Chapter 592
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Chapter 592: Grandma Crane
Yuri Rina was a bit dazed.
She hadn’t heard Lin Qiye climbing up the steep slope at all, not even realizing when he had come up from below. He was like a black ghost, suddenly flying up from the steep slope.
“Your skills are quite impressive,” Yuri Rina remarked in Japanese.
Lin Qiye smiled but said nothing.
The two walked along the road on the sheer cliff, under the azure sky, one in front of the other, heading toward the other side of the road.
Yuri Rina walked ahead, barefoot, her soles leaving faint water marks on the gray asphalt. The old black sakura kimono she wore seemed a bit loose, not quite her size, and the sleeves were even slightly torn, stitched together with gray threads.
With each step she took, the light pink hairpin stuck in her bun of black hair would gently sway, reflecting a glimmering light.
Lin Qiye, clad in a black trench coat, walked calmly behind her.
In his mind, he quickly sorted through all the known information.
The root of everything was that white-haired old man, suspected to be Wang Mian, who had stepped onto a small boat in the mist.
He wore a mask of Wang Mian, draped in the cloak of the “Mask” team, and carried the “Yiyuan” at his waist. His abilities were also related to time, and Lin Qiye could almost confirm that this person was indeed Wang Mian…
But the contradiction lay in the fact that Wang Mian wasn’t that old, and he was far from having reached the divine realm.
Could it be that he came from the future?
The moment this thought appeared in Lin Qiye’s mind, it was immediately tagged as “highly likely.” Wang Mian’s ability to time travel was no secret.
Instructor Yuan Gang had mentioned Wang Mian’s achievements while explaining the Night Watchman’s medals. Five years ago, when the Yamata no Orochi landed in the East China Sea, Wang Mian had consumed his lifespan to travel back in time, returning one hour before the appearance of the Yamata no Orochi to save the entire city’s inhabitants.
At that time, Wang Mian was still just a newcomer in the “Wuliang” realm.
If the future Wang Mian truly broke through that ceiling and stepped into the divine realm, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to travel back in time from far in the future.
Now the question was, if this speculation was correct, from which point in the future had he traveled back, and what was his purpose in returning?
Was it just to bring him to this place?
What about the other team members? Were they here too?
Was this… really Japan?
Countless doubts surged in Lin Qiye’s mind, and the more he thought, the more chaotic it became.
Suddenly, he thought of another possibility.
If Wang Mian could manipulate time, was it possible that he had sent everyone back to Japan a hundred years ago, before the mist had appeared?
Lin Qiye abruptly raised his head and looked around.
At this moment, the two had already left the road and arrived at the city streets.
They were still not at the city center; there were few pedestrians on the road. The gray asphalt was marked with clean white lines indicating lanes. On the right was a newly opened sea urchin rice bowl shop, while on the left was an electronics store that had already closed down.
Next to the lane were several locked bicycles, and further ahead was a black sedan. Lin Qiye didn’t recognize the car brand, but from its shape, it didn’t look like a product from decades ago.
Yuri Rina, walking in front of him, suddenly stopped. She waited until the traffic light above turned green before continuing forward.
This was definitely not Japan from a hundred years ago.
This was a modern city.
Lin Qiye dismissed the thought of traveling back in time and continued to ponder the essence of this place…
Since there was no time travel, how had this country, devoid of mist, come into existence?
This country shouldn’t exist, yet here he was, and he could vaguely sense that beneath this tranquil and beautiful exterior, there must be some hidden, dangerous secret.
Unable to make sense of it all for now, Lin Qiye had to set it aside temporarily and focus on the immediate problem at hand.
A strange environment, an unfamiliar language, an alien culture… The first issue Lin Qiye needed to resolve was the language barrier.
Not speaking and not understanding the characters made it difficult to grasp the situation here.
But language wasn’t something that could be learned in just a day or two.
Just as Lin Qiye was feeling frustrated, the two had reached the edge of the city. The surrounding buildings gradually became shorter and sparser, and finally, they stopped in front of a desolate patch of land behind a park.
There were no habitable houses here, not even any lights illuminating the area. At the edge of this vacant lot, a few seemingly long-abandoned shipping containers were haphazardly placed.
Yuri Rina turned to Lin Qiye and said in Japanese:
“Follow me, and don’t make a sound.”
After saying that, she made a “×” gesture in front of her mouth with her finger.
Lin Qiye immediately understood her meaning and nodded.
The two quietly approached one of the containers. Yuri Rina cautiously looked around to ensure there was no one else before unlocking the container door and quickly stepping inside.
Inside the container was a small living space.
A worn-out thick mattress, whose origin was unknown, was piled with two thin blankets. Next to it was a simple clothes rack made from bent pipes, hanging two pieces of clothing, along with some basic toiletries.
On the other side of the mattress was a wooden chair, where an elderly woman with graying hair was sitting, squinting her eyes, her wrinkled hands trembling as she folded white paper.
Though her speed was slow, her technique was very skilled, and within seconds, she folded a delicate origami crane, gently placing it at her feet.
At her feet, a small mountain of origami cranes had already piled up, completely covering her shoes.
Hearing the container door being pushed open, she slowly looked up and, upon seeing the petite figure, a radiant smile appeared on her aged face.
“Little Yuri, you’re back?”
“I’m back,” Yuri Rina replied with a smile on her small face. “Granny Crane, I brought a guest with me.”
“A guest?”
Upon hearing this, the old woman’s gaze fell behind Yuri Rina, spotting the man in the black trench coat.
She gently set down the white paper in her hands, placed her hands on the armrests of the chair, and with great effort, tried to stand up. Her legs trembled slightly as they touched the ground.
“A guest has come… Quick, quick, sit down, I’ll make a cup of tea for the guest.”
“Granny Crane, please sit down. Let me take care of the guest,” Yuri Rina hurriedly supported her, helping her back into the chair while speaking.
Granny Crane opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something more, but her body was indeed too weak, and she could only lean back into the chair with Yuri Rina’s assistance.
Yuri Rina turned back and saw Lin Qiye still standing at the door, her brows slightly furrowed.
“What are you still standing there for? Come in and close the door. We can’t let others see us here.”
