Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Early in the morning, Wu Wei put the packet of herbal strips into his backpack and went down into the tomb with Hei Xiazi.

Upon reaching the stone wall, he took out a lighter and lit a stick of herbs.

The smoke from the burning mixture of wormwood and mugwort was thick and pungent, carrying a strong herbal smell that quickly filled the tomb.

Tears welled up in Yin Fengjue's eyes from the stench, and he asked, "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Wu Wei dismissed me with a simple "disinfection".

Black Bear stood motionless in the thick smoke, watching Wu Wei pretend to light the second herb stick, a slight smile curving his lips.

He lowered his voice and whispered in Wu Wei's ear, "You're putting on quite a convincing act."

"Of course." Wu Wei said without changing his expression, adding another stick to the fire.

999 said smugly, "He thought you were in cahoots. You'd never guess, but we're actually in cahoots."

"Yes, yes, we're on the same side," Wu Wei replied dismissively.

For the next two days, Wu Wei spent his days translating the stone walls in the tomb, occasionally lighting sticks of herbs.

By the evening of the following day, the system notification finally sounded.

[Ding. This abnormal energy collection is complete. Reward: 1 lottery draw chance; current lottery draw chance: 3.]

Wu Wei, however, had no interest in participating in the lottery.

He stared at the translation he and Yin Fengjue had compiled, his pupils dilating slightly.

The inscription on the stone wall states: The Yize clan is of divine blood and lives at the very top of the mountain.

They planted a tree in the abyss with bronze, and that tree grew extremely slowly, yet never stopped.

When the tree grows taller than the mountain peak, all living beings will offer their flesh and blood as sacrifices to the sacred tree and thus gain a portion of the god's power.

Wu Wei put down his pen and stared at the words "bronze planted a tree" for a long time, his heart filled with turmoil.

He remembered the place where Wu Xie first went on a solo adventure in the original novel, that eerie bronze divine tree.

Could the inscription on the stone wall be the origin of that tree?

The stone wall behind tells the story of a king of a small country who, in order to rule his subjects forever, sacrificed his queen to a sacred tree.

The divine tree gave him a mirror, and anyone who looked into that mirror would become utterly loyal to the king.

The king survived for a long time amidst the chaos of the feudal lords, thanks to this mirror.

Until one day, he accidentally broke the mirror.

The last paragraph of text is carved on the stone wall:

The king was punished by the gods and turned into a stone statue.

Bound to the branches of the sacred tree, they will never be freed.

Wu Wei stared at the translation in silence for a long time.

He closed his notebook and got up to go find Black Bear.

The two closed the door tightly, and Wu Wei explained the contents of his translation to Hei Xiazi in detail.

After listening, Hei Xiazi didn't speak immediately. He leaned back in his chair and pondered for a while before finally speaking:

"Most legends contain exaggerated and fabricated elements."

"That mirror may indeed exist, or it may not be a mirror at all, but some kind of object with hallucinogenic properties, but it could never be as sinister as the inscription describes."

"As for that tree—"

"It might actually exist," Wu Wei continued.

Hei Xiazi looked at him approvingly: "Yes, the origin of the legend most likely exists."

"It's just that people are always good at adding a magical and bizarre element to a story."

Wu Wei nodded, put away his notebook, and didn't discuss it further.

The following day, Wu Wei and Yin Fengjue handed over the integrated translation to Professor Gu and Professor Chen.

The two elderly people held the thick stack of translations, looked through them for a long time, and praised them highly.

Professor Gu held Wu Wei's hand in one hand and Yin Fengjue's hand in the other:

"Comrades, you've worked incredibly fast! You've finished translating it all in just a few days. Young people, you're truly remarkable!"

Professor Chen nodded repeatedly:

"In particular, this mythological record, although its content is absurd, is well preserved and is of great reference value for studying the local ancient belief system."

Yin Fengjue, standing to the side, laughed and said upon hearing the words "absurd and nonsensical":

"I also think it's mythology. The ancients had boundless imaginations, and they probably carved myths in tombs so that the deceased could continue to read these legends even after death."

Li Jingming chimed in, echoing Professor Chen's words:

"Yes, teacher, this content is too fantastical. Planting a bronze tree, sacrificing flesh and blood to exchange for divine power, and people becoming devoted to you the moment they see them in a mirror—isn't this just an ancient version of a fantasy novel?"

Wu Wei stood aside and listened, neither refuting nor explaining.

With a professional smile on his face, he let them treat the contents of the stone wall as myths and legends.

After handing over the translation, Wu Wei said to Professor Gu:

"Professor Gu, the translation work on Shibi is basically complete, and we have no other tasks here. We plan to go back tomorrow."

Professor Gu quickly urged him to stay, saying, "So soon? Why don't you stay a few more days? The archaeological team's excavation is still ongoing, and there might be new discoveries."

Wu Wei shook his head.

"No, I still have some things to take care of at home. Junior Brother Yin will continue to follow up on the work here."

Yin Fengjue then said, "Yes, Professor Gu, I don't have anything to do for the time being, so I can stay a little longer."

Seeing that he was determined to leave, and with Yin Fengjue still there, Professor Gu didn't say anything.

"Then I'll have the kitchen prepare a few extra dishes tonight to throw you a farewell party."

Wu Wei smiled and waved his hand: "Professor Gu, there's no need to trouble yourself. Most of the team members are still suffering from colds, and the archaeological work is very busy. There's really no need to take up your time."

Professor Gu exchanged a few more polite words, but seeing that Wu Wei insisted, he did not press the matter further.

The two spent another night in Henan, packed their bags, and returned to Beijing.

Wu Wei wanted to drive, but Hei Xiazi beat him to it and took the driver's seat:

"You've been overworking your eyes these past few days. If your vision goes blurry, I'll be blind along with you."

Wu Wei obediently walked to the passenger seat, replying:

"I'm talking nonsense. If you feel sorry for me, just feel sorry for me. Why beat around the bush?"

Hei Xiazi glared at Wu Wei but didn't refute him.

On the way, Wu Wei leaned back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes.

He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in his mind he was negotiating with 999.

"99, when you linked your account to me, you said there would be a big prize after completing the task, right?"

"Huh? Did I say that?" 999 seemed confused.

"Are you still pretending?"

Hehe. Yes, there is!

"Can I make a wish?" Wu Wei initially didn't intend to stay in this dangerous world.

But his feelings gradually took root in this world, making him increasingly reluctant to part with them.

On the contrary, his life before the time travel, when he was all alone, made him increasingly unable to feel any attachment.

"In principle, it's not allowed." 999 said in a very serious, mechanical voice.

"Then how do you make the world's best 999 system?" Wu Wei deliberately dragged out his words.

999 is indeed unbearable.

"Get lost! Don't say things like that, it's making my central nervous system go numb."

"So, will you help or not?"

"...Don't go too far with your wishes."