After midnight

When Su Ziling returned home, An Yan and Xiao Su were in the garden, their heads pressed together, not knowing what they were doing. He leaned over to take a look, and saw that An Yan had completely become a flower farmer. He had noticed that the garden was changing every day, and now there were many more little things in this small corner in the southwest corner of the garden.

"An Yan, where did you get those succulents? It's winter now, are you sure they won't freeze to death?"

"How could that happen when Xiao Su is here?"

"Yes, I'm here." Xiao Su said proudly. Her little hands were dirty as she and An Yan transplanted them into new pots.

"Oh, this is for you. You can put it in your bedroom." An Yan said as he picked up the one reserved for Su Ziling and handed it to him. This was a pot of rainbow jade brocade, with a little red on the round head.

"Okay." Su Ziling took it and asked, "Where's Qiqi?"

"In her own room."

"Want to get her a pot?"

"Sure, pick one and send it to her."

"Forget it then, what are we going to eat tonight?"

"Not yet."

"Then don't cook it, let's go eat hot pot. An Yan, why don't you ask Qiqi what she wants to eat and bring it back for her."

"I don't want to eat hot pot, do you want to, Xiao Su?"

"I don't want to." Xiao Su swallowed and said with difficulty.

"Okay, then I'll go ask her what she wants to eat." Su Ziling was convinced. Could these two people stop being so childish?

After Su Ziling turned around and left, An Yan and Xiao Su looked at each other and laughed at the same time. As soon as Su Ziling walked into the living room, he saw Xiao Su's schoolbag still on the sofa. It seemed that the two of them went out again after entering the house. Maybe An Yan stayed in the garden all afternoon. Now, he didn't feel cold. Su Ziling put the succulents on the coffee table and called Qiqi.

"Qiqi? Can I come in? Qiqi?" Su Ziling shouted.

"Come in." Qiqi opened her eyes in the dim room.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh, we want to go out for hot pot tonight. You see what you want to eat, and we will bring it back for you."

"Oh, whatever. Anything is fine." Qiqi said as she was about to pull open the quilt and lie down again. She hated the word "we".

"Okay." Su Ziling turned around without saying a word.

"Wait a minute." Qiqi's voice came out from under the quilt, a little muffled. "Su Ziling, I want to eat pickled cabbage rice noodles."

"Okay." Su Ziling agreed, emphasizing his tone intentionally.

Twenty minutes later, An Yan, Su Ziling and others sat in a hot pot restaurant near their home.

The broth was already served, and the dishes were also served one after another. As soon as the pot boiled, Su Ziling volunteered to throw the mutton, beef and other meats into the pot and let them boil. The fire was strong, and it was cooked in a short while. An Yan picked up a piece of meat for Xiao Su with his chopsticks, and before he could start eating, a letter fell.

"Who is it?" Su Ziling asked while eating.

"Song Xinjun." An Yan also answered truthfully.

"Why did he write to you?"

An Yan thought about it and put down his chopsticks. He seemed to have not told Su Ziling about this matter yet. "Eleven has disappeared since the incident in Beizhong. Jiu Xiang arranged a team to hunt him down. The leader is He Wendong, who is Jiu Xiang's man. As for the others, they are Lu Li, Lu Yuan, Song Luo, Zhou Chen and Song Xinjun."

Su Ziling opened his mouth and hurriedly put down his chopsticks. He didn't even bother to eat the meat.

"What is going on?" he asked.

"That's the situation. Song Xinjun just wrote to say that Eleven seems to have appeared in Beichuan, and they are planning to rush over."

"No, wait for me to think about it. Is this combination weird? Oh, I get it."

"What did you know?" An Yan was confused and at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Do you know why Song Xinjun wrote to you? It's time for us to take action, right?" Su Ziling picked up the chopsticks again and picked up the meat that had been on the plate for a long time and ate it.

"I don't know the details yet. Uncle Fang hasn't told me. Don't mention it to anyone yet."

"Of course I know that. You should eat quickly, An Yan."

After he had scooped out all the meat and devoured it, Su Ziling suddenly remembered something and asked, "Won't people notice them gathering together in such a large group?"

"Your brother must have noticed it a long time ago, but he never asked me about it."

Su Ziling nodded. That's right. There are too many things involved and the background is too complicated. Even if everyone knew about it, they should have taken the same approach as An Yan and waited and saw what would happen. But suddenly, he looked at An Yan. "You said it's been a long time?"

"Well, it's been a while."

An Yan was talking about Yin, but Su Ziling's focus was not on this at all. Yes, the incident in Beizhong had happened several days ago. They must not have just set out now, and An Yan told him now. Thinking of this, Su Ziling cleared his throat, put the fish tofu into the pot and asked: "Um, where is Beichuan, is it far?"

"Far away. Beichuan is located in the northeast. It is a city further east than Xindu and further north than Beicheng."

"So far?" Su Ziling asked in surprise.

"Yes, but what I'm worried about is not the distance, but the fact that Beichuan, like Luocheng, is backed by mountains. Moreover, the mountains in Beichuan are long and undulating, and once people enter, it will probably be difficult to find their way out."

"How could someone like Eleven do that? He must be unable to stand loneliness."

"Too."

"Dad, Brother Ling, I want to eat wide noodles, can I have it?" Xiao Su asked with her bright big eyes.

"You can, just put it in if you want to eat it." Su Ziling said.

"Then I'll do it myself."

"Okay, do it yourself and be careful." An Yan said again.

"Xiao Su, how was your gardening today?"

"It's okay. I'm happy." Xiao Su said as he pushed half of the wide noodles into the pot with chopsticks.

"By the way, Anyan, why did you think of taking care of the garden recently?"

As soon as Su Ziling asked about this, the scene of Lin Xuanfeng telling him that he could tidy up the garden before going to Sand City flashed before An Yan's eyes. An Yan didn't know why he thought of this, but he smiled and put his chopsticks into the pot to pick up a piece of lotus root.

"Ah, it's an idea I had a long time ago. I hope to see the flowers bloom next year."

"Dad, I will definitely let you see it." Xiao Su raised his fist and vowed.

"Okay, I believe it. Come eat quickly, Xiao Su."

After they had a happy dinner, they packed a portion of pickled cabbage rice noodles for Qiqi to take home. As soon as they got home, Xiao Su knocked on the door, but there was no sound at all.

"Sister Qiqi? Sister Qiqi?"

"Sister Qiqi, if you don't open the door, I'm going in."

Xiao Su turned the doorknob, the door was unlocked, and she walked in. Xiao Su hadn't taken two steps into the room when Qi Qi turned on the light with a click, and the light instantly dispelled the darkness in the room.

"Xiao Su, it's you." Qiqi got up and closed the first drawer of the bedside table.

"Yes, Sister Qiqi, we are back. You should get up and eat. The rice noodles will not taste good if you soak them for a long time."

"Okay, thank you, Xiao Su." She put on her slippers, took two steps forward, then turned around and said, "Come on, Xiao Su, let's go out together."

"Yeah." Xiao Su nodded and walked in front of Qiqi.

"Xiao Su, where are they?" Qiqi closed the door and went to the living room. There was no one in the living room.

"Dad went to the garden and said he would be back soon. Brother Ling felt that he smelled bad after eating hot pot, so he went upstairs to take a shower."

"Oh." Qiqi sat down to eat. She unwrapped the bag and opened the lunch box.

"Sister Qiqi, I'm going upstairs to do my homework."

"Go."

As soon as Xiao Su went upstairs, An Yan came in before Qi Qi had even taken a few bites. He walked to the coffee table, put down a small bowl of food and said, "Qi Qi, this is for you. Eat slowly, I have to go upstairs to help Xiao Su with his homework."

"Yeah." After An Yan went upstairs, Qiqi put down the chopsticks in her hand, then picked up the pot of something she didn't know what it was called, looked at it carefully, and finally smiled in surprise.

"Xiao Su, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Dad, can I tell you something?" Xiao Su stared at An Yan with a deep look in his eyes.

"What's the matter with your serious expression? Tell me, little adult." An Yan gently stroked Xiao Su's face with his palm.

"It's about Sister Qiqi. Sister Qiqi probably hid something in her bedside table. It's very strange."

"Why do you say that?" An Yan was a little surprised.

Xiao Su recounted in detail the process of calling Qiqi for dinner, and then she asked, "Isn't it strange?"

"One thing, okay, don't think too much. It's getting late, hurry up and take out your homework. When you have a day off tomorrow, Dad will take you out to play." Anyan said as he took Xiao Su's schoolbag.

"Okay." Xiao Su agreed obediently.

More than an hour later, An Yan came out of Xiao Su's room and stood on the third floor looking down. It was a bit strange. In this family, the one that Qi Qi couldn't guard against the most was probably Xiao Su, because he and Su Ziling, as boys, would never enter her room without Qi Qi's consent.

But now, An Yan walked towards the stairs. This was not the most important thing.

After delivering the letter to An Yan, Song Xinjun emerged from behind the poplar tree and returned to Lu Li.

"Is it solved?"

"Ah."

"Then let's set off for Beichuan as soon as possible."

As the night fell, Song Xinjun and Lu Li walked eastward along the deserted wilderness. When they arrived in Beichuan, they met up with the others. They traveled day and night, and finally said goodbye to the loess behind them in the early morning of the fifth day.

The sun rose, and the vague outlines at night became clearer. At this time, they suddenly realized that they had merged into the endless mountains. They walked along the narrowing country road for a while, and when they could see the wheat fields, He Wendong's letter arrived.

"What did the captain say?" Song Xinjun asked.

"The captain said that only two of us have not arrived yet, and asked when we will arrive."

Song Xinjun looked at the watch he wore on his wrist and said, "It will take another three or four hours, plus the lunch break, so I'm afraid the earliest it will be is two o'clock in the afternoon."

"I have never been to Beichuan. I'll listen to you." Lu Li said as he sent a letter to He Wendong.

"Did the captain tell us where to gather in Beichuan?"

"No." Lu Li didn't even have to think about it because the content of the letter was too simple.

"Then let's go quickly." Song Xinjun raised his eyes and looked forward.

I have to say, the scenery of Beichuan is really beautiful. From afar, the mountains and rivers are stacked one after another, spreading layers of green or dark green, with fiery red maple leaves dotted in between, which is very dazzling. Lu Li also looked up, but he only looked at it for a few more times, then silently lowered his head and continued to follow Song Xinjun on the road.

Song Xinjun took in his movements. Based on his observations over the past few days, Lu Li was indeed a steady and reliable person. However, the other side of this steady and reliable person also meant that he was boring, and Lu Li was just this kind of boring person. As Song Xinjun looked at him, he couldn't help but think of another topic person, Lin Nuan.

He had heard some gossip and anecdotes after he came back, so in his mind, Lu Li and Lin Nuan were not a perfect match.

But although they were not a perfect match, they were suitable enough. Song Xinjun straightened his expression. They were about to enter Beichuan and join the main force. Now was not the time to relax.

At about one o'clock, surrounded by mountains, the view became wider again. Beichuan was about to arrive.

"Lu Li, be careful. Beichuan will be here soon."

Not far away, as if to confirm what Song Xinjun said, many passers-by were walking towards them in a hurry.

"I understand." Lu Li raised the collar that was originally on his shoulders to cover his ears and nose.

"No news yet?" Song Xinjun asked.

"No, the captain has not written to me again."

The two walked side by side, how could Song Xinjun not know that Lu Li had not received the letter, he was just a little anxious. But suddenly Lu Li, who was walking slightly ahead, stopped, and a letter passed through him and appeared in front of Song Xinjun. It seemed that He Wendong wrote the letter to Song Xinjun this time.

"Lu Li, the captain asked us to go to Chuanshan Inn. Chuanshan Inn is on the east side of Beichuan. I will take you through a shortcut."

Twenty minutes later, they arrived in front of a wide city wall. However, there was a dilapidated earthen mound in the middle of the wall. After crossing the earthen mound, the wall continued to extend eastward to surround Beichuan.

"Are you sure we want to go in from here?"

"Of course. I came to Beichuan once when I was a kid, and I stayed at Chuanshan Inn. After climbing in from here, it only takes ten minutes to get to Chuanshan Inn. But I didn't expect this place to have not changed at all."

Lu Li nodded and followed Song Xinjun up the mound. Standing on the top of the mound, Lu Li realized how high it was. The mound inside the wall was completely flattened. They had no way to get down. If they jumped down directly, they might be thrown half to death. However, he didn't have to worry about this problem at all. Song Xinjun pulled him up and the swamp carried them down.

After landing successfully, Song Xinjun retracted his ability and raised an eyebrow at Lu Li.

As Lu Li followed Song Xinjun and continued walking forward, he was silently calculating in his mind. Sure enough, ten minutes later he saw the sign of Chuanshan Inn, but they arrived at the back door.

In just two minutes, they reached the main entrance. The main entrance of Chuanshan Inn was lazily open in the afternoon sun, and there were few pedestrians coming and going in front of the door. When Lu Li stepped into the door, he subconsciously looked up, and the clock hanging on the wall told him that the current time was two o'clock in the afternoon.

"My two guests, this is given to you by your companions."

"Thank you. How did you know it was us?"

"Of course, Lord He has given the order."

"What did the letter say?" Song Xinjun and Lu Li looked at each other and walked upstairs.

"The letter said that the captain and Zhou Chen went to the Security Bureau to find Director Liu, and Song Luo and Lu Yuan went to Zhangjia Village. It seems that there were traces of Eleven there, but it's not certain yet. By the way, the letter also said that we should rest first and then go to Beichuan to explore in the evening."

"Zhangjia Village? Director Liu?"

"Well, Director Liu is the director of the Beichuan Security Bureau. It is said that the news of Eleven's appearance in Beichuan came from him."

"Oh, I see." Lu Li said as they reached the third floor.

"Isn't the captain a team with Song Luo? Are they acting separately?"

"I'm not sure. We'll know when they come back." Standing in front of room 305, Lu Li inserted the key into the keyhole. Song Xinjun looked left and right as usual and then followed him into the room and closed the door.