You Zhengping entered battle-ready mode. He didn’t really know what was going on, but he couldn’t give up ground in terms of being imposing. 

But Guan Shaoguang waved his hand and said, “I’m only a projection from the past. I have no combat ability. The present world has no way to touch me, and I can’t influence this world, either. My mission was only to lure Yu Hua into my little world. As for what traps there are in the little world, I’m not sure. Those traps were made by my main form.” 

He seemed to have a mild and cool nature. He had no aggression and also no sentiment. 

You Zhengping understood him. “Time” was a man-made concept for the human experience of the passage of events. It was an extremely abstract concept. 

A rather famous time paradox was that a person would go back to the past, and his actions would lead to killing his ancestor. So this person wouldn’t have been born. But if the future him wouldn’t be born, then how could he kill his ancestor? There was no way to explain this. 

But it could be clearly understood with the Protectors’ theory of special abilities. 

If a special ability user only possessed a time ability, he only had the power to go back to a certain time on the coordinate plane. So even if he went back to the past, nothing he did would change history. His future self would be unable have any impact on the past.  

But if this person simultaneously possessed a time ability and a spatial ability, after going back to the past, his spatial ability could open a linking dimension passage. Then he could change the past. The changed past would turn into its own space, forming a parallel universe from the original historical timeline. The original world would still be going on normally; nothing could change and nothing could disappear. It was only that a new world would have been created. 

You Zhengping had studied this theory in individual study during middle school. Because he had a spatial ability, his instructors had found a physicist to come instruct him in this field. He had also been instructed that spatial power was a very dangerous ability. It couldn’t be abused. 

The Guan Shaoguang in front of him was a projection from the past. He couldn’t harm this world. When the energy keeping him here was used up, he would naturally disappear. He could be ignored. 

Top priority was to find the connecting point between the little world and the real world, open a “door,” then go in to find Yu Hua. 

Opening passages between spaces was You Zhengping’s strong point. He only needed to find the rules that the space operated on. 

You Zhengping walked back and forth through the greenery. He could feel that the linking point was here. 

“Even if you don’t go in, he’ll still come out,” Guan Shaoguang said to You Zhengping. “I know his power. If he’s only willing to undo his seal, he can completely crush the little world. Then I’ll die.” 

Speaking of his death, Guan Shaoguang’s face was serene. He didn’t seem to fear death at all. 

“Right,” You Zhengping agreed carelessly, ignoring the subtext in Guan Shaoguang’s words. 

He knew that everything Guan Shaoguang said was dropping hints about Yu Hua’s past. He probably wanted You Zhengping to question him. That way, Guan Shaoguang could show him a distorted past, twisting his impression of Yu Hua. 

You Zhengping was a member of the Protection Organization, and he was the person closest to Yu Hua. If he told the organization about Yu Hua, Yu Hua would be under attack from the front and the rear, facing a pincer attack from the System and the Protection Organization. 

Most importantly, if the person closest to him betrayed him, it would be a major shock to Yu Hua’s mind. 

Guan Shaoguang’s scheme was mistaken. No matter what he said, You Zhengping wouldn’t believe it. 

Who was You Zhengping? Yu Hua had filled their apartment with evidence that he was the black-cloaked man, and You Zhengping had still been able to pretend not to see. If he really wanted to understand Yu Hua, was there any need for Guan Shaoguang to speak? As long as he was interested, Yu Hua would perhaps write it all out in his diary, shove it into his backpack, and wait for him to find it. 

Seeing that You Zhengping showed absolutely no reaction, Guan Shaoguang couldn’t resist asking, “Aren’t you curious about why he sealed his power? Aren’t you curious about how strong he truly is? Are you going to tell me that he told you everything?” 

You Zhengping stopped in his tracks and sighed. “While you’re only a projection from the past, you’re kind of noisy. You say a lot of superfluous things, too.” 

He took a stride towards Guan Shaoguang, picked up the black umbrella on the ground, and closed the umbrella. He aimed the tip of the umbrella at Guan Shaoguang and drew a door in the air. 

If not for the rain going around the door frame, outlining the shape of the “door,” no one would have been able to see that there was an invisible but solid door there. 

You Zhengping opened the umbrella and pushed the “door” with the top of it. The “door” kept moving back, forcing Guan Shaoguang through it. 

It didn’t matter if Guan Shaoguang didn’t want to go in. The “door” could move. If he passed through the “door,” he would be in the little space created by You Zhengping, and his power would be reduced to one tenth. Guan Shaoguang was a projection from the past created by time power. He would disappear ten times faster. 

You Zhengping closed the “door” and waited for the past projection to disappear. He closed the space so it wouldn’t have any impact on the real world. 

In the parallel world, Guan Shaoguang kept saying something, but You Zhengping plugged his ears. He had closed the passage for sound. No matter what Guan Shaoguang said, he wouldn’t hear it. 

You Zhengping searched for the entrance to the little world like a headless fly, but he couldn’t find it no matter what. He felt that Yu Hua was here, perhaps even beside him, but he couldn’t touch him. 

What should he do? You Zhengping stood among the greenery at a loss, considering what decisive thing could be lacking. 

He lifted the black umbrella. This black umbrella was something that Guan Shaoguang had touched. Perhaps he had even opened the little world while holding the umbrella over himself. Reasonably speaking, normal touches would leave traces. With this umbrella as a medium, he had to be able to open the door to the little world. But how should he turn it into a medium? 

You Zhengping seemed deranged, and he was wearing a police uniform. The estate’s property management agent couldn’t stand it any longer; he came over to see him, carrying an umbrella. 

“Young fellow, you keep wandering around the estate. What are you looking for?” the man asked. “Has something happened in our estate? There have earthquakes and buildings collapsing today. Another young fellow just came by to investigate.” 

The property management agent must have been talking about Lian Yufan. Lian Yufan had just come by here to confirm that there were no casualties. 

You Zhengping recalled Cen Xiao’s report and bowed to the man. He said, “Because Liu Junjun still hasn’t been found, I’ve come to look for clues. My colleague who came by before was responsible for summing up the impact of the calamity on the area. He wasn’t responsible for searching for missing persons. The police bureau sent me on purpose to investigate the disappearance.” 

Because he and Yu Hua had been mutually concealing their identities from each other before, You Zhengping, who had been of a candid disposition to start off with, now had lies at his fingertips. He could easily think of a suitable reason. He suddenly felt a trace of sadness for this change in himself.

You Zhengping longed for candor more than anyone else, but at some point, he had become a liar. 

“Oh, it’s to find Junjun.” The property management agent relaxed at once. “I just said to that young fellow that Junjun must be all right. I didn’t see him leave the estate.”  

“Can you tell me in detail about Liu Junjun?” You Zhengping asked. 

The property management agent, recalling, said, “He’s a good child. He used to always be playing with scooters or skateboards with a crowd of kids, but since he met a husky, he hasn’t been playing much with his little companions. He’s been getting up early every day to walk the dog, as if he’d been enchanted, and walking the dog after dinner. The walks are very boisterous.

“Today it was raining, so he put on his raincoat and was waiting outside early. I told him that he shouldn’t wait. Who walks dogs in the rain? He said he had arranged to meet with Xiao Ha, and Xiao Ha would come.

“I said that on a rainy day, the dog’s owner wouldn’t let it out. But he said that Xiao Ha could come on its own, just as if the dog could talk.” 

“Did Xiao Ha come?” You Zhengping asked. 

“No, and after waiting for a while, Junjun also vanished. There, he was waiting right over there.” The man pointed to a spot not far away. “I didn’t see Junjun leave the estate. That young fellow just now searched the security camera from the estate’s gate. The child didn’t leave. He must have gone somewhere to play in the rain, right? Children are naughty. They’re always worried about being found out by grownups when they play in the rain.” 

“Thank you, sir,” You Zhengping said. “I’ll keep looking.” 

“It really is fine, nothing’s going to happen in the estate. Of course, people feel uneasy if a child is missing, so I hope you’ll be able to find him soon,” the property management agent said generously. Seeing that the young police officer didn’t want to investigate any major case, he went back to the little pavilion at the gates with his umbrella. 

You Zhengping went to the spot that the property management agent had pointed to and search in the grass, hoping to find a clue that would link to them. 

In the space, Guan Shaoguang’s form became more and more transparent; he had nearly vanished. 

You Zhengping knelt in the grass and searched here and there. There was nothing. He stared at the lawn for a while and saw that the rain had made a little ditch in it, bringing up scraps of stone and sand. 

You Zhengping followed the direction of the flow of the water and found a tuft of dog fur caught on a rock. 

Huskies shed enormously in the summer. Even a young husky whose body was still growing would shed quite a lot. Even as cleanly a person as Yu Hua would sometimes accidentally bring home a few dog hairs. Every time he found dog hair, Yu Hua would be unhappy, saying he wanted to stew the dog. 

But now, this tuft of dog fur would become the passage that linked the little world to the actual world. 

You Zhengping jumped up happily. He felt the power in the dog fur and finally found a spot where energy was twisted. 

Guan Shaoguang’s body was fainter and fainter. While You Zhengping glanced at him before departing, he said soundlessly to him from the space, “Even if you go in, you still won’t find him. This is the distant past. Yu Hua’s appearance, power, and temperament are completely different. You won’t recognize him.” 

“There’s no need for you to worry,” You Zhengping answered coldly when he had understood the movements of his lips. 

The energy in the space dispersed, and Guan Shaoguang vanished. You Zhengping withdrew the space and decisively used the twisted energy to open the entrance to the little world. He jumped in. 

---

Author's Note

Guan Shaoguang: Listen to me—

You Zhengping: I’m not listening I’m not listening I’m not listening! 

Yu Hua (soothing smile): Xiao You has always been an expert at turning a blind eye and a deaf ear. 

Guan Shaoguang: Why is that something to be proud of? 

Guan Shaoguang: You won’t recognize him. 

You Zhengping: I’m sure to fall in love at first sight!