El amor es venenoso

Capítulo 8

Caesar laughed and said, "Uncle, what are you saying? You've been working for our family for over twenty years, how could I not believe you?"

At this moment, Qin Wen realized she was still in Caesar's arms. Her face immediately turned as red as a boiled tomato. She jabbed him with her elbow, hitting him squarely in the chest. He grunted, released her, and roared, "You...you woman! Are you trying to murder me?"

Qin Wen gritted her teeth and said, "Who told you to take advantage of me? I'm warning you, you're not allowed to say I'm your woman anymore. We have nothing to do with each other! I've already put up with you twice, and I don't want a third time!"

Caesar sneered, looking her up and down with disdain: "You? With looks and figure like yours, even if you came to me, I wouldn't give you a second glance."

His expression and tone were so infuriating that Qin Wen was filled with rage, wishing she could tear him to pieces. She was a well-known beauty in her class back in school, and yet he insulted her like that! She was determined to get that special pepper spray from Xiao Li and spray it all over his face, making his handsome face swollen for half a month before she could quell her hatred!

To everyone's surprise, Caesar completely ignored her, disregarding her volcanic rage, and said to Manra, "Although I don't know why this city has awakened, since we're here, we shouldn't miss this rare adventure."

"You just don't want to miss out on a rare antique, don't you?" Qin Wen rolled her eyes.

A cold gust of wind swept past her. Her expression hardened, and she turned around, only to find nothing but a wall. She scratched her head. Was it just another hallucination?

"Hey, are you going to wait for us here, or come with us?" Caesar called out, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "I'm not sure if this city is even two miles in circumference."

Qin Wen's facial muscles twitched twice, and she felt a slight pain in her chest. Damn it, just you wait!

"Where would you two like to go?" A languid voice drifted over, and Caesar's face darkened as he saw a handsome man in Uyghur attire slowly walking in from outside the hall, still possessing an irresistible charm. "Why don't you take us with you?"

"You're like a persistent ghost," Caesar sneered. "I thought Mr. Min had fled for his life, but I didn't expect you to have the guts to come back."

Min Eun-joon seemed completely unfazed by the sarcasm in his tone, raised his hand to stop the furious Masha, and said, "I'll show you my guts."

Caesar sneered, said nothing, and pulled Qin Wen through the doors on both sides of the wall. The long staircase wound upwards like a tall tower. The walls were painted with various colorful paintings, depicting the rise and fall of the Shang Dynasty, from Cheng Tang's conquest of Xia to Pan Geng's relocation of the capital to Yin, then to King Zhou's favoritism towards Da Ji and the construction of the Star-Picking Terrace and the Wine Pool and Meat Forest, then to King Wu's conquest of Zhou and the Battle of Muye, and finally to the westward migration of the Shang people and the establishment of Saka City.

Qin Wen stopped in front of a mural depicting the city of Saka more than two thousand years ago. At that time, the city of death was beautiful and prosperous. A river flowed through the city, making it an oasis in the desert, where poplar forests grew. Girls played in the river, creating a scene as beautiful as a paradise.

“This used to be an oasis,” she sighed. “Unfortunately, time has changed everything, and it’s all in the past.”

Suddenly, a hand reached out, holding an Olympus camera. Qin Wen saw Min Enjun's smiling face: "Miss Qin, I think you need this."

At that moment, Qin Wen was so moved she almost cried. What kind of people they were! If she could photograph all these murals and bring them to her grandfather and mother, who studied Western Region culture, they would be very happy.

"Thank you." Qin Wen took it and was about to turn it on when a stick suddenly came flying at her. She instinctively stepped back, dodging the blow, and yelled at Manla, who had picked up a piece of dead wood from somewhere to use as a cane, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Qin." Manra's face was grim, and her small eyes shot out a light sharper than a hawk's, like a sword that wanted to pierce her heart. "No photos allowed here."

Qin Wen didn't take him seriously at all, and snorted coldly: "Is this Saka City yours? I'm going to destroy it, and it's none of your business."

Manla's expression suddenly changed, like an eagle protecting its young, radiating a chilling anger and hatred. Qin Wen's throat tightened, and she couldn't utter a single word.

He took out a stone-like object from his pocket, held it in his hand, and suddenly exerted force. A sharp pain shot through Qin Wen's chest, as if something was piercing her heart, the pain spreading to every nerve ending. She screamed, clutched her chest, and knelt down. The camera in her hand fell to the ground, and Manra immediately struck it hard with her cane, smashing the camera lens to pieces.

"You!" Ma Xie was about to get angry again, but Min Eun-jun stopped him again, watching everything with great interest, as if he were watching a wonderful show.

“Miss Qin, you seem to have forgotten that your life is still in my hands.” Manra’s grip on the stone tightened, a heart-wrenching pain churning within her. Qin Wen bit her lower lip desperately, but still couldn’t help but let out sobs. At that moment, it felt as if the heavens and the earth were collapsing, about to crush her into pieces.

A hand reached out and helped her up. She heard Caesar's cold voice: "Enough, Uncle Manra."

Manra reluctantly released her grip, put the stone back into her clothes, bowed to Caesar, and said, "Yes, sir."

"Are you alright?" Caesar asked.

Qin Wen shoved him away abruptly and said angrily, "I don't need your fake concern!"

A complex look flashed across Caesar's eyes. She glared at him fiercely, then turned and took Min Eun-joon's arm, saying, "Mr. Min, I'll go with you."

Min Eun-joon glanced at Caesar, whose face was so sour it could suffocate flies, and smiled, "It is my honor to be Miss Qin's protector."

"Thank you." Qin Wen pulled him along, past Caesar and Manra, continuing up the stairs. Min Enjun said, "Was that some kind of Southeast Asian black magic just now?"

"That's right," Qin Wen replied, biting her lower lip, her face still very pale.

Min Eun-joon's eyes deepened. He hadn't expected that the old man named Manra would use black magic. It seemed he would have to be extra careful on the journey ahead.

Every thirty meters or so, there is a window on the wall. The window frames are still made of bronze, with ancient and grand patterns. When Qin Wen looked out, she saw the scorching sun hanging high in the dark blue sky, without any trace of sandstorm, as if the sandstorm that almost swept the world last night had never happened.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting long shadows of everyone on the wall. Qin Wen felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it; she just felt a tightness in her chest.

Min Enjun stopped in her tracks. Coming to her senses, she noticed two forks in the road ahead, leading in different directions. She frowned. What kind of architectural structure was this? It was worlds apart from the architectural style of the Shang Dynasty, and even in the Western Regions or Europe, there had never been such a fork in the road.

"It seems we have to go our separate ways," Min Enjun said with a smile, taking Qin Wen's hand gently. "Are you still willing to come with me?"

"I..." Before she could answer, her vision blurred and Caesar was already in front of her, coldly saying, "Mr. Min, has no one ever taught you not to steal other people's things?"

Things? Qin Wen's face grew longer and longer. What exactly did he take her for?

“But your girlfriend doesn’t seem too willing to be with you.” Min Eun-joon smiled eerily. Caesar felt a surge of anger rise in his chest and grabbed Min Eun-joon by the neck. Miller and the other two were shocked, their guns already pointed at Caesar’s head.

“Mr. Caesar, please release Mr. Min.” A murderous glint flashed in Miller’s eyes. “Although you saved us, for mercenaries, the mission is more important.”

Manra reached into his pocket, and Marshall's M16 was pointed at his forehead. He sneered, "Old man, you'd better not make any rash moves, or I can't be sure your head will still be intact the next moment."

The two sides were on the verge of war, but Qin Wen, the key figure, remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "How many of us are there?"

Everyone was taken aback, none of them understanding what she meant.

“Seven,” Hughes replied.

Qin Wen's face turned deathly pale. Pointing at the shadows on the wall, she asked, "Then why are there eight shadows?"

Everyone's expression changed. Behind their shadows, there was indeed a dark figure, tall and thin, slowly raising his arm and holding a dagger in his hand.

Qin Wen gasped, "Ma Xie, watch out!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xie suddenly took a step back. The cold wind swept across his chest, and his clothes were cut with a long gash, with bright red blood seeping from his chest.

The dark figure moved, leaping down from the wall. Still an indistinct mass of black, the dagger in its hand was real, gleaming coldly, and it plunged once more towards Marchey's heart. Marchey raised his gun and opened fire; the bullets pierced the shadow, embedding themselves in the wall behind it, leaving a trail of bullet holes.

"Damn it!" Marshall raised his gun to block the oncoming dagger. Miller and Hughes rushed forward to try and hold down the shadow, but they passed right through it and fell down the stairs, rolling down more than ten steps before regaining their balance.

"Damn it! Is this thing a ghost?" Marcel was barely able to hold on to his dagger with the gun barrel. Caesar released Min Eun-joon, his face grim. Could this thing be the shadowy figure that attacked him in the car yesterday?

Qin Wen looked around anxiously, wanting to help him but not knowing what to do. A cold glint appeared in Caesar's eyes, and he threw a finger-length dart, which hit the dagger.

With a crisp clang, the dagger and dart fell to the ground together. The dark figure trembled, shrank back against the wall, and moved towards one of the side paths, disappearing in an instant.

Marcie, drenched in cold sweat and panting heavily, looked at Caesar with a hint of gratitude in his eyes: "You saved me again."

“I don’t want to save you.” Caesar roughly pulled Qin Wen over and dragged her toward the side path where the shadow had disappeared. This time she did not resist, but just stared blankly at the young man with the handsome face of a vampire, and a strange feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

He's not a bad person at heart, he's just not good at expressing himself.

"Mr. Min," Miller said, watching the three of them walk away, "which way should we go?"

Min Eun-joon's dark eyes were like a deep pool, the scenery inside forever unfathomable. He was silent for a moment, then said, "Follow them."

Just as the four were about to step into the fork in the road, the scenery before them began to blur until both forks disappeared completely, leaving only a wall in front of them, on which was painted a vividly colored mural.

The painting depicts the final scene of Saka. The sky is an eerie dark red, as if stained with blood. The city walls are covered with countless dense, jet-black dots, and within the city walls lie countless sick people, their bodies covered in terrifying red spots. Some are already rotting, revealing their bare bones, yet they remain alive. Even in this silent scene, one can still feel the devastation of the plague; the cries of the sick almost drown out the entire city, making it seem like a living hell.

Marcie rushed to the wall, his face deathly pale: "Shit! How could it be gone! Is there a devil living in this castle?"

Min Eun-joon narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Don't forget, this place is called 'Devil City'."

“Mr. Min, what do we do now?” Miller asked.

"What else can we do but go back outside the city?"

Marchey cried out in frustration, "Mr. Min, are we going to go back empty-handed?"

“If you want to stay here, I don’t object.” Min Eun-joon glanced at him, turned around and walked downstairs. After taking two steps, he turned back and looked deeply at the apocalyptic mural, his face as gloomy as dark clouds.

The four returned to the original cave, which is now a grand hall with huge stone pillars. This seems to be the place where court assemblies are held. Apart from the throne, there are square mats made of woven grass on both sides. There are low tables in front of the mats. In ancient China, people lived on the ground. The ministers must have been kneeling on the grass mats to hold court.

The ground was covered in dust, with some wine jugs, plates and other items scattered around. Ma Xie picked one up casually. The pattern on it was very exquisite. His eyes lit up and he said to Min Eun-joon, "Mr. Min, these things should be antiques from more than two thousand years ago."

“Yes.” Min Eun-joon nodded. “This city of the dead only exists in the dreams of archaeologists. Everything here is priceless.”

Marcel, beaming with excitement, took his backpack from the car and began stuffing the scattered antiques inside.

“Captain.” He tossed a gold plate inlaid with jade to Miller, who frowned and said, “Marcie, this city is too eerie. We shouldn’t touch these things; they might bring disaster.”

Marcie picked up a cup, blew off the dust, and laughed nonchalantly: "Captain, isn't there an old Chinese saying, 'Fortune favors the bold'? We're mercenaries, we're always living on the edge, what's there to be afraid of?"

Before he could finish speaking, Min Eun-joon suddenly looked towards the door, his face changing, turning ashen and fierce, a stark contrast to the carefree, girlishly handsome boy he had been before: "Someone's coming."

The three mercenaries were taken aback and all raised their guns, but Min Eun-joon raised his hand to stop them: "Let's go back to the car and drive it to the back yard."

“Mr. Min,” Hughes said with a grim face, “I don’t know who’s here. If it’s the police…”

Min Enjun sneered, his upturned lips revealing something unfathomable: "Don't worry, the police won't come. What happened three years ago has already scared them. I'm afraid for decades, no police officer will dare to step into the Gurbantunggut Desert."

"Three years ago?" Miller was taken aback.

Min Eun-joon turned around, his beautiful eyes shooting out a cold light. Miller shuddered. It was that look again. This seemingly weak man possessed a terrifying sense of majesty and an almost eerie intimidation. No matter how strong a person was, they would shiver in front of his gaze.

Although they were hired by him to help him find the legendary sacred Buddhist cemetery, they knew nothing about him.

Who exactly is he?

“Captain Miller.” Min Eun-joon still had a smile on his face, but Miller felt a fear rising from the depths of his heart. “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask. The less you know, the safer you are.”

Miller paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."

“Very good.” Min Eun-joon nodded with his chin toward the SUV. “Go drive.”

The four drove the car into the courtyard behind the main hall. Thousands of years had passed, and there were no more flowers, trees, or shrubs, only yellow sand covering the ground.

As soon as the car stopped, Min Eun-joon's expression suddenly froze, and he said, "Damn it, we're surrounded."

Marshall picked up the M16, gave it a sharp shake, and chambered the gun: "Mr. Min, don't worry, no matter who comes, we can protect your safety."

Min Eun-joon sneered: "I'm afraid you'll be in trouble yourselves."

Just as Marchier was about to protest, he heard a rustling sound coming from underground. He rushed to the window and saw several mounds of earth emerging from the sand. His face changed drastically: "They're man-eating ants!"

"What? How can there be man-eating ants in this desert?" Miller was shocked and immediately started the car, wanting to back out. But the car had only driven less than a meter when the mound of earth suddenly burst open, and swarms of ants crawled out. Each one was almost the size of an index finger, shiny and glossy, and the black shells reflected the sunlight.

“That’s terrible,” Hughes said through gritted teeth. “We didn’t even bring incendiary bombs!”

“There are too many of them; incendiary bombs are useless.” Min Eun-joon’s expression remained calm, but the worry and fear in his eyes were still evident.

"Damn it! Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?" Marshall punched the car wall hard, watching countless ants crawl closer and closer, surging like a tidal wave, unstoppable. He opened the window and fired wildly at the ant swarm, but to no avail.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his foot. Masha pulled up his trouser leg and saw a huge man-eating ant. He quickly swatted it down with the butt of his gun and crushed it into a pulp.

The area bitten by the carnivorous ants has lost a piece of flesh about the size of a thumb, and the surrounding area is bluish-black and has begun to swell.

"Damn it, it's poisonous!"

“These ants have existed since ancient times.” Min Enjun’s face darkened, and he clenched his fists, seemingly very unwilling. “I didn’t expect them to still be here. The last apocalyptic mural you saw in the tower just now depicted the people of Saka who were poisoned by these ants. Those black spots are these ants. Their name is Romodo, which means apocalypse in the Volgili language.”

“What’s the point of saying all this now?” Marshall roared.

"At least I can die knowing the truth." Min Eun-joon finally gave a bitter smile.