Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

The two had just reached the door when Hei Xiazi's phone suddenly started vibrating wildly. As soon as he swiped to answer, a roar came from the other end of the line, so loud that even Shen Mingchao, who was standing next to him, could hear it clearly.

"Master!! That upside-down little man is chasing us!!! Why doesn't he go to your side!!!"

Shen Mingchao looked completely bewildered.

"Calling for Master Hei Xiazi, Wu Xie?" That doesn't sound like it. The voice is high-pitched and crisp; it sounds more like a young man's.

As she pondered, she heard Black Bear reply with a nonsensical question: "Did you urinate in the woods?"

The person on the other end retorted, "If we don't take care of it in the woods, do you think we can just drink it ourselves?"

"Huh..." Shen Mingchao regretted listening so carefully.

Hei Xiazi caught a glimpse of Shen Mingchao's disgusted expression and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He reassured the person on the other end of the phone, "It's alright, it's just a small punishment to teach you a lesson. Just hang in there, everything will be fine by dawn!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone decisively and put the phone back in his pocket.

Shen Mingchao asked curiously, "Your apprentice?"

"Yes, Wu Xie is my eldest apprentice, and the one who called is my second apprentice. When you're out doing something, you always have to be prepared. I had him take care of some things beforehand, and now the preparations weren't needed, and the matter was resolved."

"So?" Shen Mingchao didn't understand what this had to do with the urination they were talking about.

"So," Black Bear shrugged, speaking casually, "they peed on someone's turf while on their way. They trespassed and spilled filth, so they have to get their revenge, right? Don't worry, it's nothing serious. At most, they'll just have to run around and stretch their muscles, consider it exercise."

He spoke casually, but Shen Mingchao could tell from Hei Xiazi's sly smile that the other side had probably been tricked badly.

Let's mourn for that second apprentice we've never met.

With everything settled, I checked my phone and saw it was a little past 10 o'clock. Less than three hours had passed since they entered this eerie villa, which was quite fast.

Shen Mingchao thought about it and felt that this was mainly due to the fact that their team had a prophet with a God's-eye view. No wonder people on the internet said that the prophet was a shrew.

She's absolutely stunning; no one can compete with her.

Black Bear, standing nearby, stretched his shoulders and sighed in agreement, "I thought this would take all night. That kid from the Qi family is actually quite capable. By the way, the noodles you promised to save for me, are they still warm? I'm getting hungry after all this commotion."

"Of course." Shen Mingchao nodded immediately, holding up four fingers and waving them in front of Hei Xiazi, a hint of smugness in his voice. "Don't worry, I specially wrapped it in four layers of insulated bag film, it won't get cold!"

After saying that, Shen Mingchao turned around first and walked towards the building where they had stayed before, with Hei Xiazi slowly following behind her.

The two walked up to the third floor, where the insulated bag containing the noodles was still on the table. Shen Mingchao walked over and touched the rim of the bowl, feeling a warmth spreading from her fingertips.

"Do you need to reheat it in the microwave?" she asked Black Bear, who had followed her in.

"No need, I'm not that particular." Hei Xiazi sat down cross-legged, opened the instant noodle box, and stirred the noodles with disposable chopsticks. The noodles hadn't clumped together at all after all this time, and the aroma mixed with the heat wafted into his nostrils.

A flood of unpleasant memories suddenly popped into his mind. He curled the corners of his mouth into a self-deprecating smile and joked, "Back when I was just getting by, I was always out in the wind and rain. When I was really hungry, I could eat anything. Now, being able to have a hot bowl of noodles after work is considered pretty good."

Is it possible in all situations?

A distant memory flashed through Shen Mingchao's mind.

Once, she and Shen Mingyue went on a trip. To catch the earliest bus, they got up before dawn. The two of them squatted by the roadside in the biting wind and ate their breakfast in the howling cold. She couldn't help but sigh and say that their trip was a complete disaster.

To comfort her, Shen Mingyue told her about Hei Xiazi's "glorious deeds," saying that Hei Ye was even more awesome, able to eat without flinching even amidst the stench of a group of people's feet.

When she heard this, her face turned green, and she almost spat a mouthful of salt soda onto Shen Mingyue's face.

Now that the person involved is talking about it so casually, Shen Mingchao isn't curious at all.

She was terrified that Hei Xiazi might casually remark, "Back in the day, I could eat green pepper fried rice with relish even while facing a rotting corpse. What's this compared to that?" If that happened, she'd probably throw up her breakfast.

Hei Xiazi ate his noodles very quickly, and Shen Mingchao spoke up at the right moment: "Hey, where are we going later? We're not really going to stay here tonight, are we? This place is really creepy, I'm afraid I'll have nightmares tonight."

Hearing this, Black Bear teased, "You weren't scared when you were throwing books at people and stabbing the dried corpse with a knife, but now you're scared?"

Shen Mingchao raised a finger and shook it gently, retorting in a serious tone: "I'm not afraid, I'm disgusted."

Black Bear leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "To be honest, I really doubt if you've just come of age. A normal young girl wouldn't be as calm as you after experiencing these things."

This is probably a test.

That's normal; these people are inherently suspicious.

Shen Mingchao thought for a moment and said, "I used to like playing horror games. I guess I've become desensitized because I played so many games. Also, it's not that I'm not scared at all; I just trust you guys. You're the ones who told me not to be scared."

She sighed with a hint of helplessness: "I know that many things can't be solved by being afraid. If that were the case, I would love to be afraid as much as I want."

Upon hearing Shen Mingchao's words, Hei Xiazi's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and his expression turned strange. After a long while, he finally uttered, "Tsk, why does that sound so familiar to me?"

Before Shen Mingchao could ask, Hei Xiazi slapped his forehead, "Oh right, Master Hua also mentioned that."

"What a coincidence?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the man in front of her suddenly bend down towards her.

Black Bear was very tall, and his towering shadow instantly enveloped her, covering her entire body in that shadow.

Just as Shen Mingchao was pondering what Hei Xiazi was up to, he saw the other man suddenly remove his sunglasses.

She instinctively held her breath.

Those were indeed extremely beautiful eyes, like washed glass beads, yet carrying a hint of world-weariness.

Hei Xiazi looked at her with those eyes, and slowly revealed a smile that was different from any he had ever shown before. His voice was deep and gentle, like the night breeze rustling through the treetops.

"A brave and calm young girl, she's really cool."

"Thank you for your trust."

"It's not bad to feel trusted like this."