Winter Returns

Chapter 191 "Weaver Girl" Storyline (Part 1)

The world began to tremble.

The feeling of leaving his body washed over him, and before his consciousness went blank, Zhang Shutong wondered which point in time he would return to.

Since touching the fox statue is the only way to trigger the time rewind.

in fact……

There is basically only one answer.

But for some reason, this time his consciousness remained clear instead of vanishing. In a daze, he felt as if he were in a dream, in a place without sky or earth. Before he could even be surprised, the next moment—

Zhang Shutong's hair stood on end!
Goosebumps instantly spread all over his body. His intuition told him that the danger was coming from behind him. Zhang Shutong immediately turned around, but at the same time...

Dream is broken.

He opened his eyes abruptly, still unable to control his limbs well, but his exposed skin told him that the hot and humid air was gone, replaced by a chill that made him shiver involuntarily.

The stench of rainwater filled his nostrils, and his vision returned. A fox was grinning at him. Yes, it was winter, and he was in an underground tunnel. It should have been pitch black all around, but a beam of light from a flashlight was shining beside him.

"What happened to you just now?" A cool voice rang in my ears.

Zhang Shutong turned around and stared blankly at Lu Qinglian, not surprised that she saw her, but because she really saw her.

"...How much time has passed since I put the statue down?"

"In an instant."

He did indeed return to the night of December 16, 2012; the experience five years later was just a fleeting moment!

So I don't have time to think about that anymore.

He immediately took out his phone and opened Ruoping's QQ. The software loading speed seemed so slow to him. Du Kang said there were two points that changed the past: one was the eve of Christmas, and the other was the present.

Deleting the message that's spinning in circles will stop Ruoping from going to the fox statue.

Zhang Shutong thought to himself, his gaze fixed on the screen.

But a line of small print appeared below that message:
Sent 10 minutes ago.

Zhang Shutong slammed his fist against the rock face.

It was sent out anyway!

He was still too optimistic. As long as he returned to the present moment, it meant that the matter of "sending the text message" was a done deal, but there was still a chance. He hurriedly typed out a message telling Ruoping not to go out.

After doing all this, Zhang Shutong turned his head:
"problem occurs."

"what?"

"Something happened to Ruoping. We're going to find her now," he said briefly. "We'll explain on the way."

Zhang Shutong still remembered that location. He was about to climb over the platform when he paused.

Zhang Shutong hesitated for a moment, then tentatively reached out to touch the fox. This time, nothing happened, and there was no sign of a regression... Just as expected!
He confirmed his suspicions and then stuffed the fox statue into his pocket.

"gone."

A few minutes later, Zhang Shutong put on his helmet. The motorcycle was already running. He squeezed the brakes, and the engine roared. He waited for Lu Qinglian to get on the motorcycle, then he stepped on the clutch. Under the night sky, the mechanical beast shot off like an arrow.

The cold wind howled around him, but he felt his blood surging. This was winter, this was five years ago, this was the place he wanted to run to. Everything was still uncertain, and he still had a chance to change it all.

"How to do?"

Lu Qinglian is currently sitting on the back of the motorcycle, holding her phone and sending text messages to Du Kang and Qingyi.

“Tell them to go find Ruoping right now,” Zhang Shutong quickly recalled. “Go south from her house, along the road to the commercial street. There’s a wasteland along the way… Only that short stretch of road is unlit, and there should be a reed bed. Whatever happens, tell them to take Ruoping and leave immediately. Don’t let her go looking for the fox!”

As he spoke, Lu Qinglian typed. Her fingers flew across the screen, accompanying Zhang Shutong's words as they fell:
"All right."

Lu Qinglian pressed the send button deftly:

"Let me explain about the fox."

“It’s the statue of the second fox, the Sad Fox,” Zhang Shutong said without pausing. “Actually, I…”

He was about to recount his experiences along this timeline, but before he could speak, the familiar feeling of palpitation returned. The next moment, the handlebars veered to the side, and Zhang Shutong hurriedly steadied the bike, panting heavily.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he cursed inwardly. "How did this time travel bring this strange illness with it?!"

"What happened at the altar just now?" Lu Qinglian asked calmly.

“Prophecy.” After saying that, Zhang Shutong paused for a moment and, finding nothing unusual, quickly explained, “Every fox has one ability. The second is to change the past, and the first is to prophesy. I got some information from that fox.”

"You were dreaming again?" Lu Qinglian frowned.

"It's not a dream!" The wind whistled in his ears, and Zhang Shutong raised his voice. He now wished he could be as far away as possible from that lame excuse he used to rely on. "It's a prophecy!"

"Oh, whatever."

Lu Qinglian's response was lukewarm.

“Not only is Ruoping in danger, but the prophecy also says you’ll go deaf!” Zhang Shutong tried to get her attention.

"Hmm, whatever." She said nonchalantly. "You still don't believe me?" Zhang Shutong frowned. "I told you, it's not a dream!"

"Okay, whatever you like." She nodded her chin.

Why doesn't she believe it?
Zhang Shutong regretted that he had used too many excuses of dreaming in the past. When he really wanted to convey some message, Lu Qinglian simply did not believe that she was a time traveler.

He was about to speak when Lu Qinglian took the initiative to end the conversation:

"Alright, let's stop dreaming and prophesying for now."

As she said this, Lu Qinglian was constantly calling Ruoping. The faint light from her phone screen shone on her helmet, illuminating countless strands of hair fluttering in the night.

"Next, I'll ask you to answer. First, why did she go looking for that fox?"

“I just sent a text message mentioning the altar, and Ruoping happens to know the fox’s whereabouts…”

"Secondly, how did she know?"

"She used it once, during that avalanche, and it changed her relationship with Gu Qiumian."

Third, what does "danger" refer to?

“The man in the basement,” Zhang Shutong said in a deep voice, “was watching him the moment she went to get the statue. That man was also looking for the fox.”

"Does each fox have different abilities?"

"Perhaps." Zhang Shutong recalled Ruoping's speculation that each use required time to recover, although the recovery period was unknown. Judging from the fact that he touched the smiling fox statue again just now, it should be true.

The backtracking was not triggered.

He tentatively guessed that he had used up that one opportunity.

Sadness and laughter represent changing the past and moving towards the future, respectively.

He then shared these speculations with Lu Qinglian, whose ability to process them was exceptionally fast; in other words, it was impossible for Lu Qinglian to show any surprise on her face.
"What are the remaining three?"

She grasped the key point.

"It's not clear yet, but one possibility is related to clay figurines."

Zhang Shutong recalled the lyrics of Angry Fox.

What is the relationship between foxes and snakes?

“This…” Zhang Shutong was taken aback. “It wasn’t mentioned. There’s some information that can’t be explained in just a few words. We’ll talk about it when we get there.”

"Then as soon as possible."

Lu Qinglian lowered her goggles.

Zhang Shutong understood that she wanted to take the opportunity to find the man in the basement, and so did he. He closed his helmet and instantly revved the engine to its maximum speed.

The headlights illuminated the road ahead, and a cold wind swept over him as he finally drove onto the dark road.

He had just passed by here a dozen minutes ago, so it was a return to familiar territory. The difference was that he used to ride a small electric scooter, leisurely as if taking a stroll, but now he was riding a roaring motorcycle, speeding all the way here.

Zhang Shutong saw a figure at the end of the light:
"Feng Ruoping!"

Zhang Shutong shouted.

The figure froze upon hearing his voice, then tried to run, but how could she outrun a motorcycle? Zhang Shutong had already driven the motorcycle to Ruoping's side, and he shouted:

"Don't be afraid, Lu Qinglian and I are here."

Upon seeing her, Zhang Shutong felt a sense of relief, fearing that his actions might have caused some unforeseen complications.

As long as he was still here, that was good. Standing in front of him was fifteen-year-old Feng Ruoping. The girl was a little short, so she wasn't wearing the red dress, but a white down jacket. Her face was filled with panic. Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He had just returned from summer and hadn't yet adapted to the cold winter wind, so his nose naturally stung from the cold.

Ruoping subconsciously turned around, as if trying to hide something, but Zhang Shutong had already seen the fox statue in her arms.

"I...I..." She hesitated for two seconds, then closed her eyes and pushed the statue towards Zhang Shutong. "I just had dinner with my mom and saw your text message. I also found this fox here. If you think it's useful, you can take it..."

Her words were incoherent, but Zhang Shutong simply nodded and took out the motorcycle keys.
"Where's your cell phone?"

"Cellphone?" She then remembered and patted her pocket. "I think I forgot it at the restaurant. What are you and Qinglian doing here?"

“We came looking for you, but Du Kang and Qing Yi said you weren’t home. We all thought something had happened… But let’s not talk about that now,” Zhang Shutong looked around. The path was quiet, and the wind rustled through the reeds. He asked solemnly, “Has anyone else been here?”

"People? No one, right..."

Just as Zhang Shutong was finally relieved, Ruoping asked uncertainly:
"I only saw one car drive by."

"A car?" Zhang Shutong asked for confirmation. He had initially thought that being watched meant someone was hiding nearby. "Only a car? How long ago?"

He was wrong about one thing: the man in the basement actually had a car. Judging from the wooden table and bed there, Zhang Shutong subconsciously felt that the other party was someone who couldn't be brought to light.

“Just a few minutes before you arrived here.”

Ruoping was clearly not in a good mood today; she whispered:
"The car just stopped right there on the road. I happened to be in the reeds behind it. I... I thought he was getting out to relieve himself, so I figured I'd better hide and wait for him to leave. But when he got out of the car, he didn't do anything. He just stared straight at the reeds..."

(End of this chapter)