"Young man, are you married?" The beauty with the vermillion birthmark asked Zhang Fan with a smile.
"Not yet, I just graduated last year." Zhang Fan replied with an awkward laugh.
"Do you want Auntie to introduce you to soone? I know a lot of pretty young ladies."
"No need."
Zhang Fan waved it off, but in his heart, he was mumbling, who just cos up to you and wants to set you up with soone? Especially a stranger.
"You seem quite reliable. You remind of a friend of mine." The beauty with the vermillion birthmark said softly, her smile fading, eyes showing a hint of nostalgia.
"A friend!?"
"It’s been many years since we last t."
"Life is full of unpredictable etings and partings." Zhang Fan said casually.
"Indeed, since ancient tis, people grow old, and the moon waxes and wanes..." The beauty with the vermillion birthmark said softly, looking at Zhang Fan with a slight smile.
"You’re quite young yet already have such profound thoughts on life."
"I’m just talking nonsense." Zhang Fan said with a light laugh.
"Where are you from, young man?" The beauty with the vermillion birthmark suddenly changed the topic and asked.
"Yujing City."
"Do you have any family?"
"Just my dad." Zhang Fan felt that this beauty was overly enthusiastic but still responded politely.
"What about your mom?"
"She passed away many years ago," Zhang Fan whispered.
"I see...she’s gone..."
The beauty with the vermillion birthmark murmured softly, her gaze slightly vacant.
"I’m sorry."
"It’s okay."
Zhang Fan shook his head, wanting to say more, but saw the beauty with the vermillion birthmark propping her chin and slowly closing her eyes, as if tired.
Seeing this, Zhang Fan took out his phone. He first opened "Little Yellow Book", where the chat window with Thousand-Year-Old Demon was still open, but the account had been deactivated for a long ti.
"Thousand-Year-Old Demon..." Zhang Fan murmured softly.
At this mont, the beauty with the vermillion birthmark beside him visibly moved, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Zhang Fan closed "Little Yellow Book" and opened Super Chat, but Lin Jianyue’s chat box still hadn’t popped up. Zhang Fan had sent several ssages to her but received no response.
"What’s going on?" Zhang Fan’s gaze darkened slightly.
He had asked Lin Jianyue to contact Zhao Jie Xuan. A few days ago, there were still replies, but recently, because of the Tusk Mountain issue, Zhang Fan was too busy to attend to it. Now that he had so free ti, he had been trying to reach Lin Jianyue for several days without any response.
Thinking of this, Zhang Fan dialed Lin Jianyue’s phone number.
"Powered off!?" Zhang Fan furrowed his brows, a sense of unease rising within him.
Previously, Zhao Jie Xuan had also suddenly lost contact. Now, Lin Jianyue couldn’t be reached either.
This was extrely worriso.
"Could sothing have happened?" Zhang Fan whispered to himself.
"Next stop: Yujing City Station..."
At this mont, a passenger announcent ca over the broadcast. Zhang Fan raised his hand, and Fang Changle, sitting in front, had already stood up, motioning for him to get off.
"Auntie, excuse , I’m getting off here." Zhang Fan said politely, picking up his luggage.
The beauty with the vermillion birthmark patted the head of the child beside her, signaling for him to get up. The latter continued playing on his phone, stood up silently, absorbed in his ga.
Zhang Fan passed by the two, heading straight for the door.
"Young man..."
At this mont, the voice of the beauty with the vermillion birthmark ca from behind.
"Auntie, anything else?" Zhang Fan turned around and asked.
"If fate allows, we’ll et again." The beauty with the vermillion birthmark said with a gentle smile.
"Alright." Zhang Fan nodded, turned, and walked to the door. Through the window, he saw himself and Fang Changle getting off the train.
The beauty with the vermillion birthmark watched his figure until it disappeared from view.
"The east wind scatters snow on plum branches, bringing spring overnight! From now on, spring should have footsteps, flowers and grasses flourishing..." The beauty with the vermillion birthmark murmured softly.
"Li Nu’Er, doesn’t ti seem to pass so quickly?"
The child beside her remained silent, seemingly not hearing, holding their phone horizontally, the screen flickering with light and shadow.
"Even if a deity were here."
"The enemy defense tower has been destroyed!"
"This wave was really unbeatable, brother!"
The phone broadcasted triumphantly.
"If you don’t respond, I’ll smash that damn phone of yours." The beauty with the vermillion birthmark said coolly without turning her head.
"ow..."
As soon as she spoke, the child’s eyes suddenly lit up, their black pupils filling the entirety of their eyes, ears perking up with a sycophantic look, leaning against the beauty with the vermillion birthmark, snuggling closer.
The beauty threw a sideways glance, pulling a cat stick from her bag. The child, eyes fixated, continued their sycophantic advances.
The beauty with the vermillion birthmark tossed it casually, and the child caught it like a treasure, engrossing themselves in it.
"Another year of spring arrives, it’s the ti for the hidden dragon to erge... Just waiting for the spring thunder to strike."
The beauty with the vermillion birthmark gazed in Zhang Fan’s direction, murmuring softly, slowly closing her eyes. In the next mont, the paused train began moving again, heading towards Shangjing City.
...
Zhang Fan and Fang Changle left Yujing City High-speed Rail South Station, and it was already 8:37 PM.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to make a trip to the University City." Zhang Fan replied.
He had already made arrangents with Li Yishan on the train.
"Then I’ll head back myself. I might need to return to Maoshan in a couple of days."
Fang Changle had been away for so ti. Being a Maoshan inheritor, he couldn’t always be idle, hanging around with Zhang Fan.
Especially after this trip to Huizhou Province, which left him deeply affected.
Qin Ming, an inheritor of Qi Yun Mountain, had already reached the Mahayana Realm, though he was deceased. The sense of helplessness during the chaotic battle felt like a brand, lingering in Fang Changle’s mind, unforgettable.
No matter what, upon his return, he intended to retreat in seclusion to break through to a higher realm.
"Old Fang, the Daoist Alliance and Wuwei Sect have been in conflict for so long. Do you know how they connect with each other?" Zhang Fan suddenly asked.
"Connect? Who do you an? The internal mbers of the Wuwei Sect are intricately connected and hierarchically structured. Different levels have different contacts and security factors." Fang Changle replied.
"For example... the level of the Thirteen Zodiacs."
Zhang Fan couldn’t shake the thought of Lin Jianyue; he felt sothing was wrong.
"If beings like them were easy to find, they wouldn’t be the Thirteen Zodiacs." Fang Changle said calmly.
"True, I was just asking casually." Zhang Fan shook his head. "Let’s catch up later."
Saying this, he bade goodbye to Fang Changle, hailed a taxi, and headed straight to the University City.
...
University City, Sanyang Street.
At this hour, dinner had just passed, and the late night snacks hadn’t started. The food stalls were relatively quiet.
When Zhang Fan arrived, Li Yishan was already there, steam rising from the pot in front of him, the table filled with dishes, mutton freshly sliced and very fresh.
"You sure are quick." Zhang Fan set down his luggage and sat down.
"Just got off the train?" Li Yishan comnted, glancing at Zhang Fan’s luggage.
"I hurried right over." Zhang Fan picked up his chopsticks and added the plate of mutton to the hot pot.
"How was your trip?" Li Yishan poured Zhang Fan a glass of white liquor.
"Trip!?"
Zhang Fan, not letting on, raised the glass and drank it in one go. "Pretty good, had a great ti, just too many people there, hard to see clearly."
"If it’s unclear, just take another look, you’ll eventually see."
As he spoke, Li Yishan poured Zhang Fan another glass of white liquor.
Zhang Fan glanced at Li Yishan, saying nothing. He raised the glass again, downing the liquor. He opened his mouth, the scent of alcohol strong, his face gradually reddening.
"Your drinking skills aren’t great, yet you drink so quickly," Li Yishan teased.
"Old Li, I have a question." Zhang Fan suddenly said, fueled by the alcohol.
"What is it?"
"Are you human?" Zhang Fan asked.
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