid the roll of notes at her waist, her face calm as she blinked. “How could I? I can’t even think of you enough.”
She put her arm around Yang Caisi’s shoulder, leaning close to her face but not touching it. Instead, she asked playfully, “I’d like to ask Sister Yang, when exactly did you have improper designs on me?”
In her memory, Yang Caisi had always been the image of a good girl.
The moment Jiang Liu got close, Yang Caisi’s throat moved. She stared into those eyes for a long time, half sighing, half reminiscing. “A long, long time ago…”
Before the words were finished, the rest were swallowed by Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu recalled the mission requirements, closed her eyes, and slowly deepened the kiss.
By the time the two returned to the kitchen, the smile on Yang Caisi’s lips couldn’t be hidden. Zhao Ziming watched, his heart muttering, wondering how she had changed into a different person in just a short while.
Then he saw Jiang Liu bouncing in from outside the door, and he finally reacted, quickly putting down the firewood in his hand and running over.
“You’re finally back! Where on earth did you go last night? Are you hurt?”
As he spoke, he subconsciously wanted to pull Jiang Liu to check on her, but just as he touched her sleeve, a pair of cold eyes fixed on him. The temperature around him seemed to drop instantly. Zhao Ziming subconsciously shivered and looked up to see Yang Caisi’s warning gaze.
He weakly retracted his hand, coughed as if nothing had happened, and scratched his head. “My food is about to burn. Sister Yang, you should check on Sister Jiang. I’ll go cook!”
Jiang Liu laughed and cursed, signaling Yang Caisi not to mind him. She thought for a moment before speaking, “After we eat, we need to go back to the clinic.”
—This was the only legitimate reason to get away from Yang Caisi.