After midnight

There is a dirt-gray wall on Beiyang Road. The wall is fifty meters long and is mottled due to being washed by wind and rain all day long. This wall is a relic of the road construction that was not demolished for some reason. Now, it is covered with torn advertisements.

Lu Li's heart skipped a beat as he took a look. The big-character posters were densely packed in a row. He hurried over early in the morning and saw that there were still many passers-by watching in front of the wall, all of them pointing and whispering.

As he walked over, the huge words instantly caught people's attention. The Lu family suddenly descended, and the mall became a hanging window!

There are identical black words on each piece of white paper, and the situation is pressing!

With a tearing sound, Lu Li pulled out one of the pages, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket. He put his hands in his pockets and rushed to the inn. His mouth was tight, and he was frighteningly serious. He took two steps at a time and rushed up the stairs. Seeing that Lin Xuanfeng's door was open, he pushed it open and went in. He slapped the hot paper on the table and said, "I'll go call Ah Nuan."

Lin Xuanfeng walked over from the window in confusion. He was looking down at the window station. Ah Jiu was lying on the bed playing, and he reacted quickly and came over first.

"Master!" Ah Jiu spread out the big-character poster for him to see. The Lu clan descended suddenly, and the mall became a hanging window!

"Where did you find it?" Lin Xuanfeng's face suddenly changed. He asked Lu Li quickly. Lu Li and Lin Nuan were walking into the room together.

"There is a Beiyang Road in the northwest corner of the North City. There is a wall with all these stickers on it!"

“Oh, the message wall.”

"Message wall?" Jiu asked curiously.

"There is a special wall where people would post posters if they had special needs, such as selling houses or hiring workers. Information there flows very quickly, and most people would go and take a look at it when they have nothing to do."

"Yes, the content of this piece of paper has been circulated very widely. The paper is still new and is still neatly pasted on the wall. I'm afraid it was pasted one by one last night. But this morning, to be exact, two hours ago, the uncle selling fruit on the corner downstairs had already heard about it."

"The speed at which rumors spread is really terrifying." Lin Nuan held her chin up, very worried. She didn't want to understand the purpose of those people doing this.

"Look, there's Lu's, Xuan Chuang, and the unmentioned but obvious North City. Putting these words together, I really don't know what the people of North City will think." Lin Xuanfeng said as he looked towards the window. Xuan Chuang Station under the clear sky was still calm at the moment.

"I'm afraid someone will add fuel to the fire. I'm going to guard that wall tonight." Lu Li said.

"Then I'll go discuss countermeasures with Amin and see if we should enclose the hanging window first." After Lin Xuanfeng finished speaking, he picked up the creased paper and went downstairs.

"Ah Nuan, don't worry for now. Stay in the inn first or take Ah Jiu out for a walk on the street in the afternoon when there are many people."

"I see."

"By the way, I bought some fruit and left it downstairs. Remember to bring it up later."

"it is good."

"Then I'll go out first."

"Go out? Now? Aren't you going to have lunch?"

"No, I'll just eat something outside."

Lu Li left after he finished speaking, and in the blink of an eye, only Lin Nuan and Ajiu were left in the house.

"I saw my master passing by." Ajiu leaned over in front of the window to look, and after a while he saw his master's small figure walking quickly into the hanging window station.

Lin Nuan sighed and said to Ajiu, "Ajiu, let's go and eat first."

After dinner, Lin Nuan brought up the fruits and soon washed the grapes and placed them in a white porcelain bowl. The grapes were crowded together, with round water droplets attached to the purple skin, looking crystal clear.

Lin Nuan handed the grapes to Jiu, broke open a banana for him, and asked him, "Would you like an apple?"

Ah Jiu quickly shook her head, and Lin Nuan sat down quietly. She began to pinch the grapes and eat them one by one. Ah Jiu finished eating the banana and took out the textbook from her schoolbag.

Lin Nuan leaned over to take a look. It was a book about the principles of wind formation. "Is this what you are going to learn in school?"

"No, I learned it in school, but this book is not taught in school. I learned it from my master, and he asked me to read it. My master told me that before I reach the power, it is better to learn to make good use of the wind in nature instead of using my ability to generate wind."

"That makes sense. It's right to learn from your master."

"Yeah." Jiu opened the book and flipped a few pages.

Judging from the newness of the side of the book, most of the book has been read. Lin Nuan took out a tissue to wipe her hands. She had already eaten more than half of the grapes. "Ajiu, finish the remaining grapes. If you want to eat anything else, take it yourself. If you are tired, take a rest. I'm going back to my room first. Let me know if there is anything, okay?"

"understood."

An hour later, Lin Nuan came out of the room, stretching lazily. The table had been cleaned up, and Jiu had put away the books and washed the dishes. He was leaning against the window in a daze.

"Ah Jiu, don't you want to go to sleep for a while?"

"Sister Lin Nuan, are you up? Are you still eating grapes? I'll go wash them for you." Jiu turned his head and saw Lin Nuan, and his confused expression turned into a smile in an instant.

"Thank you, Jiu. How did you know I wanted to eat grapes?"

"Because Brother Lu Li bought so many things, you only ate the grapes."

After saying that, Jiu washed the remaining grapes, and then brought a bowl of large, purple grapes to Lin Nuan and placed it in front of her. Lin Nuan pushed forward, "Let's eat together. Jiu, what were you thinking about just now?"

"Nothing, just wishful thinking." Jiu smiled shyly.

"Lu Li and Lin Xuanfeng never came back, right?"

"Well, no one has come up yet." Jiu said and then took out a book from his schoolbag.

The cover of this book is black, but you can tell at a glance that it is completely different from the thick professional book just now. It is a novel.

"Ajiu, what is this novel about?"

“Suspense and mystery.”

"Brother An Yan recommended it to me, saying it can improve logical thinking ability. It's really interesting."

"An Yan recommended you?"

"Well, it was because I met Brother An Yan that I realized what the world was like. After I met Brother An Yan, I left my hometown and became the disciple of Master."

"Where is Jiu's hometown?"

"Hmm... To be honest, I don't know. I only know that there is a big lake near my hometown. After I got out, I looked for my hometown on the map, but not only did I not find it, I didn't even know the name of my hometown."

How strange! Lin Nuan became serious and wanted to ask more questions. At this moment, a letter suddenly fell on the table and interrupted her. While Lin Nuan was reading the letter, Jiu opened the book again.

"Ajiu, I have to go out for something. Wait for me to come back and don't run around, okay?"

"Got it. Sister Lin Nuan, please be careful too." Perhaps it was because of what happened in the morning. Jiu nodded calmly and then buried his head in his book again.

After seeing this, Jiu couldn't help but finish the whole book. He closed the book in amazement and looked out the window. The dark blue sky of the evening was covering the sky.

The exquisite reasoning came in waves, this is another world that Jiu has never seen. Where is the bigger world that An Yange mentioned? When he grows up, can he go over the mountains and into the new world?

Ajiu stood up and stretched his muscles, shaking his head. It was already this late and no one had come back. The scene outside was nothing special, just like the scene he had spent the past three to five days in Beicheng. Ajiu turned around and decided to go back to his room to rest, and then ask Brother An Yan for some books when he got back to Xindu.

"Ajiu, wake up?"

Jiu woke up in a daze. At this time, the lights in the house were on, but it was completely dark outside the window.

"Are you hungry? Get up and wash your face. I'll take you out for dinner." Lin Nuan said to him.

They went out together. There were people in the streets in twos and threes. The shops were all open, and the aroma of cooking wafted from the houses. They found a noodle shop nearby to eat noodles. There was nothing unusual on the street. After eating, they hurried back to the inn. That night, Lin Xuanfeng and Lu Li did not go home all night.

From the second day on, the situation became increasingly serious.

The message wall was empty, but the streets and alleys of the northern city were all covered with new posters, which read:

Lu Li of the Lu family colluded with the revolutionary army to raze North City and betray the Jiu Kingdom!

In the morning, Jiu got up and walked around. He saw no one. He looked out the window. A blue fence had been erected outside the window wall overnight. Many pedestrians stopped to look in the street in front of the fence. Jiu made a quick decision and ran downstairs to the window station.

Although there were curious pedestrians looking outside the blue fence, not many people actually approached. Ah Jiu walked over and tore off the poster stuck on the fence. The poster had lost its stickiness and was shaky, falling off at the touch.

This must have been torn from somewhere else and stuck on the wall by some mischievous person. Jiu turned around and ran back.

As soon as I entered the door, Lu Li, Lin Xuanfeng, Lin Nuan and Bai Ming were all there.

"Where did you get it?" Lin Xuanfeng strode over and pulled the poster from Ajiu's hand.

"It's outside, on the blue fence of the window station." Jiu took a look and saw several identical posters on the table.

"The fence was not put up until dawn, so it's impossible that they put it up," Bai Ming pointed out.

"When I went there, there were many people looking around, but I didn't see anyone sneaking around."

"Well, it's easier to control the crowd by setting up a fence, but it will be difficult to get the materials needed to build the Hanging Window Station."

"How cunning, inciting civilians." Lin Xuanfeng said gritting his teeth.

"There's no other way. The people we can least fight against are the civilians. Let's find a way to calm the situation down." Lu Li continued.

"Then it would be better for you to come forward, take the official document, and explain it in person." Bai Ming pointed at the word "Lu Li" written in capital letters on the poster.

"No, we can't gather the people together. Lu Li can't explain it clearly with just his mouth. After all, what the big-character poster said is just too extreme. It still has factual basis." Lin Nuan retorted.

"What kind of bullshit evidence is that? Collusion? Suppression? Or betrayal? Xindu is also part of Jiuguo. Do they really not want to recognize Xindu?"

"Lin Xuanfeng, I know you always despise these things, but this method is indeed very useful. You are right here, and behind you is the hanging window station that is about to be completed. How can you let Lu Li open his mouth to explain those verbs you just said?" Lin Nuan couldn't help but raise his voice.

"A Nuan is right. When there are too many people, there are too many mouths. When people gather together, it is easy for them to cause trouble. How about this? Let's learn from them and put up a notice as soon as possible, on the blue fence. Let's say that we are a normal business activity, and the fence is only for the convenience of management and to prevent harm to unrelated personnel. Just clarify the rumors."

"You can do that, but you think too simply. They must be taking the lead in inciting the people in an organized and premeditated manner, and it will be more difficult to deal with next." Lin Xuanfeng said.

"So we have to be faster." Lin Nuan said, "It is definitely not wise not to acknowledge it at this time. But we must write clearly that we built the Hanging Window Station with the consent of Jiudu government leader Jiu Xiang. Next, we need to write that in addition to the government's consent, the construction of the Hanging Window Station is also necessary for economic development and is beneficial to everyone. Finally, we should also mention that the Revolutionary Army is the government-recognized administrator of Xindu and there is no treason. Don't let everyone believe the rumors."

"In short, try to obscure Lin Xuanfeng as much as possible and the chaos he might bring to North City."

"Yes, that's right. I'll write it myself." After hearing this, Lu Li sat down and couldn't wait to start writing.

"Wait, something happened in Beizhong!" At this time, Bai Ming, who had been silent just now, suddenly shouted out of control while holding Xu Xing's letter.

After hearing this, Lin Xuanfeng snatched it away. The others immediately crowded over to read it at a glance, their hearts almost jumping out of their chests!

Su Ziling stood on the flat ground and looked out. Today was a clear day with a wide field of vision. The sky and earth were all white and bright. The noise and clanging of the machines behind him made Su Ziling feel as if he was back in the busy new world. But this was not the case. Su Ziling took a deep breath and stretched himself.

A group of people suddenly appeared in such a peaceful situation. Fifty or sixty of them lined up in several rows and walked towards here step by step. Judging from their posture, they were coming with great force.

Su Ziling ran to the control room as soon as he saw it, and when he pulled Xu Xing out, a crowd of people was a hundred meters away. They were shouting and moving forward.

"What are you doing behind the scenes? Are you building a hanging window station? Don't you want us to live a good life? I tell you, don't try to deceive us!"

One person started shouting, and instantly the whole place started buzzing. Fifty or sixty mouths were talking at the same time, and the noise was so loud that the workers who were working hard on the roof stopped to look around and hesitate, not knowing whether they should continue working.

Su Ziling had never seen such a situation before. He just responded based on his experience from watching TV. "Be quiet, everyone. Excuse me, what happened?"

"Whatever you say, if you build a hanging window, we won't agree to it! I don't care if this is Lu's territory or not!"

"That's right! Everyone, hurry in and take a look! If you find any hanging windows, destroy them immediately!"

As they spoke, the crowd continued to push forward, and suddenly people were huddled together in a mess.

Su Ziling saw it and hurriedly opened his arms and used his body to block it.

Xu Xing stood behind Su Ziling with a frown on his forehead. The group of people in front of him were all men in their thirties or forties, without even a woman or child. Their expressions were also surprisingly similar, with no doubt, no hesitation, and no stopping in confusion. Yes, they didn't look scared at all, and it was obvious that they were here to cause trouble.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? Put us down quickly!"

"Put us down, or we'll be rude to you!"

"Xu Xing, what's going on?" Su Ziling bravely squeezed out and ran back to Xu Xing.

Xu Xingzheng used his ability to lift all the people present high into the air, and for a moment everyone was outraged.

"These people are here to cause trouble. You can't persuade them. You should think of other solutions. I can't hold on for too long with so many people." Behind them was the main gate of the Hanging Window Station which was under construction.

There were many people with similar abilities in the crowd, and once they resisted, Xu Xing could no longer control them. In less than two minutes, they returned to the ground on their own, and others pulled them back one by one.

Xu Xing was still resisting, but Su Ziling just watched the chaos in front of him. Until, Su Ziling saw a person and shouted excitedly.

"An Yan, An Yan is here!"

He watched with joy as An Yan and Zhou Chen ran over. But before they came over, a louder argument suddenly broke out in the crowd.

“Someone come! Someone come! How dare they use weapons to hurt people! Not only did they tie us up without permission, they also dared to hurt us!”

As the man started to make noise, everyone surrounded the man who claimed to be injured. They seemed to be confirming the extent of the injury, and then immediately pointed at Su Ziling and loudly accused him. "How dare you hurt us? We just want to seek an explanation. Is there any law?"

"that is!"

The injured man was pushed to the front of the crowd, holding his bleeding arm. He was panting and his veins were bulging. The crowd was completely enraged. For a moment, the crowd was so angry that it was hard to calm down.