Chapter 50: Homework. All of this is original content.

The black sedan on the street corner didn't stay long. As the engine roared out of the alley, carrying the damp chill of the rain, Zhang Qiling was bending down to straighten Hei Xiazi's crooked collar. He paused when his fingertips touched the shallow scar on the back of Hei Xiazi's neck—it wasn't a new wound, but one he'd sustained a few days ago when he shielded Xiao Hua from Wu Jia's hidden dart. The dart had been coated with a poison that dissipated his strength, but Hei Xiazi had endured it without saying a word, only discovering it when he developed a low-grade fever that night.

"The person watching you is gone." Zhang Qiling's voice was soft, yet it precisely drowned out the footsteps on the bluestone slabs outside the courtyard. He raised his hand and pressed Hei Xiazi's temples, his fingertips still warm from the coal stove. "The poison hasn't been completely cleared, don't push yourself."

Hei Xiazi didn't reply. Instead, he reached out and hooked his wrist, pulling him closer to the bamboo chair. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on their intertwined hands. He could clearly feel the faint old mark on Zhang Qiling's wrist bone. It was from his previous life in Changbai Mountain, left to shield him from the Chi Gu. At that time, Zhang Qiling hadn't lost his memory yet. He carried him for three miles in the snow to find herbs, his fingertips turning purple from the cold, but he didn't let go.

"Don't worry," Black Bear shook his wrist, his smile casual yet confident, "If I really can't hold on, I'll be the first one to ask you for candy."

The conversation was abrupt and incomplete. When Wu Xie looked up from the gazetteer, he only caught the tail end of the sentence: "What candy? You blind man, you've been hiding snacks?"

Xiao Hua was wiping her folding fan with a handkerchief when she heard this. She glanced at the two people by the bamboo chair, and the understanding in her eyes deepened. Just now, when Zhang Qiling went to buy breakfast, she clearly saw a person in a gray cloth shirt nodding at Zhang Qiling at the alley entrance. That gesture was a secret code unique to the Zhang family overseas, and it was definitely not a lone wolf. He didn't point it out, but just tapped the table: "Stop chatting. The road to the back mountain is difficult to walk. If we're late, we won't make it for dinner."

When the four of them finished getting ready and went out, the rain had completely stopped. The path on the back mountain was indeed muddy, and Wu Xie twisted his ankle after only a few steps. Xiao Hua helped him up and cursed, "Clumsy!" Her own trouser legs were also covered in mud. On the other hand, Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi walked steadily as if they were on flat ground. Hei Xiazi was carrying a bamboo basket filled with pastries for a relative, which Zhang Qiling had specially gone out of his way to buy that morning. He remembered that in his previous life, Wu Xie's distant aunt had a particular fondness for the osmanthus cakes from the town's old shop.

After walking for about half an hour, the woods ahead suddenly fell silent. The birdsong stopped abruptly, and even the sound of the wind rustling the leaves seemed to weaken. Zhang Qiling suddenly raised his hand and pressed down on Hei Xiazi's shoulder, and the two stopped simultaneously, their movements as synchronized as if they had practiced a thousand times.

"Something's not right." Black Bear's voice turned deep, and a short knife appeared in his hand at some point. "This forest was fine when Little Flower came to scout it out yesterday, but now even the chirping of insects has stopped."

Wu Xie and Xiao Hua tensed up. Wu Xie took out a flashlight from his backpack, but Zhang Qiling stopped him just as he was about to turn it on. "Don't turn on the light." Zhang Qiling's fingertips were cool. "The homeless people have installed infrared scopes on the trees. If you turn on the light, you'll be a target."

He had barely finished speaking when a "whoosh" sounded overhead. Almost instinctively, Hei Xiazi grabbed Wu Xie, and a crossbow bolt, painted green, grazed Wu Xie's arm and embedded itself in a nearby tree trunk, its fletching still buzzing. Immediately afterward, five or six men in black, each wielding a long knife, sprang from the woods and charged straight at the four.

Zhang Qiling didn't draw his sword, but simply dodged the first person's attack, his elbow striking the man's chest. The man groaned and fell to the ground, never to rise again. Hei Xiazi, meanwhile, protected Xiao Hua, slicing open the second person's wrist with his short sword. His movements were so fast they were just afterimages. This was the true mark of a top-tier martial artist; his previous injuries were merely deliberate openings to protect the two "hindrances."

Wu Xie was dumbfounded, almost dropping his flashlight. He then realized that Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi hadn't been deliberately cooperating, yet they always managed to fill in the gaps when the other needed them: when Zhang Qiling kicked away the third person's longsword, Hei Xiazi had already circled behind that person, his short sword pressed against his neck; when the fourth person tried to ambush Zhang Qiling from behind, Hei Xiazi casually threw a pebble, which accurately hit the person's knee.

Within two minutes, all six men in black were lying on the ground. Xiao Hua helped Wu Xie to his feet. His trouser leg was torn, and blood was seeping from his calf, but he remained calm: "These people are Wu Jia's assassins. It seems they've been watching us for a while."

Hei Xiazi squatted down, rummaged through one of the people's pockets, pulled out a bronze plaque engraved with the character "无" (meaning "nothing"), and casually tossed it to Zhang Qiling: "They've arrived two days earlier than in my previous life. Looks like they're in a hurry."

He spoke casually, and Wu Xie and Xiao Hua simply assumed that Hei Xiazi had fought against the Wu family before and didn't think much of it. Zhang Qiling, however, frowned as he held the bronze token—in their previous life, they encountered the assassins only after finding their aunt, but this time it happened earlier, indicating that the Wu family's plan had changed, and something had probably happened to their aunt.

"Come on, hurry up." Zhang Qiling stuffed the bronze medal into his pocket, turned around and walked deeper into the forest, his pace quickening. Hei Xiazi immediately followed, handing the bamboo basket to Xiao Hua: "Hold onto Wu Xie, don't fall behind."

They hadn't walked far when a house with blue bricks and tiles came into view. The copper ring on the gate was rusty, but it wasn't locked. Just as Zhang Qiling was about to push the door open, Hei Xiazi suddenly grabbed his wrist and pointed to the spider web on the lintel. The web was newly formed, but half of it was broken, indicating that someone had just gone inside.

"I'll go first." Hei Xiazi drew his short knife and gently pushed open the courtyard gate. The courtyard was eerily quiet, with only the door to the main room ajar, from which faint groans could be heard. Wu Xie was about to call out "Auntie" when Zhang Qiling covered his mouth.

Zhang Qiling pointed to the window of the main room, indicating that Hei Xiazi should go around through the window, while he himself moved along the wall towards the door. Their movements were as light as cats', not even a sound of their shoes scraping the ground. Wu Xie and Xiao Hua, hiding outside the courtyard gate, could only see Zhang Qiling's back. His hand holding the Black Gold Ancient Sword was steady, but when Hei Xiazi climbed through the window, his fingertips twitched slightly, as if confirming the other's location.

A moment later, a muffled thud came from the main room. Zhang Qiling immediately pushed open the door and saw two men in black lying on the ground. Hei Xiazi was helping an old woman with white hair sit in a chair. The old woman's arms were tied red and her mouth was stuffed with a strip of cloth.

"Auntie!" Wu Xie rushed in and untied the gag from the old woman's mouth. The old woman gasped for breath and pointed at the men in black on the ground: "They...they said they were looking for you, and they asked where the jade bracelet your mother left behind was..."

Zhang Qiling crouched down and checked the black-clad man's carotid artery, confirming that he was no longer breathing. He looked up at Hei Xiazi, who understood and took out a small copper whistle from his pocket, blowing a very soft whistle. This was a signal to the Zhang family's overseas agents to dispose of the body and avoid leaving any traces.

"A jade bracelet?" Xiao Hua frowned. "Wu Xie, did your mother leave behind a jade bracelet?"

Wu Xie shook his head: "I've never seen it. My parents left home early, and my dad has never mentioned it."

The old lady sighed, took out a cloth bag from her bosom, and opened it to find a bluish-white jade bracelet with intricate patterns engraved on it: "This is what your mother left behind when she passed away. She said that if anyone ever came looking for her, she would give this to you and have you go to the Wujia Ancestral Hall in Longshan County to find the answer."

When Zhang Qiling's gaze fell on the jade bracelet, his pupils contracted slightly. He remembered this jade bracelet; in his previous life, Wu Xie had taken it to the ancestral shrine, where it triggered a mechanism that nearly cost Hei Xiazi his life.

“You can’t take this to the ancestral hall.” Zhang Qiling suddenly spoke, his voice colder than usual. “This bracelet is bait for the homeless; it will trigger a mechanism.”

Wu Xie was taken aback: "Brother, how did you know?"

Zhang Qiling didn't answer, but instead reached out and took the jade bracelet, rubbing the patterns on it with his fingertips. Hidden within the patterns were extremely fine cinnabar particles, a specially made mechanism by the Wu family. Seeing this, Hei Xiazi immediately smoothed things over: "I've seen similar things when dealing with the Wu family before; these patterns are their mark."

Wu Xie and Xiao Hua didn't ask any more questions, assuming it was based on their past experience. The old lady handed the jade bracelet to Wu Xie: "Then this bracelet..."

"Keep it for now." Hei Xiazi took the jade bracelet and put it into Wu Xie's backpack. "Wu Jia thought we would take it to the ancestral hall, so we'll just play along." As he said this, he glanced at Zhang Qiling out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that the other party nodded, he continued, "We'll rest at Auntie's house tonight and go to the ancestral hall tomorrow. The Zhang family from overseas will meet us on the way."

"The Zhang family overseas?" Xiao Hua raised an eyebrow. "Brother, did you contact them?"

Zhang Qiling then spoke calmly: "We made contact when we left Hangzhou. The Wu family's power is too great; we can't fight them head-on." He didn't mention that this was a plan he had laid out after his rebirth, nor did he mention that the Zhang family overseas had been watching the Wu family's movements for a long time. He simply attributed everything to "preparations in advance."

At dinner, the old lady cooked sweet potato porridge. Zhang Qiling ladled a bowl and handed it to Hei Xiazi, adding an extra piece of sweet potato—he knew Hei Xiazi had used up a lot of energy fighting in the afternoon and couldn't eat anything too greasy. Hei Xiazi took the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and held it to Zhang Qiling's lips: "You should eat some too. You haven't eaten much this afternoon."

Zhang Qiling didn't dodge and took a bite from his hand. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on their clasped hands. Wu Xie and Xiao Hua were so focused on drinking their porridge that they didn't notice this subtle interaction. Only the old lady glanced at them, a gentle smile appearing in her eyes.

That night, Wu Xie and Xiao Hua slept in the east wing, while Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi slept in the west wing. As soon as they closed the door, Hei Xiazi leaned against it, looking at Zhang Qiling: "Do you still remember the location of the mechanism in the ancestral shrine tomorrow?"

Zhang Qiling nodded, walked to the table and sat down. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and quickly sketched the layout of the ancestral hall with a charcoal pencil: "This is the main hall. The mechanism is on the roof beams and will shoot poisoned arrows; this is the rear hall. There is a trap, and below it are corpse beetles." When he drew the rear hall, his fingertips paused. "In your past life, you fell down here. When I pulled you up, your arm was bitten by a corpse beetle."

Hei Xiazi walked over and hugged him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder: "It's all in the past. This time, I'm here. I won't let you save me alone again." His breath fell on Zhang Qiling's neck, carrying warmth. "The Zhang family overseas will be waiting outside the main hall. As long as we protect Wu Xie and Xiao Hua to a safe area, we can deal with the Wujia people."

Zhang Qiling took his hand in return, his fingertips brushing against the old scar on the back of his hand—a scar left from saving him in a past life. "Mmm," he responded softly, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tenderness, "This time, I won't let you get hurt again."

Black Bear smiled and whispered in his ear, "If I really get hurt, will you still stitch up my wounds like before? Don't make the stitches too close together, I'm afraid of the pain."

Zhang Qiling's ears burned slightly. He didn't speak, but simply tightened his grip on Zhang Qiling's hand. Moonlight streamed through the paper window, falling on their intertwined shadows. It was quiet and peaceful, just like they had longed for for many years—no pursuit, no conspiracy, only the warmth between them.

At that moment, the black sedan at the alley entrance returned. Behind the car window, a man looked at the lights of his aunt's house and typed a message on his phone: "Jade bracelet obtained. Target: Ancestral hall tomorrow. Mechanism activated."