After midnight

After leaving the hospital, Yin left soon after. After Su Ziling followed An Yan all the way back home, he also found a reason to leave. First, he had nothing to do, and second, he was upset.

So now, Su Ziling was wandering alone on the street. After coming to Xindu, he had not been out much, and after becoming a disciple, he had even less time. But he stood on the busy street, a place he should have felt new and strange, but he felt even more lost.

He thought about it and called Wang Changze out. After a while, he came.

"Luckily you have today off."

"Yeah, it's a good thing you called me out, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do today."

"Where do you want to go? I'm not familiar with this place."

"I'm not that familiar with it either. I've been in Xindu for so many years and have been staying at home except for work." Wang Changze looked around and said, "... Let's go to the water maze. It's not far away."

"Okay." Su Ziling deliberately didn't go to the water maze today. He still remembered that he found An Yan there. But now, the location is not very important.

"From the look of you, you must have something to say to me." They were sitting in the water maze square, sitting in the seats where he and Yin had sat before, and Wang Changze asked him.

"I wanted to talk, but what's wrong with my appearance?"

"I'm just not happy."

"Are you happy then?"

"My life is neither happy nor unhappy, but it's much better than yours now. Tell me, what's going on?"

Su Ziling wanted to speak, but he suddenly thought that he was not sure whether it was the right decision to talk to Wang Changze about this. Wang Changze had never been to the New World, so he would not understand him. However, everyone around him was familiar with An Yan. So in the end, he said.

"Wang Changze, if your life deviated from the track from the beginning but had to get back on track in the end, what would you do? But to be honest, this accident of getting back on track was more like an accident."

Wang Changze looked at him and answered honestly, "There is no other way except to adapt."

"Yeah, it's true." At that moment, Su Ziling remembered the more than one month of escape since he came here, and the unfinished war he had just fought with Song Nan in Beizhong.

"But in fact, no matter what kind of life you live, you are building connections with the people around you. Once this kind of close relationship is established, life will be a little easier."

“Even so, there are still problems that are troubling and unsolvable.”

“That’s where this close relationship goes wrong.”

"No." Su Ziling retorted, but he was secretly surprised that Wang Changze was so sharp.

"I was joking," Wang Changze added, "Problems that cannot be solved can only be left to time."

"That's really the standard answer." Su Ziling smiled bitterly.

"Tell me, what happened between you and An Yan? Why does it bother you like this?"

Su Ziling stared at the stone-paved path in front of him, which meandered into the trees. "It's nothing. I'm just worrying about nothing. You know An Yan was missing for a long time."

“Everyone knows.”

"Today, for some reason, An Yan revealed a small part of his past. This period of his disappearance caused An Yan to suffer a lot, but since I met him, he has never mentioned a word about it."

"and then?"

"Then I wanted to hit myself. I was actually dissatisfied. After returning from the hospital, I came out."

Wang Changze looked at Su Ziling and wanted to laugh. He seemed to know why Brother Yin was so worried about him, and the "Son of God" was protecting him. Compared with them, he was more like a blank sheet of paper, and more like a child.

"You are unhappy because he never told you? You were neither the first one to tell him nor the first one to know about it, right? But why did he have to tell you?"

"Because I am the 'Guardian'." Su Ziling answered as if it was a matter of course.

Wang Changze looked at him, then exclaimed, as if he had discovered something. "Su Ziling, do you have any misunderstanding about the relationship between the Son of God and the Guardian? There are many cases in history where the Son of God was alone from beginning to end, and there was never a Guardian in his life. What's worse, he was betrayed by his Guardian."

"How is it possible? How can someone betray someone after signing the contract?"

"Speaking of contracts, there are many that have not been signed. Although we sometimes help each other, that's the relationship."

"How is it possible?" Su Ziling was shocked and felt incredible. The day he reawakened, the sense of mission of the 'guardian' rushed towards him like a tidal wave. He wanted to grow up and protect An Yan, and it was impossible for him to fake it.

"Of course, this does not conflict with the relationship between the 'Son of God' and the 'Guardian' who are so close that they wear the same pants. I just want to say that you can't take it for granted based on one identity."

"I know, I'm not that naive. But you, why aren't you as naive as you were when you were little?"

Wang Changze laughed and continued step by step, "It's a psychological gap. You think An Yan is very important and want to get more from him than others, but you think An Yan doesn't do that."

"No." Su Ziling denied it, hesitated and finally did not continue to explain.

"I heard that you like playing basketball. I remember there is a gym nearby. Do you want to go?"

"go."

Su Ziling and Wang Changze played basketball in the gymnasium for an entire afternoon. When they came out, the sun had already set. Wang Changze lived nearby. Su Ziling waved goodbye and sat on the window sill to go home. When he got home, Xiao Su had already returned from school.

"Brother Ling, where have you been?"

"I went to play basketball with my friends." From the kitchen, the sound of the range hood and the aroma of food came. An Yan must be busy making dinner in the kitchen. "Xiao Su, I'm going to my room first. Call me when it's time to eat."

"it is good."

Su Ziling went straight up to the second floor and went back to his room to lie down. Lying in the warm bed, he couldn't help but admit that Wang Changze was right. He didn't admit it because he didn't want to make himself look ridiculous. He actually never tried to fit into this world, so why should An Yan trust him? So, in the end, he had to blame it on the past.

He was too dependent on An Yan, not only dependent on him, but also worshipped the strongest. He was actually very content with the status quo, and all his efforts to become stronger were just for An Yan and Brother Yin to see. He didn't want to disappoint their expectations and didn't want them to be disappointed in him, but if he had to choose, he didn't really want to become stronger.

But Zhao Yunqi is dead, he was killed, this is not a place to joke, he may lose someone at any time, and he may even kill someone in the future. Not to mention the past, when An Yan was suffering in hell, he knew nothing and was still growing up happily.

He was actually very distressed and scared. Since he came to this world, he had regarded An Yan as his lifeline. An Yan was unique to him, but Su Ziling was not.

"Zi Ling, come downstairs for dinner."

Su Ziling quickly turned over and sat up, looking up at An Yan. "An Yan, when you were alone there, were you wondering why my 'guardian' didn't show up soon?"

"No, I will think that my 'guardian' has had another peaceful and happy day today."

"Zi Ling, I have always known that you are my protector. Come downstairs and have dinner."

After An Yan finished speaking, he went downstairs first, leaving Su Ziling sitting on the bed in a daze. For some reason, he suddenly relaxed. He went downstairs to eat, then wash the dishes, and then while An Yan helped Xiao Su with his homework, he could read more books in this world, then go out for a walk and sleep, and finally go to see the master early tomorrow morning.

Xiao Su is here, Anyan is here, and his brother is here too. Thinking of this, Su Ziling stood up and walked towards the stairs. If he just tried a little harder, everything would be fine.

"You didn't tell An Yan?" Ye was very surprised. Yin had discussed with him that after An Yan announced his story today, he would also tell him about the secret entrance they found in Xishan. In this way, they would have a clue to follow and could proceed further.

But after Yin came back, he seemed to be worried. He thought Yin was doing a thankless job, but he didn't expect Yin hadn't told him yet.

"Yeah, after listening to An Yan's words, I didn't dare tell him."

"What did he say?"

"He held the letter Zhao Yunqi wrote before his death and said that Song Hongtian had been planning to copy his abilities for many years."

"What? Abilities can be copied? Are you kidding me?"

Yin looked at Ye, and Ye's expression instantly became serious. "In this case, you should tell him."

"It's not that simple." Yin was a little irritated. "None of us has experienced An Yan's past. We don't know how painful his past was, let alone imagine it. We can't just let him put aside the past and decipher his pain and secrets like a game. Do you understand?"

Ye understood, so he couldn't say anything more. The Yin he knew was confident, calm and wise. In the "dark night", Yin was only responsible for telling others the truth, no matter how cruel it was, he never felt sorry for others, let alone cared. Now, looking at the troubled Yin, he felt that he hadn't heard Yin say such emotional words for a long time.

Maybe someone like this is needed to force An Yan, but no one can do it. Lin Nuan, Lin Xuanfeng, Su Ziling, and even the rational and restrained Yin can't do it. An Yan himself may understand, but he can't force himself either. So, who else? After all, it's not him.

"I'm sure that Zhao Yunqi's death was a big blow to An Yan. So, I didn't dare tell him that I didn't expect Zhao Yunqi to die." Yin said suddenly again.

"Zhao Yunqi's letter was written to me. Do you think An Yan didn't realize what we did behind his back? This morning, the letter stained with Zhao Yunqi's blood was carefully taken out by An Yan. I didn't want Zhao Yunqi to take risks, but he did it anyway. Before he died, he was still thinking about passing on the information. An Yan didn't question me directly in person, probably because he wasn't 100% sure that Zhao Yunqi died because of him."

"But after we discovered the secret entrance to West Mountain, our cooperation with Zhao Yunqi was temporarily suspended. I believe he knew that he had to rush back to North City as soon as possible."

"What's the point of saying this now? Have you forgotten? I told him that Song Yu is an insecure and possessive man. He killed his father and will never set foot in his father's study again. So, in the short term, Song Yu will do the same with those large amounts of books and materials and seal them in his own study in the same way. When Zhao Yunqi questioned me, I didn't expect that he would just break in when Song Yu was away. I should have thought of it earlier. Zhao Yunqi would not let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I should have thought of it earlier." Yin said with some self-blame. He really didn't expect Zhao Yunqi to be so bold.

"But this can't be blamed on you. It just means that he is also very concerned about An Yan's secret."

"No, it's to An Yan. So, I can't tell him."

"Then what should we do next? The sooner An Yan knows, the better. This is beneficial to us." Ye said after a while of silence. He did not expect Zhao Yunqi to be so bold and careful. When they cooperated with him, in order to achieve their goals and show their determination, they told Zhao Yunqi all the details. Zhao Yunqi actually thought that Song Yu would transfer those files and then ask Yin for his opinion.

"Let Jing keep an eye on it first, and then tell An Yan when the time is right."

"Yin, what if we just tell him that we found the entrance to the West Mountain?"

Yin shook his head. "If An Yan asks about it, which part are you going to tell him? No one will calmly accept a result when their pain point is touched. But that's An Yan. If you make up a process from beginning to end, it will only make it more flawed."

Yes, Ye remembered, everything is linked together. Without code 03, they would not have thought of asking Lu Lang to get such a list, and without Zhao Yunqi's help, it would be almost impossible to find the target in a short time. After all, Zhao Yunqi, who has been with Song Hongtian for many years, is the most familiar with the huge and complicated political power of the Song family. Similarly, if they want to make a deal with Yang Rong, the most suitable person is Zhao Yunqi. After all, he is still a member of the Song family, and he can point all suspicions elsewhere, such as Song Hongda.

"Then this is the only solution for now." As soon as Ye Hua finished speaking, a letter appeared quietly.

"Is it Jing?"

"Well, he wrote that Song Yu walked into that entrance."

"What? Is it really possible to copy water abilities?"

"The probability is very high." Yin nodded heavily.

"Then how long does Song Yu plan to stay in there? The Jiuxin Conference will be held in Jiudu soon, and the next move of the revolutionary army is still unknown. The Song family should need him now."

"From this, it can be seen that Song Yu's desire to copy water abilities is even greater than his father's."

This time, just as Yin finished speaking, another letter flew in. It was a letter to Ye. After reading the letter, Ye said to Yin, "Song Nan has moved into the Song Mansion."

"It looks like this time it's going to be dangerous." Yin said with a wry smile.

"Ye, who will be the first person to suffer after success? Will it be me, the one who almost killed him?"

"Yin! Yin, we still have An Yan here, right?"

"Yeah, Ye, you go down first. I need to think about it carefully."

Ye sighed and left Yin's study. They knew a little more than others, so they were more worried. But sometimes, besides waiting for fate to come, what else can they do?