After leaving Twilight Town, Jian Jing returned to Robert's farm, and went to see Reed again.
He still remembered her: "Kerry."
"Reed." She walked up and held his old and withered hand, telling him concisely, "The murderer who killed Teresa and the others has been found, it was William."
Reed's expression froze. He was confused, seemingly unable to recall what this name meant, but very quickly, long-lost memories surged up.
In an instant, he became his younger self again, the policeman of Twilight Town, investigating this bizarre case.
"It was William? Oh, no." He covered his face, and anxiously asked her, "What about Kerry? Who harmed Kerry? Who was it?"
"William asked Kerry to go into the woods to return some money for him. I don't know who killed her." Jian Jing regretfully said, "Maybe it was the person she was supposed to meet, maybe she really got lost, or maybe..."
Maybe she was tempted by the owls and became a sacrifice to the giant tree.
This was a truth that could not be revealed.
Tears welled up in Reed's muddy eyes. He clumsily wiped away the tears, mumbling to himself: "Kerry... it was all my fault, if only I had that day..."
He couldn't continue.
Jian Jing patted his back, and after a long pause, asked: "Have you been to the White Realm?"
"White..." Reed subconsciously repeated her words, his expression confused again, "Cave, giant... owl, talking owl... Kerry!! It was Kerry!"
His thoughts mingled again, not knowing what he was saying, excitedly repeating it for a long time, lowering his head, muddled again: "Kerry, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you." Jian Jing did not ask further, following along with what he said, "How are you?"
Reed nodded, stroking her grayish-white hair, seeming unfamiliar: "Kerry, you've aged too, don't leave me again."
"Reed, you're already married with children, even your grandchildren are grown up, so am I." She wove beautiful lies, "I also have to go back and take care of my children."
He looked at her, slowly revealing a smile: "Is that so? You got married too, and had children, oh, I remember now, your daughter is called... Della?"
Della was the name of his daughter.
But Jian Jing said: "Yes."
He laughed through his tears, warm tears rolling down his cheeks.
Jian Jing pretended not to see, spending another night at the farm, chatting with Reed about the past. His memory was fragmented, sometimes even jumbled up, but even just snippets revealed quite a bit.
She could confirm that after finding Kerry's corpse, Reed had gone to the White Realm.
But he did not become like William, only had problems with his memory, and was extremely averse to owls.
As for the white lamb, he had no impression at all.
In his words, the person who guided him out of the forest was Kerry.
Some questions would never have answers.
Jian Jing had to leave this journey behind with regret.
She couldn't be bothered going back to New York, and flew straight home from Seattle.
However, she had been excited and thrilled about the rare high-altitude incident she encountered on her way there. On her way back, she was dejected and in low spirits.
Oh well, nothing to be done, the trip to Twilight Town was a major loss.
25 points upgraded to Combat Card, 10 points to Appraisal Card, 10 points to Synthesis Card, 10 points to Item Card, totaling 55 Courage Value points.
But the Synthesis Card consumed 20 points of Special Contribution Value, the Borrow Vision consumed 10 points of Special Value, and when using the Bomb Item Card for remote control also used 10 points of Special Value.
Not to mention the loss of 20 points of Special Contribution Value, she still had a curse hanging on her status bar.
[Status Bar: Qi Tian's Curse (Countdown: 2)]
There really was a swear word she wanted to say but didn't know if she should. Anyway she really wanted to say it.
It was so infuriating.
"Jingjing, my face hurts so much, what if I'm disfigured?" Next to her, Jiang BaiYan held up a small mirror, sighing long and loud.
Jian Jing was speechless: "Your skin isn't even broken, how could you be disfigured."
He cupped his own face, posing anxiously: "I almost got killed by William this time, I'm totally traumatized, what if I don't dare sleep alone at night?"
Jian Jing: "Don't you still have a cat?"
He pouted: "You're so heartless."
"Is this your first day knowing me?" She rolled her eyes at him, but still called the flight attendant over to ask for ice wrapped in a wet towel for him to apply to his face, "The redness has mostly faded, don't apply masks these next few days."
"But I feel like this side of my face is a lot bigger, see?" He leaned his head over.
Jian Jing looked it over, uncertain: "Is it?"
"It is, take a closer look." He leaned in even closer.
"No." Jian Jing turned her head away, but suddenly there was a cool sensation on her cheek. It was him brushing his cheek lightly against hers, transferring the lingering coldness on his skin to her face.
She couldn't help but laugh: "What are you doing?"
"You laughed." He nuzzled her hair, his actions extremely similar to Pudding's, intimate yet not overly familiar, "You're unhappy because you didn't catch Qi Tian?"
Jian Jing was silent.
Jiang BaiYan judiciously kept his distance, sitting properly back in his seat, suggesting: "Let's think of a way to lure him out?"
Jian Jing had this idea, but didn't want him taking risks with her, vaguely saying: "Let's talk about it later."
"I can help you." He volunteered readily.
She shook her head: "This isn't something you're good at."
Jiang BaiYan paused for a beat, instantly switching tactics: "I didn't say I would personally do it, I know I'm useless, I can't help you and would only drag you down."
"No such thing." Jian Jing said this with utmost sincerity.
Of course, to be realistic, he truly was useless, but he had never dragged her down. Not to mention the Wang Shi Yi case where he helped tremendously, even when she had no time to look after him this time, he also protected himself very well, and even managed to trick some words out of old William.
He said: "What I was thinking was, you said before that Qi Tian likes dealing with the wealthy, he must be extremely greedy. Once he escapes, it's impossible for him to live in obscurity."
"You mean, scatter money to look for him?" she considered.
Jiang BaiYan said: "I can't do much abroad, but if he returns to China, you should know, the people who are both rich and superstitious belong to our circle."
It made sense. She immediately sat up straight: "Who can get wind of his whereabouts?"
"Hard to say for now." Jiang BaiYan cautiously promised, "I feel like it won't be so fast, in a few months, I'll try to subtly ask around, if there are any leads on him, I'll think of ways to lure him out."
Jian Jing thought it over carefully, but said: "He recognizes you."
"Of course it won't be me personally, I'm too famous." He snarked, "There are countless people who want fame, I'll just casually suggest it to a few, they'll go looking themselves."
Jian Jing couldn't help asking: "Does this kind of thing really work?"
Jiang BaiYan threw his hands up: "I got famous without trying."
She was mad, rolling up paper to smack him: "You Versailles or what? I got famous all by myself too, do you see me bragging about it?"
He dodged left and right, protesting: "Domestic violence is illegal!"
"Who's committing domestic violence with you." Jian Jing's agility stat was probably way higher than his, hitting true nine times out of ten.
Jiang BaiYan surrendered at lightning speed: "I'm wrong I'm wrong!"
After getting distracted by his nonsense, Jian Jing's mood had improved somewhat. No matter what, her biggest gain this time was forcing Qi Tian out into the open and destroying his immortality plans.
Seeing her enemy's misfortune made her happy.
The plane coasted along the Pacific coastline, slowly descending to its destination.
Jiang BaiYan put on a mask and sunglasses, saying to Jian Jing: "I'll take the regular passage later."
Jian Jing was surprised: "Aren't you afraid of getting mobbed by fans?"
"It's fine, they must be waiting for me at the VIP exit, plus if they catch you with me again, it'll start more dating rumors." His considerations were very prudent.
Jian Jing didn't insist.
After getting off the plane, there were indeed many fans gathered outside the VIP passage, holding up phones and signs, eyes peeled for every single person coming out.
Jian Jing only wore sunglasses to block the sun, no mask, and was recognized.
"Teacher Jian!" Bold fans directly asked, "Were you traveling with our Little White?"
Jian Jing took off her sunglasses, looking utterly shocked: "Jiang BaiYan? You guys are waiting for him?"
"Weren't you two together?"
"We were on the same flight, but seems like he left earlier than me." She looked deliberately around, "You didn't see him?"
"Ah! He must have taken another passage." The fans hurriedly dispersed in panic.
Only a few fans didn't move, lingering in place. It was evident that they were veterans and were wary of tricks. Jian Jing pretended not to notice and pushed her suitcase along by herself.
Two fans followed her from afar until she got into the driver's car before confirming that Jiang BaiYan was not there.
Jian Jing shook her head incessantly and sent Jiang BaiYan a message: "Come out now."
Five minutes later, he sent a selfie from inside the nanny van, having successfully met up with his agent.
When Qiu Lin saw his actions, she asked, "Give me some good news, did you make progress?"
Jiang BaiYan collapsed into the leather seat, looking up at the sky.
Qiu Lin: "I've brought so many artists, you're the only one who has ever failed at sending off thousands of miles."
Jiang BaiYan was shot through the heart, his health bar emptied, and weakly said: "Sis Qiu..."
"Shameful, little Bai." Qiu Lin sighed, even feeling a little resentful at the unaccomplished talent, "You shouldn't have."
Jiang BaiYan listlessly responded: "Don't flog a dead horse, leave me some dignity."
Qiu Lin also didn't understand: "With your conditions, finding someone better than Teacher Jian wouldn't be hard. Why hang yourself on one tree?"
He argued eloquently: "Our Jian Jing is clever, beautiful, righteous, brave, practically a modern gender-swapped version of Sherlock Holmes, the youthful Miss Marple, a domestic version of Grandma A-Pang..."
"Stop, stop, stop," Qiu Lin quickly stopped him, and asked in response, "So do we have hope?"
"Uh," Jiang BaiYan scratched his head, spoke righteously, "As human beings, we should always have dreams."
He envisioned a bright future: "When the artists from our company make it big and can make money, I'll retire from the industry and go to Teacher Jian to apply to be her assistant. I'll accompany her in the melon fields and under the plum trees, feeding cats and walking dogs..."
Qiu Lin ruthlessly responded: "Firstly, you have to ensure the company survives and doesn't go bankrupt."
"I know, I'll go to work tomorrow," he yawned loudly, "Send me home first today, I'm dead tired."
Qiu Lin felt sorry for him too, and didn't rush him anymore, sending him home to rest.
After sleeping for a bit and getting over his jet lag, Jiang BaiYan looked in the mirror the next day and saw some puffiness.
He quickly took a photo and sent it to Jian Jing, crying out: "My face still hasn't healed."
Jian Jing: [Use a cold compress]
Him: [Oh]
There was no way he would actually use a cold compress. He put on a face mask and drove to the studio.
Pudding meowed and circled around his feet.
"Pudding, good boy, daddy gives you a kiss," Jiang BaiYan picked up the cat and madly inhaled its scent. As he smelled it, his nose caught an amazing fragrance, and he looked left and right: "What smell is this, it's so nice?"
Sister Chen pointed at his office: "Teacher Jian had someone deliver it early this morning."
Jiang BaiYan picked up the cat, curiously looking inside.
A bowl of congee.
The note said: Made too much, can't finish eating it all
Lifting the lid, a rich, delicious aroma wafted out.
Jiang BaiYan tried a spoonful and was greatly shocked. He immediately called to flatter shamelessly: "My god, Teacher Jian you're too amazing. It's so tasty! How can such ordinary congee taste this incredible?? It's practically the ambrosia of the gods, I'm so blissful!!"
On the other end of the phone, Jian Jing paused briefly and said: "To tell you the truth..."
Him: "?"
"I followed the recipe, but then... messed up completely." She awkwardly admitted.
Jiang BaiYan: "???"
Jian Jing explained: "Really, I got the order wrong, either put too much or too little seasoning. My hands just wouldn't listen to me. And somehow, with this random mess-up, the taste is amazing."
He sucked up even harder: "You must be a genius!"
"Well, there won't be a next time. Just make do and eat this batch," she said. "Also, my abrasions have scabbed over already. The slap from you should be healed by now ba."
Jiang BaiYan smilingly responded: "Mm mm, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Bye."
Jian Jing hung up the phone and looked down at her creation.
This was her first attempt at using the "Death's Delicacy" skill card. She originally wanted to make a full meal, but since Jiang BaiYan's injury was related to her to some degree, she would first make a get-well gift and test out the effects.
She didn't expect it would turn out like this at all.
She wasn't on auto-pilot, still having to do everything by hand, but somehow her state kept messing up.
Sometimes she would forget to put in one thing, other times she would mess up the order, her seasoning hand just wouldn't listen to her. And then somehow, with this random cooking, the taste was divine.
She embraced an exploratory spirit and tried making it the exact same way again.
Disgustingly bad.
Therefore, this was definitely an "delicacy" that could not be replicated.
More importantly, after drinking the congee, her status bar changed.
[Status Bar: Qi Tian's Curse (Countdown: 3)]
Some time was recovered.
