Ever since Zhenbei's last visit, Wang Xiaomie discovered something extremely fun.
Wang Xiaomie: "Wow, Zhenbei has such a great personality, I think..."
Hearing this, Jing tightly pursed his lips, his face turning slightly green.
Wang Xiaomie: "If we had a child like Zhenbei..."
Hearing this, Jing quickly covered Xiaomie's mouth, and it took a while for him to say, "Xiaomie, shut up." Wang Xiaomie wriggled out of his embrace like an eel and grinned mischievously, his eyes darting around.
"If you don't tell me why you dislike Zhenbei, I'll keep talking!"
Jing did indeed dislike Zhenbei, Xiaomie had just discovered this yesterday. Otherwise, why would Jing's face turn so ghastly every time Zhenbei was mentioned? But the two had never met before, so why did Jing have this expression? Xiaomie was incredibly curious about the whole thing.
But no matter how she asked, whether by coercion or flirtation, Jing remained tight-lipped.
Seeing his lover's eyes shining with curiosity and the words 'I'm really curious!' written all over his face, Jing relaxed his furrowed brow. He felt both repulsed and amused at the thought of that person, and after a long pause, he said, "Xiaomie, you should stay away from him, he's definitely not as simple as he seems."
"But if you don't tell me specifically what's wrong with him, how will I know if he's a good person?" Xiaomie rolled her eyes.
"Do you want to know?"
"Of course!"
"Come here."
Jing sat under the lovesick tree, arranged his leg, and beckoned Xiaomie with his arm.
Xiaomie walked over and sat beside him, leaning against his shoulder. Jing reached his right arm out and gently held her, using a tone that couldn't hide his disgust and disdain as he recounted the story of a great boss who was lying dead at home, diligently resurrecting brother. There were always people chanting "Death to the Devil" at the door, causing trouble.
One of them had left an indelible psychological shadow on Jing!
"I've killed him a total of twenty-nine times, pushed him off a cliff six times, stabbed his heart seven times with a sword, disabled his meridians ten times, and even almost beheaded him several times."
"But it was all useless; after falling off a cliff, he always managed to obtain a treasure. After stabbing his heart seven times, I realized that he naturally had his heart on the right side. Disabling his meridians was always remedied by a hidden world doctor. Later, each time I almost killed him, he would sustain fatal injuries...but it didn't matter."
"No matter what I did, he would always encounter strokes of luck and survive, appearing in front of me time and time again."
At this point, Jing pursed his lips, feeling nauseated.
Even Xiaomie felt a chilling sensation after hearing all that.
Damn!
How much money did this freaking protagonist halo cost? Like, VIP-8 membership level or what? This wasn't just a halo, this was a goddamn crown on his head.
Now Jing's disdain made sense; if he opened the door and saw the person he had killed multiple times standing in front of him...yikes! How terrifying!
This isn't a ghost movie, is it?
If a normal person were constantly on the brink of death, they would have long gone insane. Yet this person seemed to have no emotions, as if they were born to kill Jing.
Jing said, "In my opinion, he doesn't seem like a human, but rather like a twisted creation. At all times, that thing is smiling, as if it has never experienced any emotions other than 'justice' and 'optimism.'"
"..."
"The person who was previously called Zhenbei has similarity to that person, even the nauseating smell is very similar."
"..."
Hearing this, Xiaomie's scalp tingled, and he suddenly remembered, 'What if I was chosen by the system to teach Jing, and if I failed my mission? Was that person created by the system to eliminate Jing?' Damn!
This is really terrifying, really terrifying...
"...But you were actually able to eliminate him; you're really impressive," Xiaomie said, only to see Jing shake his head.
"I ultimately didn't kill him."
"What?! Then how did you..." how did you manage not to be ground to death by him until now?
Jing smiled, "Because I don't grow old or die. By the time I was 150 years old, his lifespan had run out."
Xiaomie: "..."
So, is lasting longer than you actually an advantage? Suddenly, Xiaomie remembered an interesting joke: "The old lady said, 'The doctors who advised me to quit smoking have all passed away!'"
He never expected it to end like this; it's surprisingly poignant...
"But little one, what did you do after I died?" not only did the system go back to your childhood to try to straighten you out but also forged a 'thickened halo' trying to kill you. Even if it couldn't kill you, it certainly intended to upset you.
Xiaomie looked at Jing curiously.
Jing was taken aback, then after a while, he turned to Xiaomie with an innocent and pure smile and said, "I don't know, I've always been resurrecting brother diligently."
Killing people, slaughtering entire sects, clans, and families, and ultimately overshadowing the Northern Nation for a hundred years before being laid to rest in the ground... Jing truly didn't know what that was! Wink~
"..."
Wang Xiaomei, who was kicked back by the system after failing the mission back then: I want to believe your words, you upside-down pulling x.
Anyway, Wang Xiaomei understood that Beiyin was suffering from psychological trauma caused by the "bold halo" back then. He didn't hate Zhenbei (Beiyin: I hate) but every time he saw a similar person, he felt a headache.
As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of well ropes for ten years.
Wang Xiaomei, satisfied with his curiosity, yawned comfortably, "By the way, Zhenbei said that they will come to dig our grave a week later."
Ah, what kind of days are we living in now? We can even schedule for people to dig our graves.
"Yeah," Beiyin nodded, indifferently adjusting the posture while hugging Wang Xiaomei under the tree, "Do you want to take a nap?"
"Okay... I'm a little sleepy. I don't know why, but recently I feel like my 'charging tree' is not working well." Wang Xiaomei nodded.
It used to be "charge for five minutes and talk for two hours," but now, at least sleep for half a day.
"But what about them coming to rob the tomb?"
"We don't need to worry about that, I have a plan."
Beiyin smiled and hugged him tightly, enveloped in the fragrant scent of peach blossoms, the burning crimson color, and a few falling petals adding the perfect touch to his long, flowing ink-black hair.
The person beside him had fallen asleep, relying on the "yearning tree," with a calm face and snow-white skin, showing no signs of heartbeat or breathing. He was actually a corpse.
Suddenly, veins and blood vessels slowly rose from his snowy skin, and a dirty spot appeared near his neck, close to the chin.
It was a patch of corpse bruise.
"The old man said that a body without a soul cannot be transformed into a stiff or a zombie, and even if it becomes a walking corpse, it will rot. It is possible to keep the body from decaying, but the preservation beads and the yearning tree can only maintain the superficial appearance. Once they are away... even if the divine tree does call back his soul and stabilize it in the body, if fortunate, he could wake up, but he can't move. Unfortunately, both the body and the soul will turn to ashes..."
"How can the body 'come' back to life?"
"It requires a certain medicine."
"Tell me."
"It's..."
Beiyin hummed a low, ancient melody and placed the person with completely altered blood vessels and appearance on his lap. Then he undid his collar, and cut open the side of his neck.
The bitter aroma of the medicine mixed with the sweet scent of peach blossoms permeated the air as the "person" in his arms opened his crimson eyes and eagerly started sucking in Beiyin's neck with great force.
The ancient hoarse melody masked the beast-like swallowing sound coming from the person in his arms.
Perhaps due to weakness, Beiyin closed his eyes and stopped humming. His long, slender fingers gently interlaced with the ink-black long hair of the other person.
After a while, the person in his arms once again regained lively skin.
The pair of crimson eyes closed, and he lay in Beiyin's arms with a wrinkled brow. Beiyin wiped the red bloodstains from his lips with his fingers, then pressed his forehead with the back of his hand.
"It's okay, it's okay... once they enter the tomb, I will definitely get that thing. Then, we won't have to wait underground. Wherever you want to go, I will accompany you..."
After speaking, he lowered his eyelids and lovingly leaned his cheek against Wang Xiaomei's forehead.
A red misty color spread in his eyes like a hint of a sinister charm.
"Sorry, senior brother, I'm going to lie to you again. I won't leave a single one of those people alive!"
...
The Zhen family.
Zhenbei, carrying a backpack, just stepped into the old house located in the antique street and stopped in his tracks. His expression was slightly stunned, then he flashed a brilliant smile.
"Second brother!"
Behind the crimson gate, Zhenmu, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, raised his head. He was wearing tight-fitting black clothes, and his short black hair was blown by the wind, softening his fierce eyes.
"You're back? You ran off quietly and went somewhere to mess around again, didn't you? I told you not to go 'underground' with those people and just stay home to research antiques, didn't I?"
Zhenbei chuckled, "Look who's talking, second brother, aren't you doing the same thing? Besides, we have our eldest brother for researching antiques. I don't have his talent. It's a waste of effort for me."
"Nonsense, you are quite talented too." Zhenmu's smile faded a bit as he walked over and embraced his younger brother, "I'm accompanying our elder brother down below in a few days. Let's have a meal because I may not have time in the future."
Zhenbei squinted at his brother and poked his chest, "What are you talking about? It's as if you won't come back once you go! But you're treating me to a meal!"
Zhenmu chuckled and raised the hand with many scars to ruffle his little brother's hair.
"You little rascal, when have I ever let you spend a dime, huh?"
"Hehe! Second brother is the best!"
Zhenmu accompanied him and sent him off, and the two of them left the silent Zhen mansion with laughter and conversation.
In the reception room.
An expressionless, tall, thin man sitting on a wooden chair, and a refined and quiet man in his thirties, Zhenhao, were studying a map and text on silk. Zhenhao asked the man, "Do you have confidence?"
The man nodded, "Rest assured, can't you tell if this map is real or fake? Those people collect fakes. Only this map is genuine, left to me by my master."
"Both your brothers have been inside and returned with sea pearls. If your brother wasn't lying and the tomb's owner is still rational, the legend is true, and there are countless treasures inside. With my selected people and your second brother, we should be fine. The main challenge will be the mechanisms inside the tomb and the guardians. But with this map, we can avoid those dangers completely."
"You have experienced the power of the sea pearl."
"And there are treasures you haven't seen yet, or only appeared in damaged texts, even more precious than the sea pearl. They are waiting for you inside the tomb... don't you want to see them?" The man with no expression stiffly hooked the corners of his mouth.
Hearing this, Zhenhao tightened his fists and his eyes narrowed, "Prepare well, we will depart as soon as possible!"
The man nodded in satisfaction. "By the way, bring both of your brothers, but I hope they won't betray us in the end..." In front of one's treasure, what's the meaning of biological brothers?
Zhenhao chuckled. "Don't worry, they are like my dogs, very obedient."
The man put away the silk and looked at him faintly. "That's good..."