novelsite Chapter 7 Trust, but not much...
Chapter 7 Trust, but not much...
Jiang Xingni calmly reflected that since binding with the system that afternoon, she had indeed had many amazing life experiences.
Then she focused her attention on the book.
In my field of vision, golden specks of light floated near the book, then connected with the darkness outside.
However, due to the obstructed view, Jiang Xingni could not clearly see whether it was connected to darkness or the human skin shadow puppet on the other side of darkness.
"That's it." Jiang Xingni nodded, confirming He Jingtong's guess. "You can try to destroy it?"
He Jingtong glanced at him suspiciously, but he didn't move. Instead, Xiao Jiming was the first to step forward and look down at the pictures printed on the book.
"There's nothing there," Xiao Jiming said.
...Nothing at all?
The book floated silently in mid-air, one page turned halfway, but it didn't fall.
The paper was blank on both sides, except for the yellowish tinge that comes with age. Otherwise, it was no different from any other book.
He Jingtong narrowed his eyes slightly, and then he directly drew his knife, precisely controlling the amplitude and force so as not to hurt Xiao Jiming, who was standing closest to the book, and cut off the abrupt piece of paper.
Without encountering any resistance, feeling light and airy, He Jingtong gripped the knife, then noticed something was off about the feel and stood silently in place.
The paper gently floated to the ground. The darkness outside the ancestral hall had not yet dissipated, but this darkness was not similar to the darkness that descended upon the night and the eerie realm.
—At least Jiang Xingni's view was unaffected by the latter, but the former could indeed block Jiang Xingni's view.
It's like some kind of physical being.
Jiang Xing lowered her head and squinted at the page that had been cut off. Suddenly, she noticed that the originally blank, yellowed page slowly revealed its color after being removed from the book.
Colorful figures emerged, standing menacingly among the pages of the book, their background the very book Jiang Xingni was familiar with.
"How could I not be familiar with it?" Jiang Xingni muttered to herself. After all, she had seen it many times in the comics, and even in real life, she was still observing it, trying to find a good angle to pose.
Although it ultimately failed because the main characters arrived too quickly.
"The shadow puppet has gone back," Jiang Xingni said.
Without her prompting, as Jiang Xingni lowered her gaze, Xiao Jiming and his group followed her gaze and looked down, just in time to witness the moment when a blank page slowly turned into color.
Pei Zhaoye's gaze fell thoughtfully on the book floating in mid-air.
"If it's related to this book..." he mused. "Would destroying this book end all of this?"
Jiang Xingni was about to stop them when he realized he wasn't the first to do so.
"No!" A childish voice rang out in the ancestral hall. A group of children rushed out from somewhere with a clatter, and then looked nervously at Pei Zhaoye who had said those words.
As soon as the page was torn off, the golden light that had been on the book disappeared, and the passages connected by the golden light also collapsed.
The entire book was incredibly clean, without a single speck of gold.
Jiang Xing stared at it suspiciously for a while before paying attention to the group of bewildered children.
"Who are you?" Xiao Jiming instinctively shielded them behind him—this "few people" even included Jiang Xingni.
Jiang Xingni felt a little novelty at being protected for the first time. She raised her eyebrows, skillfully hid herself in the crowd, and stopped making a sound.
The group of children whispered among themselves, discussing something, until finally the boy who had spoken first nervously stepped forward.
"Please don't tear up this book, please, I beg you!" The boy stared at Xiao Jiming with pleading eyes.
The children behind him all had similar expressions: nervous, worried, uneasy... and a little bit of well-hidden anger.
Why were they angry? Although they hid it well, Jiang Xingni saw through it at a glance.
Because they wanted to tear up the book? What is the relationship between this book and these children? And what's this "mysterious realm" thing?
A series of questions surfaced in Jiang Xingni's mind, and then she began to feel fortunate that Xiao Jiming was in charge this time.
Otherwise, faced with so many suspicious places, Jiang Xingni himself was unclear about their definitions, let alone how to get information out of the children.
"It's hard for me to agree to something you're making like this," Xiao Jiming said with a smile. "Why don't you give me a reason?"
The children exchanged hesitant glances: "We don't know what to say."
"But please don't tear up that book, okay?"
Even though he was facing Xiao Jiming's back like the other three people, Jiang Xingni could sense that Xiao Jiming's somewhat weary mood had suddenly disappeared.
Xiao Jiming's voice carried a hint of amusement, the kind of amusement that teases a child: "Then it depends on whether your reasons are sufficient."
He said this.
Although Pei Zhaoye did not speak, Jiang Xingni could clearly see the sneer in his eyes.
"If it weren't for that book, Grandpa and the others would have died," the boy standing at the front said, biting his lower lip.
Pei Zhaoye and He Jingtong exchanged a glance and suddenly realized.
Jiang Xingni, who had absolutely no idea what the two of them had realized: ...
She still wore that familiar faint smile, skillfully managing her expression and not revealing any confusion.
Cool fingertips landed on Jiang Xingni's wrist. She turned her head to look and saw it was Song Juexiao.
Jiang Xingni instantly became wary, and in a flash, his mind raced as he tried to recall if he had given himself away somewhere.
Song Juexiao simply gave her a reassuring smile, and then she could feel his cool fingertips gently hooking her wrist.
Jiang Xingni identified it as a "B".
Then the red-haired, green-eyed girl tilted her head, her eyes asking a question.
Jiang Xing noticed out of the corner of his eye that Pei Zhaoye and He Jingtong were both watching his reaction.
It's not about being wary, it's not about being suspicious.
Her intuition was always very accurate, especially in judging emotions, and Jiang Xingni was certain of her judgment.
The "B" that Song Juexiao wrote was not a test of himself.
On the contrary, they wanted a definite answer from her. They had already made their judgment, but Jiang Xingni's previous behavior made them able to trust her.
It's uncertain how much of this trust is genuine, or whether it's true or false.
But at least there's a chance of joining the main characters now.