Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 206

Gu Qingcheng suddenly smiled leisurely: "Would you welcome me to join your archaeological expedition team? You don't need to pay me a salary, I can even pay you extra, how about it?"

I smiled slightly, assuming she was telling a joke, and then hung up.

The book "The Centuries" was still on the table, and I sat down naturally and began to flip through it.

This unintentional action happens to be the same as what we see in the footage: the older brother was also sitting in this spot reading a book, and then he walked to the window.

I remembered He Jishang standing opposite me, and immediately looked up. She spread her arms and flew through the air like an elegant gray crane, landing on the windowsill of the wooden building.

"Brother Tian—" she called to me, while raising her hand to remove her mask.

The building was dimly lit. I had just stood up when she lunged forward, trying to rush into my arms.

I gracefully stepped back, avoiding her body.

"Brother Tian, you're finally back! Where have you been all these years?" she said sadly, her voice trembling with heartbreaking sorrow.

Part Two: A Smile That Captivates a City

— Chapter 8 - The Tunnel Maze —

I didn't want to shatter her illusion; I'd rather she treat me like an older brother and pour out all her heart to me.

She stood frozen in the middle of the room, arms outstretched, cleared her throat, and began to sing softly in a gentle voice:

"Clouds are at the ends of the earth, fish are in the water, my love is in the rivers and lakes, and I am in the tower."

The boatmen hurry away on the river, and the rain beats against the banana leaves as spring departs once more.

Three years have passed, but my lover's heart is as hard as iron, and we have never heard from him again.

The poor fish, its shadow lonely, sleeps only with the moon every night…

These are folk songs from the Yunnan-Guizhou region. She must have sung them to her elder brother countless times back then. Love is such a thing that it can be so harmful. Perhaps lovers in the world are always separated more often than together, or they are simply pulled apart by the giant hand of heaven, and a separation can last for a hundred years.

"Brother Tian, I've done my best, but I can't get through that tunnel. If you're inside and your soul is aware, please send me a message, so I won't miss you day and night..."

She looked up at the crossbeams, standing there as still as a meditating monk. The dagger I had launched was still firmly embedded at the intersection, only the hilt protruding.

Outside, it was still dark. It seemed that every evening, the people in the wooden building would light incense instead of lamps, inducing them to fall into a deep sleep, only to wake up to a vibrant, sunny day. I don't believe that everything emitted from incense is beneficial to the human body. The normal human brain is very fragile, and any form of hypnosis or sleep aid will have a negative impact on the brain's nerves.

In any case, I'll set off with my men first thing tomorrow morning, leaving everything else behind. We'll see what the road ahead is like once we get there. The map shows that this place is about fifteen kilometers from the entrance to Langu, a three-hour march.

With a guqin expert like Gu Qingcheng providing technical support, any problem related to the guqin can be easily solved.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I made a mistake... My head is a little dizzy, I'm sorry..." He Jishang suddenly came to her senses, clutching her chest and whispering, ashamed of her great loss of composure.

I leaped to my feet and retrieved the dagger. With three men dead, Suren's expedition was on the verge of collapse; only the Bakun brothers remained to contribute.

He Jishang entered the secret room, took out a hand-drawn terrain map from the computer desk drawer, and handed it back to me: "This is a map of the area within a hundred kilometers. It might be of some help to you." Her eyes shone brightly in the darkness, which undoubtedly indicated that she would not be traveling with the expedition team.

I folded the map, put it in my pocket, and gazed once more at the boundless night outside the window. Recalling the strange experiences I had had deep in the jungle over the past few days, I wondered how many more dangers lay ahead. To a greater or lesser extent, we live to "search," to search for what we have lost, to explore our ideal world, and to trek day and night on life's journey until we grow old, get sick, and die.

"Take care." He Jishang opened her arms and gave me a brief hug. Only the closest and dearest people would give each other courage and strength in a moment of embrace. In any case, she was the first woman I had ever met who had been so close to my brother, at least emotionally. They had been extremely close at times, which was completely different from a scalpel.

The brotherhood between men is not comparable to the attraction between men and women.

"Thank you," I replied softly.

She descended the stairs silently, like a stunning fish swimming in the night.

That night, the woman named "Shui Lan" from the photograph kept appearing in my dreams. Each dream ended with her smiling as she walked into the spacecraft, closed the door behind her, and smiled beautifully at me from behind the high-strength insulating glass window. Then, the countdown to the space voyage began, and a gentle electronic female voice sounded in my ears: "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

I always wake up at this time, filled with confusion and heartache, asking myself: "Where is she going? Could it be that the woman my brother loved most is not even on this earth?"

Before dawn, I finally managed to fall asleep, but my dream was filled with all sorts of flying and leaping venomous snakes, densely blocking the road ahead.

"Mr. Feng, is it time to get up?" It was Feiyue's gentle voice.

I opened my eyes, and there she was, holding the little girl's hand, standing quietly by my window. The little girl had just washed her face; her hair was still wet at the temples. She was gently biting her right nail, her eyes wide, looking at me timidly.

"Everything's ready on Big Brother's side. We can set off in an hour." Feiyue woke me up and turned to leave. Suddenly, the little girl grinned at me, her dark eyebrows shaped like crescent moons, and her small lips upturned. She looked like a future beauty.

"Feiyue, what did the child say?" I sensed Feiyue's distance from me. It must be because I've been spending all my time with He Jishang these past few days, which has caused misunderstandings among others.

Feiyue shook her head: "No, she doesn't know anything. She can't write or draw. When pressed, she just cries."

She led the little girl down the stone steps, while the team members under Flying Eagle's command had already begun to line up on the main road, making the village suddenly crowded and noisy. The children in the wooden houses quickly weaved through the crowd, shouting and playing happily.

No one can predict the dangers ahead, and I secretly vowed to bring them back safely. Living is not easy, so we must live well.

As I left the village, He Jishang stood at the village gate to see me off, a somewhat strange smile on his face: "Feng, if anything happens, feel free to turn back. The village will always welcome you with open doors."

This was already the highest level of hospitality the Miao people could offer a Han Chinese; she even offered to leave the little girl in the village, but I refused. The only regret is that, in my imagination, the wooden house my elder brother built might hold some kind of secret. He passed down a mysterious "knife manual"—where is the knife? Is it with him?

How did Jiang Guang know that "only the 'King of Tomb Raiders' can fight against the Dragon Witch"?

The weather was sunny today, seemingly proving Red Devil's weather forecast inaccurate. The road was also much smoother, and gradually, the team members' moods improved. Several of them even started singing leisurely. Small groups of gray magpies flitted up and down in the woods, cawing and cooing.

I changed my wristwatch to one given to me by Flying Eagle. When the strong magnetic field appeared that day, only He Jishang and I had bad luck with our watches; no one else noticed at all.

At 10 a.m., the road ahead gradually narrowed, with towering rocks on both sides. I could see through my binoculars that the mountain directly in front of me blocked my way. Although I hadn’t seen any tunnel yet, I could imagine that there must be a cave to crawl through. Otherwise, how could I climb up these cliffs that were tens or hundreds of feet high?

The road was overgrown with weeds, which had almost turned the entire path into a meadow, leaving no trace of human footsteps. The occasional exposed rocks had a grayish-brown color, as if scorched by fire, which was completely different from the mountains elsewhere.

Liang Wei led his men ahead to scout the way, about 100 meters away from the main force, and occasionally sent out reports of "safe, safe" over the walkie-talkie.

Flying Eagle was a little nervous because I had just told him everything He Jishang had said during the journey.

“Stone pillars? Tunnels? If even a master like her can’t get through, could it be the Bagua Formation set up by Zhuge Liang? This is really strange—Feng, do you think Su Lun could have come this far alone? With her experience in the martial world, she wouldn’t make the mistake of going too far alone, right?” He kept looking around suspiciously, making the team members hold their guns with both hands, and everyone was on edge.

If the cave contained only the Bagua Formation, that would be a good thing. I know almost all four hundred variations of this formation by heart; I could navigate it with my eyes closed. But that's impossible, because He Jishang is no insignificant figure in the martial arts world, and the Bagua Formation is no challenge for her either.

"Boss, Feng, we've spotted a tunnel entrance ahead. Please halt the team and await further reports." Liang Wei's warning suddenly came through the walkie-talkie.

Flying Eagle raised his hands, and everyone immediately dispersed, forming a battle formation.

Through the telescope, a large, smooth, black stone wall appeared, about twenty meters wide, standing straight and insurmountable. The entrance must be below the stone wall, but it was blocked by weeds and shrubs.

"It seems that He Jishang was right." Feiying was somewhat frustrated. Rumors in the martial arts world were very harmful. If he hadn't come to this place in person, he would never have believed that the so-called "Lan Valley" was located at the foot of the mountain, rather than in a valley between two mountains.

Although Kongkong Xiaosheng's lies fooled the Jiang brothers, they couldn't save his own life. He fell into the typical fate of tomb raiders, dying for the sake of "possessing a treasure." As for Jiang Guang and Jiang Liang, they were like birds that die for food, dying for wealth. After losing their value to the Southwest Caravan, they died like two pitiful ants under the spell of "that thing."

"Wind, are we really going to go into the tunnel? Or should we turn back here and stop this operation?" Eagle leaned closer to me and asked in a low voice.

In a critical moment, neither personal relationships nor money matter as much as saving one's life. His reaction was exactly what I expected. The continuous stream of mysterious killings had eroded his sense of honor. Twenty years ago, he was Flying Eagle, the top martial artist in the southwest border region, a man who could "not let the clouds obscure his vision, nor let the sky hinder his wings." Now, only his empty reputation remains; he has lost his former heroic spirit and courage.

I nodded without hesitation: "Of course we'll move forward. Don't worry, we can break any kind of strange formation in the world. Once we make a new discovery, I'll call in reinforcements. We won't let everyone be left isolated and helpless. Trust me!"

If I can't find Suren, I will never turn back, because the scalpel's will has already entrusted Suren to me, and I solemnly swore at his grave that I would take care of Suren for the rest of my life.

“This…” Flying Eagle hesitated and pondered.

I stared straight into his eyes: "Flying Eagle, whenever you feel you can't go on, you can choose to quit. Every person in the martial world needs the support and help of friends, but I will never let my friends risk their lives. From now on, just tell me and you can leave immediately, without any reason."

Flying Eagle's face suddenly turned red, and he rubbed his face vigorously with both hands to cover up his embarrassment.

Feiyue called out in dissatisfaction, "Big brother—" She let go of the little girl she was holding, walked up to me, and said with a face full of pride, "Mr. Feng, we won't give up halfway, no matter what happens." Her lips were tightly pursed, with a touch of childish innocence.

Ignorance is bliss, and the passion in her heart had not yet been cooled by the dangers of the martial world.

A distant cry of a mountain eagle echoed from mid-air, and the little girl suddenly took off running to the left, calling out indistinctly, "Auntie, Auntie..." There was no one on the mountain path, only endless withered grass, which was broken haphazardly by her cotton shoes, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Hey, stop! Little sister, don't run around!" Feiyue wanted to leap after her, but I grabbed her and whispered to stop her, "Don't move, let her run."

The little girl's origins were strange; if she spoke, it meant she had arrived at a place she once knew well. After running forward about twenty steps, her figure gradually disappeared into the waist-high grass.

I instructed Flying Eagle and Flying Moon, "Wait here and don't make any rash moves—" and then bent down and chased after them.

Within half a minute, she reappeared in my sight, stumbling forward until she stopped under a protruding rock, standing there motionless. The two-meter-long, half-meter-wide rock slab jutted out from the mountainside like a naturally formed eave.

"Auntie, Auntie..." she whispered to the stone wall, her expression strange.

There was no unusual movement around me. I slowly walked over and stood beside her. The stone wall was bare; its color and texture were no different from the other cliff faces.

"Little sister, where is your aunt?" I squatted down and stared intently at her face.

“My aunt went to a very far place to catch butterflies and told me to wait here.” Her voice gradually became clearer, and her eyes slowly began to brighten.

"What's your aunt's name? Shall I call her?" I took out my phone and waved it in front of her.

The little girl smiled, her lips curving upwards: "Tang Qing, my aunt's name is Tang Qing, Tang—Qing, but she doesn't like people calling her..."

The name "Tang Qing" sounded very familiar. After a moment's thought, I couldn't help but gasp and quickly took a step to the side to get away from her.

"Tang Qing has emerged from the Tang Clan of Sichuan; even struck by lightning, she remains unmoved"—these are two phrases bestowed upon Tang Qing by her friends in the martial arts world. She is the most powerful young master of the Tang Clan this generation, on par with Tang Xin. "Struck by lightning" refers to five professional assassins from the Nepalese Snow Mountain Sect, who are best known for their coordinated five-person teamwork in assassinating targets worth over five million US dollars.

The Tang Clan's enemies hired "Five Thunderbolts" to seek revenge, but they happened to run into Tang Qing. Without anyone witnessing her attack, all five were poisoned and died, then quietly vanished from the world. It is thanks to young masters like Tang Qing and Tang Xin that the ancient Tang Clan of Sichuan continues to shine brightly in the 21st century.

I issued a warning call into the walkie-talkie: "Attention everyone, the little girl is from the Tang Clan of Sichuan. Tang Qing might be nearby. Be extremely careful." Anything becomes increasingly mysterious once someone from the Tang Clan gets involved. Even the "tiger stealing the book" incident in the Egyptian desert last time was due to the mysterious Tang Xin's presence, which resulted in her disappearing along with Lu Jiacan, their whereabouts unknown.

A flurry of footsteps sounded as Flying Eagle led a large group of people to quickly surround the area. This time, even Fei Yue's expression changed drastically. As she walked, she kept examining her palm. She was the only one who had been in close contact with the little girl, and if poisoning had occurred, she would be the first to be affected.

All the gun barrels were pointed at the little girl, and everyone was on high alert.

"Little sister, what's your name?" I suppressed my immense unease and tried my best to make my smile appear natural.

"Me? My name is Tang Xiaogu, which sounds like a rattle drum when you shake it." By now, her mind and thinking ability have been fully restored. When her eyes move, they radiate indescribable intelligence and wit, a world apart from her previous dazed and confused state.

Flying Eagle scratched his head and suddenly shouted, "Miss Tang Qing of the Tang Clan in Sichuan, we are in the mountains looking for someone. We have no grudge against the Tang Clan. Please show mercy!" His shout echoed through the valley for a full two minutes before gradually subsiding.

“This isn’t about showing weakness. Actually, we don’t need to make any more powerful enemies, right?” He smiled wryly at me.

Feiyue sighed. In front of all the team members, she couldn't say anything. She could only frown in frustration and kick the grass roots under her feet.

No one answered. Tang Xiaogu looked at Feiying with a grin: "It's no use. Aunt went to a very far place, I think it's called something like Palace, it's over there—" She pointed forward, which was the location of Liang Wei and the others.

The north wind whipped her hair, and Flying Eagle and Flying Moon shivered almost simultaneously, their mouths tightly shut, as if to prevent themselves from crying out.

I took a deep breath and reached out my hand to Tang Xiaogu: "Come on, let's go look ahead and see if Auntie is there."

At this time, maintaining morale is more important than anything else. I don't want everyone to be terrified by the Tang Clan of Shu and cause a mutiny in the ranks.

The little girl grasped my hand, blinked her big eyes, and smiled innocently: "You're a good person. Auntie says good people don't die, don't you think?"

I've never interacted with such an adorable little girl before. If you removed her Tang Clan identity, she would definitely attract everyone's attention, and everyone would like her. The four words "Tang Clan of Sichuan" are like a heavy death warning sign, bringing immense psychological pressure and making people want to avoid them at all costs.

Soon, the tunnel entrance came into view.

Flying Eagle couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "How could such an obvious landmark not be recorded on the map? And it must have been carved out by man—"

The appearance of the tunnel, at least indirectly, confirms He Jishang's words. I hope she has been telling me the truth all along, so that the story of "elder brother Yang Tian once lived here" is true. I don't want to be led astray by lies, wasting a lot of time and energy without gaining anything.

Liang Wei and six others stood outside the tunnel, exchanging bewildered glances. Their powerful flashlights were all on, beams shooting haphazardly into the tunnel. The entrance was situated at a low elevation, which was the main reason we couldn't spot it from a distance.

From twenty paces away, Flying Eagle shouted, "Liang Wei, what are you doing?"

I'd told Liang Wei about the numerous stone pillars in the tunnel, so he shouldn't be this terrified. Flying Eagle led his men forward, leaving Tang Xiaogu and me behind.