Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

The next morning, while eating the boiled egg that Wu Xie had peeled for him, Wu Wei said to Wu Xie:

"Xiao Xie, I'm going to Xiao Ge's place today, do you want to come along?"

Wu Xie froze for a moment as he poured the milk.

As soon as Wu Wei spoke to him, the sensation of the towel wiping Wu Wei's side last night inexplicably flashed through his mind.

Wu Xie didn't dare to look up at Wu Wei, and mumbled:

"No, I'm not going. I didn't sleep well last night, I want to lie down for a while longer."

Wu Wei thought he hadn't fully recovered from his concussion, so he patted his head and instructed him, "Then you should get some sleep, and don't stay up too late."

Wu Wei went back to his room and found the bag he had brought back last time.

Inside lay two wooden boxes, containing the longevity ginseng and ghost eye lotus that 999 had placed there before his hibernation.

Wu Wei opened one of them, revealing a plant that resembled a blue lotus flower.

The lotus petals are bluish-white and translucent, with no stamen in the center, but rather a round black dot, like a lonely ghost raising its eyes to gaze at the person who comes.

The Ghost Lotus was kept in 999 storage from the moment it was drawn, and Wu Wei was seeing it for the first time. Its appearance was indeed as its name suggested.

Wu Wei tucked the wooden box into his pocket and then adjusted his arm, which was in a cast, in front of the mirror.

After confirming that I looked to be in pretty good spirits, I went out.

The driver had already parked the car at the entrance and was waiting.

Wu Wei got into the car, gave the address of Hei Xiazi's courtyard house, and then leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

When he turned into that familiar alley, Wu Wei opened his eyes.

Looking out the car window at the mottled blue brick wall and the pomegranate branches peeking out from the top of the wall, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up.

He asked the driver to drop him off at the entrance of the alley, and carrying the wooden box in his left hand, he slowly walked in along the base of the blue brick wall.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a familiar figure was squatting under the shade of a pomegranate tree, busy at work.

In front of the bear was an oilcloth, on which were scattered a few old objects whose names he did not know.

There are bronze, jade, and some fragments whose material is not discernible.

He was holding a small bristle brush, carefully cleaning the loose dirt off a small bronze tripod.

With an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth and humming off-key Peking Opera, he looked up at the door when he heard it being pushed open.

"blind."

Wu Wei saw him look up and called out.

The unlit cigarette fell from Hei Xiazi's mouth and bounced on the oilcloth.

The gaze behind the sunglasses fell directly on Wu Wei.

A plaster cast on her arm, a slightly pale face, and a jawline that looked noticeably thinner.

Hei Xiazi strode up to Wu Wei, intending to pat him on the shoulder, but abruptly stopped in mid-air.

She reached out and took the box from Wu Wei's hand, supporting his arm.

"...Did he fall off the donkey?" Black Bear was very worried, but he still didn't hold back his words.

Wu Wei laughed, his peach blossom eyes curving into two crescent moons.

He was still injured and his face was a little pale, but his smile was still so handsome, as if all the sunlight was focused on him alone.

Wu Wei used his free hand to give Hei Xiazi a good pat on the shoulder, his peach blossom eyes curving into a smile.

"Did you miss me?"

The slap from the black bear silenced all the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

He turned his head, adjusted his sunglasses, and spoke with a hint of unease:

"Why would I miss you? Do I miss you staying in bed instead of practicing your martial arts?"

"So you've thought about it," Wu Wei concluded with a smile.

"You—"

"think."

A voice interrupted Hei Xiazi's stubbornness; Zhang Qiling came out of the house.

Today he was wearing the light gray short-sleeved shirt that Wu Wei had picked out last time. His gaze fell on Wu Wei, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Wu Wei walked a few steps to Zhang Qiling and hugged him with his intact left arm.

"The guy is still the most frank."

Zhang Qiling gently touched Wu Wei's arm that was slinged across his chest, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.

You said it was a minor injury.

Wu Wei guiltily looked away:

"It's really a minor injury...just a few broken bones, it'll be fine in a few days."

Zhang Qiling's brows furrowed even more.

Hei Xiazi added insult to injury at the opportune moment: "Oh, you mute, your Zhang family's definition of 'minor injury' is different from normal people's, isn't it?"

"Who hurt him?" Zhang Qiling asked.

"He's already dead," Wu Wei answered crisply.

Zhang Qiling didn't ask any more questions and helped Wu Wei to sit down on the sofa in the main hall.

Hei Xiazi tidied up the things on the oilcloth, then went into the main hall and moved a chair to sit opposite Wu Wei.

He pushed his sunglasses up over his forehead, his expression unusually serious.

"You said you couldn't explain it clearly over the phone, but now you should be able to. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Wu Wei leaned back on the sofa, sorted out his thoughts, and began to speak from the beginning.

"Actually, the story begins when we went to Henan."

He recounted the story of the bronze ruins' stone slabs, the legend of the Yize clan, the appearance of Lao Yang, and Wu Xie being tricked into going to Shaanxi, one by one.

"That 'mirror' is the fruit of the bronze tree, which is essentially a stone that has been cut open."

"Legend has it that the king broke the mirror and was punished by the gods, turning into a stone statue. This is true."

"But in fact, the stone is extremely hard and cannot be broken by conventional methods; it will only shatter when it comes into contact with a bronze tree."

Black Bear frowned more and more deeply, without interrupting.

Wu continued speaking.

"The corpse under the tree is Lao Yang's mother. Lao Yang's sacrifice was half successful; his body was trapped by the tree roots."

"But she was incredibly strong, and she threw me flying, sending me crashing into the bronze tree. It took a lot of effort for Xiao Xie and me to subdue her, and that's how I ended up."

After he finished speaking, the living room was quiet for a moment.

Hei Xiazi rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward, and his expression was indistinct behind his sunglasses.

"How did that old yang get that stone?"

"I don't know," Wu Wei said. "Only part of what happened three years ago has been found out, and it might be related to his mother's death."

"You didn't know anything and you chased Wu Xie into the mountains all by yourself?" Hei Xiazi's voice deepened.

"There wasn't time to notify you. There was no signal, and we were in a rush. Lao Yang led Wu Xie straight into the mountains. If I had stopped to find reinforcements, Xiao Xie would have been sacrificed by now."

Wu Wei didn't think he was wrong. He rushed to save Wu Xie, and the two of them were only injured. If they had waited for reinforcements, Wu Xie would not have been able to return.

"If I had known I should have practiced harder, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state," Wu Wei said with a tilted head and a smile, quite frankly.

"Call me first next time. Don't risk your life alone." It was Zhang Qiling's voice; it was rare for him to speak such a long sentence.

"The Zhang family is in good health, but don't take your quick recovery for granted and risk your life," Hei Xiazi said, frowning.

"Next time something like this happens, call for help first. You're not alone."

"Alright, I'm back now, aren't I? If you two keep acting like this, I'm going to get touched." Wu Wei joked with a smile, but his nose felt a little sore.

He received all the family and friendship he had never experienced before in this strange world.