Tomb raiding: following the plot while tearing up the script

Under Wu Xie's ambiguous, half-smiling gaze, Lao Yang couldn't continue speaking.

In his original plan, even if Lao Wu woke up and found that he was not there, given their relationship, as long as his fabricated reason was complete and bizarre enough, he could really fool him into it.

Moreover, given Lao Wu's personality, she might be able to win him over and make him more proactive on the road ahead, instead of dawdling and stopping like he had the previous two days.

But now, looking into Lao Wu's eyes, he couldn't say anything.

Su Li sorted the wild fruits in front of her into different categories and piled them into individual portions, then reached out and poked Wu Xie.

Although these wild fruits don't have the same effects as the spiritual fruits that Master feeds them, such as prolonging life and replenishing spiritual energy, they are rare. Eating these is like opening a blind box, with each one offering a new flavor.

Moreover, Golden Monkey selects products with guaranteed quality!

Wu Xie knew that Ali was giving him a way out; if he kept staring, this fake Lao Yang would start making up stories again.

Ghosts, hallucinations, madness, ghostly whispers...

Heh, I have people in my team who actually raise ghosts, why would I be afraid of that?

Wu Xie glared at Lao Yang, feigning anger, then ruffled Su Li's messy head of hair and carefully put the fruit away.

Lao Yang was not relieved by Wu Xie's decision not to press the matter further; instead, he became even more uneasy. This was unlike Wu Xie's usual inquisitive nature.

Especially when Wu Xie calmly got up to keep watch and then tried to send him to sleep, his hair stood on end.

In this situation, he was afraid that as soon as he fell asleep, Wuxie would either chop him up or simply abandon him and run home, giving up on playing.

He sat by the fire with a forced smile, refusing to move, and said that he could keep watch all night without any problem, so Wuxie could continue to rest.

Seeing that he insisted, Wu Xie had no intention of making things difficult for him. He was willing to stay, so he would stay, as an apology for using him.

Knowing that he wouldn't let Lao Yang get hurt before he achieved his goal, Wu Xie protected Su Li in a more secluded spot and then slept soundly until dawn.

The next morning, after washing up, the three of them prepared to continue their journey.

Retracing his steps, he returned to the three-way intersection in front of the dilapidated temple. Under Wu Xie's accusing gaze, Lao Yang awkwardly took the right-hand path, the one the aunties had walked on the day before.

I walked and stopped frequently, and it didn't feel like I had walked for very long. Looking up, I could vaguely see wisps of smoke drifting in the distance.

Sure enough, after turning a corner where a large tree blocked their view, a village with crisscrossing illusions appeared before them.

Under a big tree at the village entrance, several old men were eating fried dough sticks and pancakes while chatting, occasionally bursting into laughter, looking very happy.

Lao Yang originally suggested bypassing that village and setting off directly.

Villages that are said to have mountain girls on lookouts are not simple places.

Those desperate outlaws who venture into the mountains will likely use this place as their last supply point.

This means that villagers naturally tend to be wary of unfamiliar faces, as it's easy for them to get into trouble if they go in like that.

Wu Xie had a different idea; he wanted to go into the village to see if he could find out what happened after the aunties returned yesterday.

I wonder if my 'four million' has swindled Uncle Tai and his group. Judging from how happy those old men are, it's very likely that it has.

Seeing that Wu Xie was really insistent, Lao Yang had no choice but to tell him not to speak after entering the village and to leave the matter to him.

Wu Xie and Su Li nodded. They just wanted to watch the show and didn't have much desire to communicate. They obediently followed him around the village.

After circling back and forth several times, we finally arrived at one place.

We stopped in front of a two-story tiled house.

In front of the tiled house was a neatly arranged small courtyard, with stacks of dried firewood neatly piled up in one corner.

To the right of the courtyard is a small well with a rocking chair next to it. An old man with a white beard is lying on it, leisurely sunbathing.

Lao Yang pointed to the little old man and whispered to Wu Xie.

"Old, Old Liu, we're acquaintances, you can ask him."

The old man whom Lao Yang called Old Liu was not from this village. When he was young, it was a time of chaos, with warlords fighting each other and conscripting men everywhere.

He fled all the way here, and with his excellent hunting skills, he became a hunter here and settled down.

Although he is over eighty years old, he is in very good health and knows this deep mountain like his own backyard.

Because of his familiarity with this mountain forest, teams that want to enter the mountains, whether official or private, licensed or illegal, will first ask him to be their guide a few times. Only after they are familiar with the environment will they dare to move around in these deep mountains.

He was very happy doing this job. Firstly, it brought in money quickly, and secondly, it gave him a high social status, making him influential in the village.

Old Liu clearly remembered Lao Yang. As soon as he saw Lao Yang coming to see him, he shook his head at Lao Yang without Lao Yang even having to say anything.

"You can't go, you can't go. It's not the right time to go into the mountains. I won't be leading the team anymore, and you'd better not go into the mountains either."

Wu Xie pushed aside Lao Yang, who was about to talk to Lao Liu, and handed Lao Liu a cigarette with a grin.

"Uncle Liu, what's wrong? It's autumn, the perfect time for hunting! I timed my arrival perfectly, why won't you let me in?"

Old Liu was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Wuxie to say that. "Young man...you're here to hunt?"

Wu Xie smiled and nodded. "Of course! What else could we be here for? It took us two days just to walk through these deep mountains and forests."

"I just wanted to take my younger brother out for a walk because the weather was nice. Boys need to participate in some spirited activities to get some exercise, right?"

Su Li was already used to her friends using her as an excuse in various ways. Without even thinking, she would unconsciously put on a well-behaved and shy smile.

Old Liu looked at the young boy following behind the young man. He was fair-skinned, with red lips and white teeth. He looked delicate and had long hair, like a little girl.

From a mountain perspective, he does seem a bit weak and not manly enough; he definitely needs to be tested by a courageous coach.

Lao Yang understood Wu Xie's meaning. "Uncle Liu, look at you, I stopped doing that kind of work a long time ago. Now, young people from outside like to come to our mountains. I'll take on this kind of work now, earn enough to make a living."

The old man smiled sheepishly, looking at Lao Yang with some satisfaction, indicating that he and Lao Yang had a good relationship.

"That's good, that's good. When I saw you come back, I thought you were like those other bastards, wanting to go back to Jiazigou."

Seeing that Old Liu had finally brought up Uncle Tai and the others, Wu Xie pretended to be very curious and moved closer to Old Liu.

"Uncle Liu, what do those grandsons you mentioned do? You seem to dislike them quite a bit?"

Su Li followed suit and joined in, both of them staring at Old Liu with their big, inquisitive eyes, perfectly portraying the naive and inexperienced young people.

Old Liu, seeing the innocent looks in their eyes, didn't suspect anything and spat out a curse.

"Those bastards are scoundrels. Over the years, they've swindled countless good things from the villagers at low prices."

He always acts like he's working hard for a pittance, but behind the scenes he's living a life of luxury, eating lavishly! If the debt collectors hadn't chased him all the way to the village entrance yesterday, we wouldn't have known this bastard was actually quite wealthy!