50 Under the Moon

In the moonlight, the man's facial features looked familiar—it was unexpectedly Nie Cheng, whom she hadn't seen in two days!

He let go of Shi Nian, raised an eyebrow with a smile, and said, "Two days without seeing each other, how have you been?"

Shi Nian was overjoyed. "You got in? And so quickly! Oh my god, your efficiency this time is simply touching. I'm going to praise you to the boss!"

Accepting this praise, Nie Cheng remarked, "I was afraid that if I came too late, Miss Shi Nian would be tortured out of human shape by that Dugu Yulang, and then turn around to settle accounts with me."

"You knew we were together?"

"After Brisbane and I went back the night before yesterday and found you missing, along with Dugu Yulang, I guessed you had been taken by him."

He still wore that air of having everything under control. Shi Nian suddenly felt a wave of mischievous playfulness. "Oh, in that case, do you know who that Dugu Yulang is?"

Nie Cheng frowned. "You figured it out?"

"Mm-hmm. I never would have thought it—of all people, it's him... You couldn't guess in your wildest dreams!"

Nie Cheng stared at her. Failing to keep up the suspense any longer, Shi Nian leaned close to his ear and whispered a name. Nie Cheng's expression shifted violently, and he turned his head almost in disbelief. "Are you certain?"

"Certain, positive, and absolute! When he grabbed my neck, I saw it with my own eyes! Plus, I've tested him; this Dugu Ying really is Yang Guang time-traveled over here..."

Silence.

Nie Cheng knitted his brows tightly, saying nothing for a good while, deep in thought. Shi Nian studied his expression, still somewhat surprised. Having known him for so long, this was the first time she had seen Nie Cheng like this, so she couldn't help asking, "Have you guys never encountered this kind of thing before?"

"No," Nie Cheng shook his head. "I've encountered many kinds of accidents, but people from ancient times traveling to another spacetime has never happened."

"Then, what does this mean?"

"I don't know, but judging purely from the current situation, I'm afraid the turbulence of the strings has... intensified."

Shi Nian's eyes widened. "No way! Haven't we been working very hard to repair it? Improvement aside, how could it even intensify?" This made one feel utterly unaccomplished in their work!

"Have you forgotten someone?"

"Who?"

Nie Cheng maintained a blank expression. Shi Nian suddenly snapped to her senses. "You mean, the mysterious person on the night at the Leopard House? You suspect it's because of him!"

"I even suspect that Yang Guang's arrival is entirely connected to him."

Shi Nian's mind was in turmoil. Nie Cheng had said that ordinary people could also time-travel, but the probability was very low, and it was always passive, completely beyond one's control. Yang Guang had been living his life as an emperor in his original history, yet now he had suddenly traveled to the Tang Dynasty. This was already very strange; if it were all being manipulated by someone behind the scenes, then everything made a lot more sense.

Yet, was it really that person? Who on earth was he, and why was he working against them?

Damn it, why did this job involve fighting bosses now?!

"Do you still remember what that person looked like? And his voice?" Nie Cheng asked.

Shi Nian closed her eyes and thought for a long time before shaking her head. "I don't remember."

That night's events happened too suddenly; she hadn't seen his face clearly to begin with, and on top of that, it was her first time sensing the strings, so the impact was too overwhelming. Recalling it now, her memories of that time seemed shrouded in a thin veil, making nothing clear at all.

"I don't remember either," Nie Cheng said. This was actually abnormal for him. He had made preparations that night; even if he hadn't seen the face, he should at least have been able to recall a physique or a voice, yet now he couldn't remember a single thing.

It seemed that person had tampered with it.

"Forget it, let's leave that aside for now. The most urgent task is to send Yang Guang back to his own era. Do you have a way?" Shi Nian asked.

This was what worried her most. Previously, they always went straight from modern times to the target dynasty, but now that they were already in the Tang Dynasty, was there still a way to reach the Sui Dynasty? Wasn't this like transferring vehicles midway?

"We haven't done it before, but for now we can only try. It's still through the string array, but starting it here will be somewhat more difficult."

Having a way was good enough.

Shi Nian let out a sigh of relief. Nie Cheng looked her up and down and asked, "As for you, how have you spent these past two days? Since that person is Yang Guang, he must be very difficult to get along with. How did you manage to steady him?"

Shi Nian replied, "He thinks I'm a shaman performing rituals, and is currently counting on me to take him home."

Nie Cheng: "..."

Only then did Shi Nian tell him about the time she was almost choked to death, followed by the kidnapping, and her lie about the "Heavenly Insight Eye." When she finished, she added, "Still, I think he's very strange. From his standpoint, knowing there's a possibility of returning, he should be impatient, yet he manages to keep his cool and refuses to leave!"

"You're saying you saw him leave the Pear Garden alone quietly tonight, felt something was wrong, and specifically followed him out?"

"Yes, I think he definitely has backers in the palace, and he must have a purpose for entering it. I just don't know what that purpose is."

"Perhaps, I know."

Shi Nian was startled, only to hear Nie Cheng say, "Do you remember I left Pingkang Lane a few days ago?"

Shi Nian nodded. It was those few days when Yang Guang had left that Nie Cheng had also been nowhere to be found; she had even been curious about what he went to do back then.

"I went to investigate Dugu Ying," Nie Cheng said. "People in Pingkang Lane said he would leave for a few days every once in a while. I felt something was off, so I tracked him to see what his background was. To my surprise, I really discovered something."

"What?"

"Every time Dugu Ying went out, he met the same person—the Middle郎将 (General of the Imperial Guard) Liu Luogu."

Shi Nian frowned. "Who is that again?"

"This Liu Luogu isn't famous in history, and records about him are very sparse, basically boiling down to one line: he was a spy left behind by An Lushan in Chang'an to transmit intelligence over a long period."

Shi Nian gasped inwardly. "You mean Yang Guang colluded with An Lushan..."

The night breeze swept past, rustling the tree shadows.

Shi Nian shivered. Oh mother, this truly was something she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams. Yang Guang had actually colluded with An Lushan? Hadn't he only traveled over three months ago? How was he already participating in the greatest political struggle of Emperor Xuanzong's reign?!

Wait, could there be a misunderstanding in this? Perhaps he only sought Liu Luogu out as a backer and didn't know his true identity behind the scenes?

"So, the situation is very serious now. We must figure out what Yang Guang has been up to."

"Why? No matter what he's done, shouldn't we just hurry up and send him back?"

"Have you forgotten? I said that if ordinary people travel through time and space and alter history, it's very likely to trigger exclusion, ultimately tearing them apart in the strings of spacetime. And if Emperor Yang of Sui dies in the Tang Dynasty, none of us need expect to survive either."

"Therefore..."

"Therefore, we must stop all this before he causes irreversible consequences. Otherwise, the only ending awaiting both him and us will be the same."

With that, Nie Cheng's expression suddenly changed. "Someone is coming."

Before Shi Nian could recover, she heard him drop the sentence, "I have other matters to attend to; I'll leave this side to you. When the timing is right, I'll find you again," and then he vanished into the darkness. Pressing her wildly pounding heart, she turned around, intending to deal with the patrolling guards, only to run right into a familiar face.

Yang Guang stood before a large tree, looking at her with a half-smile. "On such a lovely night, why isn't Grand Lady sleeping soundly in the Pear Garden, doing here instead?"

Shi Nian: "..."

She had actually been caught red-handed!

While lamenting her terrible luck, Shi Nian calculated that he probably hadn't seen Nie Cheng, so she didn't need to be too nervous. "Since Yulang asks me, I must also ask Yulang: on such a lovely night, why aren't you sleeping soundly in the Pear Garden, doing here instead?"

"Oh, so you followed me out?"

"Indeed. I was stargazing late at night and originally intended to cast a divination hex, but unintentionally discovered Yulang leaving alone. My heart was truly curious, so I followed to take a look."

She struck her divine-trickster pose once again, all to remind Yang Guang that she still held a trump card, and he had better not do anything to her in a fit of anger. Sure enough, hearing the word "divination," the man's expression shifted slightly. A moment later, he turned his head away and said indifferently, "I never knew Niannian understood such things."

"It's all feudal superstitious trade; master one, master all."

Spouting utter nonsense that he neither understood nor pursued further, Shi Nian felt a wave of relief wash over her. She began to ponder Nie Cheng's words from earlier: had Yang Guang really colluded with An Lushan? If so, how could she probe him for information without him noticing?

The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. She suddenly wondered if the missions she was assigned operated on an upgrade system; otherwise, how could each one coincidentally be harder than the last? Previously, it was just matching Wei Zifu with Emperor Wu of Han, but now it had escalated to preventing the Emperor of Sui from subverting the Tang Dynasty. Next thing she knew, she'd probably be expected single-handedly to assist the Manchus in passing through the Shanhai Pass!

She refused. She hated men with braided queues.

Yang Guang suddenly stepped forward, and Shi Nian, startled for a moment, hurried to follow. At the end of the winding path lay the Taiye Pool; in this season, the lotus flowers were in full bloom, with endless layers of leaves touching the sky. The moonlight, like a translucent pristine veil, enveloped the emerald lake, the lotus blossoms, and the palace pavilions along the shore, looking from afar like an immortal paradise in the Jasper Terrace.

"How beautiful," she couldn't help exclaiming.

"Beautiful?" He glanced at her, though he agreed. "This Daming Palace is indeed built quite beautifully. And this city of Chang'an is also thriving, prosperous, and magnificent."

The palace of the Sui Dynasty was the Taiji Palace, which fell far short compared to the Daming Palace, and its economy naturally couldn't compare to the flourishing Kaiyuan era either. Just as Shi Nian thought of this, she heard Yang Guang give a soft chuckle. "However, fresh flowers blooming at their peak and broiling fire fiercely cooking oil are not necessarily good things. When something reaches its highest point, it's bound to go downhill."

In the moonlight, a cold chill emanated from the man's features, sending a shudder through anyone who saw it.

Yes, she knew all too well that the empire had flourished for too long and had long since drifted toward superficial luxury. Beneath the facade of a peaceful era lay a fatal crisis of a collapsing edifice and tottering jade mountains. But she only understood this because she knew history; how did he know?

Yang Guang seemed to find her expression amusing. "The emperor pays no mind to governing, indulging in pleasure alongside the favorite consort, while the court affairs are monopolized by the royal brother-in-law Yang Guozhong... How do you suppose Chen Shubao lost his country?"

Under his gaze, Shi Nian slowly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Damn it, how could she have forgotten that this was a politician! And a politician who stopped at nothing—slaying generals and crushing enemies on the battlefield, and murdering brothers, killing siblings, and betraying his father in court conspiracies!

He possessed the sharpest vision, capable of piercing through complex political situations.

"You mentioned the Fanyang Jiedushi earlier. Anyone with eyes can see that An Lushan is ambitious and has already become a grave threat; yet the emperor is caught up in it and fails to see it clearly."

Shi Nian lunged forward and clamped her hand over his mouth. "Are you insane? If someone hears you, we're done for!"

Caught off guard, Yang Guang was suddenly embraced by the young girl, his lips even brushing against her soft palm. He opened his eyes in astonishment, catching a faint fragrance—reminiscent of lotus, yet also her own lingering personal scent...

Only after she had lunged did Shi Nian come to her senses. Wait, there wasn't even a ghost around here; who was going to hear them? What was she even afraid of?

She shook her head, suddenly plunging into bewilderment. Had she spent too much time in ancient palaces and developed aftereffects? Just a moment ago, she could openly discuss spacetime travel with Nie Cheng without a care, but now hearing Yang Guang utter a few anti-regime remarks made her nervous? She had surrendered to feudal imperial authority far too quickly!

She was deeply disappointed in herself!

Just as she intended to let go, her hand was suddenly gripped, and another arm wrapped around her waist. With effortless ease, the man pressed their bodies close together. Startled, she raised her head to meet a pair of dark, slender eyes.

Those eyes held a smile and the ambiguity of spring peach blossoms; his breath was like a breeze, gently brushing against her hair. "Is Niannian throwing herself into my arms?"

"Wh-What?"

He raised an eyebrow. Realizing their ambiguous posture, she wanted to struggle, but his strength was immense, and she couldn't break free at all. "You... let go! If you don't let go, I'll scream assault!"

"You were the one who threw yourself over. As a woman, following a man out in the middle of the night and being this close to him—the one committing assault is you."

Shi Nian was dumbfounded.

Yang Guang chuckled triumphantly, leaning down close. Shi Nian's hair instantly stood on end, and she stared at him with utmost vigilance. His lips stopped half an inch from hers without moving further, instead curving toward her ear.

In the hazy moonlight, the man whispered softly, "When will you play another tune for me?"