"Yeah." Tian Lan was a little distracted. "By the way. You said you had something to tell me."
Nangong Kui came to the guest room and sat down face to face with Tian Lan. Then he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Tian Lan.
Tianlan took it and glanced at the envelope. It had the words "Your Majesty's Personal Letter" written on it. His heart beat faster instantly. He was so familiar with this handwriting. This was Xiaotang's handwriting. It was a letter from Xiaotang to him. .
He immediately asked Nangong Kui: "This is a letter from Xiaotang. When was it sent? Where is she?"
Nangong Kui said: "I haven't seen Sister Tang. This was sent by a little boy in our Golden Lion City. He said it was a big sister who asked him to deliver the letter to me. He asked me to hand it over to a man in white clothes. Big brother. Listening to his description, I think he looks very similar to Sister Tang. And the big brother in white clothes he mentioned should be referring to you, Tian Lan, right?"
Tianlan nodded and said, "That's right. The handwriting on this letter is Xiaotang's handwriting. There can be no mistake."
"That's good." Nangong Kui chuckled. Then he was a little confused and said: "This happened ten days ago. It happened a little weird. It seems that Sister Tang asked me to deliver the letter to you. It's just me. I really can’t figure it out. Why didn’t Sister Tang come to me directly instead of going around in such a big circle? Also, if she knew that you would come to Golden Lion City, why didn’t she go to you directly and tell you in writing? It’s such a troublesome way to believe it.”
Tian Lan pondered: "There are indeed a lot of puzzling things here. I think this letter will give us the answer."
With that said, he opened the envelope, took out the thin letter paper inside and began to read silently. The content of the letter was not much. He finished reading it in less than half a minute. Then he frowned and began to think deeply.
In fact, Nangong Kui had always guessed that the content in the letter must be something bad. Now seeing Tian Lan's expression, he was even more convinced of his judgment. He said, "Brother Tian Lan, what is said in the letter."
Tianlan gave him the letter and said, "Read it yourself."
Nangong Kui took the letter and glanced through it. The letter said very simply. It said that Xiaotang had encountered some troubles and needed to deal with them first. The specifics were not stated clearly in the letter. However, there was a sentence added at the end of the letter. :If you need me for anything, please come to Langgan Pagoda.
Tianlan saw that he had finished reading the letter and asked, "Where is Langgan Pagoda? It's near here."
Nangong Kui shook his head and said: "As far as I know, the Langgan Pagoda is at the westernmost part of the Ice and Snow Empire. It takes at least seven or eight days to travel from here. The distance is very far. Our Golden Lion Group has almost no power there. So I’m not very familiar with it either.”
Tian Lan had never heard of it before. Hearing what he said, he couldn't help but ask, "That place is very famous."
"It's famous, but it doesn't count... I remember that the Langgan Pagoda was probably built by an emperor of the Ice and Snow Empire more than ten years ago. It was quite gorgeous at the time. The tower was seven stories high, with cornices on the four corners, and jade on the top. Inside the tower It was specially used to collect pearls, so it was named 'Langgan Pagoda'. However, the old emperor passed away a few years ago. The tower was located in a remote location, so it was gradually abandoned. I haven't heard of the Langgan Pagoda being reused recently. .What did Sister Tang do in that place?"
Tianlan thought about it, pointed to the last sentence on the letter and said: "Look, this last sentence does not match the meaning of the previous sentence. Most of the previous content is to tell me the reason why she left. With Xiaotang's temperament, if If she has any personal matters, she will definitely not take the initiative to trouble me. But at the end, she suddenly stated her location. It makes people think that she asked me to go to Langgan Pagoda to find her. There seems to be something wrong."
Nangong Kui also frowned and said, "That's right. Sister Tang loves you so much. How could she do this..."
Tianlan continued: "The most suspicious thing is this ink mark. The ink mark on the last sentence is obviously slightly darker than the previous content. The lines are also slightly expanded. It is obviously not written in one breath. But this is indeed Xiaotang's The handwriting. Could it be that she thought of it and added it later."
Nangong Kui said: "Is it possible that someone else imitated Sister Tang's handwriting?"
"No. If that's the case, I can see through it at a glance. No matter how similar others imitate, they are only similar in form, not in spirit. I taught Xiaotang's calligraphy with my own hands. How could I admit my mistake?"
Nangong Kui became even more confused. He held his chin and said, "Then... what are you going to do? Do you want to go to the appointment?"
Tianlan's eyes were firm and he said: "Go. You must go."
Nangong Kui opened his mouth and whispered: "But, it might be a trap..."
Tianlan shook his head and said: "Even if it's a trap, we have to go. Because this is Xiaotang's handwriting. Even if it is not Xiaotang's will, it must be related to her. I will set up the Langgan Pagoda. Besides, you don't have to think about it. Too many. It may be that Xiaotang encountered some unexplainable difficulties and informed me in this way. I think everything will be clear when we get to Langgan Pagoda."
Nangong Kui said: "Do you need me to send someone to go with you?"
"No." Tian Lan refused. "I can go alone. Your mercenary group has just stabilized. Just stay here and don't cause trouble."
"Well..." Nangong Kui lowered his head in despair. He had just taken over the position of leader. He really had no prestige. It was not easy to mobilize people in his name. And he couldn't leave himself. Although his father and second uncle She is definitely willing to help Brother Tianlan, but Brother Tianlan definitely doesn’t want to trouble them because of his affairs. Besides, Sister Tang deliberately avoided meeting them. She even had to hand over the letter. Maybe she just didn’t want him to get involved. The letter also said Specify that Brother Tianlan should go to the appointment alone. If he is meddlesome, will he be offensive to others?
Tianlan didn't notice the twists and turns in Nangong Kui's heart. He only thought about Xiaotang. Finally, there was news about Xiaotang. Not to mention that this was probably a letter asking for help from Xiaotang. Even if it was clearly a trap, he He still had to take this trip. He couldn't wait to set off now.
"Nangong. Then I'll leave tomorrow."
"Ah. It's so fast. Brother Tianlan, you finally got to us. Why don't you stay a few more days? Dad and my second uncle also said that they would like to thank you for your life-saving grace. Besides, you just came from such a far away place. You should be very tired when you come back. It’ll be fine if you rest for a few more days.”
Tianlan knew he had good intentions, but still politely refused: "No. I'm worried about Xiaotang. I will let you fulfill your duty as a landlord next time I have the opportunity."
"Oh. Okay then." Nangong Kui also understood his feelings. But when he thought that Tian Lan would leave again soon, he felt very reluctant to leave. It took a lot of effort to see each other. Now I don't know what to do if I leave again. In what month will we meet again...
Tian Lan saw how disappointed he was and comforted him: "Let's do this. When I find Xiaotang, I will go back to Golden Lion City with her as a guest. What do you think?"
Nangong Kui's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Okay. I haven't seen Sister Tang for a long time. Then it's agreed. I'll wait for you to come back."
After making an appointment with Nangong Kui, Tian Lan stayed at Nangong's mansion for a symbolic day and left in a hurry the next day. Nangong Mingjing and Nangong Mingqing naturally thanked him profusely and gave him a lot of gifts. Tianlan was in a hurry and had no time to refuse to them, so he accepted it, said goodbye and left. At this point, the matter in Golden Lion City finally came to an end. Now he has to do more important things: retrieve Xiaotang.
According to the map given by Nangong Kui, Tianlan followed a westbound caravan to the vicinity of Langgan Pagoda. There was not much trouble along the way. Seven days later, he arrived at the westernmost edge of the Ice and Snow Empire.
Langgan Pagoda is located in a remote place. The caravan took the main road and could only send Tianlan to the nearest official road. Tianlan said goodbye to the caravan and embarked on the journey alone again. He followed the map to find the location of Langgan Pagoda.
Fortunately, although Langgan Pagoda is abandoned, it can be regarded as a local symbol. The locals know that place very well. Tian Lan easily found out about Langgan Pagoda from passers-by.
After passing a winding glacier road, Tianlan finally arrived in front of Langgan Pagoda.
When Tian Lan saw this tower with his own eyes, he felt that it was not worthy of its name. This tower had been abandoned many years ago. The paint on the walls was almost peeled off. Most of the cornices had their corners knocked off. In order to prevent water leakage, some ugly wooden boards were used to cover it. Just like the patch, the tower looked more and more dilapidated. If Nangong Kui hadn't told it personally, Tianlan would have been unable to imagine that this old thing was only built more than ten years ago.
What should I do now? Do you want to go in?
When he arrived at the door, Tianlan hesitated. He looked around. There was no one around. He couldn't use his mental power now. He couldn't check the situation inside the tower from outside. Is there any mechanism inside? But standing in the tower Before, he didn't have any obvious sense of crisis. Does this mean there is no danger inside?
Thinking of this, Tianlan suddenly woke up and couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
When did he become so hesitant and timid? Even if there is danger, so what? He has done more dangerous things. He even dared to enter the ghost world where the dead live. A broken tower actually stumped him. . Could it be that his inability to use mental power affected his self-confidence? Or was he becoming afraid of death?
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and walked straight forward and pushed open the tower door.
The door of the tower creaked slowly open, bringing up a burst of dust. Tianlan was also ready to summon Soul Eater at any time, in case some monster suddenly appeared in the tower.
However, in fact, it was quiet in the tower. Nothing happened. It was dark inside. There was no candlelight. Only a few rays of sunlight came in through the damaged leaks.
The Ice and Snow Empire is located in a cold area. There is not enough sunlight to begin with. Now it is even more so in the winter evening in the Empire. The sunlight is dim. The tower is so dark that it is almost impossible to see. Such a gloomy place seems to be a good place for an ambush. Even if no one attacks him. Note: It’s hard to say whether there will be poisonous insects or poisons inhabiting it. It will be even more troublesome if it encounters ghosts and the like.
However, now that he is here, he will not back down easily. He carefully steps into the threshold and gropes his way inside.