Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Seeing that the two were still hesitating, Wu Wei turned around and tilted his head towards Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling:

"I'm gone."

"Leave? Shall we leave?"

As Black Bear muttered to himself, his body turned around obediently.

Zhang Qiling naturally followed behind Wu Wei without even hesitating.

He walked clearly toward his SUV, without any intention of turning back.

Wang Cunhai's expression changed as he watched the three people actually leave.

He looked at Wang Cunxi beside him, whose brows were furrowed and who shook his head slightly at him.

Wang Cunhai gritted his teeth and glanced at A Ning, who was leaning against the car.

Aning caught his gaze and walked towards Wu Wei.

"etc."

Wu Wei turned around, a hint of impatience on his face. He didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Let's each compromise. I can give you half of the painting first."

Wu Wei was so angry he laughed: "Even if I want to respect you, could you please use your brains?"

"If we want a painting, you tear it in half. If we want a person, are you going to cut the person in half too?"

Ah Ning realized she had spoken out of turn and looked behind her.

Wang Cunxi spoke up: "Nothing to discuss?"

Hei Xiazi smiled and said, "Boss Wang, the painting is a condition, not a transaction. We'll only go down into the tomb after we get the painting. This time, you'll need us. Don't get it backwards."

Wang Cunxi and Wang Cunhai whispered something to each other, and the two talked quietly for a while.

Wang Cunhai initially strongly opposed the idea, but gradually came to accept it.

He turned around, took a sealed, long box from the car, and handed it to Aning with both hands, clearly unwilling to give it to them personally.

Ah Ning took the box, walked up to Wu Wei, and handed it to him: "Here you go."

The box was wrapped tightly in waterproof tarpaulin, and the seal was stamped with sealing wax, indicating that it had been prepared in advance.

Wu Wei took the box and handed it to Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling removed the oilcloth, opened the box lid, and inside lay a scroll quietly.

He unfurled the scroll and lingered for a long time on the face of the Tibetan woman holding a baby in the painting.

Something was slowly churning in those usually calm and even eyes, but it was forcibly suppressed.

He rolled up the scroll again, put it back in the box, and nodded to Wu Wei.

"Should we keep it in Beijing?" Wu Wei asked him in a low voice.

Zhang Qiling thought for a moment and nodded. Keeping it in Beijing was safer than taking it to the tomb.

Wu Wei took out his phone, dialed a number, and briefly gave his location to the person on the other end.

Wang Cunhai was already getting impatient. "I've given you the things, what are you dawdling for?"

Wu Wei and the others didn't say anything, treating him like he wasn't there.

Wang Cunhai rolled his eyes in anger and got into the car.

Less than fifteen minutes later, a black sedan drove up from the direction of the highway exit.

Two people got out of the car, their movements nimble, and walked up to Wu Wei, calling out in a low voice, "Second Master."

Wu Wei handed over the sealed box and instructed, "Give this to my dad and tell him I said no one is allowed to touch it."

The two men took the box, nodded in agreement, and turned back to their car.

The black sedan made a U-turn and quickly disappeared into the gloomy sky.

Wang Cunhai opened the car door again at some point, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

"Young in age, but shrewd in mind."

Wu Wei turned around and gave him a seemingly sincere smile:

Those with shallow minds wouldn't have grown up to be as old as me.

Wang Cunhai's expression darkened further, but Wang Cunxi preemptively smoothed things over.

Wang Cunxi and the other two cupped their hands in a polite gesture to ease the atmosphere:

"I've been relying on everyone's help along the way, and I'll repay you handsomely once this is done."

Hei Xiazi adjusted his sunglasses, which he had put back on, a half-smile playing on his lips:

"Sure, I'll do it for the money."

After exchanging a few polite words, the group got into their respective cars.

Wu Wei and his two companions followed behind in Hei Xiazi's bulletproof SUV.

The convoy turned around and drove onto the highway.

It took two whole days to drive there.

We stopped for the night in an unnamed little village along the way.

The inn in the village was basic, with hot water available only intermittently. Dinner consisted of a few bowls of noodles served at a roadside eatery, so salty that Wu Wei had to drink half a bottle of mineral water.

Before dawn the next day, the convoy started its engines again.

Fortunately, the three of them took turns driving; if it were just one person, they probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

The further you go, the more humid the air becomes.

The dry inland wind gradually turned into a salty sea breeze, and the roadside vegetation changed from poplar trees to palm trees and unidentified broad-leaved shrubs.

Wu Wei rolled down the car window, and a moist breeze rushed in, carrying the scent of the distant sea.

He stared at the distant gray-blue horizon, glanced at the map on his phone, and got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Black Bear glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "The beach?"

"Hmm." Wu Wei put his phone away and leaned back in the passenger seat.

"Most likely an underwater tomb."

Black Bear frowned and said, "An underwater tomb... that's too few."

The SUV ahead stopped in a small county town.

Ah Si came to inform them: "Boss Wang said to rest here for a while."

Zhang Qiling, who was driving, responded.

Wang Cunhai got out of the car first, slammed the door shut, and looked gloomy, clearly still holding a grudge about what had happened earlier.

Ah Ning led Ah San towards the restaurant, showing no emotion whatsoever, acting as professionally as a robot.

Having received the money, the three of them dutifully followed along with them.

I found a corner seat and ordered some food.

After quickly finishing their meal, Wu Wei pointed to the table where Wang Cunhai was and said, "They'll pay."

Wang Cunxi nodded to the waiter, acknowledging the arrangement.

Wang Cunhai slammed his chopsticks on the table, too angry to eat.

Ah Ning ate at the same table with them, her expression remaining unchanged.

The three of them found a store to buy some fast food and then returned to the car to wait.

Wu Wei peeled a chocolate he had just bought, put it in his mouth, and rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment.

He took out his phone, found Wu Sansheng's number, and typed out a message.

"Underwater tomb, Wang family, come quickly!"

Even after sending the message, Wu Wei was still a little uneasy, worried that Wu Sansheng wouldn't believe it was him who sent the message.

Then another line of text appeared: "Real person, New Year's money as proof."

The screen displayed "Sent successfully," and Wu Wei put his phone on silent and put it back in his pocket.

When Hei Xiazi saw the words "Wang family" that he typed out, he lowered his voice and said, "You figured it out?"

Wu Wei nodded, criticizing their perfunctory naming.

"Both the sea and the stream contain water, so what could Wang Cunshui be? A dog, of course."

Hei Xiazi thought about the two men and said thoughtfully, "Wang Cunhai is not a threat, Wang Cunxi is a bit cunning, but A Ning, when she was with them, didn't seem like a subordinate."

Wu Wei smiled at Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi, who were deep in thought: "It's alright, the three of us aren't exactly pushovers either, we'll deal with whatever comes our way."

Black Bear laughed heartily: "That's true."

Zhang Qiling looked at Wu Wei disapprovingly, "You can't talk about yourself like that."

Wu Wei smiled at Zhang Qiling and obediently nodded.

I was a little curious about what kind of image he had in the young man's mind.