After midnight

Yin was the first one to react. He reached out his hand to straighten the shaky cup of water, then stood up and faced everyone. He turned his back to An Yan and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. I need to discuss something with An Yan in private. Could you please step out for a while? Zi Ling, go get some tissues."

Su Ziling went out in a daze, and Song Xinjun, Shangguan Can, Xu Xing and Bai Ming also went out. Lu Li looked at Lin Nuan and saw that she was looking at An Yan with a sad expression, and there was nothing else in her eyes, so he went out alone.

Yin also looked at Lin Nuan, and after thinking for a while, he also left after everyone else left. He just wanted to find an excuse to let everyone slow down, and maybe Lin Nuan was the most suitable person to stay.

"Lin Nuan." An Yan called her softly and walked towards her.

Lin Nuan watched An Yan walking towards her step by step. She ran over and hugged him as if escaping. She could no longer bear it.

"An Yan." Lin Nuan closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" An Yan asked softly.

Lin Nuan didn't answer. She continued, "Thank you, thank you for still being alive in this world."

An Yan's eyes suddenly turned red. He hugged Lin Nuan and buried his head in her shoulder.

Su Ziling didn't know how he got to the kitchen. When he regained consciousness and his eyes focused again, he was looking at the clean stove in the kitchen. An Yan spent much more time in front of the stove than he did. Every time after cooking, it was An Yan who wiped it. Su Ziling raised his hand and touched it.

The stove was a little cold, even with the sun shining on it it was still cold.

Su Ziling looked at his hands on the stove and suddenly came to his senses. He hurried to find a tissue, but suddenly remembered that the tissue should be in the living room, not here. He turned around and walked out, but suddenly froze in his place.

The people who had come out of the study had gathered in the living room. When they saw Su Ziling coming, they all focused their attention on him.

Su Ziling ducked his head and tried to get the tissue on the table, then quickened his pace to go upstairs. He stood at the corner of the stairs, feeling a little awkward, but he had to go back to the study step by step. He opened the door and saw Lin Nuan looking out with red eyes.

He avoided Lin Nuan and didn't look at An Yan. He walked straight to the table. The accumulated water on the table had been wiped away, without even a trace of water stains.

"Zi Ling." An Yan called him.

"Yeah." Su Ziling put the tissue on the table and waited for An Yan to speak first. Because he didn't know what to say to him, his emotions were too complicated, and he couldn't just cry like Lin Nuan.

"Su Zi Ling, you are just Su Zi Ling in my eyes. You are the 'Guardian' but you are more of a Su Zi Ling. I have never and will never compare you to anyone because you are unique."

An Yan's words almost made Su Ziling cry again. He didn't expect An Yan to explain to him first, fearing that he would misunderstand. Maybe he was really shocked, but... Su Ziling looked at An Yan, and An Yan's mood seemed to be much better than before. So he thought for a moment and said, "An Yan, what should we do next?"

"Please call Yin in for me. We need to tell him before we make the map public."

Song Xinjun looked at Su Ziling's distraught and dazed look, and suddenly wanted to go out for some fresh air. He walked outside and closed the door, temporarily isolating himself from everything inside.

There was a cold wind outside, but Song Xinjun felt that this was just right.

Breathing the cold air into his lungs calmed his mind a lot.

He did not tell Fang Hao that he came today because he did not know what An Yan wanted to say to him. After Lin Xuanfeng left, he selfishly regarded himself as the rope connecting An Yan and the revolutionary army, although this was just his wishful thinking, after all, An Yan was the one who held the initiative.

But he still stood here today, so caught off guard. If Lin Xuanfeng was still here, would the situation be different? At least the person standing here now would not be him, and Lin Xuanfeng would know much more than he does now. And he would not have to face cruelty and shame.

Today was a bloody day, and Song Xinjun set his eyes on the rose garden not far away. Song Xinjun knew that An Yan seemed to be just telling a story of the past, but the past could never be the past.

Song Xinjun felt sad when the strong wind blew through the rose garden.

Today the sun is far away and the sky is high, but loneliness and emptiness surround everything nearby.

Song Xinjun stood there silently, but the door creaked. Shangguan Can came out to get some fresh air and was a little surprised to see Song Xinjun. After a moment of silence, he sighed, even though he was just an outsider.

"You came out too. I never thought Yunqi had been involved in such a conspiracy."

"Yeah, who would have thought." Speaking of old friends, Song Xinjun couldn't help but feel sad. What if they knew the truth? They didn't live to see this day.

"Song Xinjun, let me make it clear first. I don't care who you are, I want revenge."

This sentence sounded a bit strange, but Song Xinjun understood what Shangguan Can meant. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course."

Song Xinjun's surname is Song, but he is a revolutionary. But the reason why he and Shangguan Can appeared here is not only because of his identity as a revolutionary, but also because their close friends were dragged into this extremely evil vortex and were completely drowned. This is something that Song Xinjun will never forget.

After Song Xinjun left, Shangguan Can also left. When Xu Xing saw Lu Li walk to the living room window and look out after Su Ziling went upstairs, he motioned Bai Ming to follow him. They found a place and walked into the room next to the living room where Ajiu and Qiqi had lived.

"Bai Ming, today, I finally understand the real reason why Xiao Wu died. Now, the only thing I can do is to help An Yan break the heavy shackles they both bear. Bai Ming, I don't know what my ending will be, whether it will be like Xiao Wu, but I have decided to do this."

"I understand, Xu Xing, you don't have to say more. I will be with you. I know that if we don't get rid of the corrupt evil first, the light we expect will never come. So we are not only helping Xiao Wu and Anyan, we are also saving ourselves."

Bai Ming met Xu Xing's eyes, and their words were more firm than ever before.

Lin Nuan wiped away her tears and walked down the stairs. At this time, Lu Li was the only one left in the living room standing by the window. She walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Lu Li turned around to look at her and saw a face that was just like his, with a heavy expression that could not be concealed.

“When I was a child, my mother told me to stay away from the ‘Son of God’. I didn’t understand, so I asked my father. But after I asked my father, he just remained silent. When I was a child, I didn’t understand. When I grew up, I thought I understood, but now it seems that I still don’t understand. They, my parents, must have made a lot of efforts and sacrifices, but they couldn’t save anything, so in the end they even sacrificed their own lives.” Lin Nuan said.

Lin Nuan's tears made Lu Li feel painful and sad. He never knew his oath more clearly than at this moment. That is, he would definitely kill Song Yu and protect her for the rest of her life.

"Lu Li, I will never allow such scum to appear in the Lu and Lin companies. I want to move forward."

"Okay, I'll accompany you."

"Thank you." Lin Nuan closed her eyes and hugged Lu Li.

Yin was sitting in the second bedroom upstairs, and Su Ziling found him easily. When he looked around the living room and found that only Lin Nuan and Lu Li were in the living room, he knew that Yin must be here.

"Brother, An Yan is looking for you."

"I see." Yin sat on the bed, crossed his arms and thought. Seeing Su Ziling coming to find him, he went to the study with him.

"Yin, I'm going to make the map public. We can't wait any longer."

"That's exactly what I meant."

An Yan nodded and was about to ask Su Ziling to call everyone over again when Yin suddenly said, "An Yan, there is something I need to confess to you. I have kept this from you for a long time. It is about your teacher Zhao Yunqi."

Seeing that An Yan looked calm, Yin continued, "I think you have more or less guessed that I am related to Zhao Yunqi's death. Because the letter you have kept until now has my code written on it. After Song Hongtian's death, he could have left, but due to my request and some deal between us, he stayed. He stayed to investigate you."

"To be honest, I don't know how likely it is that he chose to stay because of the deal or because the content of the deal was you. Your teacher loved you, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Before he passed away, with his help, I had found the entrance to a certain place in the West Mountain. Yes, what Qiqi left for you is exactly the same as what your teacher left for you, so our progress is better than you think."

"An Yan, we can't let go of the past, but what's important is always the present and the future. This is what I want to tell you."

"I understand." An Yan turned around and walked behind the desk. He restrained himself, "Zi Ling, please help me invite them all over again."

How could An Yan not have guessed what Yin said? No matter what purpose his teacher had in making a deal with Yin, it was a fact that he died at Song Yu's hands, and it was also a fact that he had to pass on the message at the risk of his life. This was enough to prove everything.

All these things must be settled. No one can be a coward forever, and he cannot escape forever.

An Yan walked over with his back to the door until he heard footsteps coming from behind him again, then he turned around. He looked at these people who had a great relationship with him. "Qiqi lived here for a while, and as a deal, she left a map."

Lin Nuan and the others stood there and listened to An Yan's continued announcement. They were much calmer than before.

"This map is a very important opportunity, because the content drawn on this map is the secret nest built by Song Hongtian under the West Mountain. It is the sinful place used to carry out the 'Son of God' replication plan." As they listened, no matter what earth-shattering words An Yan said, they would no longer be surprised.

"We are still studying this map. Once the code of this map is completely deciphered, it will be time for us to meet more frequently, everyone."

The meaning was self-evident, and they looked at each other hurriedly and continued to remain silent.

However, this silence contained tremendous power, because they all knew that it was time to end.

At this moment, in Beihai, thousands of miles away from them, Song Yu was walking casually on the street. He was alone here and walked out almost every day. The wind was a little cold, but not so unbearable.

After Song Nan took them away, Song Yu saw the fierce wind in the North Sea. The wind roared in and soon swept everything. It rolled up the waves three meters high, broke the branches in the roar and creaking, and shattered the transparent glass in his room. Such extreme weather was rare in Jiudu, but he liked it.

After the storm, today, the sky was clear and blue. Song Yu walked along the mountain road, up and down. Then he suddenly saw something, hiding behind a rock wall. After a while, a woman walked slowly on a road diagonally in front of him without looking around.

Song Xin was wearing a navy blue cotton coat that reached her knees, and she walked carefully to protect her bulging belly. She looked at the road ahead from time to time, and lowered her head to touch her belly from time to time. She did not notice that there was a person watching her at the fork in the road.

Song Yu watched Song Xin walk away, and after she disappeared from the end of this road, he turned and left. The next morning, Song Yu set out from Beihai. When he left, the sun finally cast its first ray of light from the sky, and the Beihai behind him was bathed in the warm sun.

But the haze still hovers over the Beiqi Mountains.