Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Both eyes turned to him at the same time.

Wu Wei broke free of the arm and took two steps back.

"I'm not going with anyone. I'm going to Beijing to see my dad."

Black Bear was immediately delighted: "Oh, what a coincidence! The mute and I are heading back to Beijing, so we're going the same way! Let's go together!"

He walked over, put his arm around Wu Wei's shoulder, and shook him a few times.

Zhang Qiling glanced at Hei Xiazi, and surprisingly did not push his hand away, clearly finding the suggestion acceptable.

Wu Xie felt empty inside.

Over the years, Wu Wei has been traveling a lot, going to Switzerland, England, and all sorts of other places; he's long been used to it.

But this time there's Zhang Qiling, the hidden Zhang family, and a place where they can take their brother away from the Wu family.

That feeling is different from before.

But Wu Xie didn't want to put Wu Wei in a difficult position, so he smiled at Wu Wei and tried to make his voice as light as possible:

"Brother, come back soon. I'll be waiting for you in Hangzhou."

Wu Wei reached out and ruffled his hair, then pulled him close and gave him a hug.

"Come back in a while. Don't stay cooped up in Wushan Residence all the time. Go visit your third uncle more often and practice your skills too."

Wu Xie responded sullenly.

Hearing Wu Wei's words, Wu Sansheng's lips curled up slightly, and he patted Wu Wei's shoulder: "Give your father my regards when you get to Beijing."

Then he said to Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling:

"Then I'll have to trouble you and Brother Hei to take care of me on the way."

How could Black Bear not understand the old fox's implied meaning? He just chuckled and said...

"Boss Wu, what are you saying? How could a mute not care about his people?"

Zhang Qiling could also hear the hidden meaning in his words, but she didn't want to pay attention to him.

Grabbing Wu Wei's wrist, he led him into the car.

Wu Wei nodded to Wu Sansheng and the others before getting into the car with Zhang Qiling.

Hei Xiazi had just started the car.

Fatty Wang casually climbed into the passenger seat: "Hey, I'll hitch a ride with you guys. I'll treat you to hot pot when we get to Panjiayuan."

The car quickly drove a distance.

Watching from behind, Wu Xie felt a pang of sadness welling up in his empty heart.

He still didn't understand what it was, and just stubbornly watched the off-road vehicle disappear into the distance.

It wasn't until Wu Sansheng patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go, get in the car."

Wu Xie then looked away and bent down to get into the car heading back to Hangzhou.

……

Black Bear's car drove out of the town.

The scenery outside the window changed from mountains to gentle hills, and then to the boundless North China Plain.

With Black Bear and Fatty Wang around, the atmosphere in the carriage was quite relaxed and cheerful.

The two of them kept talking non-stop.

Wang Pangzi started by talking about which hot pot restaurant in Panjiayuan had the most authentic mutton, and then went on to talk about the strange things he encountered while tomb raiding in Northeast China. The range of topics he discussed was astonishing.

Hei Xiazi kept chiming in as he drove, and the two chatterboxes together created a two-channel stereo surround sound effect.

"Let me tell you, Fatty, when we opened the coffin lid, the 'zongzi' inside was actually wearing a hat!"

"What kind of hat do you think a dead person wears? Let me take a closer look, and good heavens, it's an official's hat from the previous dynasty, with a large pearl inlaid on the brim..."

"What's that?" Black Bear said, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and gesturing with the other.

"I stumbled upon a tomb in Yunnan. When the coffin was opened, hundreds of centipedes crawled out, each as long as a chopstick."

"You're just bragging," Fatty Wang said, clearly not believing him.

Wu Wei, sitting in the back seat, couldn't stop laughing at the two of them.

He leaned forward, clinging to the back of the passenger seat, and said, "Fatty, haven't you run into anything decent in Northeast China all these years?"

Fatty Wang turned around, looking extremely regretful.

"That jade burial suit was the most legitimate thing, but unfortunately, Fatty didn't have the life to take it with him."

Then he asked Hei Xiazi, "Hey, Mr. Hei, why do you wear sunglasses every day? You even wear them when you go down into the tomb at night. Are you afraid the zombies will recognize you?"

"That's called style." Black Glasses pushed up his sunglasses, looking very serious. "In our line of work, image is very important."

Fatty Wang clearly didn't believe it, but he didn't ask any more questions.

People in their line of work all have a few secrets.

Wu Wei then turned his head to look at Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling was leaning back in the back seat, resting with his eyes closed. His face was expressionless, with only a slight pursing of his lips.

Wu Wei could now vaguely discern the changes in Zhang Qiling's expression, and knew that he was listening.

"Hey bro, say something too," Wu Wei deliberately steered the conversation toward Zhang Qiling.

"Otherwise, the fat guy might think you're a thug hired by Boss Hei."

Hei Xiazi winked at Wu Wei in the rearview mirror and gave him a thumbs up.

Zhang Qiling opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the front seat:

"The centipede in the coffin was used to raise gu poison. The official hat-shaped zongzi in Northeast China were mostly for corrupt officials who were exiled there, and they didn't have many burial items."

The carriage was silent for two seconds.

"Amazing!"

Fatty Wang slapped his thigh. "You were right, young man! There really wasn't anything good in that coffin. Besides a hat, we didn't even find a single copper coin. How did you know?"

Zhang Qiling replied in a flat tone, "I guessed."

He didn't close his eyes again after he finished speaking, which showed that he was willing to participate in the conversation.

Hei Xiazi seized the opportunity to chime in: "We mute people are very knowledgeable; we've been to more tombs than you've eaten hot pot."

"I disagree with that. I've eaten at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, hot pot meals—"

The topic naturally veered back to hot pot, making Wu Wei's mouth water.

When Hei Xiazi took a break, Wang Pangzi took over the steering wheel.

This fat guy drives in a style just like his personality—quick and impulsive.

He floored the accelerator with gusto, overtaking maneuvers were fluid and effortless, and he kept talking non-stop.

Wu Wei took out a few chocolates from his backpack and distributed them to everyone.

Zhang Qiling took it but didn't eat it. He looked at it in his hand and then put it in his pocket.

Wu Wei had already gotten used to his dislike of sweets.

As the sunlight gradually shifted westward, the sky changed from light blue to golden yellow.

The scenery outside the car window receded frame by frame, and the word "Beijing" began to appear frequently on the road signs.

"Finally here." Hei Xiazi stretched his hand out the window to feel the air, took a deep breath, and said, "The smog in Beijing still smells better."

"What kind of nose is that?" Fatty Wang mocked.

Just then, a sharp whistling sound shattered the tranquility of the suburban evening.

The moment Hei Xiazi heard the sound, his hand, which had been resting on the car window, immediately reached for the gun at his waist.

He recognized the sound as that of a bullet piercing the air at high speed!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two more shots rang out, this time closer, the bullets striking the rear bumper of the car and sending sparks flying.

Wu Wei turned around abruptly and saw several black SUVs through the rear window.

They are arranged in a fan shape and are rapidly approaching from behind.

One of the vehicles had already closed the distance to less than fifty meters.

The passenger window rolled down, and a person wearing a black mask leaned out, holding a miniature submachine gun.