Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 731 A Helpless Reality!
"I find it hard to imagine that someone as cold and hard as you would have the idea of ​​paying off Wu Sansheng's debts..."

Under Wu Xie's approving gaze, Hu Ming sneered.

Wu Erbai is this person...

If we say that the eldest brother, Wu Yiqiong, is a weak-willed person who can even cry when things happen, then...

Wu Sansheng was an extremely ambitious man; once he set his mind on something, he would do it regardless of the unbearable price he would pay.

Wu Erbai, on the other hand, is an extremely calm and rational person, whose rationality almost completely suppresses his emotions—a truly intelligent individual.

Others might not know this, but Wu Xie was fully aware of it.

"Ah!"

Wu Erbai chuckled softly.

Both Hu Ming and he understood that this was just Hu Ming joking.

Calmness, even to the point of ruthlessness, is still human. Humans have hearts of flesh and blood, soft spots, and people or things they care about.

Throughout Wu Erbai's life, apart from his family, there were very few people or things that he cared about.

Having been the true pillar of the Wu family for half his life, Wu Erbai's emotions had long been worn away by the cruel reality. But because of this, Wu Erbai valued the blood ties that were thicker than water more than anyone else.

"..."

Seeing Wu Erbai's rare genuine smile, Wu Xie sighed. He recalled his conversations with Wu Erbai before coming here, after leaving the South Sea King's Palace.

"...I'm tired, I'm going to rest now. Uncle, the people from Warehouse Eleven are coming first thing tomorrow morning, right? I'll prepare in advance."

With a disheartened sigh, Wu Xie waved his hand.

"You confessed to him? You and Wu Sansheng orchestrated this scheme together?"

Hu Ming stared speechlessly at Wu Xie's retreating figure, then glanced at the still indifferent Xiao Ge and the silent Fatty, realizing something.

To pass censorship, the TV series deleted too much key information about the South China Sea King's underground palace, and even glossed over many parts with vague descriptions. However, it seems that the events in the South China Sea King's underground palace are the same as those in the original novel.

"Only the first half."

Wu Erbai lit a cigarette, glanced at the silent fat man, and said softly.

"Understood!"

Hu Ming nodded knowingly.

Anyone who has read the original novel of "The Lost Tomb" knows that, apart from the Sand Sea, Wu Xie can be considered the mastermind behind the scenes, and he rose to prominence once.

In fact, the story of the desert is still inseparable from the Wu family's scheming behind the scenes.

In most other cases, Wu Xie is caught in the middle of the situation, forced to walk a path that is already planned and arranged by others.

This time, it is no exception.

But what's most frustrating is that the entire scheme orchestrated by Wu Erbai and Wu Sansheng has only one central idea: to do what's best for Wu Xie.

…This is a very frustrating, infuriating, and frustrating situation.

If you're a person, and someone uses the guise of "doing what's best for you" to arbitrarily design your life without your consent, no one would feel good in that situation.

Even though they genuinely mean well.

However, Wu Xie couldn't refute Wu Erbai's words at all.

Wu Xie's experiences over the years, coupled with his physical condition, have truly crossed the line for everyone in the Wu family.

Wu Xie is the only son in three generations of the Wu family. No one wants him to spend the rest of his life trapped in this industry with his life hanging in the balance. Wu Xie is, after all, a son. He may not care about his own safety, but he must care about his elders.

In any era, it is considered extremely unfilial for parents to outlive their children.

"To be honest, if I were Wu Xie, even if I understood your good intentions, I would definitely turn against you." "People are independent and have their own independent thoughts. Wu Xie is an adult. He can think for himself and has the right to choose the life he wants. Even if you are his elders, you have no right to force him to live according to your ideas."

Hu Ming said in a deep voice.

"Xiao Xie is in his thirties or forties this year, and I am in my fifties or sixties. Xiao Xie's father is a few years older than me."

“Hu Ming, we are not you, not Zhang Qiling, not Blind Qi. We are just ordinary people. At our age, to exaggerate, we have even written our wills long ago, because no one knows whether we will wake up tomorrow.”

“Xiao Xie is the eldest son! He shouldn’t be so selfish. Besides himself, he should also be responsible for his parents and the elderly lady! He absolutely cannot die before the older generation passes away.”

"This is the most basic filial piety that a son and grandson should fulfill! If a person reaches a certain age and still causes worry to their elderly parents and grandparents, that's not just being heartless, that's being incompetent!"

Wu Erbai closed his eyes, his voice stiff.

"But when Wu Xie was young and didn't understand anything, it was you family members who used him as a pawn, planning to pull him into a game against Buddha and that other person once he came of age, wasn't that right?"

"Isn't it you elders who brought Wu Xie into this quagmire he can never escape, into that dangerous situation?"

"Perhaps, there's me too..."

Hu Ming rarely showed a hint of sarcasm, and after a moment, he added with some complexity.

He wasn't targeting the Wu family. He knew they did this because the situation back then was too dire, and this was their only hope. Any mishap would mean certain death for everyone.

Hu Ming's mockery was directed at the fate of this darling, and... at his third uncle.

To put it bluntly, Wu Xie's life so far can be summed up in one sentence: he's been a pawn.

This is very sad.

"It's our incompetence as elders that has burdened the innocent next generation of children..."

"For half a century, the Wu and Xie families have sacrificed far too many lives simply for survival. Perhaps this is Xiao Xie's fate to be born into the Wu family."

"Both Lao San and I feel guilty towards this child. It was our incompetence that led to Xiao Xie's early life."

"Therefore, now that the situation is better and we have the ability, we absolutely cannot let Xiao Xie follow the same path as us in the second half of his life."

"Although our approach was too harsh and too ruthless!"

"To cure Xiao Xie's illness and let him escape this dangerous profession for the rest of his life, so that he can live a peaceful and ordinary life, no matter what, this is something we must achieve."

"Xiao Xie deserved a better and happier life. His life shouldn't have been filled with so much suffering, so tragic!"

"This is our fault, and we should make amends for it."

Wu Erbai lost interest in the conversation. How could a rational man like him not know that their forceful setup had genuinely offended the parties involved?
But as parents, no one wants to see their child die in some ancient tomb one day.

The longer you work in this industry, the more you realize that it's a huge quagmire where people are constantly struggling to make a living. A peaceful life is the greatest happiness that is always out of reach.

This is something that two generations of them have longed for their entire lives but could never obtain. Although it may not be what Wu Xie wants, it is something they are determined to give to their child.

"Innocent, naive, Hu Ming, do you remember how I described 'innocent' when we first met a long, long time ago?"

"His personality is simply not suited for this kind of work."

"However, we are friends, best friends. No matter what Tianzhen decides, I, Fatty, will be with him. If he wants to continue this kind of life, I, Fatty, will accompany him to die together in some grave someday."

"If he gets tired of it and wants to rest, it's not impossible for me to go into seclusion with him. I've been underground all my life, and I'm getting old and a bit tired."

"Actually, Hu Ming, brother, after we met that First Emperor and heard some of your stories about him and the fates of some of his companions, we already knew."

"Compared to naivety, the future of the two of you is destined to be more..."

Fatty was never a stupid person. In this line of work, you can't survive on just brute force. Fatty may seem like the kind of reckless person who often makes lewd jokes, but deep down, he is a very shrewd person.

He sees through many things very clearly!