Tomb raiding: following the plot while tearing up the script

Su Li was sleeping soundly when a warm towel was smeared all over his face. He struggled to get up and saw Wu Xie squatting in front of him, smiling at him.

"Hmm, good morning, Xiao Tian~" Su Li greeted Wu Xie while roughly rubbing her face with a towel.

"Did you learn this wake-up service from a blind person?"

For a moment, he really thought Black Bear had followed him.

"The blind man's method was to pinch the nose, rub the cheeks, and then spray water with a water gun."

Su Li covered her face; these were indeed the methods Hei Xiazi used to wake her up.

Wu Xie found it amusing to think about how Hei Xiazi had secretly passed on his childcare experience to him during his first time raising a child independently.

Children are generally easy to wake up, but sometimes they may be groggy from sleep, in which case some unconventional methods are needed.

Su Li didn't perk up until she rubbed her little face until it was bright red.

At this moment, Lao Yang and Liang Shiye were already sitting by the campfire cooking breakfast, with a pot of boiling water next to them, presumably for him to wash up.

She nimbly got up, packed her sleeping bag, tidied her messy hair and tied it back up, then quickly ran to wash up and wait for dinner.

When I came back to eat breakfast after washing up, I happened to hear Lao Yang and Liang Shiye chatting.

Judging from the way Uncle Tai and his group acted yesterday, Lao Yang is really curious about the backgrounds of these guys whose styles are obviously mismatched, and how they got together.

Liang Shiye was on the second night watch. He seemed to be sleeping well and was full of energy. He wasn't holding a grudge about the two of them yesterday.

Master Liang sipped his hot water with a smile, as if savoring tea, before finally satisfying Lao Yang's curiosity.

"Since the old man has decided to work for Brother Wu, he will keep these things from you."

He gestured with his hands as he spoke.

"We're not exactly a group of people who were just put together temporarily, nor are we exactly old friends."

"What? What? This counts and that doesn't? No, it doesn't count. Old man, can you be more decisive? Just say it."

Liang Shiye remained as enigmatic as ever, unperturbed even when Lao Yang interrupted him, and continued speaking.

"I said we weren't a temporary team because we've all worked together before. Old Tai and Er Mazi used to be in this line of work, and they've worked with Boss Wang and Boss Li before."

As for me, this old man has a good eye and is quite well-known in our area. I've even been invited by Boss Wang and Boss Li to help me take a look at their products.

However, the few of us have never gotten together like this before.

"Hey old man, you weren't in this line of work before, so what are you doing here, just wandering around and getting involved?"

When Liang Shiye heard Lao Yang say this, he could only force a bitter smile.

The wounds on my body are still throbbing, so what am I doing just joining in the fun?

"As people get older, they become more arrogant, thinking that I have seen countless rare and precious treasures."

"But I haven't even seen what they looked like when they were first unearthed. Plus, the two bosses invited me to come and take a look, so I was just lured here!"

"To be honest, you're really wronging me by calling for my death."

When Lao Yang heard him mention last night, he wasn't embarrassed at all; he just asked him questions.

"That's strange. You, you guys, weren't there five, five people? How come, how come we only see you four? Where's the other person?"

When Liang Shiye heard Lao Yang ask about this, he touched the back of his neck with lingering fear.

"The other one is Boss Li."

He's such a fussman. He insisted on washing his face by the water, and by the time we heard the noise and looked over, a big fish had already snatched his head away.

When Lao Yang heard Liang Shiye mention the head, he immediately thought of the "big brother" that fell out of the fish's belly yesterday, which was the person named Pipa that Er Mazi later mentioned. He quickly told him to stop talking, saying that he not only knew about it, but had also seen it with his own eyes.

He then inquired about the backgrounds of the two bosses, as he was still concerned about the copy of "Riverwood Collection" that Wu Xie had kept.

When Liang Shiye started talking about this, he got really into it. The old man had the air of a storyteller. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would have loved to set up a table in front of him, slam a gavel, and ask the three audience members for a tip.

"Speaking of these two, they are truly remarkable. Although they appear to be just ordinary antique dealers now, their ancestors... Please allow me to elaborate..."

Suddenly, the air went quiet...

Lao Yang: ...

Wuxie: ...

Su Li tried clapping.

"good?"

Li, the king of cheerleading...

The strategist was satisfied. He stroked his specially grown beard and continued his storytelling career.

"Speaking of these two bosses, one's surname is Wang, and his given name is Qi; the other's surname is Li, and his given name is Pipa."

Both of them have made quite a name for themselves in our local antiques circle..."

The storyteller, Liang Shiye, an amateur enthusiast, finally gained his own fans and audience. When he told stories, his actions, expressions, tone and intonation became more and more accurate.

Even Wu Xie and Su Li, who knew this information in advance, listened with great interest.

Truly fascinating...

Listening to storytelling while holding a rice bowl—how could it not be interesting?

Liang Shiye rattled off a long story, starting with the family backgrounds and lives of Wang and Li, then moving on to their rise to fame, and finally even revealing their respective love lives and romantic entanglements.

It could all be published as a book about the scandalous secrets of a wealthy family; it's so captivating that you can't stop listening...

Upon hearing this, Wu Xie saw Su Li's big eyes light up and quickly stopped himself. He didn't want to be scolded by Xiao Hua by pulling his ear.

"So, that 'Collection of Riverwood' should actually have been passed down from Mr. Li's ancestors, then how did it end up in Mr. Wang's hands?"

The clerk smacked his lips, still savoring the moment, and waved his hand dismissively.

"I have no idea about that. The relationship between these two is quite delicate. They cooperate seamlessly yet also scheme against each other. I just don't understand."

They didn't take Liang Shiye's incomprehension seriously. This old fellow was shrewd and experienced; there was nothing he didn't understand. He was just putting on a humble scholar's air.

"What, what's going on here? I don't understand. Cooperation can bring more benefits. It's all about scheming to gain more benefits for oneself..."

Old Yang seemed not to understand Liang Shiye's humble words, and went straight to the point, it was unclear whether he was referring to Wang and Li or himself.

Master Liang had no objection to what Lao Yang said, just nodded with a smile, and then picked up his rice bowl to start filling his stomach.

After breakfast, the group organized the supplies and had Wu Xie put them away. Then Wu Xie took out a few small, lightweight backpacks containing emergency supplies and gave one to each person, just in case.

Yesterday, using the light from the signal flares, they scanned the space below and confirmed that it was the place Lao Yang had walked through before.

Lao Yang said that it wasn't difficult to go down to the area they were in. There were many sturdy footholds on the cliff below, and as long as one was careful, even an old man like Master Liang wouldn't have any problems.

The four men each had a headlamp clipped to their heads to free their hands. Following Lao Yang, they found the excellent climbing spot he had previously passed. With Lao Yang leading the way and Wu Xie bringing up the rear, they climbed down the dark cliff bottom.

Lao Yang was right. Although the cliff was steep, it was not difficult to climb. Liang Shiye was shaking like he had Parkinson's, but with Wu Xie pulling him up from time to time, he finally made it to the bottom of the cliff.

When he finally felt solid ground again, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground.

"Click..."

The sound of old planks cracking seemed to be accompanied by the snapping of dry branches.

The commotion made Liang Shiye's face stiffen. Under the complicated gazes of the others, he carefully shifted his position and stood up stiffly.

Just then, the spot where he had just sat was broken into several pieces by several rotten wooden planks. In the cracks between these gray-black planks, one could vaguely see a few pieces of white bone.