# 1030
Chapter 1031: Clever People's Understanding
Aren't these the two Night Watch from Cangnan City?
Why are they here?
An Qingyu clearly remembered that back then, Si Xiaonan had been just a seemingly harmless girl at the "Pool" realm, but the aura emanating from her now was already at the peak of the "Klein" realm.
Had she broken through so rapidly these past few years, or had she been hiding her true strength from the start?
His eyes flickered with a hint of gray as he instantly analyzed both Si Xiaonan and Leng Xuan. On the former, traces of foreign god's divine power remained, while on the latter, there was a snake-like stench that filled An Qingyu with disgust.
These two people, whether in temperament or strength, were no longer the Night Watch from Cangnan City of back then.
An Qingyu's gaze shifted, landing on Singh beside them. Seeing the obvious Western physical features on the man's face and the cold killing intent flickering in his eyes, his brow furrowed.
Singh's English words moments ago had reached An Qingyu's ears word for word.
Combined with the man's appearance and realm pressure, An Qingyu could almost be certain that this man, like Andre, was a foreign god's agent who had infiltrated into Great Xia from the Misty Border.
Standing together, the three of them—An Qingyu required less than half a second to reach a conclusion.
They were enemies,
Not friends.
His eyes narrowed as his right hand swiftly reached into his pocket, several invisible threads coiling around his body as he entered combat readiness.
Singh's lips curved into a cold smile. He raised his right hand, about to grasp at An Qingyu through the air.
At that moment, a slender figure stepped in front of him.
Singh's brow furrowed.
Si Xiaonan turned her back to Singh, facing An Qingyu. She casually waved her hand and said:
"Put your hand down, Xiao'an. No need to be nervous. This person isn't an enemy, but a companion I ran into on the road… Let me introduce him. He's a divine agent from India, Singh. His target is the same as ours."
Hearing these words, both An Qingyu and Singh froze.
An Qingyu's eyes met Si Xiaonan's. The latter blinked at him, giving him a meaningful look.
"You know him?" Singh stepped out from behind Si Xiaonan, pointing at the figure wrapped in the deep crimson cloak—An Qingyu—and asked, confused.
"This is an asset I left behind in Great Xia, Xiao'an." Si Xiaonan spoke calmly. "He's like this mute—both are my servants."
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through An Qingyu's mind.
He fell silent for a moment, then quietly lowered his raised right hand to his chest. He knelt on one knee and devoutly spoke to Si Xiaonan:
"As you wish, my master."
Seeing this, the wariness in Singh's eyes finally faded. He swept a glance at Si Xiaonan and said coldly:
"No wonder you kept deliberately leading me in the wrong direction all along the way. It turns out you sent out an asset long ago—while one side held me back, the other secretly searched the area for the entrance to the Kunlun Ruins, hoping to monopolize the intelligence…
As expected of the Trickster God's agent, deep and calculating."
"We're all scoundrels here. No need to act so high and mighty." Si Xiaonan played along with his assumption, shooting him a cold glance.
In her heart, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There was Singh with his own schemes, Loki secretly listening in, and a Cangnan old acquaintance who knew her true identity as well as Leng Xuan's… Caught between three parties, every word Si Xiaonan spoke could potentially plunge both herself and An Qingyu into an irreversible disaster.
She had to, under Loki's surveillance, preserve An Qingyu's life while eliminating Singh's suspicion, all without exposing her and Leng Xuan's intentions. This was the best solution she could devise in such a short time!
Fortunately, after her careful maneuvering, the conflict that had been about to erupt was lightly resolved.
But deep down, she knew that being able to accomplish this wasn't because she was clever… It was because An Qingyu was clever.
In the instant he heard her words, An Qingyu had sensed the anomaly in Si Xiaonan's stance. After all, if Si Xiaonan and he were completely on opposing sides, she would only need to join forces with Singh to eliminate this small "Boundary" realm cultivator in the span of a breath—there would be no need for any tricks.
An Qingyu understood clearly that Si Xiaonan was doing this to save his life.
In other words, Si Xiaonan's stance wasn't purely "evil," or perhaps she was in some kind of coerced situation.
Once he understood this, An Qingyu knew what he needed to do.
He met Si Xiaonan's gaze, and with mutual understanding, they both averted their eyes simultaneously. He then walked quickly to Si Xiaonan's side and stood behind her like a true servant.
Singh had never been to Great Xia, so of course he wouldn't recognize a Night Watch's cloak. He ignored An Qingyu entirely, walking straight to the gap in the bronze pattern. He crouched down and examined it carefully.
"The entrance has been opened. Someone entered before us."
He turned his head, glancing at An Qingyu. "What happened here just now?"
"A man in yellow clothes opened the gap and walked in." An Qingyu paused, glancing at Si Xiaonan. "He was also carrying seven black leaves."
Upon hearing the second half of that sentence, Si Xiaonan's eyes sharpened.
"Carrying seven black leaves?" Singh seemed not to understand the significance of those words. He shook his head and stepped toward the gap. "We need to hurry, or he'll beat us to it."
Si Xiaonan agreed, leading An Qingyu and Leng Xuan as they followed Singh toward the gap.
Halfway through, as if remembering something, she said to An Qingyu:
"You found the entrance to the Kunlun Ruins. That was well done." Si Xiaonan emphasized the three words "Kunlun Ruins." "Leave a few rats in this area. If you sense anyone approaching, alert me in advance."
An Qingyu was stunned for a moment, but quickly grasped Si Xiaonan's meaning. "Understood."
His sleeve fluttered slightly, and several gray rats dropped out, quickly crawling into the snow.
Singh noticed nothing. All his attention was focused on the gap in the bronze pattern. He stepped forward and his figure vanished within the illusory light.
Si Xiaonan, An Qingyu, and Leng Xuan followed closely behind.
Once the four figures disappeared, the gray rats that had crawled into the snow emerged one after another. Even as their bodies were nearly frozen solid by the extreme cold and blizzard, they frantically crawled across the snow, tracing out a line of visible words.
After completing the final stroke, the gray rats collapsed in the snow. The brutal cold mercilessly stole their heartbeats, freezing them completely rigid, depriving them of life.