Chapter 133: Heading to Egypt After Graduation

Actually, I had come here simply to clear my mind. Amid all the laughter and merriment, everyone unknowingly cast their weariness and exhaustion aside.

It made me feel that these bamboo spirits were an indispensable part of my life, a bottom line that no one could cross. Although they were the lowest-ranking spirits among the Seven Realms, their nature was the kindest of all.

I stayed there for the entire afternoon. Naturally, during that time, several people passing by me were startled by my muttering and strange gestures.

They were all ordinary people who could not see whom I was talking to. Behind my back, they called me a lunatic. Of course, I did not care what they said.

I rose from the stone, brushed the dirt from my trousers, and bowed deeply to the six Bamboo Elders floating in midair. Then, under the puzzled gazes of several onlookers, I headed toward the park exit.

The bamboo spirits even fanned my presence before the crowd. Wherever I went, a cool breeze stirred, sweeping bamboo leaves into the air. Yet not a single leaf touched me, making me look incredibly imposing. This continued until I walked out through the park gates.

In the blink of an eye, four days had passed. Tomorrow would be the graduation examinations. After my roommates and several close friends had unanimously agreed, we decided to hold a graduation party at a hotel. Once we graduated, everyone would go their separate ways, and no one knew whether we would ever have the chance to meet again amid the vast sea of society.

Naturally, we were also fortunate enough to invite Uncle Ma himself, who had not appeared around the academy for quite some time. He had recently joined a travel group organized by the academy for retired teachers, and that trip had lasted more than half a month. He had only returned the day before the examinations.

The venue was the Australia Grand Hotel in the eastern suburbs of Z City. It was a five-star hotel, and a poor man like me could never have afforded to spend money there, much less host a party. Still, since we had all come, someone had to pay the bill. As for who that person was, the hotel owner kept us in suspense and refused to reveal the truth.

This mysterious benefactor had reserved the entire fifth floor, including all the interconnected banquet halls. It would have been impossible without several hundred thousand yuan—and that was assuming no one was making a profit. If someone were, renting the fifth-floor halls would probably cost several million yuan a day.

More than seventy people had come, both men and women, from freshmen to seniors. Once everyone gathered together, they quickly became acquainted, and none of them looked like the bookish students they had once been.

My younger cousin Jiaying, meanwhile, kept clinging to my arm and pestering me to tell her stories. I was practically on the verge of tears. She even complained that I would soon graduate and leave her, and that afterward we would have fewer chances to see each other.

Old Ma, sprawled on a long sofa, was enjoying himself immensely. The handsome, brawny veteran teacher who always claimed to be irresistible to women was now surrounded by girls of every type, ranging from rather plain to goddess-like. They kept stuffing all kinds of food into his mouth.

I took a careful look at Old Ma’s side. The scene seemed strangely familiar. Wasn’t it just like the courtesans in an ancient costume drama feeding some wealthy young master?

Then I glanced at the several young men sitting on another sofa. Each of them looked so furious that smoke might as well have been rising from his head.

They had probably seen their girlfriends all run over to Old Ma’s side and were burning with jealousy. But Old Ma was their adviser, so all they could do was swallow their anger and glare at him from afar, cursing him silently with their eyes.

“Cousin, what are you staring at? Come on, tell me a story!”

My cousin was truly impossible. Before meeting her, I had lived carefree and untroubled. But after encountering her, it was as if I had been stuck in a lump of malt sugar—once she latched on, I could not shake her off.

Although my cousin was beautiful, she was still my relative. Her constant attachment left me no opportunity to chat with any of the other attractive girls.

With no alternative, I put on a miserable expression and told Jiaying stories in a corner of the banquet hall. She listened with rapt attention, utterly unconcerned with her older cousin’s feelings.

“Xiaodong, come over here for a moment. Your Uncle Ma has something to tell you!”

At that moment, it was fortunate that Uncle Ma came to my rescue. Otherwise, I truly would not have known what to do. Was I supposed to spend the entire day entertaining my cousin with stories?

The moment I heard Uncle Ma call my name, I answered. Using that as an excuse, I finally managed to pry my cousin away and sent her off to find someone else to tell her stories. She was so adorable that she certainly did not need to worry about finding an audience.

I followed Uncle Ma’s voice over to him. By then, he had already sent away all the women of varying degrees of beauty who had surrounded him, telling them to go amuse themselves. There was plenty of food and alcohol here, so they certainly would not starve.

“Xiaodong, what are you planning to do after graduation?” Uncle Ma asked, rubbing his rough hands together.

“What else can I do? Naturally, I’ll look for a job first. That’s what every college graduate has to do.” I had no idea why he was asking, so I simply told him the obvious.

“Xiaodong, after sending off all of you graduating students, I’m going to stop teaching. You’re the finest student in the archaeology department. Would you be interested in accompanying me to Egypt after graduation to investigate some ancient ruins? This expedition is being sponsored by a major corporation, and every archaeologist is allowed to bring along one apprentice.”

I was stunned. Egypt! Good heavens, it was the place I had dreamed of visiting for years.

I wanted to see the Sphinx. I wanted to see the pyramids of Egypt. But my family was not well-off, so those dreams had always remained nothing more than empty fantasies.

“This… this…” For a moment, I was so excited that I did not know how to respond. When I nervously opened my mouth, all that came out was a stammer. I could not form a single complete sentence.

“You don’t need to worry about your family, and you don’t need to worry about the money. I’ve already spoken with your parents, and they both agree that you should come with me to Egypt. After all, they’re proud to have such an outstanding son. What do you say?”

After speaking, Uncle Ma adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked at me, waiting for a definite answer.

I was so excited that I became completely flustered. I pinched my own arm hard and discovered that I was not dreaming.

I nodded decisively at Uncle Ma and asked when we would be leaving. I still wanted to go home and see my parents.

Uncle Ma patted me on the shoulder and told me that we would depart ten days after graduation. During those ten days, he wanted me to return home for a visit. After all, once we went to Egypt, no one knew how long it would be before we could come back.

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