Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

When the plane landed at Zurich Airport, the sky outside the window was a pure, unblemished blue.

The snow-capped peaks of the Alps are faintly visible on the distant horizon.

As soon as Wu Wei unbuckled his seatbelt, the 999 alarm went off in his head.

The ginseng is now mature. The optimal harvesting time is 6 hours.

Wu Wei was instantly jolted awake from the drowsiness of the long flight.

"Dog9, you didn't mention there's a best time to pick them after they're ripe!"

Wu Wei had no checked luggage and got off the plane with just a backpack.

Fortunately, Zurich is not far from the Alps.

I quickly walked out of the arrival hall and hailed a taxi at the airport entrance.

The driver was an elderly Swiss man with a red nose who asked him where he was going in English with a heavy German accent.

Wu Wei gave the name of a small town at the foot of the Alps, where he had planted crops last time.

After the car entered the mountainous area, the road became narrower and narrower.

The coniferous forests on both sides of the road pierce straight into the sky, and the snow-capped peaks in the distance gleam with a cold white light under the sun.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Wu Wei took out his mountaineering equipment from his backpack and began climbing alone along the same route he had taken last time.

He walked through a fir forest, around several weathered granite rocks, and found the longevity ginseng in a shady mountain crevice.

Its entire body is pure white, and its tendrils are as fine as silver threads, seemingly blending into the surrounding snow.

Meanwhile, in a guest room in the backyard of Wushan Residence in Hangzhou.

Lao Yang was trying to persuade Wu Xie for who knows how many times.

He almost begged, as if he had staked all his pride on this matter.

Looking at Lao Yang's face, which was much more weathered than his peers, Wu Xie's defenses were finally worn down little by little.

Ultimately, he had not yet truly experienced the wickedness of human nature, and retained the kindness and innocence of the young master.

"Okay, I'll go with you," Wu Xie said.

Lao Yang suddenly raised his head, a look of surprise spreading across his face:

"Really? That's great! Shall we set off now?"

Wu Xie hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Lao Yang instinctively wanted to suggest that Wu Xie drive, since that would be the most convenient way.

Wu Xie didn't want to go through all that trouble driving around: "Let's book train tickets."

Then he asked Lao Yang, "What's the address? I need to book the tickets."

Lao Yang waved his hand and said, "I'm already very grateful that you accompanied me on this trip. How can I let you pay for the tickets? I'll book them for you."

"OK."

Wu Xie did not object, as he himself had little interest in the trip.

Accompanying Lao Yang on this trip was simply to fulfill a piece of the bond we formed in our youth.

After closing the gate of Wushan Residence, Wu Xie packed a few things and boarded the train with Lao Yang.

The carriage wasn't crowded. The scenery of Hangzhou outside the window gradually receded. Wu Xie leaned back in his seat and took out his phone to browse through it.

Wu Wei still did not call back.

He turned off his phone's vibration and turned up the volume, hoping that he could answer Wu Wei's call immediately.

The train swayed and rattled along for most of the day, and the landscape outside the window gradually transitioned from the warm and humid south of the Yangtze River to the dry and arid north.

When the sign with the words "Shaanxi" appeared on the platform, Wu Xie felt something was wrong.

He turned to look at Lao Yang, his brows furrowing: "Your relatives live so far away?"

Lao Yang stood up from his seat, carrying his luggage, his tone so natural it sounded like he'd rehearsed:

"Our family moved to Hangzhou after my father passed away. Our ancestral home is in Shaanxi."

Wu Xie nodded with some doubt, and was fooled.

After the two left the station, Lao Yang didn't immediately take him to find his relatives. Instead, he found a hotel near the station and booked two rooms.

Wu Xie explained, "Our hometown is in a mountain village, and it takes several transfers to get there from here."

"I'm only resting here for one night. I'll take the bus first thing tomorrow morning."

Wu Xie didn't think much of it, took the room key, and went upstairs.

At night, just as Wu Xie was about to go to sleep, his phone finally vibrated.

The call was answered almost instantly, and the voice involuntarily rose: "Brother!"

Wu Wei had just returned to the small town at the foot of the mountain.

The year-round snow made the road down the mountain even steeper, and it took Wu Wei a long time to get down.

Observing the longevity ginseng he had been waiting for so long, a question suddenly came to mind.

Will this item be confiscated at customs?

Call 999.

"99, can you save this?"

"Sure." 999 agreed readily.

Huh? Wu Wei seemed to have a lightbulb go off above his head when he heard 999's answer.

The next second, 999 shattered the light bulb.

Forget about it; you can only keep the items issued by the system.

"……OK."

Wu Wei's brilliant idea failed, so he handed the longevity ginseng to 999 and turned to walk down the mountain.

I only had time to turn on my phone when I got to the town.

Upon seeing Wu Xie's missed call, he quickly called back.

Hearing Wu Xie's voice on the other end of the phone, filled with undisguised intimacy, he realized that Wu Xie's voice carried a deep sense of affection.

Wu Wei couldn't help but ask, "So happy?"

"It's so nice to talk to my brother on the phone." Wu Xie's voice came through the receiver, sounding very obedient.

Wu Wei chuckled, his tone tinged with indulgent helplessness: "If you talked to your third uncle like that, he wouldn't keep nagging you."

"What's the matter with the call? My phone was off and I didn't see it."

Wu Xie then recounted in detail how Lao Yang had suddenly come to Wu Shan Ju to find him and ask him to go see Lao Yang's mother together.

The smile on Wu Wei's face froze the moment he heard the name "Lao Yang," and then gradually turned cold.

Where are you now?

Wu Xie hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation and honestly answered Wu Wei's question.

"We've arrived in Shaanxi. Lao Yang said his relatives live in the village, so we need to transfer. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Don't go with him." Wu Wei's voice was cold and serious.

"Go back to Hangzhou immediately. Leave now."

Wu Xie was taken aback. He rarely heard Wu Wei speak in such a cold tone.

"What's wrong, bro?"

Wu Wei did not explain much.

Lao Yang vaguely remembered the plot of the original work, which was a dangerous variable that would lead people to the Bronze Tree.

He couldn't gamble Wu Xie's safety on a "variable".

"My gut feeling tells me something's wrong with Lao Yang. Listen to me, let's go back quickly."

If Wu Sansheng said that, Wu Xie would definitely have to refute it.

He asked his third uncle why he didn't trust his friends.

But it was Wu Wei who said this.

"I understand, brother." Wu Xie sat up straight, holding his phone, his voice becoming serious.

"I'll change hotels later when they're all asleep, and head back to Hangzhou first thing tomorrow morning."

Wu Wei's voice softened a bit, and he still gave him some words of advice with concern:

"Don't go with Lao Yang, I mean absolutely not."

"Okay, I won't go."

Wu Wei asked again, "Are you wearing the watch I gave you last time?"

Wu Xie looked down at his left wrist.

That watch was a gift from Wu Wei when he returned to Hangzhou last time. It has a simple dial and a soft leather strap.

Wu Xie wears it on his hand almost every day and never takes it off.

"I carry it with me, I always carry it with me."

Wu Wei's voice was very serious: "Xiao Xie, listen carefully. There's a tracking chip inside that watch. No matter what happens, don't take it off. Understand?"

Wu Xie looked down at the watch, his fingers gently stroking the edge of the dial.

He felt no awkwardness about being labeled, only satisfaction at Wu Wei's concern for him.

"I will take good care of it."

Wu Wei gave a few more reminders to be careful before hanging up the phone.