After midnight

"Let's leave early tomorrow morning." An Yan suddenly said before going to sleep.

Su Ziling was a little surprised and stopped shaking the quilt. How could it be so fast?

"I met Zhang Dong today. He and Shangguan Can were asking about us." Su Ziling understood. An Yan's implication was that they could no longer stay here and cause trouble for the girl and grandfather.

"So which direction are we going tomorrow?"

An Yan said two words with certainty. "Xidu."

Su Ziling was completely shocked, but he didn't ask any questions and just pulled back the quilt and got in. An Yan and Su Ziling didn't talk anymore and slowly fell asleep.

Since both the girl and her grandfather got up very early yesterday, they set out on the road before dawn. An Yan and Su Ziling walked around the pavilion and headed west. In the mist, Su Ziling looked back. He was a little reluctant to leave the dilapidated house that he had been unfamiliar with the day before yesterday. He thought of Ajiu from afar. He wondered what Ajiu was doing at the moment. Ajiu and the girl were both very good children he had ever met.

Shangguan Can and Zhang Dong knocked on many doors in the past two days, but none of them had the information they wanted. Shangguan Can was very sure that he was not wrong, so how could there be no results?

There were four or five kids playing on the ordinary path that branched off from the fork. Their noise annoyed Shangguan Can, and he walked away angrily, considering whether to write a letter to Zhao Yunqi.

Suddenly, an idea struck him and he turned back. To find out about the little girl, he had to start with the little boy of the same age.

"Children, I want to ask you about a little girl, about seven or eight years old, about 1.12 meters tall, with long hair. If anyone knows the answer, there will be a reward!"

"Reward? What reward?"

"Uncle, not all little girls are like this."

"Uncle, who are you?"

These little brats even dared to call him uncle when they were quarreling. Shangguan Can gritted his teeth.

"She is carrying a flower basket. Do you know who she is? If you don't know, I will leave." Shangguan Can deliberately said loudly.

The children suddenly stopped and looked at each other. Finally, one of them took two steps forward and said, "Uncle, you must be talking about a girl. Only that freak would carry a basket and sell flowers all day long."

"That's right." The others nodded in agreement.

A little girl? A monster? It turned out to be someone who was considered ominous. No wonder the adults shook their heads and closed the door when they heard this.

"Where is her home then?"

"In a shabby house outside the town in the south..."

Shangguan Can got the news and threw a few nine coins to them and walked away immediately. Not long after, he found the place. He wandered carefully outside the fence, fearing to alert the enemy. But he secretly observed there for an afternoon, but he didn't see the figures of the two people. There was only a girl and an old man in the house. He thought to himself, could it be that I have found the wrong place?

He was about to leave in disappointment when he heard the old man shout, "Girl, be careful with the water!"

Shangguan Can peeked in again and found that the little girl was not concentrating on watering the flowers and splashed water on her clothes. When he looked in through the gap, the little girl called "girl" was putting away the kettle and sitting next to the old man. She lowered her head and was obviously in a low mood.

"Why aren't you happy, girl?"

"Grandpa, why did Brother An Yan and Brother Su Ziling leave in such a hurry? They didn't even say hello."

An Yan, Su Ziling, could it be that... Shangguan Can became excited and so nervous that he could hear his own breathing.

"They probably have something important to do. Girl, don't force it. Just remember the joy of yesterday."

Shangguan Can shuddered and slipped away silently. He quickly returned to their temporary residence to find Zhang Dong and tell him the information he had collected.

Shangguan Can complained, "They left here yesterday. We missed the opportunity that we finally got!"

Zhang Dong comforted him, "They must have gone to Sand City. Just keep chasing south. What else can we do?"

After hearing this, Shangguan Can lay back on the bed helplessly. He didn't want to go to that place. "It's really strange, why do you think they came to the pavilion? Why did they go to all that trouble?"

"Could it be that their destination is no longer Sand City?"

"How should I know?" Shangguan Can asked back. Zhang Dong did not answer.

Shangguan Can sank into the soft bed, and there was silence in the air. Suddenly, he jumped up from the bed and said excitedly: "I have thought of a good way. We don't have to chase them, and we can let them come back on their own. I am really a genius!"

Shangguan Can grinned, forgetting that their main mission was to gather intelligence.

An Yan and Su Ziling were going to Xidu, but they didn't necessarily have to reach Xidu. An Yan's main purpose was to kill off the remaining less than ten days. When the time came on May 5, they would go back to the New World. Therefore, their best solution was to go around in circles with the people chasing them, instead of staying quietly in one place.

But even so, without hurrying, the long journey still made Su Ziling exhausted. He gradually fell behind An Yan. After all, he had never experienced such a harsh thing in his previous 17 years of life.

Although every cell in his body was clamoring for yesterday's relaxation, Su Ziling still tried hard to catch up with An Yan, who was still walking straight ahead of him.

Suddenly, a beam of light flashed by and finally stopped at An Yan. It was a letter. Su Ziling quickened his pace and walked over. He wanted to know who wrote the letter? Brother Yin?

Su Ziling stayed beside An Yan and noticed that An Yan's brows were furrowed when he read the letter. What kind of letter could make An Yan show such an expression? Su Ziling leaned over to take a look. It said:

Anyan, if you don't want anything to happen to the girl and the old man, no matter where you are, you'd better come back immediately. I'll wait for you in the house. - Shangguan Can

What? Su Ziling snatched the letter, furious. Shangguan Can actually dared to kidnap the girl and her grandfather? Before he could even start to curse, the letter in his hand was pulled out by An Yan.

An Yan folded it back to its original shape bit by bit, and then tore it in the middle bit by bit, and the torn paper was torn in half again and again. In the end, all the pieces of paper were held in An Yan's hand. An Yan flipped them outwards casually, and they were thrown into the air. When the wind blew, the paper flowers swirled and fell to the ground, buried by the loess.

"An Yan..." An Yan was angry, and Su Ziling called him softly.

An Yan turned around and walked back past Su Ziling without saying a word, and Su Ziling hurriedly chased after him. Before the day was over, they had no choice but to turn back. This was the first time Su Ziling felt threatened.

The sky gradually darkened, but An Yan had no intention of stopping. Su Ziling pulled him back, "We can rush back overnight, but don't forget that your injuries are not healed yet."

"I know. Actually... considering Shangguan Can and Zhang Dong's personalities, they won't do anything too extreme."

"That's good." Hearing An Yan say this, Su Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's take a break first and recharge our batteries."

An Yan looked at him for a while, and finally nodded. After resting for a while, they continued on their journey, sleeping late, getting up early, and trying to get back as fast as possible. In this way, before noon, they saw the familiar house.

At the fence outside the house, Su Ziling slowed down his pace and followed An Yan carefully inside. In his sight, the flowerbed that the maid had carefully taken care of was in full bloom, with nothing unusual.

The door creaked open, and the girl shouted in surprise. "Brother An Yan, Brother Su Zi Ling, you're back!"

The girl crossed the threshold of the house and ran towards them. Su Ziling asked hurriedly: "Girl, are you okay?"

The girl looked at them in confusion and asked back, "It's okay, what's wrong? Oh, by the way, I'll go call grandpa out."

After saying that, the girl hurried back to the house, leaving An Yan and Su Ziling looking at each other in confusion. What was going on? Since the girl and her grandfather were not kidnapped, what about the letter?

At this time, footsteps were heard behind him. An Yan was the first to react and looked towards the door. Su Ziling also immediately looked back and saw two people slowly walking in.

"I knew you would come back." Shangguan Can said proudly.

It was them. Su Ziling recognized them. They had dealt with An Yan together. The person who was speaking was Shangguan Can, and the person standing aside in silence was Zhang Dong. If I remembered correctly, their abilities were sand and wood. Zhang Dong's ability was wood, which made him easier to deal with.

"Who are you two? Are you friends of Brother An Yan and the others?" Behind them, the little girl had already helped her grandfather out.

"Girl, take grandpa into the house. Don't come out." An Yan said but didn't turn back.

The girl looked at the two people opposite her and obediently took her grandfather back to the house.

"Don't worry, I, Shangguan Can, don't bother to kidnap the old, weak, sick and disabled people like them. I just set a bait to scare you. If you don't come back, I really can't do anything to him and his grandson. But you can't not come back, so Zhang Dong and I have been lying in ambush here since early in the morning."

So that's how it is. Su Ziling secretly glanced at An Yan next to him. An Yan was standing a little closer to him.

"The one standing over there." Shangguan Can called him, "Your name is Su Ziling, right? Your ability is fire. What is your relationship with An Yan?"

He knew his name, Su Ziling was shocked but soon figured out the reason. He should have been lying in ambush near the girl's house before. Shangguan Can could only come up with this trick after finding out that he and An Yan were not there.

"A few days ago, I heard a lot of rumors in Xidu. I originally thought that Yin was the 'Guardian', but now he is not here, but you are still here. Could it be that you are the real 'Guardian'? Then what is the relationship between Yin and you?"

Su Ziling did not answer. He subconsciously clenched his right hand, where there was a shallow scar.

Shangguan Can said this while paying attention to Su Ziling's expression. His surprise and the small movement of turning his head revealed everything. He was the "guardian". Shangguan Can actually became a little excited when he touched his nose.

Shangguan Can guessed his identity, and Su Ziling couldn't help but look at An Yan in annoyance. An Yan stood aside calmly, like a bystander. What was An Yan thinking at this moment?

"Girl." An Yan suddenly called out. Su Ziling lowered his head. He didn't know when the girl had gotten in front of him and An Yan and stood there.

An Yan stretched out his right hand to protect her, and Su Ziling quickly took a step forward to pull the girl over. But the girl broke free from him and looked up at An Yan with eyes that didn't match her age. An Yan nodded but didn't take his hand back.

After getting permission, the girl looked at the two people standing at the door and said, "So you are bad guys!"

Su Ziling smiled secretly, children's thinking is so simple. But suddenly, the girl did something, and the flowers that were originally growing well on the ground grew wildly and entangled Shangguan Can and Zhang Dong. Their ankles and calves were imprisoned and unable to move.

Shangguan Can and Zhang Dong were startled and each tore at the flowers that were wrapped around them, trying to pull them off, but the branches of the flowers still stretched out from their bodies and continued to climb.

"It turns out that this little girl is capable and not weak. Don't blame me for being rude."

As soon as Shangguan Can finished speaking, An Yan immediately picked up the girl and jumped to the side, avoiding Shangguan Can's attack. The sand chased after him in a curve, and An Yan also kept dodging with the girl in his arms, trampling the flowers in the flowerbed. Seeing this, Su Ziling immediately stretched out his fist to attack Shangguan Can.

The flames suddenly rose up, and Shangguan Can tried hard to dodge them. Although Su Ziling's accuracy was not good enough to deal with a moving person, the fire was lethal enough, so Shangguan Can stopped attacking.

"Don't act rashly." Seeing all this, Zhang Dong said to Shangguan Can.

After Shangguan Can dodged Su Ziling's attack, he stopped and asked him, "Why didn't you take action?"

"Don't forget that our main mission is to obtain intelligence. Now that we know what we need to know, it's best to evacuate quickly."

"But don't forget that An Yan is seriously injured now. We have a chance to catch him."

While Shangguan Can stopped attacking, Su Ziling immediately went to observe An Yan's condition. The girl was not injured and had been put aside by An Yan, but An Yan's face was not very good. It was obvious that the movement just now was too large and pulled the wound.

"Please understand the situation. Their abilities are water and fire, while you and I have sand and wood. I will be burned by the fire as soon as I attack. Although your sand can temporarily suppress the fire, it cannot stop the water. We are at a disadvantage because our abilities are incompatible with theirs. Not to mention the little girl. If she wasn't so young, we would have been entangled long ago."

"You also said that she was young and I was caught off guard. Anyway, I must meet them properly this time. Just tell me whether you will come or not."

Shangguan Can was very stubborn, and Zhang Dong couldn't convince him, so he had to fight seriously.

Seeing them take a step forward side by side after arguing for a long time, it seemed that they finally reached a consensus, and Su Ziling also went forward. He stood in front of An Yan because he knew that An Yan could not easily make a move now.

Su Ziling clenched his right fist. Although he was very weak now, he had to stand in front and give it a try. An Yan noticed Su Ziling's action and said nothing.

Here it comes! As the high-speed sand and the rapidly falling wood blocks approached him, Su Ziling stretched out his fist and counterattacked with his most skilled move. Just now, just now, when he fought with Shangguan Can, he seemed to have understood a little bit about how to attack moving objects. He couldn't let this opportunity go.

The wood fell to the ground and burned, and the sand also scattered. But some of the sand bypassed Su Ziling and continued to attack An Yan!

Oops! He didn't knock down all of Shangguan Can's attacks. Su Ziling turned his head to look at An Yan in panic, but saw a hunched figure slowly falling down.

Grandpa! How could it be Grandpa? Su Ziling rushed back but was too late to catch him. Grandpa fell into the arms of An Yan who was protecting him behind him. An Yan was kneeling on the ground with shock and disbelief in his eyes. The girl's terrified and sad cry rang in his ears.

Su Ziling knelt down and called him anxiously.

"It's okay, don't cry, little girl... I'm not going to die yet, carry me into the house."

Hearing Grandpa's words, Su Ziling and An Yan carefully carried Grandpa into the house, with the sobbing girl beside them. At the door, Zhang Dong had already disappeared, dragging the dazed Shangguan Can.