Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 493: This City

Chapter 493: Chapter 493: This City

"What does it mean - what does it really mean? Can’t you clarify things?" Gu Fan was utterly confused, but the old man had already walked too far for him to follow, so he simply headed back home.

Before he knew it, night had fallen. As soon as Gu Fan entered his house, after a tiring day, he immediately fell asleep.

However, in Gu Fan’s mind, images kept flashing of the old man touring the city, and the story about how six families got lost at sea, eventually drifting here and establishing a fishing village, among other things.

Initially, Gu Fan thought, who cares about all this? Isn’t it great that he was born in this city, that Queen Qianye reincarnated as Lin Xi here, even that the big boss built his power base here by some stroke of luck...

"Wait! Could it be that Du Changhui and others knew in advance about Queen Qianye’s reincarnation in this city, and that’s why Du Changhui established his business here?" Gu Fan suddenly opened his eyes, feeling that something was amiss.

Getting out of bed, he found his breathing heavy and his mind a little chaotic. An ill feeling welling up inside him made him shiver. "Something more terrifying than the big boss - something more terrifying than Shennv Xuanhui is coming," he speculated.

"Hocus Pocus, I hope I’m overthinking this." Gu Fan quickly shook his head, trying to cast off these messy thoughts and resume his sleep. But he couldn’t control his thoughts and ended up tossing and turning restlessly.

Suddenly, Gu Fan remembered his childhood when his grandfather would take him to the seaside. Every so often, he’d see his grandpa staring fixedly at the ocean as if something beyond the waves was beckoning him.

So Gu Fan opened up to his grandfather one day, "Grandpa, why do you always look at the ocean?"

"Because it’s so beautiful!" Grandfather responded with a smile, affectionately patting Gu Fan’s head before adding, "Gu Fan, let me tell you something. Our Gu family came from the other side of the vast sea and settled here, passing down the story from generation to generation."

"Really?" Out of curiosity, Gu Fan joined his grandfather, gazing at the ocean, listening to the waves, and feeling its breeze.

******

Meanwhile, Qian Xue came running back excitedly, pushing the door open forcefully. "Big sister, guess what I discovered – something major."

Seeing Qian Xue’s exuberance, Qian Feng could not help but become curious, "What is it? Third sister, you’re making a fuss. What did you find? If it’s not related to overthrowing Qian Ye, I’m not interested."

Qian Xue nodded affirmatively, "Compared to that, the stuff Second elder sister is dealing with is peanuts, I made a truly major discovery."

Now even Qian Ying was intrigued, "What major discovery, Third sister? Tell us."

Ning Qi had also walked over by now, ears perked, awaiting the news.

"Alright, listen carefully then. This city is no ordinary place—it’s an absolute geomantic treasure." As Qian Xue shared this, pausing with every word, the others looked at her somewhat baffled. "What geomantic treasure? There are many in the world. How is this a major discovery?"

Qian Xue hurriedly explained, "It’s different—this city is different—it’s not a typical geomantic treasure."

"Oh, what’s different about it?" Qian Feng displayed some interest, but also cautioned, "Third sister, don’t raise our expectations only to let us down with something frivolous. If you do, I’ll beat you up."

Immediately, Qian Xue assumed a confident expression, "Don’t worry, Big sister. It’s definitely something you’ll want to hear."

The others urged, "Alright, please go on. Stop beating around the bush."

Seeing everyone eager to listen, Qian Xue cleared her throat, "Big sister, you haven’t forgotten how we found the floating island of the Ancient Super Civilization, have you?"

"Could it be this city is..." Qian Feng and Qian Ying were taken aback while Ning Qi, not understanding, pursued, "What’s going on? What’s so special about this city?"

Qian Xue nodded, "Today, having nothing else to do, I visited the city’s history museum. I found a geographical map there that’s identical to one we’ve seen earlier. I think this city is where we need to be looking."

"Are you serious?" Qian Feng got excited, and Qian Ying’s eyes sparkled. So preoccupied were they that they completely ignored Ning Qi’s question.

Inevitably, Qian Feng commented, "Lin Xi was born in this city, and we came here because of her. It appears that everything is indeed real."

But Qian Ying looked worried, "But, Big sister, this city is so large. How are we going to find the exact location? We can’t possibly search every single place, right? If we do, we won’t find it until when pigs fly."

Her words seemed like a blow to everyone’s minds. Qian Feng sighed, "Yes, you’re right. Even if we find it, it would be as good as not finding it at all."

Ning Qi, neglected all this while, couldn’t get a word in and just sat there quietly, minding her own business.

Although Qian Feng noticed Ning Qi’s mood, she didn’t mind and casually said, smiling, "For those of us who were sent to find this place, if there are any descendants, they should’ve left some mark, right?"

Qian Ying answered, "But, we’ve been in this city for so long and haven’t seen any signs from Shennv Xuanhui. I think there are two possibilities: first, they didn’t find it; second, even if they did, it’s been so many generations that they’ve probably forgotten their mission."

"They may have forgotten, but we haven’t. From now on, we will leave signs of Shennv Xuanhui at every corner of the city. Anyone who can understand these signs will surely find a way to contact us." Finishing her words, there’s an upward curl at the corner of Qian Feng’s mouth. "Alright, for now, we won’t bother Lin Xi anymore. We have more important things to do."

Qian Ying immediately nodded, "Yes, not only will we focus on our tasks and leave Second sister alone, but we also must not let her find out what we’re up to, or she might ruin our plans."

"Correct!" As Qian Feng was about to continue, the doorbell rang. It was Lin Xi, who felt like she needed to talk. She didn’t want to escalate things or cause trouble for her parents, Gu Fan, her friends, or the city.

This upset Qian Feng, "What are you doing here? I don’t want to see you. We were about to forget you, and yet here you are. Can’t we each lead our own lives? Could you please stay away from us?" She immediately shut the door after speaking, leaving Lin Xi confused, "What’s going on? Don’t they want me even when I’m delivering myself to