Chapter 499: Embroidered Map

"Yao Qing, this is..."

"Oh, they are Zhiwei's friends. This is... uh..." Yao Qing was about to introduce Chen Ling when his expression suddenly became awkward; he realized he didn't even know their names.

"Hello, Ms. Xiao. My name is Yang Xiao. I specialize in magnetic fields and am a colleague of Dr. Su," Yang Xiao said, stepping forward to introduce himself.

"Oh, you're Zhiwei's colleague," Xiao Chunping said, kindly smiling as she clasped Yang Xiao's outstretched hand. "Hello, hello. Our Zhiwei has been bright and capable since she was little. Her parents passed away early, so I consider myself a partial elder to her. Please continue to look out for her in the future."

"You're too kind..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xiao Chunping shifted her gaze, finally resting it on Chen Ling.

"And this person... is also Zhiwei's colleague?"

Su Zhiwei opened her mouth, unsure how to introduce Chen Ling. Everything about him seemed a mystery; no one knew where he came from or what powers he possessed. However, she clearly couldn't introduce him truthfully at that moment. As Su Zhiwei was about to say he was also her colleague, Chen Ling spoke calmly:

"My name is Chen Ling. I am Su Zhiwei's friend."

"Friend..."Xiao Chunping raised her head, looking into Chen Ling's eyes for a long time before nodding. "Zhiwei rarely brings friends home... Your relationship must be very good, right?"

"Yes, it's pretty good."

"Grandma, it's rare for Zhiwei to visit, so I thought I'd bring her here, especially since she hasn't seen you in a long time. These two were already guests at Zhiwei's place, and since we have plenty of rooms, I invited them along," Yao Qing said, winking at Yang Xiao and Chen Ling. "They're also interested in your embroidery, so they came to admire and learn from it."

"Yes, that's right," Yang Xiao replied with a stiff nod.

Chen Ling, meanwhile, quietly watched Xiao Chunping without speaking.

"That's good, that's very good... Our home hasn't been this lively in a long time," Xiao Chunping said, removing her reading glasses and slowly returning to her embroidery. She smiled. "It's getting late, Yao Qing. Please prepare rooms for Zhiwei and our two guests. Grandma will finish this embroidery first."

"Got it!"

Yao Qing led everyone out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Follow me, the lodging is this way."

Chen Ling and the two others followed Yao Qing through the museum. After they had walked a considerable distance, Chen Ling looked at Yao Qing and said,

"What? Aren't you afraid I'm a fraud anymore?"

Yao Qing glanced back at him and scoffed softly. "I admit you're quite capable, but I'm not that easily convinced. What you said about 'Book, Doctor, Soldier, Yellow, Green, Skillful, Chess,' or whatever it was... it's a bit far-fetched. But at least you don't mean any harm to Zhiwei, and my grandma is old. We can't involve her no matter what, so I can still cover for you."

As he spoke, they arrived at the second floor on the side of the museum, which appeared to be dedicated guest rooms, though they hadn't been used in a long time.

"Zhiwei, this room is yours."

Yao Qing opened the first door. Inside was a suite spanning over a hundred square meters, complete with a living room, bedroom, and bathroom. The floors and surfaces were spotless, as if regularly cleaned.

Su Zhiwei walked in with a hint of surprise, picked up an old metal pencil case from the desk, and shook it, making it clink.

"Isn't this..."

"It's the pencil case you gave me in junior high," Yao Qing said, scratching his head. "You said it was yours from when you were in school, and I used it all the way through high school. Since I rarely use pencils now that I'm in college, I've kept it here. Oh, and the clothes you bought me are in that closet over there, but I can't wear them anymore since I grew taller."

Su Zhiwei opened the pencil case in her hand. Inside were ordinary pencils and erasers. The student ID she had glued to the inside of the lid was still there; time had yellowed the photo, but not a speck of dust had clung to it.She closed the pencil case and sighed helplessly:

"These are all old items from seven or eight years ago. I thought you would have thrown them away when you moved..."

"How could I?" Yao Qing said firmly. "I've kept everything you gave me safe. I would never throw them away!"

After leading Su Zhiwei to her room, Yao Qing then took Chen Ling and the other person to the opposite hallway, pointing to two of the rooms.

"Those two are yours... Since there's only one suite, the other rooms are smaller."

Chen Ling opened the door and found that the room was only fifty to sixty square meters, similar to a hotel room. Although small, everything was relatively clean. But compared to Su Zhiwei's room, it was a world of difference. Su Zhiwei's room didn't resemble a guest room at all; it seemed more like a space specifically reserved for her.Of course, Chen Ling wasn't picky; for him, a place to stay was enough.

After everyone was settled, Yao Qing returned to his own room. His and Xiao Chunping's rooms were on the opposite side of the museum, some distance from Chen Ling's and the others'.

"Is it past eleven already?"Chen Ling returned to his room, but he felt no sleepiness.

For him, only a few hours had passed since entering the 'Era Archive.' He had rested sufficiently before arriving and didn't need to eat or sleep. While he didn't require rest, Yang Xiao, Su Zhiwei, and the others were quite tired, and sleep was essential for them.

Chen Ling lay on the bed, gazing at the ceiling, his mind still pondering Nie Yu's movements. By his calculations, Nie Yu should have arrived in Gusu by now. However, the Su residence was now empty, and all the assassins monitoring them had been dealt with, so Nie Yu's trail should be completely cut off. Tomorrow morning, he could change his appearance and look around the Su residence to see if he could, in turn, find Nie Yu's whereabouts.

As Chen Ling was deep in thought, his mind suddenly stirred, and a feeling of being watched arose from the depths of his heart!

"Who's there?!"Chen Ling abruptly sat up from the bed, a hint of apricot red spreading at the corners of his eyes as his gaze rapidly swept the surroundings.

The guest room was silent. In the dim night, apart from the faint starlight outside the window, there was no other light inside. Chen Ling's eyes meticulously scanned the surroundings, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Chen Ling, however, found no suspicious objects or creatures in the room, nor did he detect any electronic surveillance, yet the feeling of being watched persisted.

Chen Ling's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. With his current eyesight, if there was truly something in the room, he would definitely be able to detect it. But after searching for several minutes, he still hadn't found the source of the feeling of being watched, which intensified his unease.

After a brief hesitation, Chen Ling got up, put on his shoes, walked directly to the guest room door, and pushed it open.He couldn't stay in this room, no matter what.

As Chen Ling left, a framed embroidery of a small dog on the guest room table suddenly blinked, as if alive, and turned its head to look in the direction Chen Ling had gone.The next moment, its limbs began to move, and with a flicker, its form vanished from the white background, disappearing to an unknown place.