Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The villa was a bit more lively than usual the next morning.

Fatty Wang's wailing echoed from the dining room all the way to the living room: "Sister Chen! My dear Sister Chen! Can you add some minced meat to this porridge? Just a tiny bit! Look how green it is, it's making my eyes green!"

Chen Sao, suppressing a laugh, replied from the kitchen, "Mr. Xie said you should eat light meals for the next few days, and we'll see about that tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, how many tomorrows there are!" The fat man stirred the vegetable and chicken porridge in his bowl with great pain.

Wu Xie sat opposite him, slowly sipping his soy milk and munching on a fried dough stick. "Fatty, be content. It's better than eating compressed biscuits in the Qinling Mountains."

"That's true," the fat man thought for a moment, then sighed, "but back then I was starving, everything tasted delicious. Now, my mouth is so bland it's almost unbearable."

Black Bear strolled in, his sunglasses gleaming in the morning light. He glanced at Fatty's porridge and clicked his tongue twice: "Fatty, you're getting some treatment, like you're in a temple in seclusion. How about I shave your head and give you the Dharma name 'Wuneng'? That would be fitting."

"You're kidding me!" the fat man glared. "Brother Hei, all you do is spout nonsense!"

"I'm doing this for your own good," Black Bear pulled out a chair and sat down, serving himself a bowl of porridge. "Look at Zhang Men, the mute. He's so badly injured, yet he eats so little. What do people say? They call it self-discipline. You should learn from him."

As they were talking, Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" entered the restaurant one after the other. Both of them had changed into clean black T-shirts, and their exposed arms were wrapped in bandages, but they looked better than yesterday. They sat down quietly at the table, each serving themselves porridge and steamed buns, and ate in silence.

The fat man glanced at the equally bland porridge and steamed buns in their bowls, then at himself, feeling a little better, but still trying to justify himself: "See? These guys are setting a good example! I'm just following their lead!"

Wu Xie rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention.

After dinner, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu went into the study again. A Ning said she was going to the nearby shooting range to calibrate her beginner crossbow. Jiang Xun Gu offered to help organize the equipment in the garage.

The fat man slumped on the living room sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Boring... Tianzhen, shall we play chess? Or cards?"

"No interest," Wu Xie said, sitting by the window, his notebook and several photocopies spread out as he compared symbols. "I need to sort these things out. Fatty, if you're really free, go help Aunt Chen air out the blankets."

"Air out the quilts?" the fat man scoffed. "That's something old ladies do."

"Why don't you go to the gym and get some exercise?" Black Glasses suggested. "With that body of yours, if you don't move around, you'll really turn into a water-injected pork."

"Hey! Blackie, you—"

"Fatty," Zhang Qiling, who had been quietly sipping his tea, suddenly spoke, interrupting him. He put down his teacup, looked at Fatty, and said, "A few of the paving stones in the yard are loose. They need to be moved and repaved. Help me."

The tone was flat; it wasn't a question, but a statement.

The fat man was taken aback. He looked at the corner of the courtyard and saw that several bluestone paving stones had indeed sunk and warped due to the previous heavy rain. "Me? Moving bricks?"

"Hmm." Zhang Qiling nodded. "It's hard work."

Zhang Qiling glanced at the fat man but didn't say anything. His eyes conveyed a clear message: he was just idling around anyway.

The fat man opened his mouth, looked at "Zhang Qiling," then at Zhang Qiling himself, and finally resignedly stood up: "Fine, fine, I'll move bricks! Let's stretch my muscles! I used to be a top-notch construction worker!"

Black Bear laughed: "This is good, I'll watch. Zhang the Mute Supervisor."

The courtyard quickly became lively. Fatty Wang pried open the loose bluestone bricks, revealing wet mud and gravel underneath. "Zhang Qiling" directed him from the side, telling him how deep to dig and what materials to use. Zhang Qiling, meanwhile, found a bag of new sand and cement from somewhere and silently mixed them according to the proportions.

Black Bear actually moved a chair and sat on the porch, legs crossed, watching the commotion, occasionally commenting: "Fatty, waist! Use your waist strength! That's right, twist your hips! Hey, this brick is heavy enough, isn't it?"

"Nonsense! You...you try it!" The fat man was covered in sweat, his clothes were soaked through.

Wu Xie glanced out the window a few times, shook his head with a smile, and continued studying his symbols. He discovered a striking similarity in the way several symbols copied from the Qinling jade tablet and certain patterns engraved inside the bronze model of the Xisha underwater tomb were handled at their turning points. This seemed to suggest that, despite the vast differences in time and geography, certain core "techniques" or "ideas" had been passed down through a hidden lineage.

In the study, the faint sounds of Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu's discussion could be heard. "...At midnight, the compass needle will deflect slightly, though the magnitude is small, the direction is consistent... pointing northeast..."

"Does it match the star chart?"

"Calculating... We need more precise latitude, longitude, and time..."

By noon, the paving stones were laid. The fat man was panting heavily, but looking at the neatly paved corner of the yard, he felt a sense of accomplishment. "You know what, doing some work has really improved my appetite. Aunt Chen, can I have some meat for lunch today?"

Aunt Chen brought out the dishes with a smile: "Mr. Xie said he could add a little more. I steamed a fish with less oil for you."

"Fish is fine too! Any kind of meat will do!" the fat man said contentedly.

During lunch, Xie Yuchen said, "This afternoon, Xiuxiu and I are going to the city's observatory to borrow equipment to do some data calculations. We might be back a little late tonight."

"Do you need any help?" Wu Xie asked.

"No need, you guys rest. Aning will be back this afternoon; there will be people at home," Xie Yuchen said.

After dinner, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu went out. A Ning hadn't returned yet. Jiang Xun Gu was catching up on sleep in his room. The living room was left with Fatty, Wu Xie, Hei Xiazi, and two quiet guys who seemed to be doing nothing in the yard.

The fat man, having eaten and drunk his fill, grew bored again. His eyes darted around, and he sidled up to Black Bear, lowering his voice, "Hey Blackie, wanna make another bet?"

"Gambling again? What are you gambling on?"

"I bet you, if I can get Qi Ling to say something to me—more than three words—you'll treat me to a whole roasted lamb! How about it?"

Black Bear raised an eyebrow: "What if he still ignores you?"

"It's on me! Plus a week of massages and back rubs!"

"Deal! How did you take the initiative?"

The fat man chuckled and ran into the yard. Zhang Qiling was squatting by the newly laid paving stones, pressing them down to check their flatness. Zhang Qiling stood by watching.

The fat man walked over and squatted down next to "Zhang Qiling," pointing at the floor tiles with a serious expression: "Brother Qiling, look at this tile, isn't it a bit wobbly? I always feel like it's not properly secured."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiling carefully pressed the brick the fat man was pointing to, looked around, and shook his head: "It's solid. It's firm."

The fat man was secretly delighted. He quickly added, "Then shouldn't we put some cement in this crack? Otherwise, it will accumulate water when it rains."

Zhang Qiling glanced at the cracks in the brickwork, then looked up at the sky; it was a clear, sunny day. He paused for a moment, then looked at the fat man with a hint of "Are you bored?" in his eyes, but still replied, "No need. The cement's dried, time to sweep up the sand."

Five words! The fat man almost jumped up. He suppressed his excitement and was about to strike while the iron was hot when he heard Zhang Qiling, who had been silent all along, suddenly speak calmly to "Zhang Qiling": "He's boring."

Zhang Qiling glanced at the fat man's excited yet restrained face, then at the bear watching the commotion from the corridor, and seemed to understand something. He nodded, stood up, dusted off his hands, and said his final words to the fat man: "You won?"

Without waiting for the fat man's reply, he and Zhang Qiling turned around and went back into the house.

The fat man stood there, counting on his fingers: "'No shaking. Solid.' 'No need. The cement's dry, sweep away the sand.' 'Won?'... One, two... More than ten words! Haha! Blackie! Roast whole lamb!"

Black Bear walked over, stroking his chin: "Was Dumb Zhang's last line, 'He's bored,' considered an assist? You won this bet, but Fatty, your provocation almost got you into trouble."

"The process doesn't matter, the result is what matters most!" the fat man said smugly.

Wu Xie shook his head and laughed inside the house. He could imagine the look Zhang Qiling gave Fatty at the end, probably like looking at his own husky that was destroying the house—helpless and too lazy to care.

In the evening, A Ning returned, bringing some new equipment and supplies. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu also returned, carrying a stack of data and printed star charts. At dinner, Xie Yuchen said, "The calculations are in. The compass deflection at a specific time points to a general area, a remote region where Changbai Mountain meets the outside world. Combining this with the map fragments obtained from the Xianwang Tomb and the images on the wall of the Xisha observation room, that place is very likely also a key 'node'."

"Changbai Mountain..." Wu Xie put down his chopsticks, "Is there a bronze door there too?"

"Uncertain," Zhang Qiling said, "but the 'field' is very strong. The compass reaction is even more pronounced than in the Qinling Mountains."

Zhang Qiling ate his meal in silence, but his eyes seemed lost in thought. Changbai Mountain... this place name seemed to have touched some more blurred fragments deep in his memory.

"Are you going?" Fatty Wang asked.

"We need to plan this carefully," Xie Yuchen said. "The environment there is more complex, it involves cross-border travel, and based on the information we have, that location may be more... 'active' or more dangerous than the Qinling Mountains. We need to be more fully prepared, and we may need to find more professional guides and equipment."

"No rush," said Black Bear. "Let's wait until Zhang Men's hand is healed. That's going to be a tough battle."

After dinner, everyone went about their own business. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" went to the balcony again. "Zhang Qiling" held the bronze compass and looked at it in the moonlight. The needle trembled slightly, but the direction remained stable.

"It'll be soon," Zhang Qiling said softly, looking at the compass.

"Hmm." Zhang Qiling nodded and put away the compass. The two looked at the northeastern night sky, where the stars were sparse and the clouds were gradually thickening.

A storm is brewing.

But before that, there is a brief period of peace, where one can enjoy the lights, the aroma of tea, and the noisy daily life with friends in the villa.

Downstairs in the living room, Fatty was pestering Hei Xiazi to fulfill his promise of roasting a whole lamb, Wu Xie was discussing star map details with Xie Yuchen, Huo Xiuxiu was making tea, A Ning was inspecting the newly arrived crossbow, and Jiang Xun Gu was helping to clear the dishes.

Business as usual.

But it's also somewhat different.