518 Key into the Past

Guard Zhang?

Hearing that name, Nan Hua's eyes flickered.

It was a name that she herself was unfamiliar too, but several images flashed in her mind right after Xiao Yun said that. Part of the memory of when Nan Hua was staying in Nan Family Residence when she was still small reappeared once more inside her mind.

Guard Zhang was one of the few guards who came from her mother's maternal family. But on the year of her mother's death, Guard Zhang was kicked out by Nan Shu Cheng. As it had happened before Old Master Nan's return, Nan Hua didn't know about him at all.

He disappeared.

Or more exactly, he was hiding himself in order to not let anyone found him. Now, he seemed to be trying to leave the Capital City by mingling with the group of refugee who were trying to leave the Capital City five years after the accident.

By now, the security had turned lax as not many people would still remember the past incident.

"Xiao Yun, let's go back." Nan Hua showed a symbol with her hand.

Xiao Yun nodded as she understood. There was a trace of anxiety and excitement within her eyes that she suppressed as hard as possible. It was all because she was elated to see that Guard Zhang was still alive yet at the same time, she was worried that there would be other people who knew about this.

After all, she knew that Guard Zhang was the person who was staying very close to Madam Nan back then and attended to her longer than her. She could only remember bits and pieces while Guard Zhang was the clearest about what had happened back then.

Shangguan Die was only watching for a brief moment before returning. The people there had some conflicts with the monk because of their sudden appearance. However, the Temple agreed to provide them with shelter for the night.

Tomorrow, they would leave.

Guard Zhang was within the group of people. He was anxious because he didn't know how long he would have to stay within the group and whether he would successfully escape or not. Many years had passed, yet he still didn't have any confidence for his success.

Those people might still be waiting in ambush to catch him.

He was afraid of that.

As he walked into the small quarter that the Temple provided for them, he closed the door and locked it from inside. He feared that there might be someone who wanted to pry inside and found out about his real identity.

That would be really bad.

Swish!

A bamboo strip landed on the ground beside him, startling Guard Zhang so much that he nearly jumped. He looked down at the bamboo strip beside him, his eyes flickered in fear and confusion.

'What is that?'

Bending down, Guard Zhang picked the bamboo strip and his blood turned cold when he read the content.

'Please come to the bamboo forest behind the courtyard at night. Miss wants to talk with you.'

Miss?

There was only one person whom he would call Miss who could possibly be alive. However, how could it be possible that First Young Miss Nan be in this temple right at this very moment?

Guard Zhang looked at the bamboo strip in his hand then sighed. Since the other party managed to find him even though he had been hiding so deeply, there was no use of him loitering around anymore. He had to pick a decision.

That night, Guard Zhang sneaked out of the quarter towards the bamboo forest. It was not really a forest but rather a garden with some of the monks passing by at day time. Since it was night, the place was exceedingly cold and gloomy.

He was not sure where he should walk to, but he could see that there was a rather open space at front. As he walked, he noticed that there were two people, two young ladies, who were already waiting.

Guard Zhang stopped.

"M…Madam?" Guard Zhang stammered the moment he saw Nan Hua.

Nan Hua's face was exceedingly similar to Madam Nan to the point that it was scary. If not because of some difference in features along with her young countenance, there was no way anyone would be able to differentiate them.

"Guard Zhang, this is Young Miss," Xiao Yun corrected Guard Zhang.

"This is… Little Yun?" Guard Zhang asked, his voice cracked. He hadn't seen the two of them for five years and Xiao Yun naturally had changed a lot. It was only because Xiao Yun was older than Nan Hua did her features still quite similar to what he knew years ago.

Xiao Yun nodded. "Yes, this is Xiao Yun, Uncle Zhang."

Guard Zhang's body shook before tears streamed out of the corner of his eyes. He had never expected that after being kicked out of Nan Family Residence, he would have a chance to meet with the two of them again.

"Oh Lord in the Heaven, thank you very much for this chance…" Guard Zhang wiped his tears. "Miss… are… are you fine?"

"I'm living well, Guard Zhang." Nan Hua looked at the guard carefully. The images she had about this guard was only bits and pieces, so she was not entirely sure how she should react in front of him.

Thankfully, Guard Zhang would not fuss over that matter. When he last saw Nan Hua, the latter was nothing more than an 8 years old girl. How could it be possible for Nan Hua to be the same after so many years?

That was unrealistic.

"That's good. That's good. I was so worried about you." Guard Zhang smiled.

Nan Hua looked at Guard Zhang and slowly asked, "Guard Zhang, who's chasing after you?"

Both Nan Family and her maternal family had a lot of enemies. She was not sure which one among them was the one chasing after Guard Zhang.

Hearing that question, Guard Zhang's face changed.