Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Wu Xie helped Wu Wei, and the two walked out step by step.

The journey back was uneventful, except that Wu Wei had to stop and catch his breath every few steps.

His chest was burning with pain, and he couldn't use his right shoulder at all. He could only barely maintain his balance by leaning on Wu Xie's shoulder.

As we crossed that rocky beach, the loose stones underfoot made the path increasingly difficult to traverse.

Wu Xie gritted his teeth, one hand tightly wrapped around Wu Wei's waist, the other hand gripping the arm on his shoulder, the two of them shuffling forward, one foot deep and the other shallow.

Wu Wei's steps grew heavier and his breathing became more labored, with cold sweat mixed with blood trickling down his forehead.

Wu Xie turned his head to look at him, his eyes reddening again, but he didn't say anything. He just pulled Wu Wei closer to himself.

When they reached the stream, Wu Wei could no longer hold on and stopped to say to Wu Xie:

"Take a break."

Wu Xie helped him sit down on a rock by the stream, and he closed his eyes and breathed for a while.

Wu Xie squatted down next to Wu Wei, unscrewed the kettle, and held it to his lips.

Wu Wei took two sips and coughed up some more blood.

Wu Xie gripped the kettle tightly.

Just then, Wu Wei's cell phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He struggled to pull it out and saw that it was Wu Erbai.

The signal is only one bar and is intermittent.

Wu Wei swiped to answer the call, but before he could speak, Wu Erbai's anxious voice came through the receiver:

"Wu Wei? Wu Wei! Where are you? Why can't we get through to either of you on the phone?"

"Dad," Wu Wei called out, trying to suppress his weak breath.

"Is Wu Xie here? What's wrong with you guys?"

"Yes, everyone's here," Wu Wei said, supporting himself. "They're all safe."

Hearing Wu Erbai's voice from the side, Wu Xie finally found an outlet for the fear, worry, and guilt he had been suppressing all the way.

Shouting into the phone, "Second Uncle, my brother is badly injured! He's coughing up blood, and he can't lift his shoulder—"

"What?" Wu Erbai's voice suddenly rose. "What did you bump into? What happened to your shoulder? Why are you spitting blood?"

"Dad, it's not that serious."

Wu Wei tried to move the phone further away, but Wu Erbai's questions kept coming at him:

"Where exactly are you injured? Are your bones okay? What about your internal organs? Don't try to fool me, Wu Wei, tell me the truth!"

"I'll explain in detail when we get back." Wu Wei really didn't have the strength to say that much right now.

Wu Erbai forced himself to calm down as well. "Erjing has arrived in Shaanxi, but he can't find you."

"I'll send you a webpage with location coordinates from Wu Xie's watch."

"Tell Uncle Erjing to come in that direction, and we'll wait where we are."

"Okay, I'll notify Erjing right away. You all find a safe place to stay, and you absolutely must protect yourselves."

Wu Erbai's voice was filled with unspoken worry.

After hanging up the phone, Wu Wei sent the website address to Wu Erbai, then leaned against a rock and closed his eyes for a while.

Wu Xie sat next to him, staring at his face, his lips pressed together until they turned white.

"Stop looking." Wu Wei didn't open his eyes, his voice weak. "You won't be able to see anything even if you keep looking."

"Brother, stop talking, save your energy." Wu Xie's voice was hoarse.

The two sat there quietly, the stream gurgling at their feet, the wind in the valley blowing through the trees, making Wu Wei's wispy hair, damp with cold sweat, sway slightly.

His consciousness was already a little blurred, but he kept holding on because he was worried that Wu Xie would be scared.

About three hours later, hurried footsteps came from the rocky beach in the distance.

Wu Xie suddenly stood up and saw Erjing leading a dozen or so men hurrying towards him from the direction of the rocky beach.

Upon seeing the people arrive, Wu Wei mustered his strength and instructed Wu Xie:

"Xiao Xie, there's something very important in your bag. You absolutely can't lose it, and you can't give it to anyone."

Wu Xie nodded vigorously, hugging the backpack tightly to his chest: "Brother, don't worry, I'd rather die than give it to you."

When the group arrived, Erjing immediately spotted Wu Wei leaning against a rock.

The young master, who usually greeted him with a smile and called him "Uncle Erjing," was now deathly pale, with bloodstains on the corners of his mouth, and so weak that he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

Erjing's expression was a mixture of heartache and anger. He took a few steps forward, squatted down, and checked Wu Wei's injuries.

"Uncle Erjing," Wu Wei greeted him, his voice weak, "I'd like to trouble you to make this trip."

Erjing nudged Wu Wei's shoulder, and Wu Wei hissed in pain.

"You child, how did you get so badly injured?"

Wu Wei forced a smile. "It's my fault. I made you all worry."

Then he turned to look at Wu Xie, "It's alright, stay with Uncle Erjing..."

Before he could finish speaking, before the smile on his lips had faded, the scene before him suddenly began to turn white.

Wu Wei heard Wu Xie calling "Brother," and also heard Er Jing urgently calling "Xiao Wei."

But these sounds all seemed to come from a very far place, through a thick curtain of water.

Then I couldn't hear anything anymore.

……

When I woke up again, I was faced with an unfamiliar white ceiling.

The air smelled of disinfectant, cool yet reassuring.

Wu Wei blinked, adjusting his eyes to the light, before realizing that it was a double room.

A person was sitting on the bed next to him, with a bandage wrapped around their forehead, craning their neck to look in his direction.

"Brother!" Wu Xie's voice was filled with surprise and joy, "You're awake!"

Before Wu Wei could reply, he heard a familiar voice coming from beside the bed.

"woke up?"

Wu Wei turned his head and saw Wu Erbai sitting on a chair by the hospital bed.

His expression seemed calm, but Wu Wei noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his chin that he hadn't had time to shave.

This second master of the Wu family has always been respectable and meticulous; he has never looked like this before.

"Dad." Wu Wei's breath seemed to be straining against his lungs, and a faint pain could be felt.

Wu Erbai looked at him, his expression changing several times, and finally said in a hoarse voice, "You've startled everyone this time."

Feeling guilty after hearing his words, Wu Wei quickly looked away and said, "It's all alright now."

"Nothing wrong?" Wu Erbai's voice rose slightly. "A fractured right shoulder, three broken ribs, and a contused lung—you call that nothing wrong?"

Wu Wei shrank back, wisely refraining from arguing back.

Wu Xie's eyes reddened again: "Brother, you were unconscious when you were taken to the hospital, and you vomited a lot of blood."

Wu Wei looked over, signaling Wu Xie to stop talking.

"Is this all you're saying?" Wu Erbai asked again, seeing Wu Wei stopping Wu Xie from speaking.

Wu Wei sighed, knowing he couldn't escape it today, and honestly admitted his mistake:

"Dad, this was an accident. I promise I'll be more careful in the future and never let myself get hurt like this again."

"Second Uncle, it's not my brother's fault, it's all because of me."

"We brought you to the hospital to recover, not to feel guilty."

Wu Erbai interrupted Wu Xie's self-blame.

He already knew everything, but he shared the same attitude as Wu Wei.

Wu Xie is not wrong; he just hasn't experienced much yet and has too much kindness in his heart.

"But what if it weren't for..."

"Alright, so you said he wasn't talking about you, right? You've already suffered a concussion and multiple contusions, and you're already pleading for your brother?"

Wu Erbai snorted coldly, "None of them are easy to deal with."

Wu Wei and Wu Xie exchanged a glance and simultaneously chose to change the subject.

"Dad, I'm hungry."

"Second Uncle, my brother must be hungry."

Wu Erbai knew perfectly well that the two boys were trying to change the subject, but he still couldn't help feeling sorry for them.

He sighed and waved his hand: "Erjing, have someone go buy some food. Something light."