CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: HANGING ONESELF ON THE SOUTHEAST BRANCH

Shu Ran finished speaking and lifted her skirt, running towards the square.

Yu Xia was dumbfounded, then said to Xie Qingci, "It seems Shu Ran really has a lot of experience, no wonder she’s honed her skills on variety shows."

The barrage was full of laughter.

[Shu Ran, you’ve finally stood up! / Shu Fu Jia cries bubbles.jpg]

[Unbelievable! Shu Ran is actually so clever now! She’s even tricking people to get information!]

[Mu Qiu, quick look! Your apprentice has graduated! She can even disdain others on the show, hahahaha]

[Feeling like my daughter has finally grown up. Remember the days when Shu Ran used to fall into the program crew’s traps, only using her brain and never getting physical]

[Shu Ran, run! You’re about to be eliminated!]

[Wow, Xie Qingci’s knowledge of history is pretty good, a high-achieving student, perhaps?]

[Xie Qingci is responsible for providing knowledge for choices, while Yu Xia is the decision-maker guiding the way. This "home" can be supported now.]

[Move over! I need to cram on ancient history! I just reviewed it yesterday!]

Watching Shu Ran run away, Yu Xia sighed.

"How could we be so dumb not to think of this method?"

Anyway, I didn’t expect the program group to actually put some small hints in the costumes, after all, I checked myself and found nothing.

Xie Qingci comforted her, "Even if you thought of it, could you have stripped everyone to check one by one?"

"... True, I am quite indifferent and would never get too close to the guys."

Xie Qingci glanced at her.

That look seemed to say, "Are you sure you’re an indifferent person?"

Yu Xia pretended not to see it and continued waving her fan, "Sigh, if only there was more time, we could have used this method too. Let’s go find that Kublai."

Xie Qingci caught up with her, "Should we check our own costumes again? Maybe there are hints."

Oh right, Yu Xia stopped and looked at his clothes.

"I don’t need to confirm anymore, but you, your identity is hard to guess, and you really might find something. Need my help?"

With an earnest expression, as if genuinely for the sake of the game.

Xie Qingci slowly took off his outer garment and handed it to her.

"Then I’ll trouble you, Yu Xia, while I check elsewhere."

Yu Xia hurriedly caught it.

The way he tossed clothes was still the same as before.

She couldn’t help but reminisce about the past.

On a late summer evening, in the sunset shining through the window, the young man grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, quickly pulling it overhead, and as his arms raised above his head, the thin muscles on his arms and chest seemed to emit that summer heat.

He wouldn’t take off the gray sweatpants early; after taking off the T-shirt, he tossed it casually on the end of the bed, then habitually ruffled his hair before approaching her step by step.

When he was far, she looked at the person in the sunset glow, and when he was close, she still watched the sunset; they were enveloped in the orange sunset, savoring human joy.

Coming back to her senses, she unfolded the outer garment and carefully examined it.

Finding nothing, she looked up only to find herself staring at Xie Qingci’s back for a while.

Just as Xie Qingci was about to turn around and speak, she pinned him with a finger.

"Stop, there’s a drawing on your back."

Xie Qingci stopped moving.

Yu Xia looked closely and almost wanted to give a thumbs up to the program team’s creativity.

"Whoever came up with this idea is really talented."

"What’s the drawing?"

She answered, "A compass pointing southeast, and a crooked tree."

Xie Qingci was a bit puzzled, "What does that mean?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Yu Xia resisted the urge to pat his back, saying, "Remember the poem we saw in the pavilion? Hanging oneself on the southeast branch, with a stick figure hanging next to it."

Xie Qingci nodded, "You guessed that referred to a Han Dynasty character?"

"Now I have a more fitting guess. Recall, who hung themselves on the southeast branch in the Ming Dynasty?"

Not a romantic hanging, just simply a hanging reference.

He immediately responded, "Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming, the one who guarded the country’s gates."

Li Zicheng’s uprising ended the Ming, Emperor Chongzhen felt shame for his ancestors, killing consorts and children before hanging himself with close attendant Wang Cheng’en on Coal Mountain.

"So the character I need to identify is Li Zicheng."

Yu Xia nodded, "This clue really is, you couldn’t figure it out without the pavilion clue, and without this one either. Maybe the program team set a third clue for your character."

She handed the outer garment back to him, and he put it on, face not showing the heat he felt.

This time, they truly aimed for the final sprint.

They checked the area’s guys but didn’t find the two targets, so they ran out to head to another area.

Just then, an electronic voice began reporting the latest situation.

"Yuan Zhikun eliminated!"

"Shu Ran successfully identified! Zhang Xun eliminated!"

"Chu Zhi eliminated!"

Yu Xia and Xie Qingci exchanged a glance.

"The Tang Dynasty should be over; the Song Dynasty has arrived. I don’t have much time."

Xie Qingci said in a solemn voice, "Then let’s speed up. Can you still run? I’ll help find someone for you."

"No," she decisively refused, "Being uninvolved makes me more anxious; if I lose, I might blame you. I’ll look myself."

"Okay."

Upon replying, he hesitated then grabbed her wrist.

"I’ll pull you along, this time to the northeast area."

There’s a lot of physical contact between male and female guests in variety shows, and when male guests pull female guests, to show their gentlemanliness, they usually pull the wrist so as not to offend.

It’s nothing uncommon; it’s very common in variety shows.

Thus Yu Xia hesitated a bit and nodded, running along with him.

Like eloping lovers before marriage, they ran so quickly she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

Heading into the wind, it was indeed refreshing, and the skirt billowed in the wind, but the wind in her mouth made her breath dry and stinging.

A dazzling sight crossed the square, with Xie Qingci pulling Yu Xia, sprinting like the noble young master escaping with the elegant young lady—a scene so beautiful it could directly become a historical drama.

The observing guys only realized after they saw them pass.

"Where are they running so fast? Do they have a clue?"

"They must know! Shu Ran just said we can find them!"

Thus a group followed behind Yu Xia and Xie Qingci, a crowd rushed towards the northeast area.

There was a lawn, with kindergarten slides and a climbing net.

Not sure if someone had played on the climbing net, but as they took a shortcut through it, Yu Xia was caught by a dangling net and fell to the ground.

Xie Qingci was startled, quickly turning back to help her up.

"Are you okay? How’s your foot?"

He looked like he was about to reach for her foot to check, and Yu Xia quickly pulled back her foot, like a pitiful lady being bullied.

"I’m fine, look, isn’t that the person ahead? The outfit is quite different from others, tight and narrow sleeves, matching Yuan people’s habit of getting on and off horses."

Xie Qingci looked closely, "Yes, that’s Guan Yang, there are no other Yuan people around, it’s him. Come, I’ll take you to the identification place, still able to walk?"

Yu Xia stood up, "Yes! Run!"