Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Wu Wei's life returned to its original rhythm, with practicing martial arts taking up most of his daily time.

Knowing that someone in the Zhang family had recognized Wu Wei, Zhang Qiling became increasingly strict with his training.

Now, not only do he have to practice sword finger techniques and body movements with Zhang Qiling every morning, but he also has to spar with Hei Xiazi in the afternoon.

Fortunately, Hei Xiazi was the gentler one, and would occasionally cover for Zhang Qiling when he went out.

That day, Wu Wei and Hei Xiazi took a break halfway through their training session.

Zhang Qiling came out of the room looking refreshed. "I'm going out. You two keep practicing."

"Okay," Black Bear replied.

Wu Weizheng lay face down on the stone table, pretending to be dead, without even raising his head.

He immediately looked up when he heard the courtyard gate close.

Once he confirmed that the figure had indeed disappeared outside the door, he instantly came back to life.

He turned to look at Black Bear, who was sitting on the veranda polishing his short blade, his peach blossom eyes filled with anticipation.

"Blind," Wu Wei shouted, dragging out the last syllable.

Without looking up, Hei Xiazi continued wiping the blade with the soft cloth: "No."

"I haven't said anything yet," Wu Wei said in surprise.

"That won't do either." Black Bear turned the short blade over and checked the sharpness of the edge against the sunlight.

Wu Wei stood up from the stone bench, walked up to the bear, clasped his hands together, and looked pitiful.

"The last time."

"When is the last time you're going to say that?"

Hei Xiazi put down his short blade, crossed his arms, and looked up at him.

Wu Wei started to play dumb: "My arm hurts!"

Hei Xiazi knew he was faking it, but when he met those eyes, his defenses began to crumble.

He tried to keep a straight face and shook his head with a serious expression.

Wu Wei stopped talking and just stared at him expectantly.

Watching the dappled shadows cast by the sunlight on Wu Wei's eyelashes, Hei Xiazi heard himself sigh. "...Alright then."

He looked away, his voice tinged with helplessness, "If the mute asks, just say you've practiced."

"You're the best at being blind!" Wu Wei cheered.

"Don't give me that." Black Glasses turned his head away, his tone tinged with a helpless self-deprecation.

"I use this trick every time, so it only works on me."

More than an hour later, the courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside.

Zhang Qiling was carrying three cups of milk tea in one hand and a live chicken with its feet tied with hemp rope in the other.

The chicken flapped its wings twice in his hand and let out a dissatisfied clucking.

Wu Wei and Hei Xiazi were lying on deck chairs under the eaves, swaying leisurely.

Wu Wei bought these three recliners a few days ago.

The weather is a bit cooler now, so the three of us will lie here for a while after dinner.

Zhang Qiling glanced at the people on the two reclining chairs and asked Hei Xiazi, "Finished training?"

Hei Xiazi lay half-reclined, his expression unchanged: "Hmm, quite a lot of progress."

Zhang Qiling's gaze fell on Wu Wei's smooth forehead, lingering there without speaking.

Wu Wei felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze.

He sprang up from the recliner, walked a few steps to Zhang Qiling, took the still-struggling live chicken from his hand, and tossed it aside.

The chicken let out a shriek, flapped its wings, rolled around, and the rope tightened even more.

Wu Wei ignored her completely, took the three cups of milk tea from Zhang Qiling's hand, and pushed Zhang Qiling's shoulder towards the recliner:

"Young man, you must be tired. Take a rest."

Wu Wei pressed Zhang Qiling onto the recliner, deftly disassembled a straw, inserted it into the milk tea cup, and held it to Zhang Qiling's lips with both hands.

Zhang Qiling glanced at him, took a sip, and then reached out to take the cup.

"Cough!" Black Bear made a slight noise from the side.

Wu Wei immediately realized what was happening, quickly removed the second straw and inserted it into another cup of milk tea, giving Hei Xiazi a knowing smile.

Black Bear took the milk tea, snorted, and took a big sip.

The sweet, cool sensation slid down his throat, diluting his sourness.

Wu Wei opened the last cup of milk tea and sat down on another recliner.

The three of them lay side by side on the veranda, a gentle breeze ruffling their bangs, causing them to sway casually.

The sweetness of the milk tea melts on the tip of the tongue, carrying a subtle tea aroma.

Wu Wei bit his straw, looking at the two people beside him.

He thought, this must be what a peaceful and tranquil life looks like.

It's almost 999 seconds left, and I still don't know when that unreliable guy will wake up.

When it was time to cook, Hei Xiazi tied on an apron and went to the kitchen, while Wu Wei volunteered to kill the chicken.

Black Bear turned around and looked at him suspiciously: "You know how to kill a chicken?"

Wu Wei patted his chest, full of confidence: "I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Zhang Qiling, however, was at ease. He had already moved a small stool to the side and was sitting down, holding two potatoes in his hand, slowly peeling them.

Wu Wei picked up the still-struggling fat chicken, put it aside, and placed two cardboard boxes under it.

He picked up the kitchen knife and took two steps back.

Hei Xiazi realized something was wrong and was about to speak to stop him when Wu Wei flicked his wrist, and the kitchen knife flew out of his hand just like he usually did when practicing darts.

The blade drew a sharp arc in the air, precisely slicing across the chicken's neck.

The fat chicken didn't even have time to utter a mournful cry before its head fell to the ground.

Its body thrashed twice, and blood splattered onto the cardboard box that had been placed there.

Black Bear couldn't believe Wu Wei's method of killing the chicken: "..."

Zhang Qiling also stopped peeling the potatoes: "..."

Wu Wei picked up the kitchen knife, turned the decapitated chicken upside down, and drained its blood.

Then he picked up the chicken head from the ground and handed it to Black Bear, body and all, with a smug tone:

"Hurry up."

Hei Xiazi stared at him for several seconds, a hint of speechlessness in his eyes that had returned to normal.

I'm wondering if anyone's kind-hearted person uses a dart-throwing technique to kill a chicken?

But when he saw Wu Wei's face, which was waiting for praise, he swallowed the words back.

Seeing that Hei Xiazi remained silent and had not received any praise, Wu Wei turned to look for Zhang Qiling.

He waved the still-bleeding chicken in front of Zhang Qiling: "Hey bro, aren't I amazing?"

Zhang Qiling looked at the chicken whose head had been separated from its body, and then at Wu Wei.

Serious face: "Great."

Even though Hei Xiazi had a very strong liking for Wu Wei, he still couldn't stand hearing him say "great."

He carried the chicken, which had died cleanly and neatly, back to the kitchen, leaving Wu Wei and Zhang Qiling outside, one peeling garlic and the other peeling it.

"Brother," Wu Wei turned his head and looked at Hei Xiazi in the kitchen and Zhang Qiling, who was bathed in the setting sun.

"I wish people could always be like this."

Zhang Qiling looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the last rays of sunset, making them appear exceptionally deep.

"Okay," Zhang Qiling said.

Wu Wei paused for a moment, then laughed.

The chicken soup in the kitchen had been simmering for a while, so Hei Xiazi put the potatoes in and let it boil for a bit longer.

After a moment, he lifted the lid of the casserole, glanced at it, nodded in satisfaction, and called out into the yard:

"Dinner is ready."

Wu Wei rushed to the kitchen doorway immediately, shouting, "Coming! Coming!"

Each of the three of them served themselves a bowl of soup, with red dates and ginseng floating in it, and a warm, pleasant aroma wafted into their noses.

Wu Wei took a sip from the bowl, hissed from the heat, and exclaimed, "You idiot, your cooking skills are good enough to open a shop!"

"I don't serve people," Black Bear chuckled, placing a chicken leg in Wu Wei's bowl.

Wu Wei chuckled twice, picked up the chicken leg, took a big bite, and mumbled, "Then we'll mooch off you for the rest of our lives."

Zhang Qiling was drinking soup when he heard this and nodded.

Black Bear felt a little uncomfortable with their back-and-forth banter, so he picked up his bowl and used it to cover his face.

"What do you mean by 'forever'? I'm just eating your food, why are you talking so much?"