Chapter 69: Re-entering the Basement

  Su Yun smiled and didn't want to continue the topic. Trying to be serious, she said: "Lu Ge, I want to ask you, who is Lin Ming? It seems like you all know each other, and he showed me his ghost messenger."

  Her face was hidden in the light, and couldn't be seen. But Geliu's expression stiffened extremely quickly, and she still caught it. She didn't know which point of her previous probe had made Geliu take notice, or if it was just asking about this matter that made Geliu take notice. She remained calm and observed carefully.

  Ge Lu quickly regained her elegant demeanor, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion. However, in the gaze directed at her, there was a subtle scrutiny that was not easily noticeable. He said calmly, "In the world of Taoism, there has always been a powerful team that does not belong to any sect or school. They are independent and nominally affiliated with the state, but in reality, they are not. This team, although their actions are unclear, can be considered as capturing demons and eliminating evil. Therefore, the world of Taoism has not suppressed them much. This team is called 'Liu Zu'. And Lin Ming is the leader of this generation's 'Liu Zu'!"

  Su Yun's face showed a look of surprise, she was indeed very surprised, but thinking about Lin Ming and Gu Yong's cold and hard temperament, it was indeed the kind of aura that regular military personnel would give off, so she felt it was only natural!

  Before she could think further, Ge Lu suddenly reached out and gently stroked her hair, smiling: "You don't have to think too much, he won't do anything to you, Qi Xiu will handle these things, you just need to take care of yourself! Oh right, this was something I wanted to give you early in the morning, didn't expect it would be now that I could bring it out."

  Su Yun obediently stood there, letting him touch her, and a strange warm feeling surged up in her heart. Suddenly, an idea popped out - those pets that like to be petted by their owners must feel this way! She scolded herself in her heart, but didn't believe what Ge Lu said. She thought Lin Ming should have no ill intentions towards her, so it wasn't necessary to rely on Qi Xiu for everything.

  Just as she was about to say something, Ge Lu released her and pulled out something from his pocket. He took a few steps closer, almost face-to-face with her. Su Yin was very puzzled, stunned, and her face flushed with red clouds. Ge Lu leaned in close to her ear, his hot breath tickling her earlobe, making it itch. Her body trembled slightly, and Ge Lu seemed to chuckle softly, making her feel extremely embarrassed. Just as she wanted to step back and create some distance between them, her right hand was suddenly grabbed and quickly stuffed into a palm-sized object.

  Ge Lu grasped her hand tightly, exerting a slight force before releasing it. He said in a low voice, "The things inside should be able to help you, but they can only last for about three hours. Be careful not to get the timing wrong. If anything happens, feel free to find me for help, I'd be happy to assist!"

  After finishing speaking, Ge Lu opened a distance with her and smiled faintly at her reddened face. Su Yin could no longer say anything, busily nodding her head. Ge Lu smiled and bid farewell to her, then turned around and walked away by himself. Su Yin watched him walk far away, standing still for a while before turning around to go upstairs.

  As soon as she entered the house, Su Yun slightly lowered her head and smiled, saying: "It's late, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go cook, since we didn't buy groceries today, let's just heat up yesterday's leftovers." She then went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner, although it was a question, she didn't want to face Qizhao directly at this time.

  She put the rice in the pot, and she bent down to pick vegetables. The box Ge Lu gave her was hidden in the side pocket of her pants. She didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to let Qi Xiu know, but instinctively felt that she should avoid him, mainly because she didn't want to trouble him either. She smiled bitterly, and tomorrow, she would be able to break up with Su Cong.

  The sound of the TV being turned on came from the living room, she glanced outwards, wiping her hands clean with an apron, and the faucet was still gurgling water. She quickly took out the box to check, it was a semi-transparent, pale blue, slightly square-shaped box, only as big as a stud earring case.

  She opened the box, inside which was a small plastic rack with two round objects on either side, black in color and looking like invisible glasses. Moreover, the glasses in the box were always soaked in a light green liquid that covered the shallow bottom of the box because the box was well-sealed and wouldn't spill out.

  Su Yun leaned in and sniffed, but there was no smell. She carefully put the box away, when suddenly a voice inserted from the side: "What are you doing?" She was startled, quickly turned her head, trying to look natural, smiled at Qi Xiu who was standing at the kitchen door, shook her head and said: "No, nothing. Anything up?"

  He stared at her quietly, just when Su Yin was about to lose patience. He then turned away, walked towards the fridge with a cold expression, grabbed a glass of iced milk and left without even looking at her. As he was about to leave, he casually said: "Turn off the faucet, water prices have gone up recently!"

  Watching Qixiu's back as he walked away, Su Yin gritted her teeth. This guy didn't even cook, and he knew the price of water had gone up? He was really a stingy rooster who wouldn't even give you a feather! However, this description wasn't quite right. To be honest, Qixiu could be quite generous at times! But most of the time it was because he just didn't want to bother, that's all!

  She gazed out the window, watching as Qizheng continued to lean on the couch and watch TV. She began to chop vegetables again, her hands moving quickly as she analyzed Ge Lao's words in her mind. She didn't know Lin Ming, but his attitude towards her left her bewildered - it wasn't like that of a stranger, nor was it like someone who had known her for a long time. He had once said to her "Are you really her?", and at the time she thought she must have misheard or he had mistaken her for someone else. But now that she thought about it carefully, something didn't feel right. Who was this "her"? What relationship did Lin Ming have with her? And what relationship did Lin Ming have with herself? Why had Lin Ming said that to her?

  Secondly, it's about Lin Ming's identity as mentioned by Ge Lu. Lin Ming claims to be from a special department of the country, while Ge Lu says he is the "controller" of the "Liu Zu". What is a "controller"? First and foremost, one must have power in order to control!

  According to Ge Lu, Lin Ming controls a team that is not to be underestimated! Ge Lu said that the Taoist community only considers it worthy of being an anti-demon guardian, so no pressure was applied, but in reality, this should be unreasonable. If the "Liu" family's strength really occupies a place in the Taoist community, apart from its own strong power making the three major families and even the entire Taoist community dare not act rashly, it is also because it relies on the power of the country behind it. To some extent, the "Liu" family is the result of the balance between the Taoist community and the national regime, a fusion of the two forces.

  Regardless of the facts, Su Yin indeed thought so. Reasoning to this point, she couldn't help but feel curious about the three major families and the "Flow Family". According to Qi Xiuxiu's words, the world has two sides, yin and yang. Just because something can't be seen doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Perhaps the hidden world underground is even more vast and complicated than the real world, involving all aspects of life.

  Su Yun couldn't help but admit that at first, she thought Qi Xiu's fragmented words were a somewhat unrealistic story, infinitely far away from her. But gradually, she suddenly felt a sense of reality, as if through a layer of gauze, invisible but vaguely palpable, and also sensed the blurred outline. Only, for her, was this good or bad? She didn't know, nor did she have the strength to change it. Wandering like her, how could she make a decision?

  After dinner, Qi Xiu's face turned even paler than before, Su Yin tried to ignore it and finished cleaning up in silence, then went back to her room to wash up and sleep.

  Although Zixiuren sat motionless on the sofa, his eyes followed Su Yin until the door closed. He stared at the screen in front of him, unsure how much he had taken in or if anything had registered. Finally, he got up and walked to the door, holding his breath as he sensed the atmosphere inside. When he heard steady breathing, he stood there for a while before turning back to his own room across the way.

  Su Yun was woken up by the alarm, and with her eyes still closed, she randomly felt for her phone to turn it off. After seeing the time - 3:30 in the morning, she suddenly became wide awake. She carefully got dressed quietly, held her breath, and slowly opened the door to find the room silent, and Qi Xiu was probably still lost in his dreams. She tiptoed to the entrance, put on her shoes and coat, opened the door a crack, slipped out, and then closed it gently. Although she couldn't make zero noise, she made extremely small sounds, as 3:30 in the morning is when people sleep most soundly, which was why she chose this time to sneak out.

  She took a deep breath and walked downstairs into the night. The campus was empty, with no one in sight. It was early winter, and the temperature had already dropped. She sniffled, wrapped her coat tightly around her, and quickened her pace while sending messages.

  Arriving at the new teaching building, I saw a black shadow shrinking in the corner from afar, looking sneaky. As Su Yin approached, she indeed saw Nie Yuan huddled with his shoulders against the wall. She intentionally made her footsteps louder to make Nie Yuan aware of her presence. Nie Yuan came forward and asked in a low voice, "Su Yin, what are you doing..."

  Not finished speaking, she was interrupted by her in a low voice: "Hey! First of all, you're not allowed to ask this and that, just say whether you'll help me or not. If you will, then take action, don't waste words, got it?" Nian Yu's words were stuck in his throat, making him feel uncomfortable. Looking at Su Yin, who was becoming more and more overbearing towards him, he could only compromise and nodded reluctantly: "Okay, okay! Whatever you say is fine! Let's go now, if we're late, the patrol team will arrive."

  Su Yin nodded, and the two of them didn't say much more, walking together into the teaching building. The place they were headed was the underground room of the new teaching building where they had gone exploring last time, so it won't be described again since they've already been there once.

  Nie Yuan opened the lock with the same method as last time, and the two quickly slipped in. She had instructed Nie Yuan that they couldn't stay here for long, they were just going to retrieve something and then come back.

  Nie Yuan was also intimidated by this place. Last time, he saw Su Yin go in vertically and come out horizontally, and he understood that there are indeed such weird places and things in the world. So he strongly agreed with Su Yin's decision, and he didn't even want to let Su Yin go in for a second time.

  Compared to his carefree attitude last time, he seemed much more tense this time, not only sticking close to Su Yin but also wanting to hold her hand. She pushed him away, gave him a cold look, and took advantage of the situation. Nie Yuan looked very innocent, he was just uneasy at heart.

  This time, the two of them adopted a quick battle strategy and came out in less than ten minutes. During the process, both of them were extremely nervous, even holding their breath to the extreme. In the end, Su Yin patted his arm, letting him go back, but Nie Yuan was still scared and almost shouted "mother" out loud. He was quickly covered by Su Yin's swift hand, who clamped her hand over his mouth and dragged him back.

  They grabbed the things and ran out a long way without looking back, and then sat down on a chair under a street lamp to catch their breath. In winter, both of them had some wetness on their backs, which was very uncomfortable sticking to their backs.

  After resting for about twenty minutes, the two of them sat in a corner each, looking at the road where school cleaners were already sweeping. She checked her phone and saw that it was already 5 o'clock. It's still early, and as they passed by, a cleaning auntie gave them several weird glances. She felt speechless, then thought for a moment before asking Nie Yuan: "How about we find a place to have breakfast? I'll treat!"

  Nie Yuanbai gave her a glance, stood up first with his backpack on, and beckoned to her: "Let's go, I'll take you to eat something delicious."

  Su Yun laughed. Actually, looking at Nie Yuan like this, the guy was quite handsome! Although he was thin as a noodle and his mouth looked like it had been soaked in the toilet for many years!

  What Naiyuan said was delicious, it's actually a small mixed congee stall outside the school. The owner is a kind middle-aged uncle, seeing Naiyuan still enthusiastically greeted him, thinking he brought his girlfriend to have breakfast, and intentionally added a lot of mixed congee, a full bowl.

  Don't look at their small stall, but the people are honest, with plenty of fillings and a variety of flavors. Nie Yuan ordered traditional pork and cabbage filling, while she ordered shiitake mushroom and chicken filling. In the gradually lively street corner, surrounded by the thin fog of early winter, watching the crowd coming and going, eating one after another dumplings, it's really quite exciting, warm and cozy in body and mind.

  The two of them ate until they were full, said goodbye to the boss, and looked at the time, which was just before seven o'clock. The sun had only just started to peek out a little bit. The two of them could only walk along the road for a while, treating it as digestion. Half an hour later, Su Yun got tired from walking, and they happened to arrive at the city center park. They found a quiet spot, took everything out, and placed it on the stone table.

  Su Yun first picked up the thing she had just brought out of the basement, a sketch, gently unfolding it, gradually revealing a face, delicate lines, depicting gentle curves.

  Staring at the person in the sketch for a long time, Su Yin's eyes didn't move away, and in the end, she couldn't help but stretch out her fingers to gently stroke along the eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, and chin.

  Nie Yuan had lost his patience, especially seeing Su Yin's distracted expression, which made him even more annoyed. "Isn't this just a painting? Why are you looking at it so carefully? Who is this person?"

  Su Yun shook her head and sighed, "I don't know." Nie Yuan rolled his eyes, not knowing yet still going to such great lengths to retrieve it, what did she think he was, anyway? "Don't know! Why bother going to so much trouble to get it back if you don't even know?"

  Su Yun rolled up the painting, glanced at him, and Nie Yuan suddenly fell silent. They had agreed that he would help, but was not allowed to ask questions! Irritated, she scratched her hair, if she didn't ask, then so be it. He's just a young handsome guy, looking at this basement that hasn't been used for many years, the people in the painting should have long since passed their age, what threat could they pose?

  Su Yin didn't care about the twists and turns in his heart, directly stretching out her hand to him: "Where's the thing I asked you to investigate?" Nie Yuan rolled his eyes, muttering: "You only know how to order me around! You don't even think about how hard I've been working for you, running around and exhausting myself... not even a thank you..."

  Su You's laughter was infectious, and watching him act like a spoiled child didn't faze him, but his teeth did feel a bit itchy. This guy, if he doesn't get scolded for a while, his skin will start to itch! Nie Yuan muttered to himself as he rummaged through the bag and pulled everything out, placing them on the table. First, he picked up a photocopy of the layout of the new teaching building's basement. Nie Yuan pointed to one of the rooms: "This is the room we went to in the basement. It used to be an art classroom, but it was abandoned and sealed off later."

  Su Yun listened and glanced at her eyes, but saw a photo being pulled out from the stack of paper. In an instant, her eyes were filled with green, this piece of land was inexplicably familiar.