Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 581 There is no Jie Lianhuan in the world, only two Wu Sansheng!
At the end of the passage was an iron cover. Hu Mingjing, who was at the front, pushed the cover open, and the exit was in a courtyard overgrown with weeds.

The courtyard was surrounded by towering walls, all of which appeared to be covered in a thick layer of copper, making them seem indestructible.

It is absolutely impossible to break through from the outside without using heavy firepower.

This place is practically an impregnable fortress.

"Come in! I didn't expect you to bring him. What, were you expecting me to invite you up?"

Just as Wu Xie was curiously looking around at his surroundings, suddenly, the door of the wooden building in the garden was opened, and a deep voice came from inside.

From Wu Xie's perspective, all he could see was a back view, and as soon as he finished speaking, that back view disappeared on its own.

"Strange, that voice, that figure... why does it seem so familiar?"

Wu Xie frowned deeply, staring at the half-open wooden door as he fell into deep thought.

That eerie sense of familiarity grew clearer and clearer. Instinct told Wu Xie that Hu Ming was right; he must have seen this mysterious man before.

The most familiar stranger?
Who exactly is it...?

"Wu Xie, are you aware of your relationship with Xiao Hua?"

Hu Ming shook his head slightly, walked through the wooden door, and easily made his way to the stairs in the dark corner of the room, asking questions as he went.

"I know her, she's my childhood sweetheart from when we were little?"

"Wait a minute. Uncle Ming, are you saying that he and I are related by blood?"

Wu Xie answered Hu Ming casually, but suddenly a flash of insight struck him, as if he had grasped the key point Hu Ming wanted to express.

"That's right. Back then, because Qiu Dekao left the Heavenly Dynasty and reported the Nine Gates, your grandfather fled Changsha City when he saw that things were not going well. If it weren't for Master Xie Jiu's help, your grandfather would have had a hard time surviving that difficult era."

"It's worth mentioning that during the years your grandfather lived with the Xie family, he fell in love with one of Xie Jiuye's cousins ​​and even abandoned Huo Xiangu for her."

"This cousin of Master Xie is your old lady."

"From then on, your Wu family and the Xie family were connected by blood. We Chinese people always trust our blood relatives more."

"Wu Sansheng and Xie Lianhuan, you and Xiaohua, all have a close blood relationship."

As they were talking, Hu Ming had already skipped the second floor and went straight to a dilapidated door on the third floor. He gripped the doorknob, his expression suggestive.

"Why bother talking to him so much? Wouldn't it be better to just bury the past completely?"

"Why should a junior like him get involved in the grudges of the previous generation? After tonight, this matter will be completely over, and these things will be meaningless."

Before Wu Xie could speak, a somewhat impatient voice came from inside the room.

"Ha! Wu Xie was born in '77. When the plan was finalized in '84, when we discussed it in '87 and decided to use Wu Xie as a smokescreen and bait twenty years later, you didn't say that!"

"How come now you're playing the role of a kind elder who's doing everything for the younger generation?"

Hu Ming couldn't help but sneer, opened the door, and strode in, uttering chilling words that sent a shiver down Wu Xie's spine. 84? 87?
At that time, Wu Xie was only seven years old!
At that time, how could the kind-looking second and third uncles in front of him, as well as the unknown mysterious figure in the room, have used him as bait to devise a series of plans?
In an instant, the experiences of the past year flashed through Wu Xie's mind.

A year ago, Wu Xie and Hu Ming first encountered Xiao Ge, just as Wu Sansheng presented him with chicken-eye sand as the price for Xiao Ge's intervention...

At that point, had their confrontation with "him" reached a fever pitch, and was the plan in full swing?
Wu Xie forced himself to suppress his shock and listened quietly to their conversation.

“In our plan, after leaving the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds, Wu Xie should have retired successfully, and what happened afterward would have been none of his business. He should have withdrawn at that time.”

"It was that woman Chen Wenjin who gave Wu Xie the clue, and it was you who helped Wu Xie solve the mystery of the clue."

A calm voice came from the darkness.

"What, are you now regretting not being ruthless back then and willing to offend Wu Sansheng and me to get rid of Chen Wenjin and Huo Ling?"

Hu Ming remained unmoved and continued to speak in a tone that seemed both mocking and sarcastic: "Back then, everyone thought you, Xie Lianhuan, were just a good-for-nothing young master. Who could have imagined that you would inherit your father's ruthlessness and coldness?"

"You and your son are willing to sacrifice anyone, including yourselves, whenever necessary. Tsk, you're really ruthless."

"Jie Lianhuan!??? You're Xiaohua's father?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xie could no longer remain calm. He exclaimed in shock and stared incredulously at the figure in the darkness inside the room.

"Back then, Uncle Wu saved my life, gave me a place to stay, and did his best to help me realize my father's plan. The Wu family has done me a great favor."

"Besides, for so many years, Wu Sansheng and I have shared the same identity. My heart is also made of flesh and blood. Unless absolutely necessary, I do not want to harm Wu Sansheng and his nephew Wu Xie."

Xie Lianhuan finally turned around, and in the dim moonlight, a face that Wu Xie knew all too well appeared.

"That's Uncle Three's face! It's a human skin mask?"

Wu Xie's expression immediately changed, and he stared at the man named Xie Lianhuan in front of him with a grim look.

"No, this is my face," Xie Lianhuan said calmly, glancing at Wu Xie.

“Wu Sansheng and Xie Lianhuan looked extremely similar when they were young, making them the best candidates to use human skin masks.”

"And human skin masks are made from human faces. If worn for a long time, they can easily become completely integrated into the face, permanently changing one's appearance."

Hu Ming tossed the bottle to Xie Lianhuan, lit a cigarette, and explained casually.

"Jie Lianhuan is long dead. Now there's only Wu Sansheng... two Wu Sanshengs, what a pity."

"That guy actually had a time when he gave up everything for love, choosing to live out his life alone in the Western Queen Mother's Kingdom waiting for Chen Wenjin? Foolish!"

"Fortunately, he has already completed his part of the plan, so the rest will be fine with or without him!"

He roughly pried open the bottle neck, and without letting it breathe, he poured the rough liquor into his mouth. This was the first time in more than 20 years that Jie Lianhuan had ever drunk alcohol.

Just then, countless fireworks suddenly rose into the night sky outside the window, and at the same time, countless lights suddenly lit up in the dark and ghostly realm surrounding Wu Sansheng's villa!
"Time is up!"

Upon seeing this, Hu Ming and Xie Lianhuan both showed relieved smiles at the same time.