Chapter 123: The Mystery in the Painting

Lin Xiaosu stood at the entrance of the detective agency, watching the direction in which she had departed, a hint of mystery lingering on his face.

She was headed for the Northwest. She seemed to have a particular affinity for that region. She had chosen to set aside her diploma from a world-class art academy to spend a year and a half in the Northwest instead. What was there? He truly hadn't known before, but now, a mysterious word had just reached him from the lips of Blue Demon…

Kun Cang!

The two heavenly kings, Blue Demon and Blood Scar, had once suspected him—suspected that his unique abilities stemmed from Kun Cang. Their trip to Jiangcheng had even been a mission to probe him, to see if he possessed any ties to that place. Lin Xiaosu could bet his entire agency on the fact that he had absolutely no connection to Kun Cang. It was merely a name he had just learned. Although Blue Demon had not elaborated, he knew enough to realize it was an incredibly mysterious power.

He had no ties to Kun Cang. But what about her? Was Ding Ruoshui a "World Walker" for Kun Cang? The next time he saw Long Ye, it would be necessary to probe this topic—a secret considered high-level even within the Hidden Dragon system.

It was midsummer, the hottest time of the year. Fengcheng was a mountain city, fully covered in greenery, so the heatwaves were far less intense than in Jiangcheng. It was past eight in the evening, the time for civil servants and local residents to take their children out. Small strollers and young couples filled the streets, infusing the town with the warmth of family life. Young women, dressed in their finest, strolled along the Yishui Bund outside the town, enjoying the evening breeze. Further away, a few retired men played the flute; the music was hardly refined, consisting of old, worn-out revolutionary songs, yet the nightlife of this small county town felt vibrant and grounded because of these simple sounds.

Lin Xiaosu took his keys from his pocket, opened the rolling door, and stepped into the agency. No sooner had he entered than a cry of pleasant surprise rang out from behind him. He turned to see two beautiful women running across the road toward him like swallows returning to their nest. It was Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi. Their trip to Jiangcheng had spanned a vast distance—from Fengcheng to Jiangcheng, and from Jiangcheng to Fuso—and a long duration, ten days in total.

"Xiaosu, you're back!" Miao Ruolan’s face was flushed, and the fine beads of sweat on the tip of her nose glinted with excitement.

"Yes, just got back."

Zhou Xi chimed in, "What did you do? Sister Ruolan was terrified!"

"Terrified? What do you mean?"

Zhou Xi replied, "Two payments arrived in the account. One was 300,000 in commission from the Ding family, and the other was 1.5 million from the 101 Company! That was commission too..."

Lin Xiaosu laughed. "Getting paid is a good thing; why were you scared?"

"It’s just too much!" Miao Ruolan said. "I looked it up online, and the 101 Company doesn't seem particularly famous. What did you do for them?"

Lin Xiaosu thought for a moment. "I’ll be honest with you. The 101 Company isn't an ordinary firm; it represents the state. I did some work for the police, and this is a government reward. Keep it with peace of mind; don't worry about me doing anything shady."

With that truth laid bare, the two women were truly relieved. In business, making money was a joy, but making too much could be nerve-wracking. The detective industry was different from others; sometimes it walked the fine line of the law. They had worried that their amazing detective might have been involved in something illegal—after all, didn't people say that in this day and age, any business that made quick, big money was already written into the Criminal Law? But with Lin Xiaosu’s explanation, their hearts were at ease. It was a government reward! What money in this world was cleaner than that? The words "government reward" were the most solid seal of legitimacy.

"This month's earnings exceeded expectations," Lin Xiaosu said. "Ruolan, let's give Zhou Xi a raise."

"Agreed!" Miao Ruolan said immediately.

"Raise her base salary to 10,000!"

"Agreed!"

Zhou Xi was stunned. "Hey, wait! What did I do? Why are you spoiling me to death like this?"

No one knew that on this night, the Fengcheng Detective Agency staged a scene rarely seen in any workplace. An employer gave an employee a raise, from the proposal to the implementation, in just over ten seconds. Furthermore, the amount of the raise jumped from 5,000 to 10,000. The employee was bewildered—what had she done to deserve such coddling? The boss operated on the principle of "I spoil my own people" and "I'm talented, so I can be capricious." What could she do?

That night, lying in bed, Zhou Xi savored the feeling of being cherished. God was her witness; she had rarely felt such care in her life. As a child, her family was poor, and while her parents loved her, it was only the most basic biological protection, a concern for warmth and cold. After her parents' tragic passing, she had tasted the coldness of the world and her heart had turned to ash. But in this agency, she had found warmth again.

Lin Xiaosu lay in his bed—his long-missed bed. He suddenly recalled a sentence: Ding Ruoshui’s parting words—*If you miss me, use the painting I left behind to send your thoughts across the miles.*

A painting! She had left him a painting. Throughout their interactions, the painting had actually had very little presence. During their seven or eight days and nights in Jiangcheng, in their countless interactions, the painting had never been mentioned. He had almost forgotten it. Yet, she had specifically mentioned it before leaving. What did it mean?

The painting wasn't a token of longing. Why? Because the person painted on it was him, Lin Xiaosu. It wasn't Ding Ruoshui at all. Looking at a portrait of himself—what kind of longing was that? Narcissism? Lin Xiaosu suddenly felt that there might be some mystery to the painting.

Where was it? Lin Xiaosu got out of bed in his pajamas and checked the table; there were only a few books, no painting. It wasn't in the drawer, either. He stooped down to check under the bed, but it was spotlessly clean. Had Ruolan put it away? She was the one who usually cleaned the room.

Lin Xiaosu left his room and headed toward Ruoshui’s room.

At that moment, Zhou Xi was feeling a bit restless. Since she joined the agency, Lin Xiaosu hadn't spent much time here, but she had a deep impression of the last time he stayed, which lasted for several days and nights. That night, Ruolan had entered his room and hadn't come out for two hours. What about tonight? Would Ruolan sneak in again, shoes in hand, to stage that invisible, muffled, but obvious-to-the-imagination scene? Ruolan had gone straight to her room after her shower tonight and hadn't come out. But Zhou Xi knew that didn't mean anything—the night wasn't over yet, who knew what would happen next?

The next moment, Lin Xiaosu went to Miao Ruolan’s room and knocked gently. Zhou Xi’s face turned bright red. The answer was out: Ruolan hadn't gone to his room, so he was taking the initiative to go to hers. It was, after all, dry wood meeting a raging fire.

Miao Ruolan was performing her nightly ritual: pressing her lips against the painting before going to sleep. She had just finished and was closing her eyes when the door was knocked. She got up and opened it to find Lin Xiaosu. She subconsciously covered her chest; she felt that since joining the agency, she had grown fuller, and since she didn't like to "let go" during the day, nighttime was the time to be free, so her pajamas were loose. If it had been Zhou Xi, it wouldn't have mattered, as she was also well-endowed and free, but it was him.

"Planning on sleeping?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"Yes."

"Ding Ruoshui left me a painting, but I can't find it. Have you seen it?"

Miao Ruolan said, "It's with me. I put it away for you."

"Oh, let me see it."

Miao Ruolan’s heart was racing. He wanted to see the painting now? It was right by her pillow—would he think too much? But they were already face-to-face, and avoiding it or making excuses would only make it more awkward. She tried her best to maintain a normal composure and handed him the painting.

Lin Xiaosu stared at the painting, feeling a bit confused. Why were the lips of the man in the painting slightly damp? What was going on? He activated his *Retrograde Time* ability... Just a moment ago, Miao Ruolan had been looking at the painting with deep affection and had pressed her lips against the painted ones.

*My God...*

Miao Ruolan watched him, her heart beating ten times faster than his. From this angle, one could truly see the slight dampness on the painting—it was her lip print, a testament to how much she loved him to the bone. Would he notice? His eyes looked a bit unfocused; he shouldn't. From the front, he shouldn't notice such a tiny mark. Lin Xiaosu’s gaze was focused on the upper part of the painting. Fortunately, he didn't notice the shameful detail. Miao Ruolan let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Lin Xiaosu’s eyes brightened slightly—a sign he had discovered something. Miao Ruolan’s heart accelerated again.

"There is a mystery here!" Lin Xiaosu said.

It was over, he had found it... Miao Ruolan was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the bed. But Lin Xiaosu’s next sentence came: "This is a map!"

"A map?" Miao Ruolan was startled. Wasn't it a lip print? A lip print and a map were worlds apart.

"Look!" Lin Xiaosu said. "The painting is titled 'Window.' Let’s focus on what's outside the window. What's there? A road! There are lines here that seem abstract, but if we ignore the surrounding cars and pedestrians and look only at these lines, they are very similar to the mountains and rivers on a map."

"A map? A map of where?"

Lin Xiaosu slowly looked up. "Combining the orientation of the mountains and rivers, it should be the Kunlun Mountains!"

"This... what does that mean?" Miao Ruolan was lost.

"I don't know what she means yet."

"Why don't you just call her and ask?" Miao Ruolan suggested.

"If nothing goes wrong, the call won't go through. She has already gone to the Northwest, and perhaps she's heading toward Kunlun..." Lin Xiaosu said.