Amid the mist, everything seemed to have come to a standstill.
A bee beat its wings, hovering a few inches above a flower, ready to land.
Gu Qingshan stood in the middle of the garden, holding a sword in one hand and a rice cooker in the other. He tentatively spoke up:
"This mist... seems familiar?"
A woman's voice rang out from within the mist. "Of course it's familiar. It's not as if you've never seen me like this before."
Xie Shuangyan appeared through the mist.
"How are you here?" Gu Qingshan asked.
"I'm a Charity Ambassador for the International Alliance. Not long ago, I donated three hundred schools and twenty churches to the Holy Kingdom," Xie Shuangyan replied.
"So they welcomed you?"
"The Emperor and the Church both welcomed me—after all, I enjoy tremendous popularity among the people."
"Then why do we need this mist?"
"To conceal my identity—"
As Xie Shuangyan spoke, she casually snapped her fingers.
A War Flag suddenly appeared in the void behind Gu Qingshan, giving off a faint glow.
A line of tiny, firefly-like text quickly appeared before his eyes:
"You have discovered an Apostle of the Four Saints Era. She is proving her identity."
Gu Qingshan read it at a glance and let out a sigh of relief.
He put away the rice cooker and smiled. "So you're one of us. Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"It's not that I don't trust you. But once a secret is spoken aloud, it could be leaked, and then my safety would be at risk," Xie Shuangyan said.
"Why come see me now? Did you know I would show up?" Gu Qingshan asked.
"Yes. You keep changing everything on the Main Timeline, and sooner or later, that will draw the demons," Xie Shuangyan said.
"They've