They indeed had ulterior motives and were racing against ti.
Ah Lian, of course, wasn’t the first to notice the disappearance; right after entering the door, Fu Qian was already curious about who might have slipped away.
It turned out that although they were old, their mind wasn’t.
In fact, theoretically, the old man should be grateful to himself.
Because Fu Qian was well aware that it was precisely when he was gesturing at the map, and everyone’s attention was drawn to the "inviolable" shaped city layout, that the old man quietly slipped away.
His skills were indeed still impressive, for even in such an old building, he made no noise.
It was obvious this person ca in under the guise of an ordinary person, not just for the sake of keeping a low profile.
He had long been scheming, with a purpose targeting sothing inside.
Regardless of what he’s after, the effect he wants to achieve with this maneuver isn’t hard to guess, just a bit of precious ti.
Since Transcendents and ordinary people were treated differently upon entering, then when soone goes missing inside here, the reaction levels from all sides would also be different. Being identified as an ordinary person would maximize the ti available for action.
"What’s wrong?"
Ah Lian’s reaction also caught the attention of others, as they turned around to ask, then more than one person was stunned.
"Why is he missing again?"
The male in one of the couples frowned deeply, clearly sensing the misfortunes befalling their group.
"He was just here next to ."
diterranean Brother, being very empathetic, subconsciously looked at Fu Qian while muttering, clearly thinking of the first person who acted independently of the group.
"Are we not allowed to act alone here?"
Fu Qian didn’t disappoint, nodding slightly as he looked at Ah Lian for confirmation.
...
"Technically you aren’t, but once you’re inside, usually no one would intentionally enforce it...
"But this could still lead to issues. We need to find him quickly, or I’ll need to consider reporting the situation."
Ah Lian seed to slightly sort her thoughts out, but her brow was still furrowed.
"I’m sorry, but could you all move around on your own for a while? I need to find him quickly while he’s still nearby."
And soon she made up her mind, confirming the team’s opinion.
"No problem, considering the trouble earlier, I can help this ti."
Fu Qian agreed very straightforwardly, even showing a strong sense of collective responsibility.
It’s just because they’re afraid you’ll cause more trouble...
Though Ah Lian didn’t seem so moved.
"Don’t worry, I’ve gained a lot already, it doesn’t matter if I don’t see anything else."
Fu Qian was rather oblivious, gesturing out the window with an expression as though he’d experienced the emperor’s feelings and felt life was worth it.
"I’ll join too."
Before Ah Lian could say more, Clara, who had been silent for so long, also volunteered.
"Don’t worry, I won’t get lost."
The strong confidence in her tone left no room for doubt.
"...we won’t wander off either."
The remaining others didn’t seem to have the sa resolve.
Seeing the rescue montum building up, diterranean Brother hesitated slightly, then said he’d tour with the other two and definitely wouldn’t stray off.
The couples also remained silent, seemingly unwilling to waste their romantic journey.
"Then thank you all."
With collective resolve, Ah Lian was quickly persuaded.
"...rember the areas each of you are responsible for, but more importantly, rember the gathering point; whether or not soone is found, you must go there to regroup."
Even without Fu Qian suggesting splitting up, after a fruitless search along the original path, Ah Lian quickly made the decision herself.
The absence of any trace of the person clearly added a lot of psychological pressure on her at that mont.
Given the area and complex structure of the place, continuing to act together offered little hope of finding the person.
"No problem, this place can’t be bigger than the outside world."
Fu Qian readily agreed, claiming his record could be checked, no need to worry.
In comparison, Clara was more modest, under Ah Lian’s complex gaze; she just nodded slightly before leaving.
Although Fu Qian didn’t think she’d truly be so dutiful.
...
Where did the old man go, and why co here? Fu Qian believed Clara indeed found it interesting.
But her willingness to help search might not be the core reason.
In Fu Qian’s view, Clara’s intent was much like his own, which was to beco an observer from the shadows, watching the visitors’ movents, especially this group.
After all, it was clear that her feelings towards Lan Fyla were a bit complex, seemingly striving for a shift in perspective.
Moreover, the group was indeed intriguing — for instance, the painstaking effort the old man took to enter and ended up reading books.
Fu Qian was never planning on a real carpet search.
Where the old man went wasn’t too complex to deduce.
Although it was already a tourist attraction, there were still so restricted areas inside the Royal Garden — and if not for heading to the forbidden zones, why else would the old man exert such effort?
So after splitting up with the other two players, the first thing Fu Qian did was abandon his assigned area and went through parts outside the tourist route, including a library said to have a few hundred years of history.
Not completely abandoned, but clearly the admission standards were very stringent.
And Fu Qian easily found the old man engrossed in books here.
Focused and urgent, the latter was quickly flipping through a heavy to.
Though it was evident that despite his strong execution, he did not yet have a clear target, as there were other books waiting to be examined nearby.
No wonder he took imdiate action; even if it was uncertain what he was looking for, it was plainly a rather laborious process.
Obsession harms people, nothing more than this.
With a sigh in his heart, Fu Qian didn’t disturb the diligent elder, instead quietly changed direction and left.
...
What else could it be for?
The path of a Transcendent is indeed not so easily let go.
It’s hard to say how the old man knew there were answers here, but he was likely drawing strength from ancient wisdom to guide his own transcendence.
Considering the long-term planning evident and a high degree of control over his actions, there seed no need to worry about him; why not go see the others— as the real excitent is indeed with the young.
Fu Qian’s efficiency was undoubtedly high, but he didn’t choose the area he was assigned; instead, he went to another quiet corner.
The principle of searching was first to deduce the possible routes of action for the remaining three in the group, second to catch the abnormal breathing.
And as he approached the source of that strange sound, Fu Qian successfully discovered a familiar figure — Clara with her light golden hair.
The sound certainly wasn’t coming from her, but she was obviously watching with great interest.
Without alerting anyone, Fu Qian quickly followed suit —
Sure enough, inside a splendid house ahead, the couple from the group were entwined in a passionate embrace, lost to the world.
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