The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"They were discovered by astronauts at the Mars outpost, and the space agency has arranged for the most recent manned Mars mission to bring them back," Jing Yun continued to Captain Zhang.

"If there is an existing time tunnel from Earth to Mars, the space agency hopes to preserve it so that Martian resources can be transported back to Earth efficiently, conveniently, and economically," Duzi added.

“But as you know, even preserving just one time tunnel would put Earth in great danger…” Captain Zhang said to the two of them.

……

Team Leader Zhang recalled his confusion three years ago when he learned that the two had appeared at the Mars base—the Mars outpost base was another secret route for the development of the space program that had not yet been revealed to the public at that time.

The two of them appeared there by sheer coincidence. Given their abilities, it would be absolutely impossible for them to be there. They must have been brought there by some unknown force. Presumably, Earth has long been the subject of observation by extraterrestrial civilizations.

“We tried to return via the tunnel in the western suburbs, but ended up near the Mars base. You know what happened next,” Nan Tian said to Captain Zhang, the leader of the Phoenix Team.

Team Leader Zhang snapped out of his reverie and looked at the two men, saying, "One of the tunnels has restarted."

After Zhang finished speaking, he did not say anything more.

Neither of them spoke, but Ye Xuehan noticed a group photo in the bookshelf behind Captain Zhang, which included his father.

After a moment of silence, Nan Tian feigned indifference and said, "What does that have to do with us?"

“A little over a month ago, Luo Yifei secretly went to another world—Planet Z—through the tunnel,” Captain Zhang continued to the two, his eyes unfathomable.

Nan Tian and Ye Xuehan exchanged a glance, trying to get an answer from her eyes, but neither of them spoke.

"The message came from someone impersonating Wen Bin. He was going to find Shen Lixi and the other people who disappeared back then. We caught the person impersonating Wen Bin, and the investigation revealed that he was just doing a job for money. The other side gave him the task of arranging a meeting with Luo Yifei through the internet. The real Wen Bin has long since disappeared. However, we have reason to believe that the person on the other end of the internet is the real Wen Bin, and the place they arranged to meet is the place where Wen Bin was placed under house arrest back then," Captain Zhang continued, seeing that the two did not respond.

"What do you need us to do?" Ye Xuehan asked.

"Xuehan." Nantian couldn't help but feel worried when he heard Ye Xuehan's question, and called her name softly.

“You two are among the few people we can find with time travel experience,” Captain Zhang said to the two of them.

Then Captain Zhang paused for a moment and said to Ye Xuehan, "Perhaps this is the closest we've ever come to the truth. We might just find out why your father died."

Hearing Zhang's words, Ye Xuehan's father's face appeared in her mind again, and she couldn't help but recall what happened in this building four years ago.

……

That day, also in this office building.

Ye Xuehan, Luo Yifei, and Shen Lixi were brought by Shen Cheng from Qianmo City Military Hospital to the hotel in this building.

Shen Lixi quickly connected the cause of the forest fire to Phoenix Nest—the Phoenix Group's underground base, since the Phoenix Group had moved its office to this building.

However, he no longer cares about the fire, but rather about Ye Xuehan, who has been injected with a sedative.

"Dad, is she alright?" Shen Lixi asked softly to her father, Shen Cheng, a member of the Phoenix Team, who had brought them here.

"She's alright for now. As long as she learns to control her emotions, there won't be any major problems in the future." After saying that, her father patted Shen Lixi's shoulder. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Shen Cheng then turned and left. As he was leaving, he ran into Luo Yifei, who was returning to his hotel room from the Phoenix Group's office floor.

"Don't worry, it's all over now, she'll get better." Luo Yifei walked to my side and tried to comfort Shen Lixi.

Shen Lixi didn't answer him. After a moment of silence, she looked at Luo Yifei and asked, "How did Ye Xuehan's father die?"

“My dad said they’re still investigating the cause of death, and the doctors are performing an autopsy. I just went to the Phoenix Team’s office floor to ask,” Luo Yifei replied.

"No need to investigate. He was murdered, or more precisely, he was a ghost." Ye Xuehan, lying on the bed, slowly opened her eyes.

I went to the bedside, helped her sit up, and placed a pillow behind her back.

"There are no ghosts in this world. Ye Xuehan, you should rest well. You'll be fine in a few days." Luo Yifei believed that Ye Xuehan's condition was still unstable.

"Xuehan, I believe what you said. That ghost must be something that Luo Yifei and I can't understand," Shen Lixi tried to comfort Ye Xuehan.

……

In the current timeline, at this end of the tunnel, in a small courtyard of an inn called Changxinglou in Chenzhou City, in the northern region of the Southern Han Kingdom of the Eastern Continent of the Floating Life Continent, a place known to Earthlings as Planet Z.

Song Han revealed the secret he had been telling us: "Shi Hao did not die. I faked his death and brought him safely back to the Later Tang Dynasty."

"Grand Scholar Luo Feng of Qi personally confirmed Shi Hao's death. How did you manage to do that?" Bi Li asked.

"The Tang Clan's secret technique—the 'Phantom Death Medicine'—has long been rumored in the martial arts world," Song Han explained.

"Then why did you do that?" Qi Yuan asked.

"I don't know, I'm just following orders," Song Han replied.

After a moment of silence, Song Han continued, "I can answer why Shi Qingfeng didn't kill you, but Shi Hao insisted on killing you."

"Why?" Bili asked first. He had seen Shi Qingfeng in the Black Forest that day and did not think he was a violent person.

“That old man looks like a hermit, but he’s actually a hypocrite. He’s been in seclusion for ten years, and he didn’t kill you because he didn’t know who you were. After he came out of seclusion, he naturally found out who you were, and for some reason, he wanted to kill Qi Yuan. These old guys are all cunning and calculating; they always have a reason for what they do, and they won’t just kill innocent people indiscriminately.” After saying that, Song Han poured himself another glass of water and drank it.

"They swept through the northern region of Qi in just one month. Rumors in the martial arts world say that the Shi family army is brutal and inhumane. You actually say that he wouldn't indiscriminately kill innocent people?" Bi Li said in disbelief.

“Young man, this is war. Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to yourself. They did try to exterminate the Qi army at first, but they didn’t kill the surrendered soldiers or the civilians. In addition, the Qi royal family had long lost the support of the people, so they were able to annex northern Qi in just one month, and with a legitimate reason.” After saying this, Song Han drank the water he had just poured in one gulp.

After Song Han finished speaking, the four of them fell silent and did not continue the conversation.

Qi Yuan put all the papers on the table into an envelope.