# 1294
Chapter 1295: Eve of the Storm
"Is it him?"
An Qingyu spoke with equal astonishment.
"Who? An acquaintance?" Baili Pangpang asked, confused.
"For me, yes, but you probably don't know him." An Qingyu extended her hand, pointing toward the distant figure walking slowly through the swirling yellow sand, carrying a heavy black box on his back.
"Leng Xuan?"
The knight was stunned.
"You know him too?" An Qingyu asked.
"Yeah, he was always operating with Si Xiaonan before. They're close friends with our guild leader." The knight scratched his chin in puzzlement. "But shouldn't he be in Asgard with Si Xiaonan right now, preparing for something big?"
Leng Xuan walked up to the group with the black box on his back. His gaze swept across the members of the Oath Society before settling on An Qingyu, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"Why are you all here?"
"To rescue someone."
Leng Xuan seemed to realize something. "You came to rescue Qiye and Jinian?"
At these words, everyone's eyes lit up. Baili Pangpang strode forward quickly and couldn't help but ask:
"Brother, do you know where they are?"
"I know. Xiaonan just sent me intelligence." Leng Xuan nodded. "Qiye is fine. He's successfully infiltrated the Norse gods and is with Xiaonan now... Jinian is still imprisoned in the Dungeon, but Xiaonan says she doesn't have any immediate danger for the time being."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"As expected of Qiye! He's already trying to steal the thunder from the big shots?" Baili Pangpang grinned.
"Dungeon?" Hearing this name, the knight's expression grew grave. "That place won't be easy to rescue anyone from..."
"Even if you wanted to rescue her, you can't right now." Leng Xuan said calmly, "Loki has sealed off the passage between the Human Enclosure and Asgard. We can't get up there."
"The passage is sealed? Why?"
"He wants to set up something here, and he can't be disturbed by anyone... If you want to rescue Jinian, you'll have to rely on Xiaonan and Qiye."
Leng Xuan fell silent for a moment. His gaze swept across the crowd, and a faint gleam appeared in his eyes.
"You came at just the right time. There are some things I can't handle alone...
I need your help."
...
Asgard.
When Lin Qiye returned to his quarters, he locked the door and began pacing back and forth in deep contemplation.
"Bragi, Bragi... How did you manage to leave the asylum? What exactly is your illness...?"
After long consideration with no progress, Lin Qiye sat on the bed and immersed his consciousness into the Asylum of the Gods in his mind.
Clad in a white coat, he swiftly crossed the courtyard and made his way toward the second-floor ward. Just then, an anxious voice rang out from the distance:
"Qiye! Qiye! Finally you're back!"
Lin Qiye turned his head to see Li Yifei rushing over in a panic. "Bragi found those letters, and then he disappeared... I've searched the entire asylum and couldn't find him anywhere... Something bad didn't happen to him, did it?"
"...He's fine. He was just discharged."
"Discharged?" Li Yifei was stunned. "Is his illness cured? That doesn't seem right..."
"You said he found those letters?" Lin Qiye's expression turned grave. "Tell me everything you know."
Li Yifei nodded and immediately recounted how he had encountered Bragi standing at the warehouse door, then how Bragi had frantically rushed back to his room to open the mailbox, and finally ran out of the room in a daze.
"You're saying after he ran out of the room, he just vanished?" Lin Qiye's brow furrowed tightly. "Did any orderlies see where he went?"
"No! I've gathered everyone and asked around. Nobody saw where Bragi went... It's like he just evaporated into thin air! This is really strange..."
"When exactly did he disappear?"
"Around nine-thirty? Definitely no later than nine-forty."
Lin Qiye's frown deepened.
If Li Yifei's account was accurate, then from the time Bragi disappeared to when his treatment progress recovered to 100% and he left the asylum, no more than three minutes had passed.
What happened in those three minutes that could have caused Bragi, whose treatment progress was still far from complete, to be discharged directly?
Lin Qiye listed two possibilities:
The first: Within those three minutes, Bragi had an epiphany or received some other kind of stimulation, truly cured himself, and left the asylum perfectly.
The second: The asylum, for some unknown reason, misjudged Bragi's condition and inexplicably pushed his progress to 100%.
Considering Bragi's state beforehand, the first possibility existed but was unlikely... Could it be the second?
But from the moment Lin Qiye obtained this asylum, nothing like this had ever happened.
For some reason, the image Lin Qiye had witnessed upon returning to the asylum surfaced in his mind once again—the panel showing "God of Poetry and Music Bragi" transforming into "God of Poetry and Music - God of Youth - Bragi."
This process seemed far too strange to Lin Qiye. If this was also a mistake by the asylum, then was Bragi's progress bar suddenly maxing out also one of those mistakes?
Lost in thought, Lin Qiye walked into the empty Ward Three.
In the ward, except for the red mailbox that had been knocked out of shape, all other items were neatly arranged in their original positions, as if the room's master had merely stepped out temporarily and would return soon.
He carefully searched every corner of the ward but found nothing besides the letters that could prove "Idun" had ever existed.
Lin Qiye sat motionless at the desk, staring at the mirror reflecting his own face. In a daze, he seemed to see the images of Bragi, alone during those days, writing letters in each黑夜 and day, stuffing them into the mailbox, then reading the responses, writing back...
Lin Qiye felt as though a stone was lodged in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
After an unknown length of time, a helpless sigh escaped from within the room.
Though doubts still lingered, Bragi's discharge was already a fact. There were far too many things he needed to do now. Whether "Idun" actually existed would have to wait until all the turmoil had passed before he could find a way to investigate.
Lin Qiye's consciousness returned to the real world. By now, the sky outside had completely darkened.
In the dimly lit room, Lin Qiye's eyes flickered with faint glimmers of light.
Tomorrow would be the day Loki announced he would ascend to the Supreme.
It would also be the final day for him to fulfill his mission.
Beneath the dead-silent night sky, Lin Qiye could already scent an unusual aura...
The storm was coming.