Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Wu Wei knelt on the ground and held Wu Xie firmly in his arms.

A heart that had been hanging in suspense for so long finally settled back into place.

He barely stopped along the way, accelerating at full speed, his physical strength already nearing its limit.

Wu Wei patted his back gently, just like he did when they were children.

"Brother's here, everything's alright."

Unable to hear Wu Xie's response, Wu Wei stepped back slightly and looked at Wu Xie.

Wu Xie's eyes were unfocused and lifeless. His face showed no trace of the reliance and reassurance he had shown when he saw Wu Weishi; instead, there was only a vast emptiness and bewilderment.

Wu Wei tentatively patted Wu Xie's cheek. "Little Xie?"

"What's wrong with you?"

In fact, Wu Xie is currently in a state of complete confusion, his consciousness enveloped by a thick layer of gray fog.

Wu Xie felt he should trust the person in front of him, but the concept of "the person in front of him" kept switching in his mind.

One minute it's Lao Yang, the next it's the man in front of me.

Two voices were arguing and contradicting each other in my mind.

Wu Xie's lips moved, and a very soft, delicate syllable came out of his throat.

"elder brother……"

Wu Wei felt as if his heart had been squeezed tightly.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and gently patted Wu Xie's face again:

"Yes, Xiao Xie, I'm your older brother. Say something to me."

Wu Xie still did not respond.

His brows were furrowed, as if he was trying to break free from something's restraint.

Wu Wei understood everything at this point; Wu Xie had fallen under some kind of mental control.

Wu Wei pulled Wu Xie closer to him and made him sit down against a flat rock.

Then he turned around and his cold gaze fell on Lao Yang, who was not far away.

At this moment, Lao Yang was in an extremely disheveled state.

Although Wu Wei had already cut the thick vine that had just thrown him away.

But the vines with roots on the ground did not disappear.

They glided silently along the ground, like countless slender green snakes, converging towards Lao Yang.

Lao Yang hadn't run more than a few steps before he was entangled by those tiny vines.

At first, he was able to tear the vines apart, but the vines had sparse short thorns that pierced his flesh.

The short thorns appear to contain some kind of substance that paralyzes the human body.

Old Yang could only watch helplessly as the vines grew more and more entangled him, and he couldn't even muster the strength to break free.

After Lao Yang could no longer resist, the vines swelled up and contracted as if breathing.

Strands of bright red began to appear on the green vine.

Wu Wei confirmed that he was not mistaken; it was sucking blood!

"Ah—" Lao Yang let out a scream.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips trembled uncontrollably from blood loss and fear.

He saw Wu Wei looking in his direction, and his eyes immediately lit up with a desperate cry for help: "Help! Help me!"

Wu Wei stood still, motionless.

He watched Lao Yang struggle on the ground with a cold and disgusted look in his eyes.

Lao Yang saw the answer in Wu Wei's eyes.

This person won't save him.

So he desperately turned his head to look at Wu Xie sitting next to the rock and shouted:

"Wu Xie, save me!"

In an instant, the struggle on Wu Xie's face disappeared.

Like a robot awakened by a string of code, it only knows how to perform tasks.

"Wu Xie?" Wu Wei called out, blocking his way.

Wu Xie walked past him and headed towards Lao Yang.

Wu Wei took a deep breath, picked up his short sword, and strode toward Lao Yang.

He crouched down in front of Lao Yang and swiftly brought his sword down.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the vines, and the thin, green tendrils snapped instantly.

A light green sap seeped from the broken surface, emitting a fishy smell similar to rotting grass.

Wu Wei moved quickly, but his methods were unrefined.

As the sword cut through the vines, it also slashed several cuts of varying depths on Lao Yang's arms and calves.

"Ahhh!" Lao Yang cried out in pain.

"Swoosh!" The last vine wrapped around Lao Yang's leg was snapped off.

Lao Yang collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Before the relief of surviving the ordeal could even spread, a cold touch had already pressed against his neck.

Wu Wei's short sword was held below Lao Yang's Adam's apple, the blade still stained with vine sap and his blood.

"Tell me, what's wrong with Wu Xie?"

Lao Yang's eyes unconsciously looked in the direction of Wu Xie, who had already stopped.

His lips trembled, and he opened his mouth to call out, "Wu—"

"Bang!"

Wu Wei kicked him in the mouth.

"Ah—" Lao Yang covered his mouth, the taste of blood exploding in his mouth.

His lip was cut by his teeth, and blood trickled down the corner of his mouth and dripped onto his collar.

Wu Wei looked down at him, his voice as cold as shattered ice: "Try calling again."

Lao Yang no longer dares to call Wu Xie.

He covered his mouth and curled up on the ground, looking at Wu Wei with fear in his eyes, his whole body trembling.

He realized that the person in front of him was not the kind of soft-hearted and easy-going person like Wu Xie.

Wu Wei is truly ruthless.

Wu Wei raised an eyebrow at the fear in his eyes, then patted Lao Yang's neck with his short sword:

Do you recognize me?

Lao Yang covered his mouth and nodded fearfully.

He had seen Wu Wei at school when he was a child. At that time, Wu Wei was already a tall and slender boy, and sometimes he would come to pick up Wu Xie after school.

At that time, Wu Wei only seemed aloof, completely different from the murderous person in front of him.

"You're very brave."

"You tricked my brother into coming all this way to a place like this, what are you trying to do?"

Lao Yang's eyes began to dart around, avoiding Wu Wei's gaze.

This is clearly an act of evasion.

Wu Wei pressed the short sword down, the blade cutting into his skin.

A thin trail of blood trickled down Lao Yang's neck.

"Not going to tell?"

Wu Wei's voice was calm, but his eyes were cold and ruthless.

"Then go die."

He said it so calmly that Lao Yang had no doubt that he was telling the truth.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Feeling the threat of death once again, Lao Yang hurriedly lowered his hand from his mouth.

"He's under my control. If he kills me, he'll never be normal again!"

Wu Wei stopped his short sword, moved it slightly, and said, "Untie it."

"I can't solve it right now..."

Wu Wei's eyes sharpened.

He kicked it again.

The kick landed precisely on Lao Yang's previously injured arm.

Lao Yang let out a distorted wail, curling up as if he had been electrocuted, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

"Really! Really!"

"I really can't solve it now; it can only be solved when we get to that place!"

"Where is that place?" Wu asked.

Lao Yang's lips trembled, and his eyes involuntarily drifted towards the depths of the valley.

Wu Wei followed Lao Yang's gaze and glanced into the depths of the valley, and then he understood what was going on.

He changed direction, his voice turning cold again: "Why are you looking for Wu Xie?"

This time, Lao Yang answered quickly and fluently.

"I committed a crime a few years ago and took my mother with me to hide. We were living a good life until a few days ago when my mother was kidnapped."

"They told me to take Wu Xie deep into the valley before they would let my mother go."

"The thing that controls Wu Xie was given to me by that person. I don't know what it is. I just wanted to save my mother."

"I really don't know anything. She's my only mother, and I can't just watch her die..."

Tears streamed down Lao Yang's face, mingling with the blood still flowing down his cheeks, making him look both disheveled and pitiful.

It was as if he were just a dutiful son forced into it.

Wu Wei looked at him expressionlessly, without saying whether he believed it or not.

"Where's that thing that lets you control Wu Xie? Take it out."

Lao Yang's face stiffened for a moment, and he stammered:

"That thing...that thing can't be..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Wei reached out and started searching himself.

Lao Yang tried to struggle, but the numbing substance in the short thorns hadn't dissipated, and he had no strength.

Wu Wei quickly found the stone in Lao Yang's pocket.

"Is this the thing?" Wu Wei held the stone up to Lao Yang.

Lao Yang shook his head.

"No...that's not it..."

Wu Wei sneered, "Do you want to be buried here?"

Lao Yang's eyes cleared instantly, and he changed his words, saying, "It's...it's this..."