Chapter 42: Waiting

I dragged him onto one of those old, rickety buses. The two of us bounced all the way back. Infrastructure wasn’t exactly great back then—the bus was slow to begin with, and the driver even detoured to a gas station to refuel. It took over half an hour just to get to the county town.

Luckily, just before we got off, I called one of the clerks at Fourth Brother’s shop. They sent a young guy to pick us up in a minivan. He looked pretty young, went by the name Xiao Wu, with clear, honest eyes—probably just a runner at the shop.

As soon as he saw me, he hopped out and opened the door.

“Young Master, a guest showed up at the shop just before you. Said he’s a relative of yours, came all this way to visit,” Xiao Wu said as he buckled his seatbelt.

A relative? What kind of relative?

I sat in the backseat, confused, and turned to look at Lu A’yao sitting beside me. His face was calm as ever. I asked him, “Don’t tell me you snuck out of Nanjing to come here. Ran away from home?”

Immediately, my brain conjured up a dramatic scene of a noble young master defying fate and running off to roam the world. But before the mental movie could finish playing, Lu A’yao picked up a small cushion and smacked me with it.

“The Lu family’s side branches wouldn’t go looking for me. You’re overthinking it. And I’m older than you. You’re the one who ran off to Gansu with strangers—that’s what counts as running away,” he said, cutting off my fantasy.

I hugged the cushion to my chest, grumbling that he was no fun. Arguing with He Yu in the car had been way more entertaining. As I was randomly speculating about who this mysterious “relative” could be, my phone buzzed.

I checked it—it was a text from my mom. She rarely messaged me, unless I was broke and begging for living expenses. Otherwise, we hardly kept in touch.

The message was short and to the point: *Your Uncle Han Jian just retired from the military in Gansu. He’s thinking of settling in Henan, might drop by to see you. Don’t be rude.*

Well, that cleared things up. No need to guess anymore. As soon as I finished reading, my head started to ache. Han Jian was the younger brother of my mom’s boyfriend, Han Cheng. Their family was apparently in the antique business, but I’d never really interacted with them, didn’t know them well. And socializing? Definitely not my strong suit.

Honestly, I wanted to bail.

I turned slightly, about to discuss a game plan, but the moment I looked at Lu A’yao, I gave up. He had that look—like someone with no relatives and zero social skills. Just telling him about this was already risking ridicule; expecting him to cover for me was a stretch.

“Forget it. We’ll see how it goes,” I muttered, slumping in my seat and staring at the ceiling.

The van soon pulled up by the roadside. I reluctantly grabbed my suitcase and got out. The moment I stepped into the shop, I caught a whiff of incense. From a distance, I saw someone standing in the foyer, lighting a short stick of incense with a lighter. His back looked oddly familiar.

I stopped at the entrance and stared for a bit. Then it hit me—wasn’t that the soldier I met on the train?!

He finished lighting the incense, slid it into a burner with practiced ease, then turned and waved at me. “You vanished the moment we got off the train. I looked around but couldn’t find you. Your mom said you often stay at your Fourth Brother’s shop, so I came here to wait.”

I remembered all the things I’d blabbed to Hou Jinshan on the train and immediately felt dizzy. No idea if Han Jian had overheard anything. His brother was in the antique business—who knew how deep that rabbit hole went?

Also, Han Jian didn’t look much older than thirty. Calling him “Uncle” felt seriously awkward.

I gave a couple of dry laughs. A clerk came over to carry my luggage upstairs. I forced myself to exchange a few polite words with Han Jian, then introduced him to Lu A’yao. But the moment he heard “Lu family,” his expression changed.

The atmosphere in the foyer instantly turned strange. Han Jian seemed wary of Lu A’yao, keeping a noticeable distance. Lu A’yao didn’t react much, but he didn’t offer a handshake or greeting either. With the way they were acting, I almost thought they had some kind of personal grudge.

I was just about to say something to ease the tension when my phone rang again—this time a call, from an unknown number. I told the two of them to sit down and stepped out the back door with my phone, telling the clerks to serve them some tea.

I picked up the call—and it was Tian Yuqing’s voice.

“You there yet?”

The background noise on his end was chaotic, with loud splashes of water in the mix. I blinked and replied, “Just got to the shop. What’s going on? Whose number is this? Is the fieldwork over? When’s my Fourth Brother coming back?”

“No, it’ll be a while. Chen Si should be back soon, though. Listen, something important—did you receive anything strange on the train?” Tian Yuqing asked.

I immediately shot back, “You sent me the Jade Casket, didn’t you? I thought after I went to Gansu with you guys, I was done with all this. What’s the point of sending me the casket now?”

For once, Tian Yuqing went silent. After a long pause, he said, “Since you’ve received the casket, try to unlock it. Someone will probably come looking for you soon. Delete the number I gave you before—you won’t be getting any more calls from me.”

“Why?”

Before I could finish the question, the line went dead. He hung up on me!

I stared at the phone, replaying everything he’d just said. Tian Yuqing had a habit of only saying half of what he meant. He said someone would come looking for me—who? To take the casket? But that didn’t make sense. He’d told me to unlock it, not hand it over. Those two things didn’t line up.

The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt. I ended up sitting on the stone threshold of the back door, leaning against the wooden frame, absolutely miserable. Soon, I heard footsteps. I thought it was one of the clerks, so I scooted over to make space.

“Han Jian left. Said to pass his regards to Chen Si.”

I tilted my head and saw Lu A’yao leaning against the opposite doorframe. I was completely out of ideas, my mind a chaotic mess. I looked at him and said, “I’m out of options. Can I ask for help? Does that copper coin of yours come with a built-in help plan?”

Lu A’yao took a deep breath, clearly at a loss for words. Then he stepped over the threshold and leaned against the other side of the doorframe. “Who was on the phone just now?”

Oh, so the copper coin’s help plan includes Q&A. Good to know.

I straightened up and scooted closer, telling him everything that had happened on the train and the full content of Tian Yuqing’s call—every detail, even my own guesses and speculations.

When I finished, I crossed my arms and looked at him. “I’ve got nothing. It’s a mess.”

Lu A’yao thought for a few seconds. I expected some analysis, but all he said was one word: “Wait.”

If I’d been drinking water, I would’ve spat it in his face. “Your family’s help plan is seriously lacking. Wait? I don’t even know who’s coming. What if it’s, like, the mafia or something? I can’t fight them—shouldn’t I be packing my bags and running?”

Lu A’yao was about to explain, but I grabbed his arm and looked at him seriously. “I get it. You stay here, I’ll give you the casket. If anyone comes looking, just hand it over. You’ve got skills—they probably won’t mess with you.”

“You can’t run,” Lu A’yao interrupted, his eyes serious. “Tian Yuqing meant someone’s coming to find *you*—not me, not the casket. Got it?”

His words hit me like a bolt. Right—I’d assumed they were after the Nine-Ring Jade Casket. But Tian Yuqing’s sentence had me as the subject. Someone was coming for *me*. Just me. Not the casket.

“If you can’t run, then wait. Wait and see who comes, and what they want.”