Chapter 754: Smell

The two left the rooftop and slowly made their way downstairs.

Zheng Yingxiong suddenly looked up the moment Qinglong disappeared, sensing that the scent had abruptly vanished.

"It's really strange..." he said, "Why did that scent suddenly disappear?"

Chen Jun'nan, standing nearby, replied, "People here come and go like the wind. I thought you'd seen that by now."

"No, that's not right... Even if they come and go like the wind, they couldn't do that."

"What's so strange about it? It's just the scent disappearing, right?"

"What's so strange...?" Zheng Yingxiong turned his head, looking puzzled as he said, "Isn't that strange enough? It's a 'scent'! It's not like a person's 'shadow'! If a person leaves, their shadow disappearing is normal, but if the person vanishes, the scent on them shouldn't disappear! It should linger here!"

After hearing Zheng Yingxiong's explanation, Chen Jun'nan suddenly felt it made some sense, but since he couldn't smell the scent Zheng Yingxiong was talking about, he didn't fully grasp what it meant for it to vanish suddenly.

"Are you saying... when that person left, they took their scent with them?"

"That's exactly what I mean... Isn't that person really weird?" Zheng Yingxiong said, "When they arrived, a huge scent suddenly appeared, letting me smell it all the way from downstairs. But when they left, the scent vanished completely, without leaving even a trace. What kind of bizarre situation is that?"

"Now that you put it that way..." Chen Jun'nan nodded, "I kind of get it. You're saying the scent came quickly and went just as fast."

"Exactly!" Zheng Yingxiong said, "Scents are 'emitted,' they don't just suddenly fill the air everywhere..."

"Hiss..." Chen Jun'nan stroked his chin, mimicking Qi Xia, but he had no ideas at all. "You're right. Is that person some kind of range hood? They leave without leaving anything behind..."

Qiao Jiajin, not far away, overheard their conversation and stroked his chin as he said thoughtfully, "I think I have an idea."

Chen Jun'nan turned to look at Qiao Jiajin and chuckled, "Old Qiao, you're the one with the most out-of-the-box thinking among us. What's your idea?"

Zheng Yingxiong also asked seriously from the side, "Do you know what's going on?"

Qiao Jiajin thought it over carefully before saying, "Don't laugh at me when I say this."

"That won't happen." Chen Jun'nan shook his head. "Go on!"

Qiao Jiajin said seriously, "What if those scents are 'attached' to the person?"

"Ah...?"

Qiao Jiajin's idea was so unconventional that it stunned Chen Jun'nan for a moment, but he quickly realized it made some sense.

The scent came with the person and left with them, neither emitting nor lingering, so it really seemed like it was "attached" to them.

It was just that these "invisible masses" were huge and completely unseen.

If it weren't for Zheng Yingxiong noticing it, no one else would have paid attention to this detail.

"That's spot on!" Chen Jun'nan said, "Old Qiao, you're the master of ideas! Qi Xia and I have to step aside. Thinking about it this way, that scent is basically 'attached' to the person, like a 'shadow'!"

"The scent is 'attached' to the person...?" Watching the two chatting excitedly, Zheng Yingxiong slowly curled his lips.

He felt he had been too hasty, actually believing them so easily.

"If the scent can be attached to the person... then when I absorbed it, wouldn't that be like taking a chunk of their flesh?" Zheng Yingxiong said.

"Uh..." Chen Jun'nan followed the logic and explained, "Maybe it's not like flesh attached to them, more like hair or something. Losing a strand is no big deal."

Zheng Yingxiong shook his head, deciding not to engage with the two anymore.

...

The people on the playground saw Chu Tianqiu and Qi Xia emerge from the teaching building and crowded around them.

Just as Chen Jun'nan and Qiao Jiajin were about to speak, they saw Qi Xia raise a finger at them, as if signaling them to stay quiet.

The two exchanged glances and understood, swallowing their words.

"Yun Yao, you're here too?" Qi Xia called out.

"Ah... Qi, Qi Xia?"

Yun Yao, Zhang Chenze, and Li Xiangling all looked surprised. Before coming to Tian Tang Kou, they had heard that Qi Xia had gone to Mao, so they planned to search for Tian Tian at Tian Tang Kou first before heading to Mao.

But they never expected to run into Qi Xia here directly. However, Qi Xia seemed a bit different from how they remembered, as if some subtle change had occurred.

Chu Tianqiu frowned slightly beside them, turning to look at Qi Xia, wondering what he was up to.

Was he really counting on the other side to mention "Wen Qiaoyun" in just three sentences?

Even though he knew Qi Xia was a gambler, he had never seen such a strange bet.

Qi Xia smiled and said to Yun Yao and Zhang Chenze, "You all look like you have something to say to me. What's going on?"

"I... we..." Reminded by Qi Xia, Yun Yao snapped back to their purpose and said, "We're looking for you because of someone..."

After hearing that, Chu Tianqiu's expression changed completely. He never imagined things would unfold exactly as Qi Xia had predicted.

Who had leaked this information to them?

"Oh?" Qi Xia nodded. "What's that person's name?"

"Her name is... Wen Qiaoyun."

Qi Xia turned back to look at Chu Tianqiu and said, "Do you concede?"

Chu Tianqiu nodded heavily. "I concede."

Yun Yao and Zhang Chenze looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what the two meant.

"What's this 'concede'...?" Yun Yao asked. "What are you two talking about?"

"Never mind." Qi Xia turned back and said, "You said something about this Wen Qiaoyun. What happened?"

Yun Yao organized her thoughts and relayed the prepared story to Qi Xia in detail.

Qi Xia listened with interest to the fabricated lies.

They talked about how they had participated in several very complex games and even made up a few sets of game rules that seemed fine at first glance but were full of flaws upon closer inspection.

Then they described how, in the games, they met an extremely capable woman named Wen Qiaoyun.

That woman led them through challenges victoriously, nearly gambling a "Di Ji" to death. Only then did they realize she had excellent leadership skills, a sharp mind, and was kind to others.

Yun Yao said lightly at the end, "Having a girl like that active in Zhong Yan Zhi Di is a good thing no matter how you think about it, right, Qi Xia?"

"Oh?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "Good in what way?"

"We could recruit her!" Yun Yao said. "With such a strong ally, whatever we do will be easier—whether it's gambling against Sheng Xiao or planning other strategies, she'd be an invaluable asset!"