Chapter 564 (1/2)

Chapter 564: 564

Yuwen Tong had just managed to grasp the main idea of the tirade when he was further flummoxed by the next battery of questions, and this time he did not have the time to sort them out .

“No . I was never in a relations.h.i.+p with anybody,” answered Yuwen Tong almost immediately after Ling Zhang finished speaking .

He did not know the one he was talking to, but curiously enough, for some reason, he panicked every time the invisible speaker sounded upset .

“Everybody in Shengzhou Pa.s.s knows I’ve been single for many years . If you don’t believe me, you can ask anybody else in this city,” added Yuwen Tong in the hope that the invisible speaker would drop the idea of him being in a relations.h.i.+p with someone . It struck him that this person he was unable to see was very close to him . If what this person said was true, it would mean that the two of them had been together for many years, that they were closer to each other than either of them was to anybody else .

Yuwen Tong found this conclusion satisfying and pleasant, which was a feeling he had never had before . It was like the loneliness in his heart was replaced by contentment which filled his whole being . Such satisfaction was more intense than anything he had ever felt before, and he was becoming obsessed with it and fascinated by it in spite of himself …

Yuwen Tong was not a fool . He trusted his instincts . Though still somewhat skeptical, he had believed more than half of the story . So this was really the Shengzhou Pa.s.s over a decade ago? He would subjugate the Wan Kingdom over a decade from now? This news was so surprising and spirit-lifting .

“If what you said is true, I have no idea why I came back here either . Seeing as you and I are so close, you should know about the reason better than I do,” Yuwen Tong continued .

Ling Zhang’s heart which had been sinking inexorably seemed to be pulled up a little . In a rather perplexed tone, he asked, “Y–You don’t have an old flame?”

“I don’t,” said Yuwen Tong .

“Oh, oh . ” Ling Zhang was both relieved and faintly fl.u.s.tered . A few moments ago he had been so anxious that he had let his jealousy get the better of him . Yuwen Tong had never lied to him before .

If by any chance Yuwen Tong still remembered everything that had happened in this reverie after they got out …

Ling Zhang gave an involuntary shudder, not daring follow that train of thought .

“What’s the matter? Why are you silent?” asked Yuwen Tong in spite of himself as he perceived that the invisible speaker had been silent for a long moment, brow wrinkled .

Ling Zhang looked at him . “I shouldn’t have said that just now . Please don’t be mad at me . ”

“I’m not mad at you . ” Yuwen Tong was puzzled . “Why would I?”

Ling Zhang did not know how to explain it .

“If you still remember this conversation after you come around … Ahem … I mean if you still remember, will you please be cool about it as well?”

Now Yuwen Tong caught on to it . He raised his eyebrows and said, “Well … I can’t guarantee you that . Apart from everything else, I don’t have any memories of what happened between us, and you shouldn’t take advantage of me . ”

Ling Zhang’s face immediately crumpled up . He would never dare take advantage of Yuwen Tong . He would be immensely thankful if Yuwen Tong was not angry with him after recalling this .

Worried that Yuwen Tong’s memory about this would be enhanced if they continued talking about it, Ling Zhang hastened to change the topic . “Since it’s not a person that you’re obsessed with, it must be a particular matter . But … I’ve never heard you mention any regrettable things that happened at this point in time . Jiang Xi and Jiang Ke never said anything about it, and neither did Yao Yi or any of the others . If something did happen, they should have mentioned it . ”

Thinking about this, Ling Zhang was bemused as well, unable to think of anything that Yuwen Tong might have been keeping in mind for all these years, no matter how hard he tried .

Yuwen Tong, who could tell from Ling Zhang’s tone that the latter was well acquainted with Jiang Xi, Jiang Ke and Yao Yi, was no longer suspicious about Ling Zhang’s words . However, he was also curious as to what it was that he had been obsessed with . He could not recollect anything that had happened at this point in time and might have been lingering in his mind for so many years .

He thought back to what he had done recently . Though his memories were vague, he could still do some a.n.a.lysis .

“If it’s not something that has happened already, it would be something upcoming . Do you remember anything of importance that’s going to happen around this time?” Yuwen Tong inquired of him .

Ling Zhang was surprised . “I can’t say I do . What year is it specifically according to the Great-Yue calendar?”

Yuwen Tong told him the year and the month .

Ling Zhang inclined his head . “So it’s … ”

He was suddenly stupefied .

Yuwen Tong sensed that there was something queer about Ling Zhang’s pause . “What’s wrong? Something particular happened around this time?”

Ling Zhang stood transfixed for a long moment before he replied in a somewhat hoa.r.s.e voice, “I–I’m not sure if this is the reason – you … you went back to the capital city four months ago, didn’t you? Why did you return?”

Something was not right . There was definitely something behind it .

Yuwen Tong had just told him the year and month they were in, and Yuwen Tong was not supposed to be in this border city at this time . He should be in the capital city!

In the real timeline, he and Yuwen Tong had returned to the capital city from Tanyang by now . They had been in the capital city for only a few days .

But why was Yuwen Tong in borderlands? This did not make any sense .

Yuwen Tong could tell from Ling Zhang’s tone that something was not quite right . He answered earnestly, “Seeing as you know about me returning to the capital city four months ago, you should also know that I was recalled there by His Majesty . He wanted to betroth someone to me and have me cede part of my power . Naturally I did not agree . I had some of my subordinates play a little trick, and then the Wan Kingdom sent some soldiers to the border to hara.s.s our garrison . Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi put on an act . Afterward, a dispatch was delivered to the capital city, and he had to let me come back here . ”

Ling Zhang had a faintly cold sensation in his limbs . He had heard his father’s sketchy account of this matter, and had asked Yuwen Tong what he would do if he had never met the butler of the Ling family, a question to which Yuwen Tong had given him an answer similar to this one . Yuwen Tong had some time ago made some arrangements in the Wan Kingdom and could extricate himself from the situation without breaking a sweat .

However, it had been in his last life that this thing had happened .

In his last life, the Ling family had been exterminated by now, and he himself had died in a ma.s.s grave …

Considering the sequence of the previous events, it seemed that Zhang Chong had just staged a revolt, and news of it would soon spread to the borderlands .

Ling Zhang exhaled deeply and gripped Yuwen Tong’s hand back tightly . “Now you believe my story, I suppose? Let’s go . We’ll be in danger if we don’t get out of here right away! Come on!”

Yuwen Tong, however, perceived that there was something fishy going on as he noticed that Ling Zhang’s tone suddenly became urgent, and the look in his eyes slightly changed . “I don’t know how to get out of this reverie even if I want to . ”

“All you have to do is disbelieve everything in this place . This kind of stuff could only deceive those willing to indulge themselves in daydream . It’ll disappear the moment you realize this!” Ling Zhang, holding Yuwen Tong’s hand, said in an almost beseeching tone, “You need to get us out of here right now . My grandfather and the others are definitely in danger as well . They need our help . Maybe Maomao and Cong are waiting for us to rescue them as well . ”

Yuwen Tong suddenly felt a throb of pain in his heart . He sensed Ling Zhang’s panic and fear .

Why did this invisible person suddenly get scared after being informed of what year it was? Was it because he guessed what was going to happen next?