Chapter 130: The Next Step

We messed around for a while until we were too tired to move, then each of us went to shower to wash off the exhaustion of the past few days. Three people in one bed was far too crowded. To prevent He Yu from hogging all the blankets once he fell asleep, I asked the staff for two extra sets.

While He Yu was showering, Lu A’yao leaned against the headboard, fiddling with his rarely seen mobile phone.

I wrapped myself in my own blanket and lay on the bed. I hadn’t felt much earlier, but the moment I lay down, my back and limbs began to ache. It seemed the aftereffects of the intense physical exertion from the past few days were finally catching up to me. Before long, my eyelids began to feel heavy. I didn’t fight it, simply closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

I thought I could just make do for the night, but I realized I had completely underestimated He Yu’s combat effectiveness while sleeping.

The night was full of twists and turns. First came He Yu’s thunderous snoring. Back in Gansu, it hadn’t been so obvious because we were staying in a twin room, but tonight the three of us were practically glued together, and the sound was amplified at least tenfold.

The first time I was jolted awake, I gave He Yu a kick. I didn’t use much force, so it didn’t wake him, but his tractor-like snoring stopped. I curled up in my blanket and rolled over, only for the snoring to resume behind me instantly.

I pulled the blanket over my head, burying myself inside and covering my ears. It turns out that when a person is exhausted enough, they can treat construction work next to their ear like a passing breeze. Listening to He Yu’s snoring, I eventually drifted back into a hazy sleep.

In the middle of the night, while I was half-awake, I suddenly felt something heavy draped over me. This thing was pressing right against my waist, so heavy it made it hard to breathe. I started struggling to move aside, trying to shove the weight off me.

Then I felt the space beside me empty as someone sat up from the bed. I struggled to open my eyes and saw Lu A’yao gathering his blanket and getting off the bed to sleep on the sofa.

Only then did I realize that He Yu had somehow thrown his leg over me, sleeping spread-eagled. I was already teetering on the edge of the bed. I gave him a shove, trying to push him back, but the guy was out cold. He only moved his leg down.

I moved a bit further toward the edge and looked up at Lu A’yao. He seemed to be fast asleep on the sofa already. I lay back down, thinking to myself that I should just let it be.

When I woke up the next day at noon, my neck hurt from lying on the sofa. Lu A’yao was gone.

During the night, He Yu had pushed me from the bed to the floor. I hadn’t bothered to climb back up and just slept on the floor for a few hours wrapped in my blanket. Later, Lu A’yao had woken me up, vacated his spot, and told me to sleep on the sofa.

He had left just as I lay down, and he still hadn’t returned by the time I woke up at noon.

I went to wash my face and sat on the sofa to clear my head. He Yu was still facedown on the bed, snoring away. I checked the time, and the first thing that crossed my mind was that Lu A’yao might have run off again without a word. By now, I was completely desensitized to his habit of leaving without saying goodbye.

So, this time, it felt perfectly normal.

With that thought, I rifled through He Yu’s trouser pockets to count the money inside. To my surprise, only a few dozen yuan were missing. I started to wonder. If he was running away, why didn’t he take enough money? With only a few dozen yuan, wouldn’t he end up living on the streets?

As I was thinking this, there was a knock on the door. Still lost in thought, I called out toward the door, “Sorry, we’re still resting. No housekeeping yet!”

“Gan Ji, open the door,” Lu A’yao’s voice suddenly drifted in.

Hearing his voice, I froze for a second before jumping off the sofa to rush over and open the door. I didn’t even need to think to know that my expression must have looked incredibly shocked, the kind of shock one has upon seeing a ghost.

“You… you didn’t leave this time?” I blurted out, my brain momentarily short-circuiting.

Lu A’yao raised the bags of takeout food in his hand toward me. I quickly stepped aside to let him in. Watching his back as he entered, a feeling like seeing one’s own child finally grow up and become sensible welled up in my heart. There weren’t many reasons for Lu A’yao to stay. Was it because he had no money? Was that why he had to come back for now?

He placed the containers on the small table, pulling out several small boxes of stir-fry and a bowl of rice noodles topped with chili oil. Looking at the dishes on the table, I felt a touch of warmth. It seemed this man wasn’t entirely cold-hearted.

He Yu liked stir-fry and rice, while I preferred rice noodles and vermicelli. Lu A’yao hadn’t been with us for long, but he had clearly paid attention to our preferences.

As I sat down, Lu A’yao pushed the bowl of rice noodles toward me. “I’ve already eaten. This is for you two.”

I thanked him and opened the lid to start eating. As I snapped the disposable chopsticks apart, I said, “I thought you’d left again. Is your deal with Han Jian over?”

Lu A’yao glanced at me. “We were just temporary partners. There was no deal. I apologize for what happened before; I kept things from you. After leaving Shennongjia, I didn’t follow the vehicle to the hospital. Instead, I went alone to investigate several locations from the Nine-Ring Jade Casket’s Water System Map. I thought those places would hold clues, but I didn’t expect them to be nothing more than complex trap-filled tombs.”

“I was injured and had no choice but to go to Yunnan first. But once I arrived, I realized the area was already controlled by Qiao Sangui’s forces. I was alone and outnumbered. Later, I met Han Jian. He had a well-equipped team and proper gear. I had no choice but to partner with him.”

It was rare for Lu A’yao to be so candid. I was stunned by his words. After processing it for a moment, I took a mouthful of rice noodles and said, “Han Jian has an agenda. I don’t think he came here just out of curiosity. Do you know what he’s looking for in the Buddhist Pagoda?”

Lu A’yao shook his head. “But I know he is indeed looking for something very important. I overheard him during a phone call. He’s searching for the Pagoda specifically to take that item out.”

I was satisfied with his answer. Although he hadn’t revealed much information, at least we had reached a point where we could communicate normally, rather than the state where I wanted to strangle him after just two sentences.

“Tian Xiaoqi wants to kill you; she’s no longer on the same side as Tian Yuqing,” I said, slurping my rice noodles. “She told me that you and Tian Yuqing have been talking a lot in private, so she thinks you’ve sided with him. As far as I know, the Lu family and the Tian Family haven’t been close for generations. I’m curious, what kind of consensus could you and Tian Yuqing possibly reach?”

Hearing my question, Lu A’yao hesitated.

I quickly cut myself off. “Fine, I get it. You can’t say. Let me ask something else then.”

I took a sip of soup, set down my chopsticks, and recounted all the money we had left. Then, I set a portion of it on the table and looked at him solemnly. “This isn’t like you. What are you planning to do next?”

Lu A’yao looked up at me and frowned.

Without shifting my gaze, I continued, “This is all the money we have now. The tent we sold belonged to the three of us, so you deserve a share. I’m giving you this portion now. Whether you go back to Nanjing or somewhere else, it’s up to you.”

As I spoke, I pushed the money toward him. Lu A’yao glanced at the cash and then pushed it right back to me. I stared at his movement, stunned. What was going on? Had the kid undergone some change in character? Normally, wouldn’t he just take the money and leave at a time like this?

“I’m not going back to Nanjing,” Lu A’yao said. “From now on, wherever you go, I go.”

Volume 3: The Nu River Pagoda of Ten Thousand Infants – End

# The Water Shadow Pavilion of Molting