Chapter 11 Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth (9) - The Treasure Hunter: He's here to find treasure. ...
Upon hearing this, Wei Li chuckled very softly, ignoring her teasing remark.
He turned his gaze to Chen Zigui in the corner and reminded them, "We need to find a way to wake him up, otherwise it will be very difficult to carry him through the night."
Wu Yang immediately responded, grabbed Chen Zigui's hospital gown collar with both hands, and began to shake him vigorously, "Wake up! Zigui! Wake up! Don't sleep!"
However, Chen Zigui remained unresponsive, his body limp like a puppet with its strings cut. He swayed weakly a few times before collapsing again.
"Phew... I'm exhausted." Wu Yang breathed heavily as he let go of her hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead in frustration.
He took a bottle of mineral water out of his backpack, unscrewed it, took a few sips, and then casually picked up another bottle and handed it to Wei Li, who was standing next to him, saying, "Water."
"No, I don't like this." Wei Li politely declined with a smile.
Lan Shuyin kept observing them secretly as they spoke.
Kui Li's every word and action exudes a refined and elegant demeanor.
If Wu Yang gives the impression of a well-protected, sunny, and innocent rich younger brother, then Wei Li, who seems to be around the same age, is more like a noble and composed wealthy man himself.
However, he also exudes an elusive sense of mystery.
His thorough understanding of the terrain and situation in this area is something that ordinary hikers cannot possess.
Lan Shuyin quickly calculated in her mind and decided to take the initiative to test the waters.
She spoke casually, as if it were just a casual chat, "Kui Li, did you come here because of the rumors online?"
She devised some clever ideas to solve this problem.
He deliberately obscured the specifics of the "legend"—was it a haunted armchair, or some other more secretive rumor? His answer would allow us to deduce his true purpose.
Kui Li turned to look at her and smiled slightly, "I'm here to find the treasure."
This blunt and unvarnished answer made Lan Shuyin's throat tighten, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond, whether to continue asking questions or to stop there.
Wu Yang, however, was completely naive and intrigued. He blinked and leaned closer to ask, "Treasure? What kind of treasure could there be in this desolate wilderness?"
"Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth".
"Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth?" Wu Yang repeated in surprise, "Isn't that what those vicious guys are desperately looking for?"
Kui Li shook his head. "It's not just them."
Wu Yang belatedly realized the implication of those words and suddenly became wary. He subconsciously moved closer to the unconscious Chen Zigui, and his tone became defensive, "You...you don't also think that we know where that thing is, do you? We've never seen it! Really!"
His tense and wary demeanor only earned him a fleeting glance from Wei Li.
Kui Li raised his hand. "When I'm looking for something, I never rely on living people to ask me for help."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange certainty.
Lan Shuyin and Wu Yang then noticed that a group of tiny ants had gathered beside his hand.
Kui Li's hands are beautiful, long and strong, with fingertips that exude an artist's dexterity.
At this moment, there was a tiny, almost transparent, shimmering white powder on the tip of his index finger, almost imperceptible unless you looked closely.
He gently shook off the powder.
The moment the powder touched the ground, it seeped into the soil silently, like water droplets dissolving into a sponge, leaving no trace visible to the naked eye.
However, what happened next took everyone's breath away—
The ants on the ground suddenly began to crawl rapidly in small circles, their antennae vibrating at an unprecedented frequency, as if they were having an extremely intense argument with each other.
The chaos subsided within seconds.
All the ants suddenly changed direction, forming an almost eerie, straight line, and quickly crawled into the darkness deeper into the ruins.
Kui Li slowly stood up.
"Though the earth's spirit is small, its nature is keen and intelligent. Spirit ants despise death and gravitate towards places where life is most abundant. And the 'life force' that attracts them is often extraordinary."
Wu Yang looked confused and bewildered. He vaguely felt that Wei Li had just accomplished something remarkable, but he couldn't understand the mystery behind it at all.
Lan Shuyin, however, was horrified.
This incredible skill in manipulating the earth's spirits made her vaguely recall an identity—a treasure hunter.
A profession that is extremely rare and exists only in ancient folk tales.
"You know how to get from here. I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave now." Wei Li deftly slung his backpack over his shoulder with one hand, gave them a slight nod, and then turned and stepped into the increasingly dark twilight.
"Well……"
"He just left like that?" Wu Yang stared blankly in the direction he disappeared, clearly still reeling from the series of events.
Lan Shuyin suppressed the turmoil in her heart, "This place is not safe to stay any longer, let's leave as soon as possible."
"Sister Yin... do you have a way to wake Zigui up?"
"You lead the way," Lan Shuyin said succinctly, already squatting down. "I'll carry him on my back."
At first, Wu Yang was extremely unwilling.
In his words, what kind of thing is it for a young woman to carry a man like me, who is full of energy and vitality? But Lan Shuyin was adamant. Wu Yang could carry someone at a snail's pace, and she was more confident in her own physical strength.
Chen Zigui wasn't too heavy, and the rest of the journey was relatively flat. Lan Shuyin held up her phone in one hand to light the way, and used a thick tree branch she had picked up as a walking stick in the other, making her way forward with difficulty.
The cold air she inhaled quickly turned into heavy breathing, and sweat gradually soaked her forehead and back.
Perhaps it was because the sky was completely dark, and the deathly silence and darkness of the deep mountains and forests seemed to lurk countless eyes, bringing an invisible and chilling sense of fear.
Lan Shuyin stared at Wu Yang's slightly swaying back, outlined by the flashlight beam, while the image of the twisted, enormous black shadow dripping blood from the old locust tree flashed uncontrollably before her eyes.
She shook her head vigorously, and suddenly heard Wu Yang's relieved voice, "Sister Yin, we're out!"
Almost at the same moment, the person on her back, who had been drowsy, let out a soft groan, and moved their limp arm, slowly waking up.
Upon seeing this, Wu Yang immediately rushed to her side, "Zi Gui, Zi Gui, how are you?"
Lan Shuyin put the person down and straightened up to stretch her almost stiff back.
She pursed her lips, glanced at Chen Zigui who was looking around blankly, gradually coming to his senses, and felt a surge of frustration.
She didn't wake up earlier or later, but only after she had carried her out of the most difficult part of the path! All that sweat was for nothing!
Chen Zigui's gaze slowly focused, landing on Wu Yang, whose face was full of concern.
For a fleeting moment, a sharp hesitation and uncertainty seemed to flash across his eyes, as if some vague fragments of memory were being pieced together, yet he couldn't be sure.
"How...how did I get here?" His voice was hoarse, filled with the weakness and confusion of someone just waking up.
"And you dare say that! You left a note and disappeared, making Yin-jie and me worry to death. We searched all the way to this godforsaken place... and we almost got buried alive!"
While Wu Yang was complaining, Lan Shuyin had already handed the note to Chen Zigui.
Her gaze was fixed on his expression, not missing a single subtle change. "Did you write this?"
Chen Zigui glanced at it and shook his head, saying, "No."
When Lan Shuyin asked the question, she already had a premonition, but when she heard him deny it, a trace of unavoidable disappointment still quietly swept over her heart.
It wasn't him.
Who could it be?
A pervert hiding in the shadows, silently watching her every move? Lan Shuyin couldn't help but shudder.
Suppressing the unease surging in her heart, she decisively chose to leave. "Since you're awake and alright, I won't go to the hospital with you. Be careful on your own from now on. I'm leaving now."
Without waiting for Wu Yang to stop him, he quickly turned around and walked away along the path down the mountain, his figure soon disappearing into the thick night.
I arrived at the high-speed rail station at 10 p.m.
Not only has the last high-speed train already departed, but the station itself is also closed.
Lan Shuyin's luggage was still stored at the station, so she had no choice but to find a hotel nearby to stay in.
She had just applied medicine to her shoulder and lay down on the bed when her phone screen lit up. It was a message from Wu Yang:
[Sister Yin, thank you so much for today. I know you didn't need to go to such lengths for us.]
[You left too quickly. I originally wanted to thank you properly in person. Zigui said he absolutely had to call and thank you in person. But I told him that Sister Yin would probably be startled if she heard my phone ring, so I shouldn't scare her.]
So... sending a text message to say thank you shouldn't scare you, right? Haha!
This younger brother, surprisingly, understands her well.
Lan Shuyin couldn't help but smile. Just as she was about to type a reply, a bank card deposit notification suddenly popped up at the top of her phone.
[Your account ending in 1122 received a deposit of RMB 100,000.00 at 23:14.]
Lan Shuyin suddenly sat up in bed, her eyes widening instantly.
100,000!
She immediately exited the chat interface and, sure enough, saw an unread email from that mysterious benefactor in her inbox.
The email, sent two minutes ago, was simple: it asked her to add an extra advertisement to a previously filmed video of Qigu Village and post it online, promising to pay the remaining half of the payment upon completion. A link was attached at the end.
Upon seeing this request, Lan Shuyin actually breathed a sigh of relief.
She understood the rules of this industry. If the other party truly had no ulterior motives and was spending lavishly purely out of curiosity, she would suspect that there might be a bigger trap hidden behind the money.
Transactions with clearly marked prices are more reassuring.
Lan Shuyin quickly replied with an "OK" and clicked on the link.
The browser redirected to a beautifully designed webpage—the official website of a high-end custom wedding dress shop.
"So they're in the wedding dress business..." Lan Shuyin murmured to herself, realizing what was going on.
Thinking that she would start editing the video after returning to Beijing the next day, she lay down with excitement, ready to fall asleep.
However, perhaps because the day's experiences were too dramatic and her mind was constantly in a state of high tension, Lan Shuyin was very excited and not sleepy at all, despite being physically exhausted.
She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
suddenly--
Thump, thump, thump.
Three clear and slow knocks suddenly sounded outside the hotel room door.
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