The Soldier Army warriors of Blackwhit Consul guarding at the door suddenly discovered that the beaming Fogfolk people were rushing out of the room cheering.
At the same time, bursts of cheers erupted, appearing in scattered locations like sporadic gunshots in the distance.
“What’s going on? ” Semiss stared somewhat bewildered at the group of young people before him, who were running out of the doorway embracing and laughing joyfully. He noticed that even the most stern and intimidating one among them—a middle-aged man with stubble and hair tied up in a bun—exuded a sense of elation.
Colonel Ang Pailisi turned his head to glance at Semiss, who was sitting on the bench.
Papors Bondo also walked out of the room leading to the hotel, his expression as relaxed as if he had attended a party.
He came over and sat down beside the colonel.
“What happened? ” asked Colonel Brownlion.
“I… ” Both his arms lightly raised and opened. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. But it seems everyone suddenly received a joyful message. Hmm, it started from that moment when the ‘Radiance’ was turned on. “
Saying this, Bindu became excited. “Ha, heavens. I really don’t know how to describe this meeting and the wonder of that thing. “
Ang Pailisi put down the materials in his hands completely, turned around, and placed his hands on his knees, staring directly at him with an attentive posture.
“I was actually able to meet, in the main hall of that inn, with so many people relevant to the current world landscape. “
He revealed a bitter smile but couldn’t hide the upturn of his lips from inner emotion, lightly waving one hand.
“And that magical thing called the ‘Radiance,’ you wouldn’t believe the sensation it gave me in that instant—a touch that reached straight to my soul. An indescribable feeling, aah, ” he looked up at the white clouds drifting in the sky and a few fragments of leaves slicing through the clouds, “I truly have never looked forward to the arrival of the future so much before. “
Colonel Brownlion thought for a moment, then smiled. “Thank you. Hmm, ” he picked up a document, “Let’s start our work on hand. I just saw this document, and there’s something in it I’d like to understand. “
“Oh? What is it? ” Bindu shifted the stool under him and looked at the document in the Colonel’s hand, which his subordinates had suggested he read first.
A few more figures walked out of the room laughing.
In the breeze, amidst the newly hurriedly-made tarpaulin being spread by several Telanaxi escorts, the Colonel said:
“I’ve noticed that, among these different performances, some versions of the story lines are not the same. So, have you discovered any altered versions of the performances that show signs of being vigorously promoted by someone? “
“Hmm… That… ” Bean Duo frowned.
An eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl with a slightly round face nearby let go of the rope she was tightening and walked over a couple of steps to say,
“Mr. Pailisi, we can look up the records for you on this matter. We’ve gathered and brought along all the available relevant materials related to these theater troupes. “
“Oh, that’s wonderful. ” Ang Pailisi turned his head and said, “And if it’s not too much trouble, could you also help me find the earliest circulating version? “
Just as he was speaking, Cheng Yunze and Anxi came out of the room, and he approached.
“Sir, could I trouble you to step inside for a moment? I have some stories about the Glazed Lamp that Chairman Yang Buchen said I should also share with you. “
“And mine too. ” Anxi said, holding the notebook in his hand and smiling.
“Of course. ” Colonel Brownlion smoothed out his clothes, stood up from his chair, and followed them into the room.
…
The silence enveloped the fourth floor of the inn.
The rats moved with quick, light footsteps along the corridor. Darting through the quiet hallway, they occasionally flicked their eyes, glancing at the wooden doors on either side whose number plates were covered with iron sheets.
Then, some of these figures lowered their heads with a slight sigh, following the dark leather-clad figure ahead as they continued solemnly and silently towards the end of the corridor.
Downstairs.
As Colonel Brownlion, having emerged from room 303, chatted with a few people while making his way downstairs to the door of room 209, the murmuring voices of the original occupants inside the room fell silent.
“Mr. Brownlion, ” Yang Zicang immediately stepped forward to welcome them in.
After a brief exchange during their approach, The Biologist, Kim Christ, and several others, who had originally come merely to listen to the story, were immediately astonished by the source of the tale of “Mist Maiden and the Colored Glaze Cup ” that Cheng Yunze had recounted.
“To think it came from an ancient wrecked ship? ” The Grand General stroked his curved, upturned mustache, frowning as if he had heard something bizarre.
Amidst the memories of those eerie figures on the boat surfacing in Yang Zicang’s mind, Anxi beside him remarked:
“Does the Grand General also rarely hear of such strange matters? I thought you all would always be acquainted with many peculiar things related to demons. “
“Ah, don’t even mention it. ” The Grand General waved a hand and said with a hearty laugh, “Those troublesome matters, unless there’s a disaster, are generally handled by the respective major departments themselves. Otherwise, they just use it as an excuse to request funding, and sometimes we don’t even believe them to be true. “
Anxi gave an awkward smile by the table and fell silent.
Yang Zicang said, “Go on, Yunze. “
“Alright. This begins in a long-past era known as the Xuanmei Jinian. “
Upon hearing this name, the Grand President and several researchers present looked puzzled.
……
Hailikoni, after shaking off a shadow that had been following her for two alleys, leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Although her previous itinerary had also been fraught with danger, at least she had been by the young general’s side, with dedicated personal guards. Now, however, what she had to do was completely separate from serving any department or power.
“That person just now must have been an external hire for the Special Patrol Unit. “
She turned her head to look at the end of the alley, her brow furrowed. “A waste of my time. “
Saying that, she cautiously glanced back along her path before moving quickly and quietly in the other direction.
Before long, in a room with brown tones and a graceful white lamp hanging above, a young man in silk clothes and a black bow tie was organizing files behind a high counter. He saw a graceful figure, who had just removed a headscarf, step through the doorframe.
“Huh? “
The woman approached, looked up at the young man who seemed a full two heads taller because of the raised counter behind it, and said in a lilting, smooth tone, “I’m here to collect a guest’s silk handkerchief, said to be held for me. “
“There is a triller nesting where the cross-swords cast shade between both air-flumes. “
“A meeting once key, final goods freed kept cool good of shade that rind holds found would tide guests ties. “
“Then much start quite black cloth and board to light thrones? “
The man behind the counter showed a faint smile. Then, he solemnly raised his gaunt chin, glanced at the sunlight streaming quietly through the door, and looked back at the woman standing before the counter.
“My dear Miss Koni, heavens, aren’t you supposed to be in Kruen? ” the man said, somewhat excited. “Just this morning, I even heard that you’d accomplished a remarkable feat. “
“That was a decoy plan using a double. “
With her long, wavy hair cascading down, the woman said solemnly: “The world is extremely dangerous today. Please allow me to take the ‘handkerchief.’ “
“Do you have the General’s written order? “
The woman placed her hands together in front of her, gently holding her fingertips in the other hand, and said in a solemn tone:
“I have been granted the authority to retrieve it without the permission of Headquarters during a critical moment. This is now such a moment. “
The man behind the counter thought for a moment. “Right, the General duly authorized your qualifications at the time. Besides, ” he raised his hand with a smile, looking at her, “Mcintosh also believes that you already possess the ability to protect it now. Please wait a moment. “
Haili Koni, with a heart full of tension, waited while the man stepped down from a small wooden stool that raised him up behind the counter, walked sideways, at a height nearly equal to hers, towards a door, opened it, and entered.
The atmosphere in the room became even more quiet.
Standing sideways in front of the counter, Haili Koni had no idea whether the man’s words were true or false. In less than half a minute, her heart had grown so panicked that she had already wanted to bolt out of that door several times.
But that heavy, brown-stained door creaked open once more.
She saw a slightly shorter, slender man emerge, carrying a suitcase and following the “Macintosh ” who was dragging a small square box.
Two figures draped in robes and wearing black bow ties walked out from behind the counter.
Hailikoni, her breathing steady, watched them approach.
“This is the ‘handkerchief’ you wished to retrieve, ” the man said, holding out the small square box with both hands to the woman before him.
Her wariness now mostly eased, Hailikoni raised her arm and took the box.
“This is a handkerchief? “
“Yes, ” Macintosh replied, gazing at it with a hint of fascination as if it were a great treasure, and explained obsequiously, “Just… it’s a pity that you cannot read it. “
Hailikoni gently pried open a gap in the unlocked flat box; inside lay a single sheet of paper spread out.
So this was the ‘handkerchief.’ She snapped the box shut.
The slightly shorter young man with a bag slung over his shoulder stepped forward, and Macintosh moved aside to make way. This man placed the small suitcase horizontally on his right wrist, while his left hand deftly flicked open the two latches on the sides of the case.
With a couple of clicks, the suitcase lid was flipped open a full ninety degrees, revealing compartmentalized items packed tight: a forged identity for leaving this nation, a concealed weapon, cash and gold vouchers, a change of clothes that signaled membership in a certain merchant syndicate, and authorization documents for Blackwatts as well as neighboring countries and special departments.
“Miss Miao Duling,” the man said, “these are your deposited items. Do you require any further services from us?“
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Hailikoni replied.
The suitcase was snapped shut and handed over. “Safe travels.“
……
“Splendor Pot’s stage play, in that drought-stricken, scorching land of blazing heat, has unexpectedly become popular in various shell-towns through the traveling tale troupe.“
The people in room 209 listened quietly as the man relayed the ancient stories brought by those translucent figures from the old vessel.
For the first time, realizing that such an era existed in the distant past, Ang Pailisi felt a shadow of gloom as he analyzed the information it might conceal. Yet, given his long experience dealing with front-line deployments and military intelligence, he could scarcely find any intelligence about more ancient times amid the already complex and obscure history.
“Did anything miraculous happen afterward? “
“Yes. ” Cheng Yunze said solemnly, “The story of the Glazed Cup spread far and wide, sparking worldwide discussion of the tale and inquiries into ‘Mistbound Land,’ leading some to believe that the world might once have, and could still, hold landscapes of green and flowing water. “
Yang Zicang’s eyes instantly brightened, and both hands slammed onto the table. “I thought it might be a… Trait. No, it is, in its own right, a kind of ineffable Trait. “
Suddenly, Cheng Yunze froze at the table’s edge. A strange look also crossed the faces of Xu Aiyuan and Lin Site, who had just come in, along with several ‘Fogfolk’ standing nearby them—with little Sour Sour in tow just minutes before.
A faint, golden blur materialized before their eyes.
Lin Site slowly opened his mouth, staring in disbelief at this knowledge—which he had only just learned of, through great contribution—manifesting now before his very eyes, entering his life in this form.
“Ancient… gold? ” His faint voice was stifled in his throat.
Ang Pailisi swept a sharp, cautious glance over the subtly uneasy figures around him. Only Kim Crest, Jean Ussy, and the Goatherd remained oblivious, murmuring the names of strange eras in low voices. Had it not been for the devoted presence of these Fogfolk all around him, such a land would have been difficult for any of them to believe truly existed in the world.
The Phoenix-Perching Tree by the wooden table swept its gaze over them, finally fixing its eyes on the small fairy floating nearby. Little Suansuan, clutching a small notebook, also turned its head to look.
“So… ” Yang Zicang’s gaze shimmered slightly, “Is the so-called Glaze Saeva Perception actually…? “
“Glaze Saeva Perception? ” Some turned their heads to look at him.
The Colonel’s gaze also fell on him.
“Yes, I apologize… ” Yang Zicang said, “It’s a secret technique I once acquired, somewhat similar to the ‘martial arts’ of our ancient lands. I wonder if it was crafted or chosen as an inner force by someone from a past era, intended to resonate with this ancient trait that sparked a shift in the world’s mindset… “
“What do you mean, President? ” Anxi looked over. Lin Site also glanced at him.
Colonel Ang Pailisi felt a faint thread forming in his mind.
“A name was changed. “
Yang Zicang’s tone shifted from hesitation to one carrying a note of certainty.
He looked at Colonel Ang Pailisi, the Brown Lion; from the other end of the table, the Colonel slowly nodded.
Yang Zicang’s hand slammed onto the tabletop. “That must be it! ” He spoke loudly and with an air of irrefutable conviction:
“In the past era, some of our people also heard this story and learned that behind Bright Land, someone must have changed the hot and arid world through various means, giving birth to something like the ‘flash’ we just experienced… So, to save—perhaps to save Mu Tao, or perhaps other worlds—they came up with this method. That is, by re-propagating the story, and having countless practitioners rename their martial arts and inner strength, which could repair the body, as ‘Glaze Saeva Perception’, like triggering a flash… an investment… “
His tone murmured, “Triggered… a power surge unique to that era of Bright Land… overlapping. “
“This, this? “
Yang Zicang had just finished speaking when Lin Site gaped in disbelief. Anxi let out an ‘Ah’ and embraced Cheng Yunze, shouting loudly. Xu Aiyuan’s eyes flickered with astonishment as she saw another shadow, its edges glowing, slowly floating into view.
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