Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 219 "He"

Back home, after a quick wash, I collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep.

Everyone gathered again in Hu Ming's four courtyards.

As is customary, when you return victorious, you should go out for a meal and drinks!
This time, however, Hu Ming absolutely refused to eat hot pot again.

Under Hu Ming's strong suggestion (physical), everyone finally compromised and reached an agreement to go to a hot pot restaurant run by a Sichuan family.
"A bunch of trash! I won't even mention Yang Shirley and Ah Xiang, but you grown men can't even handle spicy soup? Shameful!"

Inside the hot pot restaurant, Hu Ming looked at the group of people with disdain.

For someone who loves spicy food, ordering clear broth or seafood broth when eating hot pot is an unforgivable sin.

Hu Bayi and his companions could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

Damn, look at that half-eaten red soup, thick butter bubbling around, filled with chilling red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns.

Hu Bayi dares to swear that two-thirds of the ingredients in this pot are chili peppers, and the remaining two-thirds are Sichuan peppercorns and peppercorns.

Holy crap, who in their right mind could eat this monstrosity?!
If you were to cook meat and vegetables in that, one bite would probably send you to heaven, right?
"...Fine, I take back what I said!" Before Hu Bayi could finish his internal monologue, he saw Hu Ming eating one bite after another with great relish.

The sight of that bright red soup sent chills down their spines.

Are the people of Sichuan made of iron?
No, no, Hu Bayi still remembered that at the time, he guessed that his ancestors were from Guanzhong, and based on Hu Ming's bloodline tattoo, he deduced that his ancestors' ancestors were from the Miao region.

so
Are people from Sichuan and Chongqing not only freaks out, but also from Guanzhong and Miao areas, all monsters when it comes to eating chili peppers?
Hu Bayi, Fatty, and Big Gold Tooth exchanged a glance and swallowed hard in fear.

They vowed that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they never wanted to go to those places again in their lives.

As for Blind Chen, he has no eyes, so even if Hu Bayi and the others wanted to make eye contact with him, they couldn't.

……

That night, Hu Ming and Hu Bayi dumped the drunken fat man and the others into a nearby house, and after settling Ah Xiang in, they...

Hu Bayi abandoned Hu Ming and impatiently grabbed Yang Xueli and locked the door.

Hu Ming sat silently on the stone bench in the courtyard, gazing at the starry sky.

Two or three hours later, Yang Xueli was so exhausted that she fell into a deep sleep, while Hu Bayi pulled up his pants, walked out of the room, sat at the stone table in the courtyard, leisurely lit a cigarette, and then tossed one to Hu Ming!
"You're here now, so come out, buddy. Aren't you tired of posing behind the tree trunk?"

After a long while, Hu Ming took a drag, the flame burning the cigarette butt, stubbed it out, and said loudly.

"Hmm?" Hu Bayi raised an eyebrow and saw the figure of the young man.

Back when they were still in the Demon Kingdom, Hu Ming and Xiao Ge had already agreed to have a proper talk later, and Hu Bayi knew about it!
Sure enough, the deliveryman has arrived as promised.

Step, step, step
As soon as Hu Ming finished speaking, a thin figure slowly walked out from behind the tree trunk.

"I thought you would get a good night's rest."

The young man sat down opposite Hu Ming, ignoring Hu Bayi beside him, and said indifferently.

"hehe!"

"Brother, you know our physical condition; hard work won't cause us any burden at all."

Hu Ming chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Go ahead, little brother, what do you want to know? I'll tell you as much as I can. To be honest, I quite like you, of course, that's when we're not on opposite sides, but on the same side." "...Originally, I did have some things I wanted to ask you, but now I think it doesn't really matter whether I know them or not."

"It's been twenty-three years since my last amnesia, Hu Ming, you should understand what I mean."

The young man remained unmoved, describing his terrible condition in a detached tone.

"...In other words, you already know that your time is running out, and that you will lose your memory again in no more than two or three years?"

Hu Ming remained silent. The amnesia was a symptom that had plagued the Zhang family for thousands of years, and the young man was just one of many victims.

This is a deficiency in bloodline, which cannot be resolved by any medical means.

For this reason, the Zhang family has been helpless and suffered greatly from this for thousands of years.

Their bloodline granted them "longevity," but it also had a fatal flaw.

Xiao Ge is the best among them, known as the "complete form of immortality," and his soul loss syndrome is several times more severe than that of Zhang Qiling in previous generations.

Hu Bayi, standing to the side, had a look of shock in his eyes. After all, the young man looked to be only in his early twenties, but the meaning behind his words just now indicated that he was definitely not as young as he appeared.

"I can't help you with loss of spirit. Since you don't want to know anything from me, why did you come to me in the first place?"

After a long silence, Hu Ming spoke again.

"After returning from the Demon Kingdom, I investigated your background and discovered some things."

At this point, the young man looked at Hu Ming with a strange expression.

"I've come to see you today only to tell you something: 'He' has once again set his sights on the younger generation of the Nine Gates."

"He" has never given up on the power of immortality, and you have recently visited quite a few large tombs, which has probably attracted his attention. Be careful and, if possible, leave Beijing as soon as possible."

"After all, this was 'his' headquarters back then, and his strength should not be underestimated. Although you are not weak, you are ultimately alone. It is very dangerous in Beijing."

"You should know that your identity is not a secret in the eyes of the elders of the Nine Gates. Many people know it, and it is almost impossible to hide it from 'him'."

While speaking, the young man kept staring intently into Hu Ming's eyes.

“You know what I mean, Hu Ming. You and your brothers and friends, Hu Bayi, Wang Kaixuan, Yang Xueli, are ultimately different.”

"I know, don't worry, I've already planned it out. Once things are settled here in Beijing, I'll head to Hangzhou as soon as possible."

Hu Ming's face was unusually gloomy. He knew that what the young man said was right.

Even if Jiangnan is famous or not, "his" power will find Hu Ming sooner or later; the only difference is when.

This is inevitable.

From the very beginning of his relationship with the Huo family woman, Hu Ming had already become deeply entangled in the quagmire of the power struggle between "him" and the Nine Gates.

Looking at the silent Hu Ming, Hu Bayi suddenly realized that he had never really understood his cousin.

However, Hu Bayi did not interrupt. He knew that there were some things that were beyond his control. Since Hu Ming had not told him, it meant that the waters behind this were too deep, so deep that neither he nor his family could help him.

(End of this chapter)