I'm a Threnodian, send me 50

After Ling An and Tide Sis came out of the Huanglan Library, Yangyang and Chixia, who had been waiting, came over to meet them.

Unfortunately, they lacked the clearance to accompany Tide Sis into the Huanglan Library.

Tide Sis gave them a rough account of what had happened.

"With Scar captured, things should be a lot less stressful from now on."

Yangyang looked delighted. She still remembered Scar ambushing her in Qichi Village.

"A black flower..." Chixia murmured. Though she was a Patroller, she knew little about the black flower either.

Members of the Black Shores moved from place to place without any fixed pattern, making information about them nearly impossible for ordinary people to obtain.

"The people in this organization are so strange. Why do they have to wear a black flower?" Yangyang asked, puzzled as well.

"If all we have is a photo, I can't use my ability to sense who it belongs to."

"Maybe we could start with the color?" Inspiration struck her.

Ling An chimed in too. "Exactly. They say every color represents a different attribute."

"Oh? Tell us more. I didn't expect you to know so much," Chixia said curiously.

Unhurried, Ling An explained, "Colors have symbolic meanings. Red, for instance, often represents destruction."

Tide Sis, Yangyang, and Chixia all nodded.

"What about the other colors?" Their curious gazes turned toward Ling An.

"Blue is indifference."

"Green is disguise."

"White is nothingness."

"Pink is hypocrisy."

"Orange is anger."

Ling An laid them out one by one.

"What about black and yellow?" Yangyang looked at Ling An in puzzlement.

"Black is the unknown."

"Then yellow would be..." Chixia murmured to herself.

"Yellow means send me your porn." Ling An puffed out his chest.

Everyone: "..."

"Go play somewhere else." Tide Sis helplessly tucked Ling An back into her arms.

This naughty cat couldn't stay serious for more than a moment.

Then Chixia stepped forward again, raising an index finger. "Hey, I've got an idea."

"Why don't we ask Granny Lin at the bonsai shop on the shopping street? She definitely knows more about flowers than we do."

Chixia had found a lead in an instant, and even Ling An couldn't help praising her. "See? That's what you call expertise."

Yangyang nodded too, agreeing with Chixia's idea.

Beside them, Tide Sis suddenly asked, "Ling An, where are you going?"

Ling An had suddenly jumped out of her arms and let out a bored yawn.

"Oh, Rover, just let Ling An rest. I've heard cats need at least twenty hours of sleep a day."

"All right, but don't wander off," Tide Sis said quietly before following Yangyang and Chixia to search for clues.

As for Ling An...

Black flowers, white flowers-he couldn't be bothered to search with them.

Tide Sis and the others might have no idea how to find members of the Black Shores.

But Ling An did.

Whether it was Encore or Aalto, he remembered what they looked like.

Rather than follow Tide Sis on an aimless search, he might as well take matters into his own paws as a Jinzhou Patroller.

Since the Black Shores lurked in the shadows, he naturally needed the appropriate methods to track them down.

As it happened, Ling An knew someone.

She might have some leads.

He operated his miniature Terminal, found that familiar name, and sent a message.

Before long, a familiar, tall figure appeared in Ling An's field of view.

She slowly walked up to Ling An and bent down, her tone languid. "Well, you little rascal, what do you want with me? I'm an undercover investigator, you know. I'm very busy."

Yinlin.

Unlike Chixia, an ordinary Patroller who maintained order in Jinzhou.

As an undercover investigator, Yinlin knew far more than most about investigating what went on in the shadows.

Ling An said, "I'd like some information about the Black Shores."

"The Black Shores?" Yinlin looked surprised. "What? Did they get on your bad side?"

Ling An shook his head. "It's something else. What, can't you do it?"

Yinlin regarded him calmly, then took a stack of photos from inside her clothes and waved them in front of him.

"The Black Shores may be hard to track, but I happen to have some information..."

Ling An promptly reached out. "Then that's perfect..."

With a flick of her wrist, Yinlin teasingly pulled the photos back, her tone suggestive. "That'll cost extra."

Ling An froze. "What do you mean?"

Yinlin said slowly, "You'll have to pay more."

"With how close we are, why talk about extra fees? You're making us sound like strangers." Ling An reached into his pockets, only to come up empty.

He lowered his head and dutifully patted himself down.

Apart from pulling out a few cat hairs, he couldn't find a single Shell Credit.

He had almost forgotten that he was completely broke.

At the sight, Yinlin couldn't help covering her mouth and chuckling. "This is going to be tricky if your pockets are empty."

Ling An raised both paws helplessly. "Fine, I surrender. Just tell me what you want."

Yinlin couldn't possibly be unaware that he was broke. How much money could a cat have? She must want something from him.

Sure enough, Yinlin extended a finger and lightly tapped Ling An's head. "Clever."

"It's simple. You just have to tell me one thing."

"What is it?" Ling An had a bad feeling.

"Who are you, really?" Yinlin's tone changed instantly, her gaze piercing.

"Knowing other people's secrets can be dangerous," Ling An said quietly.

Yinlin spread her hands. "Unfortunately, as an undercover investigator, I have a natural interest in other people's secrets."

"Especially yours!"

When it came to Ling An, she simply couldn't suppress her curiosity.

Back at the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society's base, Ling An had only acted briefly and hadn't revealed his true form.

Now that Ling An had come to her for a favor, how could she let such a perfect opportunity slip by?

Still...

Yinlin looked at Ling An as he was now.

She found even this troubled expression of his rather entertaining.

She was growing more and more curious about this naughty cat.

When Ling An remained silent for a long time, Yinlin straightened with a helpless air. "If you really can't tell me, there's nothing I can do."

She turned around, ready to leave.

Just then...

Ling An's voice suddenly came from behind her. "Do you really want to know?"

Yinlin whipped around and answered without hesitation, "Of course."

Ling An nodded hesitantly, looking utterly serious. "It seems I can't hide my identity any longer."

He stared into Yinlin's eyes and said, word by word, "I'm actually... a Threnodian."

"A Threnodian?!" Yinlin's jaw dropped in surprise.

"That's right!" Ling An said thoughtfully, pacing back and forth. "I'm a Threnodian. Send me 50, and when I conquer Jinzhou, I'll make you its grand general."

Yinlin looked at Ling An as though he were a three-year-old. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"See? I told you, and you don't believe me."

"Believe you, my foot. You'd be better off saying you're Crownless. I might actually believe you a little."

"Fine, then I'm Crownless."

"I don't believe you."

"No, I really am Crownless."

"So you're whatever I say you are? Liar."

Ling An looked utterly helpless. Everyone had seen it-he really had told the truth.

Surely he couldn't be blamed for this.

Yinlin simply refused to believe him.