Chapter 188: Acting

The moment He Yu and I heard those words, we immediately ducked our heads. However, our position was quite far away and relatively safe. If He Yu hadn’t been possessed and led me on a blind trek, I never would have reached this spot. I figured Qiao Sangui and his men would only search the immediate vicinity of the Snake-Tortoise at most. Besides, there were only five of them, making it impossible to conduct a search over such a wide area.

Now it all depended on whether Lu Ayao and the other could stay hidden.

Qiao Sangui’s subordinates swept their fire starters around, the light occasionally flickering toward us. He Yu and I would quickly lower our heads, raising them again only once the light moved away. As the firelight spread, I suddenly spotted two figures climbing up toward the Snake-Tortoise’s eyes.

I hurriedly tugged at He Yu. “Look, look! Is that them?”

He Yu saw them too. “It really is. Holy crap, they’ve climbed so high. That’s a great spot. Damn, they’re right on top of the Snake-Tortoise’s head. That old cyclops Qiao will never see them from down there!”

Just as he finished speaking, I watched in horror as a rock under Tian Xiaoqi’s foot suddenly snapped. The stone tumbled down the side of the Snake-Tortoise. She began to slide from a height of three or four meters, but Lu Ayao, who was above her, reached out and grabbed her.

However, the falling rock alerted Qiao Sangui below. He narrowed his single eye and leaned down with Guangtou to inspect the stone that had landed on the ground.

Guangtou scratched his head, picked up the rock, and examined it closely. He was just about to look up. “Third Master, I think we should stay away from this thing. This stone boat feels pretty flimsy.”

I was so frustrated I could hardly breathe. I reached out to throttle He Yu. “Damn it! You and your big mouth! Why did you have to say anything?”

“We’re dead! We’re dead, dead, dead!” He Yu slapped his own mouth a few times and then covered his eyes, seemingly unwilling to witness what was about to happen.

I was frantic. Seeing He Yu’s bulging pocket, I reached in, yanked Xiao Wang out, swung the tortoise around twice, and hurled him far away. The shell hit the ground and spun a few times, letting out a sharp “clack.”

He Yu and I immediately ducked. He Yu looked miserable, his face contorted with grief. He gestured wildly at me, mouthing the words: My tortoise! You’re going to pay for my little bastard!

I gave him a sharp pinch. He jerked from the pain and focused on rubbing his leg instead of bickering with me.

The sharp sound undoubtedly caught the attention of Qiao Sangui’s men. My move had been incredibly swift and timely. They immediately called out to Qiao Sangui. Guangtou stopped mid-turn, and both he and Qiao Sangui looked toward where I had thrown Xiao Wang.

I peeked up cautiously. One of the lackeys had already walked over and picked Xiao Wang up. He turned back to Qiao Sangui with a look of utter confusion, stammering, “Thi-Third Master, it’s a-a tortoise. Why would a tortoise suddenly pop up here?”

Supported by Guangtou, Qiao Sangui walked over to the man and snatched the upturned Xiao Wang into his hand. The old fossil looked at the tortoise, then scanned the surroundings. He Yu and I ducked again instantly.

“Strange. This tomb is full of weirdness. In a place like this, miles from anywhere, how could a tortoise suddenly appear?” Qiao Sangui mused.

Guangtou shivered. “Could it be that the gods are watching us? Is there something… unclean around here?”

“Shut your damn mouth. Stop talking nonsense! What kind of ghost turns into a tortoise to scare us? You lot, search this area! Some bastard is using a tortoise to play tricks on us!”

I cursed inwardly. I’d been too panicked when I threw the tortoise and hadn’t realized I’d thrown it so close. If they searched, He Yu and I were now within their range. I really was a pig-brained idiot.

“You… you really are a martyr, aren’t you? If we get caught, we’re even worse off than those two! Lu Ayao can take on four at once, but we’ll just be tied up like pigs!” He Yu pointed at me, his face red with suppressed frustration.

“Shut up, you didn’t do a damn thing. How was I supposed to know Lu Ayao would recover so fast? He slept for four or five hours and now he’s lively enough to go free-climbing. Besides, I couldn’t just watch them get caught,” I whispered back quickly.

He Yu pointed upward and mouthed: What now?

I pulled out the knife I’d brought along.

“Are you serious?” He Yu looked at the two of us, then at the single knife in my hand, and finally toward the five fire starters moving our way.

“Two against five? You sure? They have guns,” he asked.

My expression darkened. “If we don’t fight, then we might as well stop struggling.”

Guangtou was moving the fastest. He came toward us with his fire starter and spotted the water pumps not far behind us. He immediately shouted, “Hey! Third Master! There are some big water pumps over here. Looks like they haven’t been used in a long time.”

He Yu and I exchanged a look. He mouthed: Maybe we should just stop struggling.

I couldn’t have agreed more. Rather than being discovered by Qiao Sangui and having a gun pressed to my head while being shoved into the mud, it was better to just come out on our own. The price of being caught was very different from the price of surrendering. I didn’t want to be pressed into the mud again; it was far too filthy.

I nodded to He Yu. I stood up from the mud, bent over to massage my numb lower half, and started shouting loudly, “Old He, what’s wrong with you? What kind of crappy directions are these? We’ve been digging for ages and there’s nothing here!”

Guangtou jumped in surprise, nearly firing his chambered gun. Hearing my voice, Qiao Sangui stopped immediately. He craned his neck, staring at me for a long time. He was clearly stunned and took a while to recover.

“I wondered who it was. So it’s Young Master Gan. Our paths really do cross often,” Qiao Sangui said through gritted teeth. His tone made me suspect he was planning to tear me apart and swallow me whole the next second.

Looking innocent, I peered back at him, squinting as if trying to recognize him, then put on an expression of sudden realization. “Oh! If it isn’t Third Master Qiao! What are you doing here? I was so focused on digging in the mud I didn’t even see you. He Yu, I told you there was nothing here. Get out of there!”

While I was talking, He Yu had already taken off his bag and quickly dug a deep hole to hide it in the mud. Only then did he raise his head, hands covered in filth, looking bewildered. “What’s going on? Oh, look at that, it’s Third Master Qiao! What’s up? You here to dig in the mud too?”

Qiao Sangui looked at the two of us as if we were lunatics. His single eye darted around, checking both sides. Once he confirmed it was just the two of us in the mud pit, he gave a sharp wave of his hand. “Go! Strip them of everything they have and drag them up!”

At his command, three subordinates jumped into the pit to disarm us. My knife was confiscated instantly. He Yu was practiced and submissive, letting them search him and even turning out his pockets voluntarily. Then, another man tied our hands with rope.

We were already quite familiar with this routine.

“Easy, easy. I’ve got delicate limbs. What if you break something? Don’t let my rugged exterior fool you; I’m actually a fragile, beautiful man,” He Yu said, winking at the guy tying him up. The poor guy nearly fell over in the mud from the shock.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to erase the disgusting scene I’d just witnessed. Fortunately, things moved quickly on my end, and I was the first to be brought before Qiao Sangui with my hands bound.

I gave him a cheeky grin. “Third Master, we’re old acquaintances, aren’t we? Why does it always have to be so tense between us? Judging by the look of things, you’re here for some Mingqi too?”

Qiao Sangui didn’t seem inclined to get rough with me yet. He patted my shoulder and said, “Talk. Where are your accomplices? Where are they hiding?”

“Accomplices?” I blinked, then immediately stomped my foot in frustration, shifting gears to start spinning a tale. “Don’t even get me started! You mentioning them just makes my blood boil!”

Qiao Sangui frowned at me. He had clearly expected me to be a tough nut to crack, not someone who would fold so easily.

“I’m telling you, the rumors on the street are true. You just can’t trust anyone from the Lu Clan. People say they have no loyalty, and they really don’t! We just had a minor disagreement, and what does he do? He takes off without so much as a word!”

I kept going. “And that woman, Tian—she’s a total fraud. Not a single word out of her mouth is the truth. She played us last time, and I thought there was no way she’d pull the same trick twice, but she did it again! Look at what she’s done to us. I’m down to this single short-sleeved shirt and I’m freezing to death. If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you be pissed?!”

Qiao Sangui watched my solo performance for a long while, unable to make heads or tails of it. He looked at me with a complicated expression. “Wait, Gan Ji, Young Master Gan… what kind of scheme are you cooking up for me now? I don’t understand a word of this. What kind of act are you putting on?”

“I’m not acting! I swear to heaven and earth, every word I said is the truth. If I’m lying, I’m a dog!” I raised my hands, which were tied up like a Zongzi, and held up four fingers in a solemn vow.