"Xiao Lu..."

Song Ci arrived at the depths of the alley.

The dim light illuminated the woman's cold face.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but he felt that Lu Nanjin's face looked much softer than before... Ever since she followed Gu Nanfeng to Nagano to practice swordsmanship, Nanjin's entire temperament had changed.

At this moment, she stood still, embracing her sword, like a mountain, much more composed than before.

"You refused Qingzhong's invitation, wanting to stay in Dadu and protect my sister?"

Lu Nanjin went straight to the point.

Such directness took Song Ci by surprise.

"Yes."

Song Ci took a light breath and answered without hesitation, "The waters of Dadu are deep, with undercurrents surging... My staying here is naturally to protect Madam!"

"If you really want to protect my sister."

Nanjin said calmly, "Then you shouldn't have refused Qingzhong."

Song Ci was stunned.

"You are very powerful, at the peak of the eleventh layer of the Deep Sea. In all of Dadu, there are few who are your match."

Nanjin looked directly at the man before her, her voice cold and unforgiving, "But the opponents my sister is facing now... are they within Dadu?"

This question left Song Ci unable to answer.

He actually knew.

After Zhao Xilai's passing, the struggle in the Dadu district had already come to an end... Later, the smoke of the Awakening Act once spread and burned to Nagano. Before Bai Shu-xiansheng melted the Fire Seed, he had led a team north several times, responsible for protecting the safety of the North-South negotiations.

Madam's real opponents were no longer in Dadu!

"If you want your sister to go further, then you should go further."

Lu Nanjin said softly, "In that case, the eleventh layer of the Deep Sea... is not enough..."

Song Ci's eyes became lost.

"...If there really comes a day when my sister stands at the highest point of the Five Continents with the Huazhi banner, then what will you, at the eleventh layer of the Deep Sea, use to resist the raging waves coming from all directions?"

Nanjin said seriously, "Imagine if time could be turned back, and the Lion Alley incident of that year were to be replayed, would you, having lost the Light Relic, have a way to stop the Sky Apostle 'Qin Ye'?"

Song Ci fell silent.

He had relied on the Light Relic to fight Tie Wu... fighting to a fifty-fifty draw, until the Dionysus Divine Seat "Divine Descent."

And the Dionysus Divine Seat was the weakest of the Seven Gods.

His apostle was not as good as Qin Ye.

"Obviously, you can't stop him, and the tragedy will happen again..."

"Even if it happened again, Lao Lu would still die..."

There was some sadness in Nanjin's voice.

"So..." She smiled softly, "Only by becoming a Feng Hao can you be qualified to fight the apostles."

This was something she often thought about when she was in closed-door cultivation.

If time could be turned back.

Would the tragedy that she regretted for the rest of her life still happen?

"Entering Qingzhong is an opportunity that countless people envy... If I were you, I would agree without hesitation."

Nanjin said firmly, word by word, "If you can't even protect yourself, how can you protect others?"

Song Ci's eyes became complicated.

"Actually, I have always... envied you."

Lu Nanjin's voice was hoarse. She was a clumsy bird who had buried herself in running since she was a child, cultivating selflessly, practicing desperately. It was just a pity that in the first half of her life, fate did not treat such "fools" kindly.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't compare to those top geniuses who were born with extraordinary talents.

The greatest achievement she had gained from her efforts was obtaining an "A-level" talent evaluation in the Tribunal.

She knew that no matter how much she cultivated in seclusion.

The Divine Seat would not cast a favorable glance... The genius that the Divine Seat would favor must be one in a million, maybe Bai Xiu, maybe Gu Shen, but definitely not herself.

After Lu Nanjin finished speaking all these words in one breath.

Her expression became a little tired.

Finally, she stared into the man's eyes and said, word by word, "Song Ci, promise me, this time you go to the cemetery... it's not just for my sister, but also for yourself."

...

...

Late at night, the Lion Alley residence.

The stone lions at the door guarded the long night, and the red lanterns swayed in the wind, shaking up a hazy glow.

The sealed item [Lantern] can effectively shield the signal perception of the Deep Sea.

In addition, Chu Ling also controls the authority of the Deep Water Zone.

Now this residence can be said to be the safest "information haven" in Dadu.

"Whirr~"

In the courtyard, the leaves of the banyan tree rustled in the wind.

Patches of silver light curtain were reflected.

Sitting in the courtyard, Lu Nanzhi looked up at the silver light curtain in front of her, her expression solemn.

Lines of names, addresses, and related information flowed on this light curtain.

"This is the Gu Wen Hui's 'known list'?"

Lu Nanzhi did not ask how Gu Shen got this thing...

He was the [Key]!

Knowing this was enough!

Since Mr. Turing regarded him as the hope for the Gu Wen Hui to rekindle, then Gu Shen must have the special ability of "reconnecting the embers."

"Yes, but it's not complete."

Gu Shen showed the list and said, "With this list alone, we have no way to find all the members of the Gu Wen Hui. Because in the real world, some people have already died... Perhaps before they died, they looked for 'successors', but the 'successors' are not on the list."

Lu Nanzhi's eyes were a little dim.

Like... Lao Lu?

Delivering the [Red Gate] into her hands, and then disconnecting from the conference room.

"In fact, the biggest problem at this stage is 'trust'."

Madam crossed her hands, frowned and thought for a moment, and said slowly, "Under the high surveillance of the [Deep Sea], the appearance of this list may not be a good thing."

In the past, the members of the Gu Wen Hui did not know each other's identities.

The fewer online meetings.

The safer everyone's life in the real world was.

As for the so-called offline contact... Gu Shen did not know if it had happened in other places, at least it had not happened in Dadu or Nagano.

"Yes."

Gu Shen also felt a headache: "It is not easy to establish a 'relationship of trust'."

Lu Nanzhi suddenly saw a string of familiar codes on this list.

"073... Gu Fort, Lin Lin."

073 was the steady and reliable "big shot" who was suspected to be a high-level member of the Northern Continent military...

Over the past year, Huazhi and 073 have cooperated for several rounds.

Both sides have tacitly not asked each other's identities.

But seeing the words "Gu Fort", Madam's eyebrows were raised. If she remembered correctly, Gu Shen's first stop to the Northern Continent was Gu Fort!

In this case...

"During this trip to the Northern Continent, 073 and I have already confirmed each other's identities."

Gu Shen saw what Madam wanted to ask.

He sighed softly: "Judging from 073's personality, if there had not been a year of groundwork, where we trusted each other, then the offline meeting would have ended in failure."

Just one person would take so long.

How difficult would it be to reconnect the Gu Wen Hui?

"Sure enough... 073 is a member of the Northern Continent royal family?"

Lu Nanzhi pondered for a moment and asked curiously, "Although the interactions these few times have all been transactions, they have actually been helping Huazhi... This guy's background is unusual. He can mobilize the 'Source Energy Boat' silently, without being supervised by the Central City of the Northern Continent. I guessed earlier that he was the garrison of a certain fortress, at least a medium-sized fortress."

Gu Shen's voice was complicated: "He is a member of the royal family... and not an ordinary member of the royal family."

"Oh?"

Lu Nanzhi became interested. She pulled up the border map of the Northern Continent and zoomed in again and again.

"Gu Fort... the strategic value of this place is not ordinary..."

Madam also pulled up Lin Lin's file. This file did not contain any major secrets and was basically public: "073 is so young, the military merits he has obtained are really amazing... The youngest Brigadier General in the Northern Continent?"

"There is something even more amazing than that."

Gu Shen said, "He is the Empress's younger brother."

Lu Nanzhi was completely silent.

At this moment, she understood what Gu Shen meant by what he said earlier.

The Empress's younger brother... No wonder this kind of person was so casual when trading with Huazhi.

"Confirming the identity" with 073 was tantamount to a great fortune.

A series of messages flashed through Lu Nanzhi's mind again.

Regarding Guangming City and the Northern Continent, as well as the Lin Meng marriage and the confinement of the Goddess... These messages, when pieced together, were always a little lacking. After the disclosure of 073's identity, they were successfully connected.

"So that's how it is..."

Lu Nanzhi looked at Gu Shen and murmured, "Your trip to the Northern Continent was really 'wonderful'..."

"People in Jianghu can't help themselves." (The martial world is a dangerous place)

Gu Shen rubbed his eyebrows and smiled bitterly: "Perhaps because of the wonderful 'power of fate', some wonderful coincidences always happen around me. During this trip to the Northern Continent, in addition to 073, I also confirmed the identity of another person."

"Who?"

Lu Nanzhi carefully looked at the list and asked in confusion.

"031..." Gu Shen said very softly, "He has always been by our side."

Madam was stunned, "Us...?"

In a flash of lightning, a figure popped into her mind.

"031 is Mr. Zhou Jiren?"

She stared blankly at Gu Shen, who nodded across from her, her eyes full of shock.

"Yes."

Gu Shen nodded slowly and said, "My teacher's name is not on the list... because he has now left the Five Continents and is trekking in the [Old World]... Of course, there is another possibility."

"..."

Lu Nanzhi bit her lip.

Of course, she knew what this other possibility meant...

Being submerged by the heavy snow in the [Old World] was tantamount to death.

She was extremely sorry and sad when she first heard the news.

Putting aside the identity of "031", Zhou Jiren was also a senior she greatly respected... Sacrificing himself for righteousness and exploring the oasis alone, this Great Arbiter was worthy of the respect of all extraordinary people in the Five Continents!

"Madam."

Gu Shen projected a map in the courtyard.

"Regarding reconnecting the 'Gu Wen Hui', I actually already have a plan in my mind. The purpose of this return to Dadu is to discuss it with you..."

He stretched out two fingers and pointed to the middle of the map.

The place he was pointing to was Central Continent.

"I heard that Huazhi has a negotiation that will be held in Central Continent soon. I think... the plan to reconnect the Gu Wen Hui may be able to start from Central Continent."

...

...

(ps: I have to go on a long trip tomorrow and I don't dare to stay up late, so there is only one chapter today.)

(End of this chapter)