Chapter 155: The Legendary Place (Part 1)

Over the course of those few days, I first managed to comfort Xiaoshuang. Truthfully, she was far from willing to let me take such a risk, but finally, persuaded by Uncle Ma, she reluctantly agreed and made me promise that she would be waiting for my return.

Faced with such a scene, a line of poetry sprang to my mind, making me feel like a soldier about to march off to battle. It was truly tragic and heroic.

"The wind blows chill, the Yi River freezes; once the valiant hero goes, he never returns!"

Afterward, I went to Uncle Mao's place to tell Buke to wait patiently for my call. Thanks to the styling efforts of Tongxuan and Wang Sheng, Buke was looking more and more human. Right now, standing before me, he looked just like a sturdy, middle-aged man.

Uncle Mao hosted a warm and enthusiastic gathering. Everyone was brimming with unrestrained camaraderie, and each person exuded a rugged, manly spirit. Even Tongxuan, that heroine among women, raised a glass to toast my departure.

Time flies when waiting. Another evening arrived, and Uncle Ma was still not home. I was in my room packing my luggage, stuffing all the necessary equipment into a specialized outdoor backpack.

Among the supplies were a searchlight specifically designed for tomb archaeology, several heavy-duty batteries, candles, a lighter, and a few pieces of flint—essential items. In the wilderness, flint is always more precious than all the other items combined.

"Xiaodong, can you give me a hug?" Xiaoshuang's soft, tender voice came from behind me. When I turned my head, I saw that she was already crying!

I suppose I knew that our relationship had probably been founded years ago during that archaeological expedition, even though she had secretly cried back then at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains due to a misunderstanding.

Even when she left to find work elsewhere, I knew she wasn't deliberately avoiding me. Until her anger faded and she returned, I understood all too well the heartbreak of losing someone.

Now, just days after we had finally established our romantic relationship, I was about to leave her again because of work.

Perhaps our meeting was love at first sight, all stemming from that archaeological dig in Shennongjia, or perhaps this bond was fated by the heavens, destined not to let us stay together for very long.

Perhaps because of my special identity, I would accompany her until she grew old, yet I would not age. I would only be able to watch her grow old before my eyes, and no one could possibly know what that feeling tasted like.

I stopped what I was doing and slowly turned around. A bitter emotion compelled me to pull Xiaoshuang tightly into my arms, and then we shared a deep kiss on each other's necks.

"When your hair grows long enough to reach your waist, would you be willing to marry me, my love? When my hair is neatly tied in a crown, would you be willing to lay out a red carpet stretching for miles to welcome me home!"

More than once, had I not longed to love someone just like in the tale of *The Ten-Mile Red Silk Road*.

Yet my inherently extraordinary fate dictated that I must watch my family and my beloved grow old before my eyes, only to enter the cycle of reincarnation once again.

We spent the entire night entwined in each other's arms, unable to sleep. Her natural fragrance stimulated my senses to the point where I pressed her beneath me like a wild beast, kissing her passionately.

Even so, I did not lose myself to chaos. We merely kissed deeply.

Therefore, I constantly exerted all my willpower to suppress the raging fire within my heart. I did not want to make a mistake before marrying Xiaoshuang. After all, I had no idea whether we could truly walk all the way to the end together, and precisely because of that, I could not ruin her life.

I have no idea how long my life span truly is. Perhaps one day I will encounter immortals who will execute me, causing me to perish from this world.

Or perhaps I might attain the secret arts of immortality to benefit my family and beloved, so that our bond could endure as long as heaven and earth, granting us eternal life and youth.

All night long, Xiaoshuang wore her pink pajamas and lay in my arms, only waking up at dawn the next morning to go cook.

Uncle Ma still hadn't returned. It seemed he had gone off to some old friend's place to study ancient artifacts again. Once that old fellow started researching, he completely lost track of time!

If no one called him, Uncle Ma would dare stay at someone else's house for weeks without returning, provided that the household possessed antiques or ancient artifacts worthy of his week-long study.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang, playing the trendiest ringtone of the moment. The sound was as urgent as a summons for my life, forcing me to swipe the screen and answer.

"Hello, Mr. Hu Xiaodong. Six million has been transferred to your account. Please report to the company immediately. We depart today!"

A feminine voice came through the receiver. It seemed that wealthy young master was ready to set off.

...

"Xiaodong, come quick and get ready to eat! Come taste and see if my cooking skills have improved again!" As soon as I hung up the phone, I heard Xiaoshuang calling me from the living room.

Goodness gracious me! I knew all too well about Xiaoshuang's culinary skills. Rather than eating her cooking, I would much rather eat plain noodles with soybean paste. However, since she had already made it, I could only force a look of supreme delight and say, "Wow, Xiaoshuang, it smells so good!"

You have no idea how painful it is to utter words that violate your conscience. What my nose smelled was a burnt odor, and what my eyes saw was a pile of undercooked or over-fried dishes.

Since my sense of taste had recently recovered, I almost spat it out after just a few bites. It wasn't until Xiaoshuang tasted it herself that she realized why I was frowning; it was truly utterly unpalatable.

In the end, Xiaoshuang and I ordered two portions of takeout. After finishing the meal, I gave Xiaoshuang one last simple kiss and hug.

I grabbed the luggage I had prepared over the past two days, hailed a taxi at the entrance of the residential complex, and headed straight to the archaeological company to report in, calling Buke along the way to tell him to hurry over.

As soon as I arrived at the archaeological company, my intuition told me that these people were all extraordinary—either possessing supreme physical physiques or harboring unique arts and superpowers.

Personnel arrived one after another, and Buke also arrived at the address I gave him. The first step for everyone was to sign a life-and-death agreement: regardless of life or death during the exploration adventure, it had nothing to do with the company!

The second step was to distribute some brief blueprints and common knowledge to everyone. This time, our destination was an uncharted cavern.

Several exploration teams had previously vanished inexplicably inside this Devil's Cave, and even those who miraculously escaped alive were instantly reduced to a vegetative state.

According to local legends, some residents claimed that everyone had been harmed by an unknown, mysterious force within the cave.

They also said that some unknown primitive tribes inhabited the cave, because their ancestors had once witnessed strange people appearing inside the rock cavern. The locals claimed that those primitives did not worship deities in the heavens, but rather an unknown entity.

The team members had finally all gathered. Now, we were just waiting for the appearance of that young master. Looking at the forty fully armed exploration team members in the hall!

I couldn't help thinking: "This young master is truly something else, spending so much money to hire so many experts to form an expedition team. Come to think of it, I can probably guess why he hired so many masters: first, to satisfy his own curiosity through the exploration, and second, to have them all serve as his personal bodyguards!"