Chapter 167: Chasing the Aurora

"Hello," Chen Ling said, his voice unfamiliar. "Have we met before?"

Chen Ling had completely changed his appearance, so it made no sense for him to reveal his identity to Xi Renjie. Faced with no other option, he resorted to this old but effective excuse.

Xi Renjie stared blankly at the face. After a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter, revealing two rows of neat, white teeth on his weather-beaten and mud-streaked face.

"I've seen you! We looked for Aurora City together!"

Chen Ling was taken aback. He looked at Xi Renjie's exaggerated smile and suddenly felt something was off... but he played along and asked,

"When was that? Are you doing well?"

"Did you find Aurora City?" Xi Renjie countered.

"This is Aurora City."

"Oh..."

Xi Renjie thought for a moment, then bent down to carefully examine the ground. He meticulously scrutinized every crack between the paving stones, the weeds growing by the wall, and the puddles with floating hair and dirt... He seemed to be searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" Chen Ling asked.

"I'm looking for Aurora City... I'm almost there!"

"This is Aurora City," Chen Ling repeated. He watched Xi Renjie's strange behavior, and an idea suddenly dawned on him. "You..."

"I'm almost there... I'm sure I'll find it!!"

Xi Renjie clutched a bulging cloth bag to his chest, stumbled to his feet, and walked onto the street. His eyes, glimmering with hope, scanned his surroundings—a longing Chen Ling had never witnessed before.

Xi Renjie's pupils reflected the hazy yellow sunset and the few kites still fluttering in the twilight. He repeatedly reached out, grasping at the air, as if trying to catch the kites.

"Aurora City has kites... I have kites too! By following the kites... I'm sure I can get to Aurora City!!"

"I'm almost there... I'm almost there!!"

He reached into the cloth bag he carried, pulled out a handful of gleaming gold coins, and powerfully threw them skyward!

The coins tumbled in the air, like golden kites soaring through the sunset, rising straight towards the clouds before helplessly falling back to earth... The clinking sound echoed through the street, and passersby stopped, stunned.

Xi Renjie's face was filled with excitement and madness. He pulled out handful after handful of gold coins, scattering them into the sky like a deranged lunatic.

"Look! These are the kites they gave me!! By following the kites... I'm sure I can reach Aurora City!!!"

The pedestrians on the street stared wide-eyed. They dropped everything they were doing and swarmed towards him, jostling behind Xi Renjie, scrambling for the coins scattered on the ground. Their faces were alight with ecstasy.

"Gold coins?! So many gold coins!!"

"Is this person crazy? He doesn't want his gold coins?"

"We hit the jackpot! We hit the jackpot!! So much money! Enough for our family to live on for a long time!!"

"Don't snatch them all! These are all mine! All mine!!"

Xi Renjie emptied the last handful of gold coins, vigorously tossing them into the sky. A dazzling rain of gold fell from above, and his laughter resounded through the street.

Countless Aurora City residents bent down behind him, picking up the money, their eyes crinkling into crescent moons with joy. No one cared where the coin-scattering madman came from; even children were on the ground, picking them up one by one, knowing that even a single coin would be enough to buy ten or a hundred new kites.

Chen Ling watched the scene in a daze, but he didn't step forward... His eyes were filled with complex emotions.

"This person is really interesting," Bai Ye commented, raising an eyebrow. "He's clearly in Aurora City, yet he's still looking for Aurora City?"

Chen Ling shook his head.

"No... he never truly arrived in Aurora City."

The shabbily dressed figure stumbled away from the bent-over crowd. His silhouette, along with the setting sun, gradually disappeared at the end of the street.

Chen Ling knew that from this day forward, there would be no more Law Enforcer Xi Renjie in the world... and Aurora City would gain another madman desperately searching for Aurora City.

"...Let's go."

On the noisy, chaotic street, Chen Ling averted his gaze. He adjusted the half-rimmed glasses on his nose and calmly walked towards the east of the road... a direction opposite to Xi Renjie's.

Since letting Xi Renjie leave outside the city, his fate had no longer been intertwined with Chen Ling's. Even witnessing Xi Renjie's end had no impact on him, for that would not be Chen Ling's own fate.

Aurora City's kites would always endure the winter, and the sun that set in the west would always rise again from the east.

Law Enforcers Headquarters.

Bright lights pierced the night as a steam car drove down the dim street, slowly pulling up to the headquarters entrance.

Chu Shiduo, who had been waiting by the entrance for a long time, immediately stepped forward and opened the back car door... Tan Xin emerged from the vehicle, her black overcoat swaying gently in the night, and walked directly into the headquarters.

"Teacher, you returned so quickly this time?" Chu Shiduo immediately followed. "How is Lord Aurora's condition? Has he improved?"

Tan Xin did not reply. Instead, she calmly walked towards her office. All the law enforcers and officials they passed stopped and bowed, but she seemed not to notice them.

A black leather-gloved hand pushed open the office door. Tan Xin casually hung her overcoat on the hanger in the corner. Chu Shiduo keenly sensed that his teacher was in a bad mood, so he stood quietly by the desk, waiting for her to speak first.

Finally, after turning on the desk lamp, Tan Xin spoke unhurriedly:

"What happened with the Southwest Gate incident?"

"It has been resolved," Chu Shiduo replied, seemingly having anticipated the question. He picked up a document nearby and handed it over. "That Chen Ling was a member of the Twilight Society, card six of hearts. After escorting everyone into the city, he self-immolated on the train's engine... Everyone witnessed him turn to ash, so his death is confirmed.

"However, after Chen Ling's self-immolation, public opinion has started to shift in his favor... Many residents believe Chen Ling cannot be considered a heretic, and with certain individuals stirring things up, our image as law enforcers is constantly being tarnished..."

Tan Xin waved a hand. "I've said it before, how the public views us isn't important... especially now."

Chu Shiduo opened his mouth as if to object, but ultimately said nothing.

"But... Chen Ling went to such great lengths to enter Aurora City just to self-immolate?"

Chu Shiduo hesitated for a moment before speaking. "He... he also said a few things before his self-immolation... One was contempt for the lower-level management of the law enforcers, and the other... was a 'warning.'"

"What warning?"

"He said... the cold winds from the Frozen Sea have reached Aurora City, and the collapse of the seven districts isn't the end of the story... perhaps, it's just the beginning." Chu Shiduo repeated Chen Ling's words verbatim.

Hearing this, Tan Xin's eyes narrowed slightly. He remained silent at the desk for a long time, then let out a soft laugh.

"As expected of someone from the Twilight Society... This Chen Ling is not simple."

As he spoke, he casually picked up a narrow black box. As he gently turned a knob on its edge, glowing '8's lit up inside the box one after another, like a digital clock.

Under Tan Xin's adjustment, the numbers in the box changed successively, finally settling on a string of digits, which then began to tick automatically.

"93 days, 3 hours, 36 seconds... Teacher, what does this mean?" Chu Shiduo asked, puzzled.

Tan Xin placed the box back on the desk. The flickering numerical glow illuminated his face with shifting light and shadow... After a moment, he slowly spoke.

"This is Aurora City's remaining lifespan."