Chapter 979: Splitting Up

The air fell into a dead silence.

Jiang Xiaohua's words seemed nonsensical, but they actually hit the nail on the head regarding the biggest problem: Chen Ling was abducted by the Silver King and is now likely under his control. If they want to rescue Chen Ling, they cannot bypass the Silver King.

But with just the three of them, how could they possibly defeat the Silver King?

"Maybe there are other roundabout ways." Jian Changsheng didn't intend to give up.

"The Silver King can't keep his eyes on Red Heart forever. Maybe he's locked Red Heart in some secret place... Plum Blossom can hide our presence. If we can find Red Heart's location, we might have a chance to take him away quietly."

Hearing this, Sun Bumian looked at Jian Changsheng with some surprise.

"...What's with that expression?" Jian Changsheng raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, sometimes, you're quite smart..."

“？？？”

Jian Changsheng couldn't tell if he was being complimented or insulted.

"But the Wuji Domain is so big, how are we supposed to find Red Heart?" Sun Bumian fell into deep thought.

Jiang Xiaohua, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up:

"We can go through the Rat Party."

"The Rat Party?" Both of them were stunned. "What is that?"

"A wizard organization. The group of children who crossed the Gray Realm earlier were sent out by them."

Jian Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but pat Jiang Xiaohua on the shoulder. "Plum Blossom! I knew you'd have an idea! Thank goodness for you!"

"So, are you familiar with this Rat Party?" Sun Bumian asked.

Jiang Xiaohua lowered his head silently.

After a long while, he extended two fingers and pinched them together slightly:

"...A little bit."

"Can you find them?"

"I'm not sure... The Rat Party's strongholds change frequently. I don't know if they've moved during this time." Jiang Xiaohua paused for a moment. "But I can go look for them."

Perhaps to make up for the mistakes he had made along the way, Jiang Xiaohua rarely took the initiative to volunteer.

"That's great." Jian Changsheng nodded repeatedly. "I and Square can help you look too..."

"Hmm... in this regard, I might not be able to help for the time being."

"Why?"

"I have something very important to do in the Wuji Domain... I traveled all this way just for this." Sun Bumian spread his hands honestly, his expression somewhat helpless.

"Then what about Red Heart?"

"Rescuing Red Heart can't be rushed. At the very least, we have to find his location first. Besides, my business will be done quickly; I can probably meet up with you in half a day."

Seeing this, Jian Changsheng opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.

Sun Bumian had traveled through so many domains just to handle business in Wuji; Jian Changsheng naturally couldn't demand anything of him. After all, Sun Bumian didn't even remember Chen Ling's existence and had no emotional attachment... It was already good enough that he was willing to take risks for this matter.

"Then Plum Blossom and I will split up to look." He stood up from his seat, his gaze very firm.

He didn't know why he was so obsessed with saving Red Heart, but he just felt that he should do it... He didn't like this feeling of inner unease. He had to rescue Red Heart and see what exactly was going on.

"Wait, settle the bill first."

The exhausted boss saw that everyone was preparing to leave and stood up, pulling out a bill.

The three of them stopped in their tracks.

Jian Changsheng turned to look at Sun Bumian, and Sun Bumian turned to look at Jian Changsheng. The air fell into silence.

"...Why are you looking at me?"

"Isn't all the money from pawning the shop with you??"

"When we were attacked by the calamities, it was torn to shreds along with those things... How could I still have money on me?"

“？？？”

"No money?? If you have no money, why did you eat here!!"

The boss had long felt something was wrong with this group. Three people in tattered clothes, acting suspiciously, coming in and ordering frantically without asking for prices, then wanting to run after rubbing their bellies... If this wasn't a "dine and dash," what was?

The boss naturally couldn't swallow this insult and walked toward the three of them menacingly. Seeing this, Sun Bumian was the first to rush out the door, running away without a trace.

"Damn you, Square!!" Jian Changsheng had just come to his senses when he and Jiang Xiaohua were blocked by the boss.

Helpless, he could only pull a few land deeds and property certificates for the Red Dust Domain from his bosom.

"Boss, I'll use these as collateral!"

"Shops in the Red Dust Domain? The Red Dust Domain has been razed to the ground; what use are these things? And who knows if these are real or fake... I'm not taking these!"

"Then... then..."

"Spade." Jiang Xiaohua moved silently to the door. "I'll go find the Rat Party first... I'll leave this to you."

With that, he also zipped out of the restaurant and sprinted into the distance.

Jian Changsheng's mouth twitched wildly. He looked back at the boss's murderous gaze and could only squeeze out a forced smile:

"Boss... how much is one plate worth if I wash it?"

……

As the sun set, Chen Ling walked out of Chu Muyun's private hospital with another survey questionnaire.

Under the guise of conducting research, Chen Ling had come here again, but his timing didn't seem to be right. Spade 8 wasn't here today; he must have had other things to attend to.

Chen Ling could only follow Spade 8's method, tucking the era archive under the table leg and tossing a red pen on the floor so that Spade 8 would see it the moment he returned.

At the entrance of the private hospital, Hongxiu was leaning against the car waiting for him, holding two bags of bread and a bottle of mineral water.

"Are you done?" Hongxiu asked calmly. "The encirclement of the Rat Party begins tomorrow at dawn. You are the guide and must keep a clear head. If I were you, I'd go back and rest early..."

"I'm done."

Chen Ling brushed the dust off his hands and sat in the driver's seat.

He glanced at Hongxiu, who had simultaneously sat in the passenger seat, his mind stirring... If he wanted to intervene in this encirclement of the Rat Party, the biggest obstacle was Hongxiu. After all, this person would follow him everywhere to ensure his safety.

He had to find a way to create some opportunities...

Chen Ling's brain raced as he started the car and drove toward the church.

"Miss Hongxiu."

"Hmm?"

"Are you in a relationship?"

"????" Hongxiu was stunned, then looked at Chen Ling with a furrowed brow. "What are you talking about? I don't need that kind of thing."

"Oh? You've never been in one?"

"No."

Hongxiu seemed to feel somewhat offended, her tone quite displeased. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I noticed that the pendant on your neck is quite beautiful." Chen Ling smiled slightly, speaking as if casually. "I thought it might be a token of love from your boyfriend."

Hongxiu's pupils trembled slightly. She looked down at the pendant on her neck and fell into silence.