Chapter 71: Lu Ayao’s Warning

Of course I wasn’t willing to agree to that. The man wasn’t even dead yet, and even if he were, I’d still have to bring him back to give him a proper burial.

But Fourth Brother wasn’t joking. He was discussing it with me completely seriously, or maybe he never intended to get my consent in the first place. After all, these people all listened to him. If he told them to leave someone behind, wouldn’t everyone have to obey him blindly?

Seeing that I didn’t say anything, Fourth Brother said, “If you’re not speaking, I’ll take it as your acquiescence. We set off in an hour.”

Seeing that this was about to become set in stone, I couldn’t care about saving face anymore. I immediately resorted to my childhood move of making a fuss. I rushed forward, grabbed Fourth Brother’s leg, and refused to let go. “Don’t, don’t, don’t! Let’s talk about this! Don’t rush! I managed the shop for you for a few months, didn’t I? I even paid the utility bills during those months! Fourth Brother, have some mercy and bring him along. He’s really capable. Taking him with us will be very valuable.”

“He’s only valuable when he’s conscious. In a coma, he’s no different from a dead man. Don’t make a spectacle of yourself here. Let go, get off!” Fourth Brother clearly hadn’t expected me to be so shameless. I held on tight, and even after he tried kicking his leg a few times, he couldn’t shake me off.

I ignored the surprised expressions the surrounding people threw my way, thinking to myself, Chen Si, you bastard, I’ve shamelessly begged like this for your sake. Even my own old man never got this kind of treatment, and you’re still not going to give me any face? Thinking it through, Fourth Brother’s reason for refusing was probably just that. If I conceded a bit more, maybe it would work.

“I don’t have a job in the team anyway. I’ll carry him on my back, and I absolutely won’t cause any trouble for you guys. How about that?” I said with a grin, though in reality I was already sharpening my knife in my mind.

My relationship with Fourth Brother wasn’t that distant, and generational seniority was worthless between the two of us. He was putting on airs here and I was giving him face, but if he kept putting on airs, it would be doing a disservice to the friendship we shared stealing bird eggs together as kids.

Probably annoyed by my badgering, Fourth Brother finally relented when he heard me say that. “You’re sure you want to carry him? We still have a long stretch of road to walk once we go in. You’d better think it through carefully. Don’t come whining to me later when you’re too exhausted to walk.”

I quickly answered, “I’ve thought it through, I’ve thought it through! I won’t, I won’t!” My head bobbed like a chicken pecking grain. I knew as long as I forced him to agree right now, that was all that mattered. He was talking big now, but even if I really got so tired halfway through that I couldn’t walk, he couldn’t just ignore me. It would be much easier to haggle with him then.

Fourth Brother nodded, and I took it as his consent. Laughing it off, I let go of his leg and pointed at him. “You agreed, you can’t back out now.”

Fourth Brother looked at me with an amused, exasperated expression. He waved his hand to tell me to go amuse myself, pulled out a cigarette, and walked over to Hou Jinshan, who was lying painfully on the ground, to talk to him about who knows what.

Turning around, I realized the few guys in the back were handing out canned food. Seeing that, I walked over to collect mine, only for the burly uncle leading the group to stuff two of the largest cans into my hands, as if he intended to stuff me to death.

The stone path, nearly twenty meters long, was filled with people sitting around. I wasn’t familiar with anyone, so I quietly took my giant cans and sat down beside Lu Ayao. That girl had probably just finished dressing his wounds and was still rolling up a cloth roll stuck with needles and thread.

I pulled out a can of beef from my chest and handed it to her, thanking her. “I might need your help again on the road ahead.”

Her hands froze mid-wrap. She looked up at me for a long moment before finally taking the can. Without saying a word, she picked up her backpack with one hand and walked to the front of the group.

I sat down and stared at her retreating back, popped the tab on my can, and found myself completely baffled.

Just then, a solid-looking fat guy sitting next to me said, “Don’t be surprised. She’s probably never met anyone like you in this line of work. Honestly, neither have I.”

What’s that supposed to mean? Are polite and civilized people that rare in this business?

“I’m Old Luo. Been working under Fourth Brother for three years, in charge of supplies. Nice to meet you.” Old Luo pointed to the large backpack leaning against his side. Then he shifted his weight and pulled out a few disposable spoons from a side pocket, handing them to me. He nodded toward the still-unconscious Lu Ayao. “He’s in bad shape. Your buddy?”

I nodded and said yes, then didn’t bother continuing the conversation. I dug a spoon into the can and shoved it into my mouth. The moment the food hit my tongue, I felt like I’d ascended to heaven. I quickly shoveled in a few more bites.

This kind of food was something I wouldn’t touch under normal circumstances, but out here, it was a rare treat. I ate half the can myself and fed the rest to Lu Ayao. He’d lost so much blood, so he needed the nourishment.

Lu Ayao had trouble swallowing, so it took me a full half hour to feed him. By the end, my hand was sore from gripping the spoon.

Before I could even rest, Old Luo handed me one of their warmer jackets and said break time was over. It was time to move on.

He brought out some professional straps and told me to squat down. A few others came over to help lift Lu Ayao onto my back and secure him tightly with the straps. Now we were literally tied together. If something happened and I couldn’t run, he wouldn’t make it either.

Luckily, Lu Ayao’s weight was manageable. If it had been He Yu, walking that far would have been too much for me.

Earlier, Fourth Brother had led us into this cave from a fork in the path. According to Old Luo, the other path led to a sealed stone door. They had originally planned to go that way, but changed course when they heard gunfire and Hou Jinshan’s desperate cries for help. So now, the stone door had become our destination.

I carried Lu Ayao at the back of the group. No one spoke as we marched forward. I got tired and yawned several times, but I still had to check every so often to make sure Lu Ayao was still breathing.

The thirteenth time I checked his breath, I suddenly felt the hand resting on my shoulder twitch. Then a very weak voice murmured near my ear, “Where are we now?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. The guy was finally awake. I answered him, “In that new cave you guys found. Fourth Brother said there’s a stone door up ahead, and they’re planning to go in and check it out.”

Lu Ayao stirred slightly, as if trying to lift his head, but I quickly stopped him. “Don’t even start. Stay still. You’re covered in wounds, and I’ve been carrying you this whole way. If you start squirming around and tear open your stitches, I’m going to lose my temper for real.”

Maybe hearing the edge in my voice made him realize I was on the verge of snapping, because he actually stayed still for once. Then I heard him ask, “Is there something beside us?”

“Yeah,” I answered as briefly as I could. “The stone corridor is lined with shrines. Exactly like the ones on the bronze pillars.”

It had been four or five days since I entered the cave, and I had barely gotten any rest. Even someone with the best temper would be turned irritable by now. Giving him proper answers was already more than generous of me. Besides, I didn’t know how much farther this stone path went, and the headless statues flanking us less than an arm’s length away made my skin crawl. They had no heads, but I kept feeling like they were staring right at me.

“Don’t go near that door. Someone took something. We have to get back up, fast.” Lu Ayao tugged at the knife pouch strapped across my chest.

Hearing that, I stopped dead in my tracks. The guy behind me stumbled into me and started cursing, but I didn’t pay attention to what he was saying. I immediately ran forward a few steps to call out to Fourth Brother, who was leading the way.

Then I turned my head to ask Lu Ayao, “Why? Why can’t we go near that door? What are you trying to say?”

Although I had always found stuff like divination unreliable, Lu Ayao really did have a strange knack for these things. Seeing such a strong reaction from him, I didn’t dare keep going. My subconscious told me it was better to listen to him.

Lu Ayao’s chest was heaving heavily. He suddenly grabbed my knife pouch to keep me from moving forward, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

I was stunned to see faint crimson characters appearing on his face, written like handwritten incantations. But it vanished in a flash; I was the only one who saw it.

A warning. Seeing those characters, that thought suddenly popped into my mind.

Seeing what was happening, the girl walking ahead hurried over. Lu Ayao swallowed the blood in his mouth and told me, “Someone took something from here. He can’t get out anymore. The treasure behind that door isn’t something ordinary people can handle. It can’t be opened.”

“Stay far away from those shrines beside you.”

Then, a second before the girl reached us, he shoved something into my hand. Before I could even make sense of what he was doing, he fainted once again.