Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

When he first arrived in Yuchun, Shen Mingchao would silently recite the name Zhang Haixia every night before falling asleep, trying to fall back into his dreams, but it was no use.

About a week later, Shen Mingchao felt that she couldn't let herself get stuck in a rut. The unknown, if left unanswered, would slowly suffocate her. She decided to keep herself busy with other things first.

Wu Xie's decorating skills were indeed quite good; she had transformed her apartment into a modern one-bedroom unit, though it felt too empty. So, her first task was to tidy up her room. Her second task was to familiarize herself with the surrounding area of ​​Yuchun Village.

The village house and Xilaimian are connected by a bamboo forest. To make it easier to get around, Shen Mingchao followed local customs and specially went to town to buy a second-hand electric vehicle.

On weekdays, after finishing her studies in the morning, she would ride her electric bike to Xilaimian for lunch, and then wait for everyone to come back in the evening to have dinner together.

Their daily routine is very regular.

Occasionally, when Xi Lai Mian's business is booming and she's too busy to handle everything, she'll take some time to help out.

After a while, Shen Mingchao, a stranger, became a familiar face in the village. After all, with the development of the times, many people have moved to the city to live. Apart from tourists from all over the country, there are very few young people left in the village, let alone young girls.

This is a hot commodity in the eyes of the auntie next door.

It all started when Shen Mingchao, tired of studying, went out for a stroll and happened to run into Zhang Qilan, who was meditating by the stream. Without a word, she joined them, sat on another rock, and stared blankly at the horizon, wondering what to eat for dinner.

A little while later, their neighbor, an older woman, passed by carrying a bag of tangerines. She joined in very naturally, sharing the tangerines with the two of them and asking if they had a boyfriend.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingchao knew he had stumbled upon the village's classic matchmaking scene. He waved his hands repeatedly, saying that he was still young and preparing for exams, and had no plans in that regard.

The old woman talked until her lips were raw, but Shen Mingchao didn't budge. In the end, she sighed and left.

Unexpectedly, when a new person finally came to the village, her two introductions both ended in failure.

The first time was when she introduced her niece to that young man surnamed Zhang, but he was a complete taciturn guy, and no matter how eloquently she talked, he didn't react at all.

This time, it was the village chief's son who took a liking to this new girl. However, because he didn't get along with her brother, the village chief asked her to come and sound him out. Unexpectedly, the girl looked pretty and easy to talk to, but her attitude was very tough.

Most importantly, when she was praising the village chief's son, the silent young man, Zhang, suddenly glanced at her, making her break out in a cold sweat.

She was an experienced woman; how could she not see what the other party meant? No wonder she failed twice. They were a couple on the verge of marriage, and it was none of their business to interfere. She should make a quick getaway.

After the old lady left, Shen Mingchao looked at the sky and then at his phone. He felt something was wrong. Even if Wu Xie painted late at night, he should have been back by now.

The story of drawing this map begins with Shen Mingchao's first visit to Xilaimian. At that time, Wu Xie confidently shared his vision for the future with Shen Mingchao, saying that he would create the most beautiful agritainment in China and expand Xilaimian.

Wu Xie wasn't just talking nonsense. As he spoke, he showed Shen Mingchao the drawings he had finished. The paper was full of intricate and complex lines and boxes, which Shen Mingchao couldn't understand, but he found it impressive.

To fulfill this great ambition, Wu Xie often stayed in the shop drawing design drafts after Xilaimian closed, but he would not stay too late. He would return to Yucun for dinner when it was getting dark.

But today, Wu Xie didn't return on time, and Shen Mingchao's WeChat message to him went unanswered. Then Fatty called, saying he'd gone fishing and wouldn't be back for a while, and asked them to pick Wu Xie up when they had time.

Shen Mingchao turned to look at Zhang Qilan and saw that the man had already taken a flashlight. The two of them went to the village entrance to borrow a motorcycle. She rode the small electric scooter and entered the bamboo forest path with Zhang Qilan.

Shen Mingchao looked up and saw that the direction of Xilaimian was extremely dark. If it weren't for the bright flashlight in Zhang Qiyu's hand, she felt that she would fall into the pit in the next second.

When a person's eyes stare at the only point of light in the dark for a long time, they will experience visual fatigue and develop shadows.

Perhaps for this reason, as she approached Xilaimian, a dark shadow suddenly flashed in Shen Mingchao's peripheral vision. When she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she saw nothing.

"arrive."

The motorcycle next to him stopped. Shen Mingchao thought he was seeing things and didn't pay much attention. He then stepped on the brakes to brake his electric bike.

The two parked the car by the roadside and walked towards Xilaimian. After walking a few steps, Zhang Qilan reached out and parted the bamboo. Under the light of the flashlight, they stared at Wu Xie in disbelief.

Wu Xie's cheeks were flushed, his eyes were hazy with a hint of surprise, and wine bottles were scattered around his feet, the smell of alcohol was very strong.

Shen Mingchao couldn't help but tease, "Little Third Master, you're having a good time, aren't you? Not going home on time, just drinking alone under the moon. How about you imitate Li Bai and write a poem?"

Wu Xie was drunk, but not to the point of losing his mind. He looked at his watch and realized that two hours had passed without him noticing. No wonder they had come looking for him.

He felt a little guilty, and even though Shen Mingchao scolded him, he didn't say a word. He quietly packed up the wine bottles and drawing paper and obediently followed the two back home.

Between the deliveryman's motorcycle and Shen Mingchao's electric scooter, he chose the motorcycle directly. He had already been drinking, and if he shared a vehicle with Shen Mingchao, the extensive contact would surely kill him.

He hadn't intentionally stayed away from home; he'd just spotted a dark figure in the bamboo grove. Intrigued, he took out some wine and confronted the figure. Before he knew it, he'd lost track of time while drinking. When he came to his senses, Xiao Ge and Ming Chao were already looking at him with flashlights.

During the standoff, he actually thought about a lot of things, such as whether it was the right decision for him to send Shen Mingchao to Yucun. Although the main branch of the Wang family had been destroyed and the Nine Gates had been purged, as people involved in the situation, they were surrounded by dangers and it was hard to guarantee that nothing would happen. Was hiding Shen Mingchao in the shadows the best way to protect her?

This might be a side effect of experiencing too much; you can't help but overthink and consider all the possible scenarios.

Although these thoughts sometimes seem superfluous, Wu Xie just can't help but think about them.

Back at the village entrance, Fatty was already waiting with his fishing rod. Seeing the group return, he invited them to go fishing.

Seeing the fat man's expression, Wu Xie knew that something was wrong and asked what was going on.

The fat man smiled mysteriously, telling them to follow him and they would find out, adding that the Ming Dynasty would definitely be interested.

This completely piqued Shen Mingchao's curiosity.