Ji Ran didn't talk to Su Yu for long.

He was really tired after a long day of running, and went to bed early.

When Ji Ran woke up, the first thing he saw was the gray morning light outside the window. It's too early. When he realized that the door was ringing, he got up in confusion. After a long while, he went to open the door.

But when I opened the door, I saw Xie Yubing.

"Do you know what time it is?"

That Xie Yubing stood at the door, wearing a pale green dress.

"A moment," she said calmly, "we need to get out of here as fast as we can." ”

"Are you crazy?"

"It's not. She walked straight into the room without waiting for his invitation, looked around with critical eyes, and said, "We don't have much time left." ”

"We?"

"Yes, you and I. Things get complicated. ”

Ji Ran snorted and said angrily:

"It's not a good time to joke. ”

"Don't be stupid!" she wrinkled her nose in an exaggerated expression. Even though she has the perfect appearance of a work of art, her expression at this time seems to be mature and composed, "I mean it. ”

Xie Yubing took Ji Ran's hand and wanted to leave together. But Ji Ran pulled out his hand suddenly and pointed to the door to her:

"I want to sleep!"

She didn't move, just looked at him intently.

"Listen," the eyes were close to him, like liquid ice, shining on his dark face, "you remember the owner of the manor you visited yesterday!"

Xie Yubing's nose wrinkled slightly, and he glared at him and said.

"Of course I remember. Ji Ran nodded.

It took him a few seconds to react to his intense drowsiness, still blinking in confusion. Xie Yubing waited patiently for him to come back to his senses, not complacent about the effect of his words.

"He just died. She said.

Xie Yubing said this in a very calm tone, as if he used it to say "he just drank in the morning" or "he just went to the theater". Ji Ran took a deep breath and tried to digest and absorb this sentence.

"No way. I only met him yesterday, and he was fine. ”

"He's not feeling well now, he's not going to feel anything anymore. ”

"How do you know?"

"I just know. ”

Ji Ran shook his head, suspicious, and then turned around to find his bed. He didn't like everything that happened this morning at all, and he needed time to slowly come to terms with that fact.

"You've been following me?" he said, counting with a cigarette in his mouth, "I just went there yesterday, and then you know, it's weird, isn't it?"

She shook her head impatiently.

"You are also the old man of Zhangjian Xuan, and you still want to ask such a naïve question?"

"Why are you following me?"

"I like you. ”

Ji Ran was in no mood to laugh at this time, so he just crooked his mouth.

"It's ridiculous. ”

She looked at him meaningfully.

"I think so," this is her assessment, "a notorious wanderer who can be said to be notorious, and the average person is afraid that he will not like you." ”

"And ......?"

"Find an answer for yourself! Now, please, hurry up and get dressed! we've got to go to the manor. ”

"We?"

"Yes, just you and me, before the destruction was more complete. ”

——————————————————————————————

They pushed open the iron gate, the dead leaves rustling beneath their feet, and thus passed through the path of broken or empty statues on either side. Walking on the stone steps, the ancient sundial still did not mark any time under a lead-gray sky devoid of sunlight.

"You won't kill this person, right?" Ji Ran said playfully.

"Chances are, maybe I'll kill you again. She said coldly, pushing the door. The door was locked.

"From behind. Ji Ran suggested.

They walked around the outer circle of the house, past the fountain of the stone statue of the little angel, and the little angel with empty eyes and missing hands continued to pour a stream of water from his mouth in the pool. The girl was wearing a blue sports jacket and carrying a travel bag, walking in front of Ji Ran. She walked with an astonishingly composed pace, her head raised and staring firmly ahead, her legs wrapped in her long skirt moving deftly. As for Ji Ran, he was not so calm. As soon as he had reined in his suspicions, he let the girl lead the way, and put a break from asking many questions about her. Now, all he cares about is the Devil's Bible in his arms and the master's copy here.

They entered the house easily through a glass door that connected the garden to the living room.

The house looked like a wasteland.

"Where are the people?" asked Ji Ran.

The girl shrugged.

"I don't know!"

"You said he was dead. ”

"He's dead, that's right," she picked up the erhu from the ground and looked at it, then at the empty walls of the room and at the books on the floor, "I just don't know where he is." ”

"Are you kidding me?"

She held the erhu between her chin and tried the sound, and then looked at Ji Ran and said:

"You who are not strong in faith!"

She chuckled slightly absentmindedly again, and Ji Ran clearly felt that behind her lively appearance there was an overmaturity that was not commensurate with her age.

Suddenly, everything disappeared from his mind, including the girl, all the adventures, even Fadja's death. On the worn carpet, the Devil's Bible that had been in the pile of old books was gone.

"Oh no!" he said.

He cursed continuously, and hurriedly crouched down by the book to check. His eagle eye, which was recognizable at a glance, scanned back and forth in a panic, but could not find it. Black hard cover, no title, only a pentagonal logo. He would never have lost his eyes, and one of the only three books left in the world flew away.

"Damn!"

He immediately thought, Su Yu's movements couldn't be so fast, this guy didn't have time to prepare everything! The girl observed his reaction curiously, as if she expected it. Ji Ran stood up.

"Who the hell are you?"

He had asked the same question to another weirdo a few hours earlier. Everything suddenly became too complicated. Her face did not change, her eyes moved from Ji Ran's face to the side, looking at the book on the ground.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, "you should ask where that book has gone." ”

"What book?"

She looked at him and didn't answer, he felt stupid.

"You know too much," Ji Ran said to Xie Yubing, "even more than me." ”

She shrugged her shoulders again, she looked at Ji Ran, as if she could see the time in this way.

"You're running out of time. ”

"I don't care what time it is. ”

"If you don't hurry, another book will be gone. ”

She looked so immature, and her eyes looked like a weathered old man.

"Why do I have to leave now?"

"Because it's likely that someone is already one step ahead of you, and that's your task. ”

"Damn mission!" Ji Ran muttered angrily. Now he was in a depressed mood.

However, Xie Yubing laughed, as if he had heard an old-fashioned joke. Then she waved her hand to Ji Ran and said:

"Fourth son, if you die because you didn't complete the task, I will burn some paper money for you!"

She walked out of the house and came to the garden without looking back, and Ji Ran was about to follow her and stop her, but at this time, she caught a glimpse of something in the fireplace.

He froze for a moment, then leaned over slowly, perhaps to make all the big events happen slowly and logically. But when he approached the pile of ashes, it only confirmed that there were only two copies of the Devil's Bible left in the world. The remnants of the third book lay in the ashes, still smoking.