Zhang Shutong was choked.
"How many people have you lied to?" she asked playfully. "For example, what did you tell your mom? That you were coming to the mountain to play? To play what?"
She then added:
"Are you also curious about why I don't ask you what your purpose is? Then I'm asking now—what are you going to do? Will you answer truthfully?"
"But there's no need to rush to answer. Let's go." She put away her playful smile, returning to her indifferent look, and said in a flat tone, "If you want to be honest, show me the corresponding attitude. Since you've always wanted to go to that place, let's wait until we get there."
"That's for the best." Zhang Shutong was not surprised by her directness.
Lu Qinglian said in an undeniable tone:
"I warned you before not to be curious about certain things, but you still came. I hate pointless chatter and won't say 'I'll give you one more chance to hesitate,' so now it's not a choice, but a must. It's not up to you. Do you understand?"
After saying that, she took the lead and walked, but not toward the entrance. She walked to the other side. Zhang Shutong followed her steps and found a small convenience store at the end of his sight.
"No need to follow. Wait for me here. It's some private business." She said casually.
Zhang Shutong stopped and saw the girl in the green robe enter the convenience store and come out shortly. He couldn't tell what she had in her hand because there was a pocket sewn on the inside of the robe, and she had hidden the item inside.
This kind of convenience store wouldn't sell too many items. It was just cigarettes, drinks, snacks, gum, and betel nut. Zhang Shutong remembered her mentioning that she had bought snacks from this convenience store twice before, once a counterfeit cookie and once a plastic-wrapped breakfast sausage. She also said that those were things from a long time ago.
Zhang Shutong had believed her at the time.
But now, he had more doubts.
If those words were true, she just happened to go a third time today.
If those words were false, how many true words were there in her mouth? Was she even lying in casual conversations, or were they all careful pretenses?
He followed the girl's footsteps and walked into the entrance.
After eight years, this was the first time Zhang Shutong had stepped into this mountain. He knew that their current location was too low for any anomalies to appear. But even so, he subconsciously observed his surroundings and even felt the changes in his body.
"You're walking too slowly." Lu Qinglian said indifferently again. "The surroundings are very boring. There's nothing to be so cautious about."
"You're walking too fast." This was true. She seemed to be wearing a pair of hand-sewn cloth shoes, but she was faster than his hiking boots. He wondered if it was because she walked on it every day and had become so skilled that it was like walking on flat ground.
"I don't think there's a need to be in a hurry. I'm already here, so we can chat for a bit," Zhang Shutong glanced at the time. Only twenty minutes had passed since he changed clothes. He needed to stall for more time. "I apologize for my attitude before."
Looking ahead, Lu Qinglian neither shook her head nor nodded:
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Those frozen snakes?"
"No comment on that. I am a temple keeper. There are some things I cannot tell outsiders."
In fact, this sentence was an admission in a roundabout way.
Zhang Shutong thought about other questions, but the girl said:
"It's my turn to ask. Why were you at that villa?"
"I stayed there last night." Zhang Shutong was not prepared to reveal Old Song's presence.
"Your relationship with classmate Gu Qiumian has suddenly become very good."
"My relationship with you has also suddenly become very good." Zhang Shutong said casually.
He then felt a little annoyed because he found that Lu Qinglian was right. He used to think she was full of riddles, hiding everything in a haze, and would say "you can understand it that way for now," but wasn't he the same? He just made up a more specific lie. He wasn't any better.
To be honest, Zhang Shutong also hated this. Too many lies could only be covered up with countless more lies, but he had no other way. The most he could do was tell others that he had a dream.
So he was prepared to be ignored, but Lu Qinglian actually stopped when she heard him:
"Really? How good is it?" she said meaningfully.
Zhang Shutong was choked again. "That's my second question."
"Then go ahead and ask."
Zhang Shutong hadn't even thought about what to ask yet.
Because he had just found a loophole in Lu Qinglian's words.
She "shouldn't" have known that it was Gu Qiumian's villa.
Logically, there was no reason for Lu Qinglian to know that there was a building there, let alone whose it was.
Because he couldn't see the outline of the villa from the entrance of the winding mountain road. She didn't have any contact with Gu Qiumian in her daily life, so she wouldn't know where her house was. His mom also wouldn't say something like, "I'm taking you to another girl's house to pick up my son."
He then remembered the photo of the long-haired woman sent by his senior. If it was just a half-way shot before, he couldn't be sure she had actually been there, but now he was almost certain.
Even, she might have been there before.
"Do you practice martial arts?"
"Martial arts?"
"Like the time you kicked the poacher away."
"Just a little stronger."
"A normal adult male shouldn't be able to beat you."
"Are you asking this because you want to try?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Shutong then thought, if that's the case, who could have killed her eight years later?
In the original timeline, Du kang was certain that Lu Qinglian was murdered.
That's right, she also died in the restricted area.
After a few more steps, Zhang Shutong called out to her to stop and wait.
"I want to rest for a bit." He deliberately breathed heavily.
Lu Qinglian just frowned and stopped.
"Did you eat breakfast?" Zhang Shutong asked again.
"You're talking too much nonsense."
"I just feel that you must have gotten up very early, especially on a snowy day."
"I'm used to it."
"Did Grandma make it?"
"Do you remember my question from before?" Lu Qinglian suddenly said.
Zhang Shutong actually remembered. "How good is my relationship with you?"
"Now I can give you a clear answer. It's not good enough for that, so don't pry into my private matters." She said coldly.
"Then can we talk about serious matters?"
"It depends on the situation."
"Why did Gu Qiumian's father want to tear down the Green Snake Temple?" Zhang Shutong hadn't asked before because he was worried she would suddenly turn against him, but now it was just the two of them. He was like a hostage, so it didn't matter if she turned against him or not.
"You can go and ask her yourself."
"Her answer is not important. Your attitude is important."
"I don't know." Lu Qinglian said bluntly. "If there is an answer, it's all in the riddle."
"Development and construction?"
"A tourist attraction."
"Then what's your attitude?"
"I should have said it. I disagree."
"What if he uses some tricks? You should know about the commercial street incident."
Zhang Shutong continued to probe.
But Lu Qinglian didn't take the bait:
"Then why don't you tell me what answer you want to hear?"
Zhang Shutong stopped talking.
"By the way," he took out his phone. "I searched for a few legends about the Green Snake Temple before. Which one is true? Can you tell me?"
"It's my turn to ask." Lu Qinglian did not answer but asked, "Why are you so concerned about your deskmate?"
"I have a crush on her." Zhang Shutong said without changing his expression.
"Then how many clues have you gotten so far?"
"The commercial street. Besides that, nothing."
"Really nothing?" Lu Qinglian stared at his eyes calmly, as if confirming something.
Zhang Shutong met her gaze and nodded.
"You'd better not be lying." After saying that, she started walking again.
Zhang Shutong watched Lu Qinglian walk along the familiar path. Going up the mountain was easier than going down. He followed the girl, and it was even more relaxed than coming down the winding mountain road. He just had to aim his shoes at the footprints. The snow had already been packed down, so there was no need to worry about stepping into a hole.
He looked at the scenery around him. It was indeed as Lu Qinglian had said, there was nothing good to look at. On the ground, it was just snow and more snow. Occasionally, he would see an exposed tree branch, also covered with a layer of white snow.
Desolate and uninhabited.
That was probably the best way to describe this mountain.
They finally reached the halfway point of the mountain road. Zhang Shutong glanced at his phone. This time, he didn't call out for her to stop, worried that it would be too obvious.
Lu Qinglian, however, stopped on her own. She extended her finger and pointed to a white courtyard wall hidden in the mountains:
"We're almost there. You'd better not stop again."
It seemed that was the Green Snake Temple.
"What did you mean by the warning you gave me before? Can you reveal that?" Zhang Shutong asked. "What would happen if I went there?"
"It depends on the situation." Lu Qinglian glanced at him.
At this moment, a high-pitched, piercing shriek suddenly came. Zhang Shutong instantly turned his head and found a fox walking out of the woods on one side. The fox had only half an ear left. At this moment, it was vigilantly tucking its tail in and letting out a low bark at him.
As if he were an invader of this mountain.
This reminded Zhang Shutong of the Doberman. He seemed to be disliked by these animals and was always treated as an "enemy." He subconsciously took a step back. Of course, he wasn't afraid, but it was better to avoid trouble.
Logically, a fox would be afraid of humans. But who knew, when he took a step back, the fox actually took a step forward and then paced back and forth a few meters in front of him. He looked down at the snow and found a branch to pick up. He was about to throw it at the fox to chase it away.
"Don't move."
Lu Qinglian frowned and stood in front of him.
It seemed that the fox had a great background, and she was quickly stepping forward to protect him in case something happened. But in fact, she turned her face. "Don't move" was said to him, not to the fox.
"Step back and put the branch down."
It turned out she was protecting the fox.
Zhang Shutong threw the branch away and simply walked down. When he turned around again, he saw the fox running toward her joyfully. When it reached the girl's feet, it rubbed its furry head against her robe.
"A pet?" Zhang Shutong asked.
"No." The girl also bent down and stroked the fox's head. Her expression finally became a little more lively, but only a little.
He had to say, Old Song said he lacked humanity, but Lu Qinglian wasn't much better. Only at this moment did she look more like a sixteen-year-old girl.
"What happened to its ear?" Zhang Shutong asked. "I see it just scabbed over. Was it bitten off by someone? Are there more ferocious wild animals on the mountain?"
"There were five of them originally." Lu Qinglian just said in a low voice. "Do you remember those two poachers?"
So that's what it was.
Zhang Shutong was suddenly enlightened. He remembered that the other party not only hunted that kind of bird but also other animals, including foxes.
"So you put the branch down because of this?" he asked again. "A shadow left by that air gun?"
Lu Qinglian nodded gently, as if a certain dim color flashed in her eyes.
He couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for Lu Qinglian. She was already lacking in humanity, and she only seemed a little better in front of the fox, but who knew that the fox she raised had also died?
But sympathy was an emotion that shouldn't be used on her, so it was only fleeting. Zhang Shutong wasn't here to look at foxes today.
Since they started going up the mountain, he had been using his own methods to rule out her suspicion.
In fact, he had never believed that Lu Qinglian was the murderer of Gu Qiumian, but she was definitely related. Zhang Shutong just didn't know what role she played.
Because even if she didn't do it herself, it didn't rule out the possibility of indirect involvement.
Just like Li Yipeng smashed Gu Qiumian's building blocks. He was the direct murderer, but was Zhou Ziheng innocent?
The second thing to be cautious about was that he felt Gu Qiumian's death was too strange.
The security system had no loopholes, the murderer's whereabouts were completely uncertain, and the location of the death seemed to be predetermined... There were countless doubts.
And the sudden heavy snow on this timeline, and those frozen snakes, and the figure he saw last night. These things overlapped, giving him a very bad feeling.
It seemed that Gu Qiumian's death had already gone beyond "realistic" factors, and there was something else at work that he couldn't see or touch.
It was impossible to even make a deduction. No wonder he was so nervous.
And the only thing on the whole island that was related to mystery was the Green Snake Temple, or rather, the girl who was the temple keeper there.
Not to mention the clues pointed to by the tattoo on her arm.
Although he still couldn't be sure what the third circle represented, at least the first two pointed to one thing.
So he had asked Qingyi and the others to dig a very deep hole in advance. Based on the snow hole from the game, he had set up a trap in advance.
This was a decision he made at home not long ago.
If his attitude toward Lu Qinglian before was to keep his distance, now it was to face the vortex directly.
—To pull the other party into his rhythm.
The biggest mistake in doing things is being indecisive. You're either an enemy or a stranger. You won't get any results from being suspicious and timid.
The fact was, he could never ignore Lu Qinglian's existence and treat her as a stranger. She could only be an enemy.
Only then could he gain a little control.
Even though a "snake" is a dangerous predator, they are patient and cunning, and they will launch a surprise attack on their prey's weak points. But humans are animals with four limbs. In the course of history, they have slowly learned to walk upright and can master various tools. It is not impossible to catch a "snake."
This time on the mountain, Zhang Shutong was here to catch this "snake."
While Lu Qinglian was playing with the fox, he took out his phone and glanced at it again. A large hole big enough for an adult had been dug. If she fell in, it would be almost impossible for her to climb out on her own.
The area around it was camouflaged, with a thick layer of snow on top and a marker made of a branch. If they hadn't been in on it, no one would have been able to tell it was a trap.
Qingyi had sent him the exact location of the trap and had retreated with Du kang and Ruoping, leaving some tools nearby, including ropes and shovels.
Even Zhang Shutong's eyelids twitched when he saw this. He felt that the other party was too exaggerated.
"It's a little exaggerated."
"I actually think it's too much, but since we've dug it, what if it's not deep enough and she gets out? It would have been a waste."
"You're right."
His idea at home was very simple. He didn't have much time to probe a dangerous person back and forth. If Lu Qinglian still didn't say anything, he could only force her to talk through this method.
After all, no matter how good she was at fighting, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.
The ability to regress had "disappeared." This disappearance meant that Zhang Shutong wasn't sure if it would still work if something happened to him. Would it regress to the key point before his death, or would he really just die?
This was not something he could experiment with, and he didn't dare to bet.
He didn't even dare to bet that if Gu Qiumian was harmed again this time, he would be able to return to eight years later and gather information and prepare all over again.
What if he couldn't?
If there was a pattern, the biggest pattern of this ability was that there was no pattern.
He used to think that his ability was just "when something bad happens around me, I can go back to a key point before it happened," but the fact was, this pattern he had summarized over eight years had been overturned just like that.
So he had to be ruthless.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong glanced at Lu Qinglian again.
The girl seemed to be completely unaware.