Abby scratched his head: “These past few days, especially this morning, I’ve smelled a very peculiar scent drifting from the southeast, the direction of that mountain they mentioned.”

“A peculiar scent?” Lucian guessed, “Could it be the smell of a Threnodian…? After all, Abby seems to love the scent of Threnodian the most…”

Abby stomped his foot: “No! It’s different from the smell of a Threnodian!”

Rover smiled faintly, soothing him and signaling him not to get agitated.

“Then what kind of peculiar scent is it?”

Abby pondered briefly before slowly explaining.

“It smells like a powerful frequency energy radiating from it. I can’t quite put it into words, but it feels strange… an unnatural kind of smell…”

Lucian thought for a moment after hearing this: “Powerful frequency energy… could it be the Sentinel?”

“Moreover, as a ‘dragon-shaped’ being, the Sentinel should also be a type of ‘Echo,’ right?”

“Echoes attract each other…” Lucian nodded in agreement. “Mm… what a heartwarming story.”

Abby: “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Lucian continued thinking: “As for the ‘unnatural smell’ you mentioned… could it be related to that so-called ‘slow time flow’?”

“Or perhaps…” He lowered his voice, “Has the Sentinel left its territory? Could it be at Mt. Firmament right now?”

“And if so, the reason it went to Mt. Firmament… could it be because something’s wrong with itself?”

“That might also explain the ‘unnatural smell’ you mentioned…”

Abby asked eagerly: “Does that mean you guys want to go take a look?”

Rover mused: “From what I remember, the Sentinel I’ve seen… should indeed be at Mt. Firmament.”

She let out a long sigh: “Right now, it feels like some unknown force is guiding me, urging me to find something…”

“Back at the City Hall, Jinhsi said she would go look for the Sentinel. She promised to bring me news of it.”

“But so far, I haven’t received any messages from the City Hall…”

Lucian also seemed puzzled upon hearing this. Ever since returning from Norfall Barrens…

Lucian had been reporting his daily experiences to Jinhsi, but he never received a reply.

Though yesterday, he did see her reply to one of his messages on the forum…

But if she could reply to him on the forum, why wouldn’t she respond to the reports he sent her?

Could this be the legendary read but no reply?

…Or is something wrong?

He told Rover about this, and she was equally confused.

Rover said thoughtfully: “How about we try requesting a direct call with Jinhsi?”

“Alright.”

Leaving the Climbing Blossom Restaurant, they arrived at a secluded corner.

Lucian took out his terminal and dialed Jinhsi’s communication line.

After a few beeps, no one picked up.

Lucian considered: “If Jinhsi is at Mt. Firmament, could it really be due to the time flow difference?”

“Or… is she still at the City Hall? Maybe she’s busy?”

But they couldn’t jump to conclusions yet. Rover made a decision: “Let’s go to the City Hall and check. Maybe Jinhsi is still there.”

…

The two arrived at the familiar depths of the City Hall, the reception chamber.

There, Sanhua sat at the desk, wearing sunglasses as she handled official documents.

Seeing them enter, Sanhua immediately stood up to greet them.

“Rover, Lucian… it’s you?”

“What brings you to the City Hall?”

Rover: “I’m looking for Jinhsi. I wanted to ask about the Sentinel.”

Sanhua replied: “The Magistrate is not at the City Hall right now. She has gone to Mt. Firmament.”

“In fact… communication with the Magistrate has been cut off for several days.”

…

A few days earlier, City Hall.

After Lucian and Rover left.

Jinhsi instructed: “Sanhua.”

Sanhua responded respectfully: “Magistrate, I’m here.”

Jinhsi: “I need to leave Jinzhou for some time. During this period, you will handle the affairs of the City Hall.”

Sanhua nodded slightly: “Understood. Should I continue protecting Rover as before?”

Jinhsi shook her head: “No need. I’ve already entrusted Lucian with her safety.”

“This time, both I and Changli will be absent from Jinzhou. There will be more trivial matters for you to manage—maintain stability.”

Sanhua asked in confusion: “Is Lord Changli preparing to depart as well?”

“But the incident at Zhongqu Terrace came without warning. I fear…”

Jinhsi: “Though we had already warned Rover about the Fractsidus, their cunning has exceeded our expectations.”

“If she encounters another troublesome enemy like Scar, she will ultimately need to rely on her own strength to resolve it…”

Jinhsi suddenly chuckled lightly: “Still, she does have a reliable ally by her side now—an unknown variable on the chessboard.”

“Trust me, and trust them.”

…

Rover asked curiously: “So you don’t know Jinhsi’s current situation either?”

Sanhua nodded slightly in confirmation: “Indeed. Please keep this matter confidential. After the Threnodian battle, Jinzhou’s situation remains unstable.”

“Any matters regarding the Magistrate must not be leaked to the outside world.”

Rover felt uneasy: “What happened?”

Sanhua explained: “When we set the trap to capture Scar, he boasted that the Fractsidus had imprisoned the Sentinel.”

“At the same time, the Magistrate lost her connection to the Sentinel.”

Lucian: “…”

Now that he thought about it, Scar must have been lying. The Sentinel is so powerful—it even has the ability to ‘stagnate’ an entire mountain.

How could it possibly be imprisoned by the Fractsidus?

If the Fractsidus really had that kind of power, would they even need to imprison the Sentinel?

Besides, Scar couldn’t even defeat him…

Of course, Scar probably wasn’t the strongest fighter in the Fractsidus either…

Speaking of which, Scar should still be in prison, right?

Should we go in and interrogate him under torture…?

Lucian believed it was more likely that something had happened to the Sentinel itself, rather than it being ‘imprisoned’ by the Fractsidus.

As Lucian pondered this, Sanhua continued: “If such a change truly occurred, or if this news were exploited by malicious parties… for Jinzhou, it would be a calamity no less devastating than the Threnodian invasion.”

“To confirm the Sentinel’s safety as soon as possible, the Magistrate departed some time ago for its last known location—Mt. Firmament—to track its movements.”

Lucian sighed. Why go through all this trouble? Just take out the Mirror of Inquiry and ask…

…Well, maybe not. After all, the Mirror of Inquiry doesn’t always know everything.

Especially when it comes to the Sentinel—he doubted the Mirror would have any answers.

Ah, maybe he should just sell it!

But if the Magistrate has lost her connection to the Sentinel, it really should be investigated…

Rover asked: “Did anyone accompany Jinhsi?”

Sanhua: “The Magistrate did not assign anyone to accompany her.”

“First, because the Threnodian’s awakening was imminent, and she did not wish to divert manpower, weakening our defenses.”

“Second, matters concerning the Sentinel cannot be resolved by force alone.”

Rover’s expression turned solemn.

“Jinhsi might be in trouble. I’m going to Mt. Firmament to find her and the Sentinel.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep