Winter Returns

Chapter 174 The End of the Show (Part 2) (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
At 2 p.m., he waited for Lu Qinglian downstairs at the hospital.

Zhang Shutong ultimately did not go to Ruoping's house with Du Kang. Everyone had their own things to do, and no one was an exception.

One act of impulsiveness is enough.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked Lu Qinglian.

"The recovery is going well, but you still need to rest."

Zhang Shutong nodded.

Lu Qinglian's curiosity was indeed very weak; she didn't even ask herself what she had done.

It wasn't far to get to the small house behind the hospital; it wasn't worth riding a bike. He pushed his bike ahead, and after a moment asked:
Are you free tonight?

"what's up?"

"My mom's been asking you to come over for dinner for ages," Zhang Shutong added. "It won't be too late, probably around five o'clock. What would you like to eat?"

"Don't rush to refuse," Zhang Shutong said before she could speak, "She bought a chicken, and the chicken soup was already simmering in the pot when I left."

"You did this on purpose?" Lu Qinglian asked, frowning.

"What do you mean by 'intentional'?" Zhang Shutong asked, puzzled.

"Something that was ordered this morning has been delayed until now."

Zhang Shutong understood what she meant: she had acted first and informed her later. If she had told her in the morning, she could have refused directly. But by the afternoon, when the food was already being cooked, it would have been impolite to refuse.

"That's not what I meant..." Zhang Shutong didn't know how to explain, so he simply went along with it, "Are you going or not?"

"it is good."

He then asked Lu Qinglian what dishes she wanted to eat, and she said anything was fine. Zhang Shutong knew he wouldn't get any answers, so he sent his mother a text message telling her to be creative.

The two soon arrived at the old house.

They returned to the tunnel in silence and quietly cleared away the debris. They had already cleared more than half of it by morning, but now that they were missing two helpers, their pace had slowed down considerably.

But some things can't be relied on others. Everyone sees the world differently. His best friends thought it was an adventure, but for him and Lu Qinglian, it was work that had to be done, even if it yielded no results in the end.

"Move the flashlight down a little."

Zhang Shutong snapped out of his daze and took the wooden beam from Lu Qinglian's hand.

"Zhang Shutong," she finally sighed, "if you're really feeling down, you can go upstairs and rest for a while. Don't just make things worse down here."

"How can you be so busy all by yourself that you can't even see things?" he said absentmindedly.

“There’s a strap on the flashlight that you can bite into, though I wouldn’t want to do that unless absolutely necessary,” she said absentmindedly, taking out another brick from it. “I mean, you’d better concentrate.”

"I thought the temple keeper had the ability to see in the dark."

"There is no such thing."

They took turns several times, then went to the ground to catch their breath.

At first, she thought it smelled terrible down there, but now she was almost numb to it. Zhang Shutong drank her water and saw her mother's message:

"Mom's going to buy some vegetables. Would you like some king oyster mushrooms?"

He remembered that the last time they ate at the villa, Lu Qinglian saw king oyster mushrooms for the first time, so she picked them up several times.

Is this behavior considered infidelity?

Who knew she would say something so surprising, even though her tone was very calm.

Zhang Shutong glanced at her helplessly:
"Could you please stop using a word you've just learned indiscriminately? At most, it's a well-intentioned thing to do."

"Really?" Lu Qinglian was also taking small sips of water. Her pink lips touched the bottle opening, but she could still speak clearly. "Besides Gu Qiumian, I met another woman at noon. I'd better not accept this offer."

Zhang Shutong looked at her with disbelief:
"How did you know?"

"Your behavior and that phone call at noon have made it very clear, or do you think you've hidden it well?" she said casually. "You were very excited when you left, but you seemed absent-minded when you came back. Zhang Shutong, I suddenly thought of a possibility: did you originally have plans for tonight, but were rejected, so you thought of inviting me to dinner?"

Zhang Shutong's gaze was beyond incomprehension.

"I'm sorry," he finally sighed. "Although it's slightly different from what you guessed, it's not too far off."

"There's no need to apologize, at least it shows you haven't turned your attention to me yet, so what do you call this?" She seemed to be researching a topic, thoughtfully saying, "I heard the girls in my class say, 'fickle,' or 'womanizing'?"

"I've already said, if you don't understand a word, don't use it randomly."

Zhang Shutong looked exasperated.
"Let's go."

He patted his behind, not really wanting to discuss this topic with her.

Lu Qinglian nodded her chin.

It was past four o'clock when they returned to the surface. Only a little debris remained in the tunnel. The two of them discussed it briefly and decided not to finish it in one go, but instead to return to the surface for a short rest.

First, make sure you have enough energy, in case there's any danger inside.

The evening glow had already begun to rise on the horizon, and because of the good sunshine, even the evening glow was tinged with orange-red.

The glow of the sunset reflected in Lu Qinglian's eyes. She squinted, seemingly enjoying this moment of peace.

Night was about to fall. Zhang Shutong watched the sunset quietly for a while. His mother had just called, urging them to come home for dinner. According to his mother, since they had finally managed to invite Lu Qinglian to their home, they couldn't just sit down and eat and leave. They should at least have a cup of hot tea.

He replied "right away," a message he had no choice but to respond to.

There was another message that I actually replied to in the afternoon. It was getting late; perhaps someone was standing on the deck in the sunset, having finished a short trip, the wind blowing her long hair. There seemed to be nothing more to say; it was a choice made long ago, and dwelling on it would only add to the trouble.

Zhang Shutong realized that he hadn't seen a sunset in a long time.

The sun was about to set, and he was almost done with his busy day. Tomorrow was Monday, the first day of school, and he would have to throw himself into a new battlefield, one wave after another.

My student life has turned out to be in such a strange state.

But similarly, the life I had envisioned is gone forever.

The clouds drifted by. He stretched, brushed the dust off his coat, and the two returned to the tunnel. The previously light and airy atmosphere suddenly shifted, making them more alert.

Walking in the cold, quiet underground, with only the sound of footsteps in their ears, Lu Qinglian continued to lead the way, and they soon reached the low wall—

Now it's finally clear that it really is a very thick wall, and in a sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a platform.

All that remained above were fragments of concrete.

Zhang Shutong put on his gloves, roused himself, and picked up the pieces one by one, dropping them at his feet. Then a steel bar lay before him—the last piece. Lu Qinglian stepped forward to lend a hand, and the two of them stepped back, gripping the bar together, and then pulled hard—

Amidst a cloud of dust, he coughed and quickly covered his mouth and nose.

—The tunnel has finally been cleared.

What appeared before them was an even deeper darkness.

Lu Qinglian turned on her flashlight and shone it directly in front of her. The beam of light spread out into a circle, which surprised Zhang Shutong.

This indicates that the depth is very short.

It was still the end. He subconsciously looked back, which meant that the tunnel was only a straight line, not the network of tunnels he had previously imagined. Qingyi had previously speculated that this was the entrance to the underground hospital, but now it seemed to be a dead end.

"What about up there?"

Zhang Shutong asked again.

"There is no entrance."

Then Lu Qinglian shone her flashlight around, and Zhang Shutong's gaze followed. He suddenly realized that the walls of this space were not smooth, nor were they made of cement, but rather...

soil?

Or rather, rock strata?

He frowned, as the space in front of him was less like a secret room and more like the end of a cave.

Yes, it was a cave. Counting several hundred meters back from his feet, the entire tunnel showed signs of construction everywhere, but this narrow space in front of him was very primitive, as if it had been suddenly stopped before it was completed.

The two looked at each other.

"Wait here."

Lu Qinglian commanded in an unquestionable tone.

Then she bit the flashlight, nimbly stepped onto the platform, and crouched down. Zhang Shutong could only tell her to be careful. Lu Qinglian quickly reached the other side, jumped down, looked around, and then the beam of light stopped on the left side of the cave wall.

Lu Qinglian stood there quietly, gazing at something.

"It's safe." After a long pause, she finally spoke, "Come in and take a look."

Zhang Shutong also climbed over the platform. As soon as his shoes touched the ground, the feel under his feet was indeed different. A smell of earth filled his nose. He touched the cave wall and felt the texture of soil.

At this moment, Lu Qinglian frowned and said:

"Look here first."

Zhang Shutong looked in the direction of the flashlight beam and his heart skipped a beat.

A fox grinning.

"..."

To be precise, it was a relief of a fox. Originally, the entire left wall was a rock face, and the fox was quietly carved into it. But Zhang Shutong felt a chill run down his spine because of this relief:
He reflexively remembered the picture his mother had shown him that morning; the happy fox was exactly the same as the relief sculpture in front of him!
Just as Zhang Shutong was about to speak, Lu Qinglian added:
"besides."

Then the beam of light moved.

Zhang Shutong was finally able to see the contents of the entire wall clearly. Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine, because there wasn't just one fox, but a full five—

A fox grinning.

A fox with its eyes wide open in anger.

A fox baring its fangs.

The faces in the other two images are blurred and indistinct.

Looking at the eerie fox picture, Zhang Shutong was speechless. Why were there foxes at the end of the tunnel?

Or rather, why would someone go to such lengths to block up a rock face with a fox relief?

Even though the basement on the other side, which held clues about the clay figure, wasn't locked, this side was completely blocked off.

What happened during the initial construction? Why did it suddenly stop here?

as well as--

What exactly is this tunnel?
A chill ran down Zhang Shutong's back. Suddenly, the beam of the flashlight went out, plunging him back into darkness. He opened his eyes wide, and the next moment, an icy hand covered his mouth.

"Shut up, someone's here."

Lu Qinglian said in a deep voice.

Zhang Shutong held his breath and listened intently. He felt a slight tremor in the soil beneath his feet, and soon footsteps came from afar.

someone!

Who is it?
The string in his mind tightened instantly.

But Zhang Shutong knew that no matter who it was, the two of them could not stay here any longer; the surroundings were too cramped, and there was not even room to fight.

He might have hidden if he were alone, but it was different with Lu Qinglian by his side. In the darkness, he heard a rustling sound, the sound of a down jacket fabric rubbing against cement. They both thought the same thing: Lu Qinglian had already climbed off the platform before him.

Zhang Shutong followed closely behind, and the two of them stood firmly one after the other without saying a word, simply leaning against the cement wall.

Soon a beam of light appeared in their sight, and the person came down the stairs.

So who?
A figure in the basement?

But then the beam of the flashlight shone in their direction.

There are only two paths after you go down the stairs.

Is it a coincidence, or an inevitability?

However, the beam of this flashlight was much weaker, far less powerful than the high-powered flashlights they had, allowing the two to remain hidden in the darkness.
Zhang Shutong squinted, adjusting his eyes to the light as he quickly made a judgment.

If it were a figure in the basement, the first thing the other person would check would be that basement... but he rejected this thought as soon as it arose.

wrong.

When they were clearing away debris in the morning, they took those concrete blocks to the ground. If the person who came was the one blocking this rock wall, they would have known what happened just by seeing the debris on it.

So it's inevitable?

Thinking of this, he became extremely vigilant.

The other side is now in the open, while they are in the shadows, which is actually a proactive situation for them.

Zhang Shutong took the flashlight from Lu Qinglian. His meaning was clear: if a fight was unavoidable later, he could suddenly turn on the flashlight to catch the other party off guard, which would also be a signal for Lu Qinglian to make her move.

The footsteps drew closer.

The two figures were about to be exposed to the light.
Zhang Shutong began to count silently in his mind.

three.

two.

"anyone there?"

The footsteps suddenly stopped:

"Is someone up ahead? I saw some mineral water bottles up there..."

Zhang Shutong suddenly paused, then put down the flashlight.

He said incredulously:
"…Senior?"

(End of this chapter)