Xu An’s expression instantly turned grave as she weighed the tools around her.
She instantly felt a pang of regret for saving Qin Chuan.
She hadn’t expected Qin Chuan to be so perceptive, to detect the little mushroom’s presence.
For her own safety, Xu An didn't mind killing him.
Even though Qin Chuan’s life was one she had personally saved.
A tense atmosphere filled the space between the two.
Qin Chuan clearly felt the faint killing intent emanating from Xu An, and he immediately understood that Xu An had misunderstood him.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t know what you took, I just wanted to remind you.”
Seeing Xu An’s guarded expression, Qin Chuan sighed.
He hadn’t intended to say anything about this, but some things had already spiraled out of control, and he couldn't protect Xu An alone.
It was better to tell her everything rather than hide it. This way, if any danger arose, Xu An would have the ability to defend herself.
“I didn’t want to tell you, but to avoid your misunderstanding and to prepare you, I’ve decided to tell you about this.”
As he spoke, Qin Chuan slowly walked towards Xu An and said softly, “It’s not me who’s watching you, but the people at the Lighthouse have already set their sights on you. That day, although you took the woman who came out of the desert away from the cave, the Lighthouse’s life detector still detected traces of Lighthouse residents nearby.”
Qin Chuan gestured for Xu An to follow with his eyes, and Xu An did not refuse.
After all, they were still in the snow, and standing still for too long would numb their feet.
“The Lighthouse knows that person was me?” Xu An asked tentatively.
When she left that day, she had deliberately erased all traces of her presence. Xu An herself didn't know how the people at the Lighthouse could still discover her whereabouts.
But she remained calm, not showing any panic.
Based on the current situation, the Lighthouse high command should not know that she was the one with Qin Chuan that day, otherwise, there would have been action by now.
Xu An herself wasn’t sure how many people at the Lighthouse knew the true purpose of the little mushroom.
After all, if more people knew about this thing, it would only lead to widespread competition.
As expected, Qin Chuan said as they walked, “I don’t know, they can probably only guess that you interacted with me, so they’ve increased the troop presence guarding me.”
“They want to lure the snake out of its hole.”
Xu An immediately understood why Qin Chuan had pretended not to recognize her when he saw her at the training hall earlier.
“So you were protecting me then?” Xu An’s voice was filled with disbelief.
After all, in her impression, her relationship with Qin Chuan wasn’t that close.
Qin Chuan did not deny it, but quickly asked, “So, what is it that you took, and what Xia Jin has been searching for?”
Xu An looked at the forest they were about to enter, then turned to look at Qin Chuan again.
Although she secretly wanted to incite Qin Chuan to defect, and if any problems arose, pull Qin Chuan down with her to deal with Xia Jin, now that Qin Chuan had asked so directly, it made Xu An a little unsure how to answer.
If she revealed the origin of the ‘little mushroom,’ all the strange things about herself would be exposed, and would Qin Chuan believe she had been reborn?
Would he think it was a preposterous thing?
“Qin Chuan, do you believe in rebirth?”
Xu An did not hesitate for too long. Saying this sentence didn’t seem that difficult. She said it so casually, waiting quietly for Qin Chuan’s answer.
Qin Chuan just glanced at her faintly, “If you had said this to me two years ago, I would have thought you were crazy.”
Xu An keenly caught the phrase “two years ago” in Qin Chuan’s words, “What about now?”
Qin Chuan, however, gave an unrelated answer, “You must have been to the White Building, you must have seen the heart inside, right?”
There was nothing to hide about this matter; the fact that they had been to the White Building was common knowledge.
So Xu An nodded.
Qin Chuan said, “Two years ago, the first time I saw that thing, I felt like nothing in this world would surprise me anymore, so…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
That is, if Xu An was reborn, Qin Chuan wouldn’t be very surprised.
After speaking, Qin Chuan raised the axe in his hand and swung it towards a cypress tree.
Xu An followed suit, using her saw to cut down some smaller trees.
“Then what do you think of Xia Jin?”
Xu An asked Qin Chuan as she chopped wood.
The two of them were like in a confession game, in the cold weather, gradually revealing their secrets to each other.
“I don’t think much of him. That person is too calculating. The more power he holds, the greater his desires will be. He thinks he controls the lifeline of the Lighthouse and has become complacent, forgetting who he truly is.”
Xu An was somewhat surprised by this.
According to the information Rat had previously investigated, Qin Chuan was working for Xia Jin’s research laboratory, including the rabbit-head monster at the beginning.
It was also Xia Jin who sent Qin Chuan to find it.
Why would Qin Chuan hate Xia Jin so much?
Qin Chuan continued chopping wood and said.
“You investigated me and know I work under him, but all of this is just a trade of interests.”
“The Lighthouse isn’t as good as you might think, there are too many factional struggles.”
“Sometimes, even I am helpless. You’ve been to the White Building, you should know that the entire Lighthouse’s operation relies on the heart; it’s like an engine.”
“The initial form of the Lighthouse wasn’t like this; it used ordinary energy. It was after Xia Jin participated in the design of the Lighthouse’s shelter construction that he, single-handedly, changed the Lighthouse’s structure.”
“No one except the current City Lord knows how Xia Jin convinced everyone.”
“When I first saw that thing, I got goosebumps. That heart seemed alive, it was still beating nonstop.”
“Everyone refused to use the heart of this monster that came from an unknown source.”
“But when Xia Jin truly controlled this heart to make the Lighthouse float for the first time.”
“Everyone fell silent.”
Qin Chuan kept talking while his hands didn’t stop.
Soon, a tree trunk as thick as an arm was chopped down.
They planned to cut only enough for the next few days, not to cut any more.