I will burn books and slay gods.

There were no solemn guards on either side of the city wall, their sharp eyes watching every passerby. Then Chen Ye and his two companions walked into the city. After they passed through the city wall, the scene that came into view was in no way inferior to the capital city's 'White Tower'.

Or rather, the liveliness here far surpasses that of the White Pagoda. It feels more like a bustling capital city, unlike the monotony of the White Pagoda.

It's unclear whether it's because the new port city hadn't undergone earth-shattering changes at this time, or because Chen Ye didn't come to this city in his original timeline.

As Chen Ye and his companions ventured deeper into the city, rows of shops came into view, creating a scene that resembled a true marketplace.

The deeper they went, the more shocked they became by the scene. Gradually, Chen Ye and the other two almost forgot why they had come here. It was only because Chen Ye suddenly realized this that they were not deeply immersed in the prosperity of the place.

The other two, unable to contain their excitement upon seeing this scene, wanted to explore the bustling market.

Just then, Chen Ye grabbed their arms, leaned close to their ears, and whispered, "Have you two forgotten why we came here?"

Upon hearing Chen Ye's question, the two paused for a moment, then stopped and coughed twice. Lin Su said guiltily, "How could that be... we were just looking around... that's all. You agree, right... Wang Xiaoming..."

Seeing that Lin Su was trying to throw out the question herself, Wang Xiaoming quickly seized the opportunity, lowering his voice to agree, "Yeah... Chen Ye... we were just looking, that's all. How could we forget the mission..."

Chen Ye stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over the two men who were clearly guilty. He didn't expose them, saying, "Since you know, let's get on with our mission first. We can always come back later."

Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming both looked at Chen Ye guiltily. "Of course! We'll do the mission first... This... this market... it doesn't matter."

After listening to their explanations, Chen Ye said, "In that case, let's go, you two. Let's look for clues elsewhere first."

Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming exchanged a glance and simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Su then lowered her voice and asked Wang Xiaoming, "Don't you think Chen Ye seems to have changed?"

Wang Xiaoming's brows furrowed with tension, his eyes showing a hint of doubt as he tilted his head and said, "No, no, Chen Ye has always been like this, always both strict and humorous."

After explaining his understanding, Wang Xiaoming followed Chen Ye forward again, while Lin Su behind him had a worried look in her eyes. In her heart, she felt that Chen Ye seemed a little different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

After a moment's thought, Wang Xiaoming, who was walking ahead, called out to Lin Su, "Let's go, Lin Su. What are you still thinking about? Hurry up and catch up!"

After Wang Xiaoming shouted, Lin Su put the idea back and stopped thinking about it, then caught up with the two of them again.

……

The three of them wandered around the city for an unknown amount of time, but still found nothing.

When they returned to the city gate, Chen Ye noticed something strange: the sky was gradually darkening, which puzzled him.

This wasn't something only Chen Ye noticed; the other two people also discovered the problem.

This is completely different from the original world. In that original time and space, the sky was always dark.

From the moment Chen Ye arrived in this time through the spatial rift, he discovered that the sky in this world was very bright, without any sign of darkness.

Just then, a shocking guess emerged in Chen Ye's mind.

The world's night was originally dark, but perhaps it wasn't always like that. It's very likely that something significant happened ten years ago today, causing the space, which originally followed the changes of time, to become as dark as it is now.

Just as Chen Ye was pondering this question, the sound of horses' hooves reached the ears of Chen Ye and his companions, and the sound came from outside the city.

Chen Ye stood at the city gate and looked out. He saw a group of people riding horses towards the city.

The group of riders was moving very fast. Before Chen Ye could react to the scene, just as he was about to collide with the group, the leader noticed him and quickly pulled on the reins to slow him down.

At this critical moment, the two people standing behind Chen Ye quickly grabbed Chen Ye's clothes and pulled him backward with great force, causing Chen Ye to sit on the ground with a thud.

At this moment, the leader of the group finally slowed down his warhorse and stopped on the spot. Chen Ye, who had sat down on the ground and rolled around a few times, finally stood up and brushed the dust off himself.

In that instant, Chen Ye felt utterly humiliated.

It's unclear whether Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming conspired together to embarrass Chen Ye.

"Ptooey—ptooey—ptooey!"

Chen Ye's mouth was full of dust, so he couldn't help but spit it out several times.

When Chen Ye walked back to his leader, the leader was wearing a black robe with a hood that concealed his true appearance.

Chen Ye met the team leader's gaze, but Chen Ye didn't seem to have any murderous intent; he appeared more like a very kind person.

The leader of the group dismounted, and at that moment another messenger came along, took the horse, and stood aside.

"Are you hurt, kid?" the team leader asked Chen Ye. "I'm sorry, I was riding too fast and didn't notice you. Can you check if you're hurt?"

Chen Ye knew in his heart that he had gotten too close to the city gate. He walked to the middle of the road and quickly explained, "It's okay, it's okay, it was my own carelessness, I'm sorry."

"It's good that you're alright."

Immediately afterwards, the team leader reached out his hand to the man holding the reins behind him, and Chen Ye and the other two also looked at that man. The three of them did not know what the team leader wanted, so they just stood there and watched.

The man holding the reins took a bag from the horse's back and handed it to the leader. The leader then handed the bag to Chen Ye, whose face was full of confusion, wondering what it was.

"Child, this is some money; consider it my apology. Don't think it's too little," the team leader explained.

When Chen Ye learned that the bag contained money, he was absolutely determined not to keep it. He quickly replied to the team leader, "I can't handle this. It was my recklessness. Please give me the money first; I feel bad about it. But don't give me the money. I see you've just arrived here; you must need the money too."

After returning the money in his pocket to the team leader, Chen Ye ran away without looking back, so as not to let the two teams linger for too long.

The team leader, who hadn't given them any gifts, looked at the three of them with admiration in his eyes. But then the team leader suddenly realized that he had forgotten to ask their names.

"Oh dear, look at the mess we've made," the team leader sighed.

The person holding the reins, who was standing behind the leader, walked up to him and said, "Sir, since we are destined to meet again, we will meet again in the future."

The leader simply nodded, then took the reins, remounted his horse, and led the group in the same direction as the city gate, continuing their journey inward.

……

Meanwhile, Chen Ye and his companions, who had already traveled a considerable distance, finally stopped. Wang Xiaoming, panting heavily, asked Chen Ye intermittently, "Chen Ye, why did we let them escape?"

"I don't know," Chen Ye replied readily.

After hearing Chen Ye's explanation, which left him utterly speechless, Wang Xiaoming simply couldn't believe his ears.

"It's better that we left," Lin Su said. "After all, we're not from this timeline. If we get to know them, it might affect the future development of time. We'd better reduce our opportunities to get close to others and look for clues to the blueprint."

After listening to Lin Su's explanation, Chen Ye and Wang Xiaoming nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Lin Su's assessment.

At this point, Wang Xiaoming finally caught his breath and explained, "I think we should accept that money..."

The moment Wang Xiaoming uttered those words, Chen Ye and Lin Su simultaneously turned to him and said, "Have you become obsessed with money, kid?!"

"Lin Su was just saying that we shouldn't get too close to others, in case it affects our future development," Chen Ye said. "How come you're saying this now?"

Wang Xiaoming stretched out his hands, then hurriedly waved them, saying nervously, "No, no, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to say that if we take the money, at least we can get through tonight. We've been up for so long, I'm starving. The main problem is that we don't have a single penny right now, how are we going to get through this night?"

Wang Xiaoming pointed to the sky, "At this rate, it won't be long before it turns into night here."

After listening to Wang Xiaoming's explanation, Chen Ye said, "At worst, we can leave the city and spend the night outside, finding any place to rest and get through the night."

Wang Xiaoming nodded, and Lin Su also nodded after hearing the idea.

The three thought this method was feasible, and after discussing it, they prepared to return the way they came.

As Chen Ye and his companions returned to the city gate, they noticed that most of the shops inside the city had closed their doors, and there were hardly any lights on. Almost all the houses had turned off their lights at the same time, plunging the entire city into darkness.

Upon witnessing this, the three sensed something was amiss and quickened their pace, heading towards the city gate as fast as they could to leave the city.

When the three of them successfully arrived at the city gate, the further they looked, the less they walked over. Instead, they hid behind some debris and watched the people at the city gate, wondering what had happened.

Compared to the daytime hours, there were no guards at the foot of the city wall, but at night, all the guards were standing at the city gate. This situation made Chen Ye and his companions realize that something was wrong.

If the three of them still have the same idea as before and go over there, there is a very high chance they will be taken away.

Such a gamble was simply not worth it, so the three of them decided to leave. But just as they started to move, Wang Xiaoming bumped into a clay pot, which shattered on the ground.

The loud noise reached the ears of the guards below the city gate, who all turned to look at the three people and shouted, "Who is it? Who's there?!"

"Wang Xiaoming, can't you be a little more careful?" Lin Su said softly with a helpless expression.

Wang Xiaoming quickly apologized to the two people behind him, saying, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Chen Ye, who was at the back of the three, noticed the guards at the city gate running towards them. Chen Ye shouted, "Get out of here! The guards are coming!"