Chapter 3: After the Tomb

I and Chengxin walked lazily along the riverbank. The river had already frozen over, and the snow on the shore was crunching under our feet. This, combined with the sound of the bones in my and Chengxin’s hands, made a pleasant accompaniment.

After eating the sauce bones, I wiped my hands and face. I always eat in a bad way, but I can imagine how sticky my hands and face are. However, Chengxin brother, who ate as if he had not eaten, was clean and tidy. Faced with such a clean person, I found that I could not afford to hurt myself.

We just talked nonsense along the way, and didn’t talk about anything serious. After walking for a while, I was a little tired, so I tightened my hat and sat down. Looking at the frozen, solid surface of the river, I asked, “Is it time? Have you finished everything? When are we leaving?”

I had been here for two or three days, and Chengxin had been avoiding answering this question. Since we were having this conversation, I simply asked him directly.

“Everything that needs to be prepared is ready. The rivers are not a problem, but the preparations for the sea are a bit more troublesome. The departure time is estimated to be about half a year from now, at the end of spring and the beginning of summer. We will set off then.” Chengxin answered very clearly this time, and sat down next to me.

“Are you feeding your demon spirit?” I wanted to chew on some grass, but I realized that I was in the freezing north, not Sichuan.

Instead of looking for grass roots, I simply held a handful of snow in my hand, but my thoughts had already drifted a year ago!

A year ago, Chengxin must have had a hard time. He carried me out of the forest on his back and shoulders, up a long flight of stairs. We went out onto a leeward hillside covered in snow. It was clear that we were no longer in the old forest. What was even more strange was that after we had only walked a few steps, I went crazy and started running back, but when I looked back, I couldn’t find the entrance.

We were really in a mess at that time. We had already thrown away our luggage, and we didn’t know where we were in the old forest. I was in a state of decadence and pain, and Chengxin was the only one who was taking care of everything.

However, the four evil spirits we found did not worry us. After all, the soul devices were in our hands, and they were always “trapped” by the soul devices. We were only out of the entrance for less than an hour, and the four evil spirits returned one after another!

When these four guys returned, they no longer had the same awe-inspiring presence they had at the entrance to the Dragon Tomb. Silly Tiger was still Silly Tiger, and the young fox, the cute snake, and the lazy tortoise also returned to their “extremely distrustful” appearance. Then, as soon as they returned, they chose to sleep. At the time, they couldn’t be woken up, which made me a little worried about Xiao Chengqian. I didn’t know what had happened to them.

At that time, I thought that my brother and I would die in the old forest. After all, we didn’t have any hunting skills, and we didn’t have any food or tools on us. How could we get out of this vast old forest?

I never thought that after all the battles, we would survive, but be trapped in the vast old forest.

However, things always have a twist, although this twist is full of points that make people feel confused and uneasy. Yes, neither Chengxin nor I had thought that Jiangyi would lead his men and send a helicopter to find us here.

My brother and I were discovered by Jiang Yi’s men the next morning after freezing all night, and then we were taken out of the old forest…

We naturally met Jiang Yi. At that time, I was too lazy to wonder about his appearance, because I wasn’t in the mood. However, I would never forget the vigilance that the disc brought to me. Therefore, I always remained silent in response to Jiang Yi’s “shushing and asking about the weather.” Everything was left to Chengxin. I insisted on staying in that small town, and Chengxin told Jiang Yi that everything would be discussed when we got back.

After that, I didn’t care about anything else. I briefly told Chengxin about Jiangyi, and of course I didn’t forget to tell him that I was a little wary of Jiangyi. There was no reason, just a simple sense of caution. I think Chengxin should be able to handle it.

At this point, I remembered that I had been immersed in sadness for a year, as if I had missed a lot of things. At this point, when I thought about Jiangyi’s sudden appearance, I suddenly felt that it was ‘strange’ and made me nervous.

“Don’t worry, everyone has been cultivating the demon spirits according to your method. Chengqing chose the turtle spirit, Chengzhen chose the demon snake, and the young fox followed me. You have always been worried about the demon spirit of Chengyuan, which is the dragon spirit of Yuanyi’s brother. You don’t know that we all want to give our own to Chengyuan, but Chengyuan is very persistent, and we are afraid that we have underestimated Yuanyi’s brother’s “family heritage.” Compared to our demon spirits, that dragon spirit is very powerful. Brother Chengxin tried his best to explain everything to me. It was rare that I had come out of my grief, and he could finally talk to me about these things.

That’s good. After all, there are so many unknowns in the rivers and lakes. I really don’t have much confidence without the demon spirit. We are all too ‘green’, and this old Li’s secret skill is our life-saving talisman.

“What about Jiang Yi?” I had just thought about the past and recalled the inexplicable feeling of “being on tenterhooks.” Naturally, I had to ask.

“After he returned, he was straightforward. He wanted me to tell him everything about the Dragon’s Tomb and asked me what I had gotten from it. He tactfully gave me a little idea, saying that we should put the overall situation first and that the things in the Dragon’s Tomb might be very important to the department.” Cheng Xin said slowly.

“What do you mean? Did you not keep the medicine you got there? Did you tell him?” I was inexplicably anxious, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that something was wrong.

“No, actually I was under a lot of pressure at the time, but after someone showed up, I was able to get away with it.” Cheng Xin lit a cigarette and continued, “The person who showed up was Jenny. She was really domineering. I don’t know how she got into that secret office that day, and she just told Jiang Yi that she was taking her away, and that’s how she took me away. I called you out this time because Jiang Yi is too sensitive. If Qin Huai hears anything, it may not be a good thing. Chengyi, this time, I just want to say that not only do you feel that he has a problem, I also feel that there is a problem.

I frowned. Of course I hadn’t forgotten that he had mentioned the “cooperation” issue on the Kunlun Road. After all, without his help, our actions would not have been so convenient. Now that he has reached out, we…

I naturally told Chengxin my doubts. He sighed and said, “The problem you are worried about has already happened. Jiang Yi wants to send someone to act with us. It’s just that we are grateful to Jenny for helping us refuse directly. Her connections are really amazing. We can probably get rid of Jiang Yi with this operation.”

“Why is it only probably?” I asked.

“You know, Jiang Yi has always been afraid to be strong in the face of Jenny. It’s just that in this matter, Jenny refused him, but he didn’t promise anything. Instead, he told us to think about his proposal. Chengyi, he won’t let go.” Chengxin said.

I was silent for a while. After all, judging that Jiang Yi has a problem is just our subjective feeling, and there is no substantial evidence. Master and he have been working together for many years, and it is absolutely inappropriate for me to break the relationship with him all of a sudden.

I naturally told Chengxin about these thoughts. After I finished, I said, “Isn’t there still half a year before the voyage? Let’s think about this matter carefully and consider it carefully. We can’t completely kill it with one blow. Standing in Jenny’s position, she doesn’t need to explain anything to Jiangyi. Do you think we can? Besides, if Jiangyi really has a problem, according to Jenny’s personality, won’t she turn her face immediately? There are some issues that need to be considered.”

“Mmm.” Cheng Xin nodded and suddenly asked me, “When are you going back? We’re waiting for you to finish watching that DVD with us. You left it with Cheng Qing, and he said we couldn’t touch it until you got back. That guy, so young, so old-fashioned!”

“Heh…” I coughed embarrassedly. What should I say about myself over the past year? I’m afraid that an apology is not appropriate. I wanted to change the subject, but at this moment, I suddenly remembered a question that made me very confused.

I said, “Brother Chengxin, do you remember the thing that Master left me? It’s in the Dragon Tomb.”

“Yes, isn’t it the whisk?” Chengxin looked at me solemnly and felt inexplicable.

“There’s something wrong with this whisk,” he said, and his brows furrowed. I hadn’t been able to think much during the year, and now, as I spoke, I felt even more strange.