plumnovel Chapter 411 - 396: Take a Guess
Chapter 411 - 396: Take a Guess
As evening fell, the small alley began to liven up.
The wild vegetable pancake stall—the one Qi Xiang herself had certified as "not bad"—was doing remarkably well. The young owner was very friendly and would occasionally toss in a few extra fresh wild vegetables for his regulars...
Shen Yue stood outside the alley watching for a good while before shrugging and sauntering over. He bought the last few wild vegetable pancakes, fresh out of the pan.
Able to close up early, the owner smiled and handed the wrapped pancakes to his customer. The man was clearly a foodie, popping one into his mouth right away. "Not bad. This must be a newly cultivated variety of wild vegetable, right? The mutation coefficient is very low. No wonder your business is so good."
The customer ambled away, holding the rest of his pancakes.
The owner gave a simple, honest smile, his eyes impassively following the last customer to leave. Then, with movements much quicker than usual, he packed up his stall, blended into the crowd outside the alley, and disappeared into a corner of the base under the cover of night.
「Half an hour later.」
Gu Xi stood outside the alley where the stall owner had last been seen. Her head was slightly bowed as she looked at the mottled wall on one side of the entrance, her gaze fixed on a spot at its base.
Qi Xiang followed her gaze but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Just as she was about to ask, the dilapidated courtyard gate in front of them was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
"You’re here."
"Ye Nan?" Qi Xiang frowned instinctively upon seeing the person who walked out. ’Her? Why is it her?’
She glanced at Gu Xi beside her. The relationship between Gu Xi and that Mr. Ye was already an open secret among the members of their Farming Team, an unspoken understanding.
Now that Ye Nan was here, that meant Mr. Ye...
Gu Xi’s expression was calm as she met Ye Nan’s gaze and nodded, seemingly unsurprised to see her in this place.
Ye Nan stepped aside to clear the doorway. Her gaze paused on Gu Xi for a moment before she said, "Come in."
Qi Xiang instinctively grabbed Gu Xi’s arm, but Gu Xi simply agreed, "Okay."
Gu Xi didn’t ask any questions, which made Ye Nan breathe a silent sigh of relief. She turned and began to lead the way.
Qi Xiang linked her arm with Gu Xi’s and followed behind, her eyes scanning the surroundings. The small courtyard was tidy, but strangely, it only contained some rocks and farming tools; there wasn’t a single plant to be seen.
’It’s... a little strange.’
After a moment’s thought, Qi Xiang looked up and asked Ye Nan, who was leading the way, "Miss Ye, what are you doing here? What is this place?"
Ye Nan’s steps faltered for a second, but she nonchalantly continued walking, weaving around several rockeries in the courtyard. "I’ve been living here for a while..."
Before Qi Xiang could ask another question, she changed the subject. "I read the information on the farm’s forum. Gu Xi, you’re the one who wrote it, right?"
"Not all of it," Gu Xi replied honestly. And it was the truth. Only the initial document was from her; later on, Wei Heng, Shen Yue, Ye Junhan, and the others had all added to it.
Ye Nan paused again and turned to give her a deep look, but said nothing.
Qi Xiang frowned slightly. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Ye Nan say, "We’re here."
’We’re here?’
Qi Xiang froze for a second, her eyes darting around. There was nothing here.
Just then, the stone slab in front of them suddenly split open...
Ye Nan looked up at Gu Xi. "What you want to know is down below."
"Thank you." Gu Xi met her gaze, nodded, and was about to step forward when Qi Xiang stopped her. She looked at Ye Nan, who was standing to the side without moving. "Aren’t you coming down with us?"
"No." Ye Nan shook her head slightly, her expression holding a subtle complexity that was hard for outsiders to read. "I have other things to do," she said softly.
Qi Xiang frowned. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Miss Ye was acting strange today.
Gu Xi walked toward the underground entrance. As she passed Ye Nan, she quickly and quietly said a few words, then turned and walked away briskly.
Qi Xiang was standing right next to Gu Xi but couldn’t make out what was said. She turned to watch Ye Nan’s retreating figure and clicked her tongue. "Gu Xi, don’t you think Miss Ye is acting really weird today?"
Gu Xi glanced back but didn’t say anything.
Beneath the seemingly ordinary courtyard lay a solid underground fortress, built by persons unknown. No wonder there wasn’t a single plant growing above ground.
Qi Xiang followed Gu Xi, wandering through the labyrinthine fortress for quite some time without seeing a single person.
It was too quiet. A chill suddenly ran down Qi Xiang’s spine.
She instinctively looked back the way they came. ’Ye Nan led us here... she isn’t planning on trapping us to die, is she?’
But on second thought, with Gu Xi around, what place could possibly hold them? ’So, what am I afraid of?’
Qi Xiang’s confidence instantly returned. She turned to Gu Xi, about to say something.
Just then.
"You were the one who tampered with Number 001, weren’t you?"
A sinister voice suddenly echoed from all around, giving Qi Xiang a huge fright. She reflexively looked around.
There was nothing there.
But the voice continued.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about." This was a woman’s voice.
Qi Xiang froze. The voice was far too familiar, but unlike the lazy tone she remembered, this one was tinged with a cold, murderous aura.
It was Ye Xin, Mr. Ye.
Qi Xiang looked at Gu Xi. If she could recognize Mr. Ye’s voice, Gu Xi certainly could too.
"Ye Xin!" The first speaker was clearly annoyed, their voice growing even more sinister through the loudspeaker. "Don’t forget, we’re in the same boat. Do you really think they’ll appreciate you messing with Number 001?"
"Then that’s none of your concern, Chen."
Hearing this, Qi Xiang clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. It was common knowledge that Chen was a woman, but the voice she had just heard was distinctly male.
’Oh my god.’
Qi Xiang suddenly felt as if she had stumbled upon a massive secret.
But seeing Gu Xi’s calm expression, Qi Xiang felt she shouldn’t appear so unsophisticated.
’I’m the woman of a top-ranked powerhouse now,’ she thought. ’I have to be composed.’
Ever since Ye Xin had exposed the person’s identity, the hidden loudspeakers had fallen silent. The entire underground fortress seemed to plunge into an eerie quiet, which frightened Qi Xiang a little. She subconsciously tugged at the corner of Gu Xi’s sleeve.
’Gu Xiaoxi, why don’t we follow the clues and go check it out?’
Qi Xiang looked at Gu Xi, trying to signal with her eyes. The two people talking had to be nearby. With Gu Xi’s spiritual power, she refused to believe they couldn’t find them.
Just then, the voice of the first speaker—the one Ye Xin had called Chen—sounded again. "So you really did know."
After a pause, it continued, "What else do you know?"
Ye Xin seemed to let out a soft chuckle. The extremely brief sound echoed and layered upon itself in the underground labyrinth, making it extraordinarily eerie.
"Take a guess."
After Ye Xin spoke this ambiguous phrase, there was a long silence. After a good while, the first speaker suddenly let out a bizarre, cackling laugh.
"This is fine too." The man’s sinister voice echoed through the underground space. "Number 001 is Li Ming’s man, after all. Having him do it is less convenient than using Number 006."
"My thoughts exactly," Ye Xin said lazily. "Number 006 is Shen Zhennan’s son. If he’s the one to do it, no one will suspect us..."
Hearing this, Qi Xiang froze.
She had been completely confused by all the talk of "Number 001" and "Number 006," but now, hearing "Shen Zhennan’s son"... Wait, what did that good-for-nothing glutton Shen Yue have to do with any of this?
Qi Xiang looked up at Gu Xi.
Gu Xi was leaning against the wall, her expression as calm as ever, showing no trace of emotion.