Chapter 17: It Was Actually Tomb Robbing

Cheng Xiangru was about to question why the girl in black had appeared here when her words cut him off abruptly. His current situation felt as if he had been abandoned! No, that wasn’t right—he convinced himself he wasn’t abandoned but was instead entrusted with an important mission, forced to separate from Boss Zhou and the others.

Just as Cheng Xiangru was about to argue, the girl in black slipped back into the car and waved at him. “Get in first, then we’ll talk.”

Faced with this mysterious girl who clung to him like a lingering ghost, Cheng Xiangru felt uneasy. Though he knew she might not mean him harm, her constant air of mystery, sudden appearances, and abrupt departures—especially the strange words she had left last time—made him wary.

The girl slammed the car door shut with a bang, shifted gears, and turned the steering wheel, clearly impatient to drive on without waiting for him. Surrounded by endless white snow, and feeling his strength faltering against his determination, Cheng Xiangru steeled himself and quickly ran over, opening the passenger door and climbing inside.

The car was warm but reeked terribly. The two back rows of seats had been removed, leaving an empty, filthy space that smelled as if it had been soiled.

“Why does it stink so much?” Cheng Xiangru nearly gagged, covering his mouth and nose but unable to block out the foul odor.

The girl snorted. “It cost me over three thousand yuan. It’s already good enough. You need to get used to it. At first, it might seem awful, but after a while...”

“...It won’t stink anymore?”

“What are you thinking? You’ll just get used to it.”

“Oh...” Holding his travel bag, Cheng Xiangru took a moment to catch his breath. He could feel the chill in his cheeks thaw and his exhaustion ease greatly. Seeing the girl drive on, he suddenly grew anxious.

He quickly pulled out some money from his pocket, separated a few bills, and handed them to her. “Can you take me back to the county first? I’ll pay you.”

The girl slammed on the brakes, the anti-slip chains clattering wildly as the car shuddered to a shaky halt, seeming ready to fall apart at any moment.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with that guy with the goatee? Why are you here alone? What are you doing in this area? Why do you want to go back to the county? And they’re just ahead, right? How far?”

Seeing that she refused the money and hearing her rapid-fire questions, Cheng Xiangru felt confused, unsure which to answer first. He chose to answer none, instead asking, “Who exactly are you? Why are you here?”

The girl frowned, shifted to park, pulled up the handbrake, and turned to stare at him. “I think I asked you first, didn’t I?”

Cheng Xiangru was struck dumb again, not knowing how to respond.

“Fine, I’ll go first. My name’s Leng Ying. I came here to follow you all, to see what that goatee guy is up to. Okay, I answered your question. Now it’s your turn.”

Leng Ying? Such a strange name.

Cheng Xiangru silently repeated the name several times in his mind. Not only had he never heard it, but even the surname “Leng” was unfamiliar.

And why was she following us?

“Hey! What are you thinking about? Your turn to answer!” Leng Ying impatiently urged.

Cheng Xiangru shook his head. “Uncle Zhou isn’t up to anything. He’s trying to help me find my dad.”

Leng Ying said sharply, “I already told you, your dad doesn’t even know him. Why would he bother? What’s wrong with you?”

Cheng Xiangru bristled. “You said that before, and you’re saying it again now. Uncle Zhou doesn’t know my dad? Well then, do you know him?”

Leng Ying nodded seriously. “Yes, very well.”

Cheng Xiangru was stunned, his gaze flickering with doubt as he clutched his travel bag tighter. He hadn’t even realized his breathing had grown rapid and his voice trembled slightly. “Where is my dad?”

Leng Ying glanced at the fuel gauge and turned the heater up a notch, speaking nonchalantly, “Don’t know where he went, but definitely not around here.”

“Impossible!” Cheng Xiangru grew desperate. “I saw a photo just a few days ago. He was nearby and, I heard, went with a group into the mountains to tomb-rob. He has to be here! You’re lying—you don’t know my dad at all!”

With that, he turned and tried to open the car door.

Unexpectedly, Leng Ying clicked the lock, sealing the door. Cheng Xiangru yanked at the handle repeatedly but couldn’t open it. Furious, he slammed into the door, shaking the entire car.

Leng Ying didn’t stop him but furrowed her brows, seeming lost in thought.

After a while, seeing Cheng Xiangru panting, she shook her head in resignation, released the handbrake, shifted gears, and slowly turned the car around, heading toward the county.

“No matter what that goatee guy and his group want, as long as you’re safe, I’m relieved. I’ll take you back to Rong City.”

“I’m not going back to Rong City. I need to go to the county to buy an air pump. Once I buy it, I’ll come right back. Uncle Zhou and the others are still waiting for me!”

“Buy an air pump?” Leng Ying laughed. “What for? Blowing up balloons?”

“No! Our car’s tires are flat. We need an air pump to inflate them.”

“Shouldn’t there be a spare tire?”

“All four tires are flat. They said there’s only one spare.”

“That’s unlucky. But if the tires are punctured, shouldn’t they be patched? What use is an air pump?”

“No, it’s just air leakage, no punctures. Honestly, I don’t know the details. They said as long as we have an air pump, it’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, Leng Ying’s eyes widened as if she’d just realized something. She slammed the brakes hard, nearly throwing Cheng Xiangru forward.

“I get it!” she said, angrily pounding the steering wheel. “They’re after the main dragon vein of the Great Qing!”

Cheng Xiangru had just settled down and was about to argue when those four words stopped him cold.

Who was this girl? Not only did she claim to know his father, but she also knew the Great Qing dragon vein was nearby.

Leng Ying turned to him, sneering, “I warned you not to trust them. Why didn’t you listen? Now look—whether you do anything or not, just being seen with them is a death sentence.”

“What do you mean?” Cheng Xiangru wasn’t naive. He’d felt something was off about Boss Zhou and the others before, but his desperate search for his father and his trust in Boss Zhou had kept him from thinking too much. Now seeing Leng Ying so agitated, his hidden fears swelled and unsettled him.

Her chest heaved violently as she struggled to suppress her anger, forcing herself to speak calmly. “I told you your dad isn’t here. But they used the excuse of finding your dad to trick you here, claiming your dad was tomb-robbing, driving the car into this godforsaken place. I kept wondering what their real plan was, and now I know—they want to plunder the Great Qing dragon vein. They purposely sent you away so you wouldn’t get involved, but to outsiders, you look like one of them. They’re tying you to them.”

“Sending me away on purpose?” Cheng Xiangru gasped.

“Exactly! Otherwise, how do you explain all four tires losing air without being punctured? If they didn’t do it, then what—ghosts?”

She paused, raising a finger. “If I’m right, they’ve already pinpointed the dragon vein’s exact location. By tonight at the latest, they’ll blow open the tomb!”

As if to confirm her words, a loud explosion echoed from the distant mountains, reverberating through the vast wilderness like a heavy blow to Cheng Xiangru’s chest.