Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

A week passed quickly as Wu Wei and Yin Fengjue worked intensively on the translation.

Most of the unearthed texts have been translated. The remaining simple and easily completed parts are sufficient for Professor Cao's three students to handle.

On the day the trip was confirmed, Yin Fengjue was so excited that she almost burst into tears.

He said that as long as his senior brother came, he would definitely be freed from his predicament soon.

This usually shy person was so excited that he opened his arms to give Wu Wei a hug.

But Zhang Qiling was standing right next to him.

The instant Yin Fengjue lunged forward, Zhang Qiling swiftly grabbed Wu Wei by the collar and pulled him backward.

Yin Fengjue missed his target, staggered a couple of steps before barely regaining his balance, and called out, somewhat confused and aggrieved, "Senior brother..."

Wu Wei wasn't really used to hugging people, so he just laughed it off: "I'm filthy, I just finished moving bamboo slips, I'm covered in dirt."

He patted the hem of his shirt and smiled sincerely.

Yin Fengjue didn't think much of it, said "Oh, oh" twice, turned around to pack her luggage, and prepared to leave this deserted place as soon as possible.

Wu Wei and Zhang Qiling also packed their things efficiently.

This place is remote and difficult to hail a taxi.

Professor Cao's three students each rode an electric scooter to take them to a place where they could hail a taxi.

Zhang Qiling wouldn't let anyone else give him a ride. He pushed over a car himself, straddled it, and sat down.

He patted the back seat, gesturing for Wu Wei to get in his car.

Wu Wei, of course, preferred to ride in Zhang Qiling's car, so he said to the students:

"You two can ride one bike. After you drop us off, you can ride back."

The three students gladly accepted the arrangement from the person who had helped them so much.

The electric scooter bumped along the potholed dirt road for quite a while before finally taking the person to an intersection where taxis could pass by.

After the three students waved goodbye and left, both groups hailed taxis.

When they parted, Yin Fengjue's eyes were still red, and her face was full of emotion.

"Senior brother, you really saved my life this time. When I get back to Beijing, I'll definitely treat you to a big meal."

Wu Wei raised an eyebrow: "Okay, then I'll have to meet the highest standards."

Yin Fengjue smiled and asked, "Is the Crescent Moon Hotel enough?"

Wu Wei's expression became somewhat subtle as he recalled what had happened last time:

"I'm now afraid that Boss Yin will not let me in the door in the future."

Yin Fengjue waved his hand: "How could that be? My cousin said that what happened last time was Liuli Sun's fault, it had nothing to do with you."

Curiosity got the better of him, so he lowered his voice, leaned closer to Wu Wei, and asked mysteriously:

"Senior brother, what exactly is your relationship with that Chairman Zhang? I heard from my sister that he actually helped you that day. He's the kind of person who never does favors for others."

Wu Wei raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face: "Maybe it's because I'm good-looking."

Yin Fengjue wanted to say "Stop being so narcissistic," but when she looked up and met Wu Wei's face again, she suddenly felt that it wasn't impossible.

So he nodded seriously: "You're right."

Wu Wei was both amused and exasperated that the silly boy had actually believed it. He could only pat him on the shoulder and say, "Alright, get in the car. We're leaving too."

Yin Fengjue boarded the car with his luggage and waved to them through the window: "See you in Beijing, senior!"

Wu Wei waved to him.

Wu Wei and Zhang Qiling also took a taxi and went straight back to the city.

Because they had called in advance, Hei Xiazi had already booked a room for them.

The two got out of the taxi and saw Hei Xiazi waiting at the hotel entrance.

His tall, slender figure, black trench coat, and sunglasses gave him an air of mystery, making him a completely different person from the bearded man in the courtyard.

Upon seeing the two, he stubbed out his cigarette and walked over to take the luggage from Wu Wei's hands.

He looked Wu Wei up and down, then clicked his tongue in amazement: "What's the situation where you live? Aren't you being fed?"

In just one week, Wu Wei visibly lost weight; the little bit of weight he had managed to gain was gone.

In contrast, Zhang Qiling has hardly changed.

Zhang Qiling explained somewhat helplessly, "He's a picky eater."

Although Wu Wei is a picky eater, he's stubborn and tries to justify himself by following behind:

"I'm not a picky eater, it's just that what they make isn't as delicious as what they make."

Hei Xiazi was clearly pleased by this remark, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up: "You have good taste."

Wu Wei muttered under his breath, "I've always had great taste, okay?"

Black Bear turned around: "What did you say?"

Wu Wei immediately flashed a standard eight-tooth smile: "He didn't say anything. I asked where Hai Lou and Hai Mo were?"

Hei Xiazi said, "I've gone out to gather information."

This wasn't the place to talk, so the three of them stopped talking and took the elevator upstairs.

The two didn't rush back to their own rooms, but sat down in Hei Xiazi's room to exchange information.

Wu Weidao said, "We deliberately isolated ourselves at the archaeological site several times, but no one made a move or even came up to talk to us."

Hei Xiazi leaned back on the sofa, his face not looking too good: "We've investigated quite a bit. But the Wang family seems to have vanished into thin air; there's not a single clue."

Wu Wei sighed deeply: "They're determined to hide."

Hei Xiazi posed the question to Zhang Qiling: "Dumb guy, what do you think?"

Zhang Qiling's face remained expressionless: "Let nature take its course."

Hei Xiazi got up, took out three bottles of drinks from the hotel's small refrigerator, tossed one to Zhang Qiling, and placed the other next to Wu Wei.

He opened a bottle for himself, took two sips, and said, "Never mind that for now. You've both gotten so thin. I'll take you two out for a nice meal."

Wu Wei's eyes lit up when he heard there was food: "I want to eat meat."

Black Bear laughed: "You're hopeless."

Zhang Qiling also smiled slightly, and the atmosphere finally relaxed a bit.

Wu Wei has been suffering from the communal meals provided by the archaeological team these past few days, and he doesn't dare to openly take out the supplies in his ring space.

He barely managed to get by thanks to Zhang Qiling riding a long way to buy him snacks and fruit every few days.

Now, whenever I return to the city and see the rows of restaurant signs along the street, my eyes practically light up with envy.

Hei Xiazi had been living in the city for a week and had explored most of the surrounding streets.

Thinking that Wu Wei wanted to eat meat, they simply found a clean all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant and led the two of them inside.

As soon as the fire was lit, Hei Xiazi rolled up his sleeves, picked up some meat, and piled it onto the baking tray.

His technique was skillful; the oil sizzled on the iron plate, and the aroma quickly spread.

The first batch of meat had just been grilled when Wu Wei couldn't wait for it to cool down; he picked it up and put it in his mouth.

Although Zhang Qiling wasn't as exaggerated as him, she still ate her chopsticks much faster than usual.

Black Bear clicked his tongue in amazement and couldn't help but ask, "Are you guys going on an archaeological expedition or fleeing a famine?"

Wu Wei usually eats at a moderately fast pace, but very elegantly, with a refined and pleasing manner.

But right now he looks like he's starving, wolfing down his food.

Wu Wei's mouth was stuffed full, and upon hearing this, he swallowed the piece of meat with great grievance:

"I never thought communal cooking was that bad before. It's all your fault for spoiling our palates so much."

As he said this, his eyes were still fixed on another piece of meat sizzling on the baking tray.

Black Bear was both helpless and pleased, giving him a half-smile: "So, according to you, I have to apologize to you?"

Wu Wei retorted unreasonably, "Of course. You have to take full responsibility."

Black Bear placed a freshly roasted piece of meat onto his plate, speaking in a lazy tone:

"Alright. This is a good deal. One meal and we've brought in a young master."