Chapter 973: Asymmetric Information

Perspective shift.

Red mist surged up from the deep below, and the interlaced, extending branches resembled the dried veins of some gigantic creature, covering the view and stretching into farther, darker places.

Qingque crouched on an especially thick tree root, her ash‑white long hair sliding down her back, a few strands winding around the protruding gray‑green flower branches.

Those flower branches grew out from under her skin, running down her shoulders and neck, their tips bearing half‑withered gray‑purple buds that quivered ever so lightly with her breath.

She stretched out a finger, idly tracing the patterns on the branch.

"Boss Yao, say something. This place is so quiet it's giving me goosebumps."

Yao Guang stood a few steps in front of her, not responding immediately.

She turned her face slightly, her gaze landing on Qingque, slowly sweeping over the half‑covered ash‑white hair on the other's face, and over the general's attire that exuded an uncanny beauty no matter how one looked at it.

The draped cloth on the shoulder hung on the ground, and a lapis‑blue bell at the ankle remained perfectly still.

The words Qingque had just spoken were still in her mind.

Jing Yuan had actually fallen into a coma for an unknown reason?

The illustrious Divine Strategy General collapsed at the moment Luofu most needed a backbone!

But Yao Guang searched every corner of his Memory and couldn't find a single clue.

Although she was in Yu Que, her knowledge of Luofu was not lacking.

Before and after the Huan Long Chaos, the intelligence reports received in Yu Que never mentioned Jing Yuan's coma.

And in those classified documents from Luofu, Jing Yuan was consistently seen steering the whole operation,

occasionally exchanging opinions with Yu Que via long‑distance communication.

Would such a Jing Yuan suddenly fall into an unresponsive coma?

She couldn't imagine it.

"Was Jing Yuan's coma spreading widely in Luofu?" Yao Guang asked.

She didn't look at Qingque, her gaze still fixed on the interlaced branches in the distance, her tone sounding like casual chatter.

"It's being talked about everywhere."

Qingque slapped her thigh, the gray‑green flower branches sprouting from her wrist quivered with the motion, "The Shen Ce Fu says outwardly that the general is overworked and needs rest, but the brothers in the Cloud Cavalry whisper that the general has contracted some strange illness; the physicians of the Dan Ding Si have gone several rounds and still can't diagnose it. I probed the rumors, and during this period Lord Fu Xuan himself has been stationed at the Shen Ce Fu, his face so dark it could drip water."

"Fu Xuan Acting General?"

"Yes, the head of Tai Bu Si, with the Divination Eye opened, the Exhaustive Observation Formation spins far faster than usual, she's under immense pressure, I…"

Qingque paused there, recalling the scene where she publicly forced a kiss on Fu Xuan in the Shen Ce Fu, and a heat rose at the back of her ears.

She cleared her throat, turned her face away, "I just helped a little."

"What did you help with?"

Yao Guang keenly sensed the evasion in her words.

Qingque looked up at the interlaced red branches overhead, stammering, "Just… keeping the daily operations of Tai Bu Si running— scheduling shifts, tidying up star‑chart records, occasionally sharing Lord Fu Xuan's worries, that sort of thing."

"Qingque, is that really you?"

Yao Guang lightly tapped his chin, "How did you suddenly become a good subordinate who shares Fu Xuan's worries?"

"I've always had two faces."

Qingque sat up straight, dead serious, "When I'm goofing off, I'm Qingque; when I'm working, I'm also Qingque, just in a different mode!"

Yao Guang's lips curled at the answer, softening his whole face.

It matched Qingque's reply, not some deceitful gloss.

She didn't press further, pulling her thoughts back to the inconsistencies.

And Tingyun.

In the intelligence she gathered, Tingyun being replaced by Huan Long ran through the entire chaos.

The merchant ship, the escort of the Star Chariot Sea, and the subsequent string of odd foreshadowing all revolved around that fake Tingyun.

But what did Qingque just say? It's been ages since we last saw Miss Tingyun; she's said to have been missing for several days.

Yao Guang's brows knit slightly, a faint line forming between them.

She brushed aside the long hair hanging in front of her shoulders, silver‑white strands slipping through her fingers.

"Tell me more about Tingyun."

This time she softened her tone a bit, "Haven't you seen her for a long time?"

Qingque nodded, "Yes, before the Giant Tree Rebirth, Miss Tingyun often came to Changletian to procure things, buying some Small Gadgets, and sometimes she'd go to the teahouse to hear my gossip."

"What happened later?"

"She disappeared afterwards."

Qingque said, "Lord Yukong personally led teams to search everywhere, but found nothing."

Yao Guang listened quietly, without interjecting.

In Yao Guang's Cognition, Tingyun had never vanished into thin air.

That fake Tingyun, bearing the identity, roamed every corner of Luofu, fooling countless people.

When did the real Tingyun ever show up?

At least in the line of her memory, from the start there was only an empty shell borrowed with the identity.

Only with Ruan Mei's help did she return at last.

"Anything else?" Yao Guang said softly, his voice drifting in the red mist.

Qingque scratched her head, a few half‑withered buds sprouting from her hair swaying gently.

"Else? Which aspect, Boss Yao?"

"Star Dome Train." Yao Guang said, "You received them, right?"

Qingque nodded immediately, "Yes, I was at the pier catching the wind for a while; Lord Fu Xuan sent me, and Miss Star came down and looked around erratically, Mr. Walther followed behind, and there was the Black Tower Lady!"

"How many?"

"\"Three, \" Qingque answered as if it were obvious."

"Three?"

"Xinghe, Walther."

"And Black Tower?"

"Yaoguang thought about it in his heart."

"In the intelligence she obtained, the Train Group arrived at Luofu, and the core members were always orderly, especially that little girl with pink hair, who never missed a meeting."

"What was that girl's name again... San Yue Qi."

"Right, San Yue Qi."

"But among the three names Qingque just mentioned, she wasn't included; moreover, there was an extra Black Tower Lady."

"\"Are you sure it's just three? \""

"Yaoguang couldn't help but ask a follow‑up, then immediately felt the question was too abrupt, lowered his tone, and said, \"I mean, the ones who went to the harbor to pick someone up—could we have missed anyone? \""

"Qingque blinked, tilted her face upward, and recalled seriously."

"\"Indeed, only three. \""

"She said with certainty, \"Miss Xinghe, Black Tower Lady, and Mr. Walther! \""

"Qingque extended three fingers and compared them in the dark‑red light."

"Yaoguang didn't speak immediately; he just kept those three fingers in his sight."

"She exhaled slowly, and the slight stuffiness in her chest eased a bit."

"\"But... \""

"Qingque suddenly recalled something, withdrew her fingers, stroked her chin, and said, \"Miss Xinghe mentioned that there was originally a San Yue Qi girl on the car, but that girl didn't show up. \""

"\"Didn't show up? \""

"\"They said she was missing. \""

"Qingque's tone was a bit hesitant, \"Miss Xinghe didn't go into details about what happened, and I didn't dare ask further. \""

"San Yue Qi, missing."

"Jing Yuan, unconscious."

"Tingyun, whereabouts unknown."

"Black Tower, the extra one."

"The four matters were like four beads, strung together by an invisible thread; when she lightly touched them in her palm, they rang with a crisp sound."

"Yaoguang placed the four beads side by side in his mind and examined them carefully."

"Each one didn't match the Luofu in her memory, yet each stood on its own, forming a logically coherent situation that was completely unfamiliar to her."

"If it were merely set at some point in the past or future, the general direction should still line up."

"But the events Qingque recounted, compared with the world in her memory, turned a few key threads in different directions at the same time."

"That leaves only one possibility."