Chapter 196: What Did You Say Her Name Is?! (Patreon)

"What is this?"

Nian eyed the gourd on the table with suspicion. One hand rubbed her chin while the other kept tapping the tabletop.

She could definitely sense the aura of her own siblings coming from inside that gourd.

"Can I take a look at what's inside?"

"Of course."

Saito made an inviting gesture.

Following Saito's explanation, Nian flipped the active-release switch on the Xiranite gourd. Glowing green Xiranite particles surged out in an instant and drifted around her.

"This thing… is kind of interesting."

Nian stared at the particles beside her in amazement. Within those points of light she could sense a faint, muddled trace of Feranmut power, just like what she'd felt earlier on Saito and Chen Qianyu.

That only made her more curious. When had this thing been cooked up, and how had she not heard a single word about it?

And now that she was feeling it up close and carefully, she could clearly tell that the Feranmut power within the particles differed from their own power in some extremely subtle way.

"I'm kind of lost right now. Don't tell me this is that lousy chess player's doing again?"

Nian muttered under her breath. Among her siblings, only that guy had a passion for stirring up trouble everywhere. Whenever something didn't add up, pinning it on him was right 90% of the time.

Unfortunately, this was the remaining 10%, and the most absurd case among that 10% at that.

"Miss Nian, what I'm about to say may overturn some of what you know. But please believe that we mean no harm."

Saito looked at Nian across from him and gave her a heads-up first.

He and the Administrator had decided this before setting out: some of Endfield's origins could be revealed directly to certain of the Sui siblings, to spare themselves a lot of needless trouble.

If they wanted to produce Behemoth hearts and Xiranite on Terra, cooperating with the Sui family was absolutely necessary. Being honest early would only lay a solid foundation for the partnership to come.

Saito's sudden words made Nian swallow reflexively, but she put on a show of calm and answered:

"I'm Nian. What big scene haven't I seen? Just say it."

"Here's how it is…"

…

…

In the tallest building in Lungmen, a broad-shouldered figure stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, pipe in hand, gazing at the view outside without a word.

"Lord Wei, the young lady has returned to the hotel safely."

A Shadow Guard in black clothes and a black bamboo hat knelt on one knee and reported to the man at the window in a flat voice.

"Hoo…"

A ring of smoke drifted from Wei Yenwu's mouth. His gaze toward Lungmen held a touch of wistfulness, as if he were recalling some past that no one else knew.

"Have you found out who that man is?"

"We have. His name is Saito. He only arrived in Lungmen yesterday…"

The Shadow Guard reported in exhaustive detail every move Saito had made since entering Lungmen: whose car he rode in, whom he met along the way, and which direction he'd come from.

"Surname Gu…"

Wei Yenwu's brow creased slightly. There weren't many families with the surname Gu in Great Yan, so checking was simple, and none of them had a younger generation that would produce an Aegir.

Though the man had a Great Yan face, he was either an ordinary commoner or going by an alias.

Add to that the direction he'd come from, and the fact that the first person he met after reaching Lungmen was an Ursus.

Few people knew what had happened back then, and fewer still knew where Edward and his sister were buried.

"Koschei."

Wei Yenwu could hardly help thinking of that name, and his grip on the pipe tightened a little without his noticing.

Lungmen had been at peace for so many years that he'd nearly forgotten there was someone in that northern country who had always coveted Lungmen's land.

Wei Yenwu wasn't naive enough to believe that taking Talulah away meant Koschei had truly given up on Lungmen. It was just that certain news out of Ursus over the years had, in fact, let him relax his guard a little.

Especially recently, when word had even come back that Koschei had stepped down. He'd dragged Old Lin and the others out for a proper drink over it, in fact.

Now it seemed that old Black Snake wasn't going to vanish so easily after all.

"Did that man do anything besides leave the flowers?"

"No. He didn't even exchange a word with the young lady. After returning to their lodgings, he soon set out for the slums with his companion."

"The slums…"

Wei Yenwu raised an eyebrow, took out his phone, and sent Lin Kojui a message asking him to keep an eye on things in the slums.

"By the way, Lord Wei, there's one more thing."

"Speak."

"It concerns that man's companion."

As he spoke, the Shadow Guard stepped forward and handed Wei Yenwu a photograph. It showed a beaming Lung girl in a tracksuit, who looked about Hui-chieh's age and even resembled her a little in appearance.

Wei Yenwu returned to his desk, tossed the photo aside, and lifted his teacup to blow on it.

"What about this girl?"

"According to the entry information she filled in, her surname is Chen. Her name is Chen Qianyu."

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of hot tea sprayed out of Wei Yenwu's mouth. The Shadow Guard seemed to have seen it coming, and had already turned sideways to dodge.

"Cough, cough… What did you say her name was?"

"Lord Wei, her name is Chen Qianyu."

"Chen Qianyu… Chen… yu…"

Wei Yenwu held the photo and repeated the name several times. The more he looked at that face, the more it resembled his own niece, and he admitted that for a moment his composure had truly slipped.

"Go… go and look into it. Look into that name."

Wei Yenwu's expression gradually darkened. He smelled a storm coming more and more strongly. With so many coincidences piling up, there was no way he could take it as an accident.

All of this surely had something to do with Koschei.

The Shadow Guard bowed his head in acknowledgment, but just as he was about to leave, a new message came in. He stopped mid-turn and knelt once more before Wei Yenwu's desk.

"Lord Wei, I have just received the latest news."

"Speak."

"After entering the slums, those two came into contact with the ninth of the Sui family."

"Nian? Where are the people from the Sui Observatory?!"

"They're on their way there."

If the expression on Wei Yenwu's face earlier had only been a little surprised, now it had sunk completely.

"Lord Wei, shall we take action?"

"Keep watching for now. Don't act rashly. Let me think a moment."

Wei Yenwu pinched the teacup in his hand, his head aching, and waved the Shadow Guard away.

The dark figure vanished in an instant. Wei Yenwu turned to the window once more, but now, in his eyes, the sky over Lungmen seemed to have grown a little gloomier without his noticing.