# 1370
Chapter 1371: An Old Acquaintance
Clang—!
An Qingyu's palm swept through the air, leaving only an afterimage. Immediately after came a sound of clashing metal, and the broad blade hurtling toward her was sent flying, spinning into the white wall behind her!
Five figures burst from the office in quick succession, instantly surrounding An Qingyu in the center.
What surprised An Qingyu was that these five figures weren't wearing dark red cloaks but instead wore matching brown Zhongshan suits. Their postures were rigid, and their gazes toward An Qingyu in the center were full of hostility.
It seems in this era, the cloak—one of the Night Watch's three essential items—hasn't been invented yet... An Qingyu thought to herself.
One of the bald, burly men turned to glance at his broad blade embedded in the wall, his expression darkening considerably.
From among the crowd, a tall, thin man swept his eyes over the coffin on An Qingyu's back, his eyes narrowing slightly:
"Hiding behind masks and shrouded in mystery—definitely no good person... You're one of those 'Church of the Ancient Gods' members causing all that ruckus lately, aren't you? We've been searching high and low for you people. Never thought you'd actually dare to charge straight into our Night Watch headquarters... asking for death!"
Surges of spiritual power crackled through the hallway. Battle was imminent.
"Wait!" An Qingyu immediately spoke up. "I'm not from the Church of the Ancient Gods. I'm also Night Watch."
With those words, An Qingyu reached into her chest and produced a Coat of Arms, displaying it to the crowd.
The group hesitated momentarily, then simultaneously looked down at An Qingyu's palm. One of them pinched up the Coat of Arms, examined it closely, and couldn't help but sneer.
Then, he produced another Coat of Arms from his own chest—one that was a size smaller than An Qingyu's—and waved it at her.
"You idiots from the Church of the Ancient Gods can't even get the replicas right... Kid, open your eyes wide and take a good look at what the real Night Watch Coat of Arms actually looks like!"
An Qingyu stared at the Coat of Arms in his hand, frozen in place.
The Coat of Arms in his hand wasn't just smaller than An Qingyu's by一圈—it looked noticeably rougher too. Even the words "若黯夜终临..." on the back of the Coat of Arms had been written with some kind of pen rather than laser-etched.
"The difference in Coat of Arms style, I can explain that later... but the 'Guide of Ghosts and Gods' inside should be enough to prove my identity, right?" An Qingyu immediately regained her composure and continued.
"'Guide of Ghosts and Gods'? What's that?"
An Qingyu: ...
So not only are there no cloaks, but the 'Guide of Ghosts and Gods' hasn't even been invented in this era either?
Among the Night Watch's three essential items, the only thing that might prove his identity was the Straight Blade. But when An Qingyu joined the Night Watch, he hadn't taken a Straight Blade—he'd used the same material to custom-order a complete set of surgical knives... Now he really had no way to prove himself, even with a perfectly valid argument.
"Where's your captain? I need to see your captain." An Qingyu took a deep breath and spoke calmly.
"Our captain's wife is about to give birth, so he's on vacation..."
"Why are you even answering that?" The bald, burly man yanked the broad blade out of the wall, his eyes flickering with a murderous intent. "Let's capture him first, then directly interrogate him about where the other Church of the Ancient Gods members are hiding!"
"Qingyu... what now?"
Jiang Er's voice came through the radio.
An Qingyu's gaze swept across the five individuals whose spiritual powers were surging around him. After a moment, he sighed helplessly:
"Friendly negotiation seems impossible now... Let's first calm them down, then we can slowly interrogate them."
A deep, murky gray swiftly spread and blossomed in An Qingyu's eyes!
...
"Static static static..."
The radio hanging from Lin Qiye's waist suddenly crackled with interference.
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and immediately squeezed the brakes, bringing his bicycle to a stop by the roadside. He kicked down the kickstand and placed the radio on the bicycle seat.
He patted the radio with his hand. "Jiang Er, is that you?"
"Static static static... Yes, it's me." The interference faded, and Jiang Er's voice emerged.
"How are things on your end? Any discoveries?"
"... No major progress so far. Other than the captain who's still on vacation, Qingyu has already beaten down everyone in this era's Squad 007."
"?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled. "Why did he have to beat them down?"
"Qingyu wanted to ask about the disaster, but couldn't prove his identity, so they mistook him for Church of the Ancient Gods. He decided to use some force first..."
"Church of the Ancient Gods? At this point in time, the Church of the Ancient Gods already exists..." Lin Qiye contemplated briefly. "How is it now?"
"The Squad 007 members still won't talk. Qingyu has gone directly to the archives to check the records." Jiang Er paused.
"He told me to relay a message to you—there appear to be Church of the Ancient Gods members active in Huaihai City."
Lin Qiye's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Alright, I understand. Stay in contact."
The radio fell silent. Jiang Er continued to notify Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan, while Lin Qiye stood alone by the street, lost in thought.
There are Church of the Ancient Gods members active in Huaihai City... Could it be that this disaster was also stirred up by the Church of the Ancient Gods?
After a moment, Lin Qiye mounted his bicycle and continued his work of inscribing magical patterns throughout Huaihai City. However, now he was more cautious, scanning the streets on both sides as he rode.
Up to now, Lin Qiye had crossed paths with the Church of the Ancient Gods many times. If he saw any of their members again, he would certainly recognize them at a glance... However, they had traveled back over forty years before their era. Most of the Church of the Ancient Gods members he had fought were either not yet born or were still children.
But there were always some beings who, upon reaching a certain realm, enjoyed immensely long lifespans. Perhaps some of them had already appeared in this era.
Time passed. Lin Qiye had ridden his bicycle around nearly the entire inner ring of Huaihai City. Just as he was about to leave this district and continue searching outward, his gaze landed on the opposite side of the street—
His entire body jolted!
He slammed the brakes on his bicycle hard, blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn't seeing things. His expression immediately became complicated.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Qiye pushed his bicycle across the street and locked it to a stone pillar by the roadside. Then he strode into a run-down little noodle shop.
"Boss, a bowl of egg noodles."
"Coming right up!"
Lin Qiye stuffed one hand in his pocket and casually sat down at a table near the door, his gaze casually sweeping across the tiny shop.
At the table opposite him, a young man in a suit with slicked-back hair was intently eating a steaming hot bowl of shredded pork noodles. Seemingly sensing Lin Qiye's gaze, he looked up and met Lin Qiye's eyes. Lin Qiye quickly looked away, but the young man frowned, studying Lin Qiye carefully for a long while before lowering his head with some suspicion to continue eating.
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, pretending to yawn, to hide the corners of his mouth that he couldn't stop from turning upward.
Never thought you'd look so adorably cute when you're young...
【Yiyu】.
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