After I crawled out of the underground fortification, Zhu Pi quickly notified Old Man Qu.
I asked Fatty to go with him and to take Jiang Lingxi back to have her condition checked. Meanwhile, Fu Honglang and I stayed behind to ensure Yang Hanxue and Song Bing came up safely.
With the tasks assigned, Fu Honglang and I guarded the cave entrance, smoking cigarettes.
It was a little past one in the afternoon. The sky was clear, but there wasn't a hint of warmth.
Down below, it was impossible to tell day from night. We had been down there for over forty hours, which, by estimation, was two full days and nights, most of that time spent traveling. It was evident how vast the underground complex was.
"What's going on between you and the Chuan Jia Sect? I never got a chance to ask before," Fu Honglang said.
Since I was in a hurry to find people last time, I hadn't elaborated. Now that he asked, I explained the whole story, including the cooperation I had reached with Old Man Qu.
After listening, Fu Honglang furrowed his brow. "You've already transferred the money to him?"
I nodded. "The situation was urgent, and it was the only way I could think of."
Fu Honglang slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Now that it's confirmed this isn't the Kanto Army's treasure, what do you plan to do?"
I gave a wry smile. "Whether it's the Kanto Army's treasure or not doesn't matter anymore. As long as everyone is safe, that's all that counts."
"Brother Xiang, five million is not a small sum," Fu Honglang said, looking at me. "I know you do antique business in Guangling, and such a large amount of money would be a considerable loss for you..."
He paused here. "If it weren't for you last time, I wouldn't have been able to find my wife. I still owe you a favor. Since you asked me to come, I won't let you suffer a loss. When I came from Mohe, I already called my people, and they should have arrived by now."
I was a bit slow to react. "Brother Fu, what are you planning to do?"
He smiled. "What else can I do? I can't let my brother take a loss. I'll be upfront with you. Your situation with the Chuan Jia Sect, I'll handle it! Since it's confirmed this isn't the Kanto Army's treasure, their leader should naturally return the money. This matter will be settled then."
My heart leaped, and I quickly said, "Brother Fu, they are not to be trifled with... Will doing this be alright..."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. We all operate in the martial world, and we're all in the same line of work. I believe there's room for negotiation," Fu Honglang said, patting my shoulder. "You don't need to worry about this. Leave it to me."
When I called Fu Honglang over, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I just thought he had experience in tomb raiding and that his help would provide an extra layer of security.
"Brother Fu, I think it's best to seek peace in this matter. I don't want things to get too messy, you understand what I mean?" I said.
He smiled. "Brother Xiang, it's not that I'm saying you're wrong, but in the martial world, there's no such thing as seeking peace. The martial world is about rules. People in our line of work can do without anything, but they must abide by the rules. Trust your old brother, I won't harm you."
Seeing that he was set on his decision, I could only accept it and see how things would unfold.
After waiting for nearly three hours, the rope ladder showed some reaction. We quickly moved to the cave entrance, and soon Song Bing's head appeared.
He looked exhausted, with some injuries, his clothes torn in many places, and smeared with some black, viscous liquid.
Seeing that familiar liquid, I thought of the "Bat Man."
Could it be that they had dealt with that monster?
I quickly reached out and pulled Song Bing up. As he emerged, Yang Hanxue also crawled out from inside. He wasn't faring any better, with several places on his body still bleeding.
"Are you guys alright?" I asked.
Yang Hanxue let out a sigh and managed a smile, glancing at Song Bing. "Fortunately, Brother Song was here. Otherwise, I don't think I would have been able to get out alone."
Song Bing smiled. "Brother Yang is too kind. I didn't do much to help."
Seeing them like this, it seemed they had gotten along well.
"Was the monster dealt with?" I asked.
Yang Hanxue nodded. "It was."
I let out a sigh of relief, still feeling a lingering sense of dread.
Seeing that everyone was safe, we headed back to the village.
When we returned, Jiang Lingxi had woken up. She was still a bit weak when I saw her. Upon learning that I had suggested going down to find her and bring her out, she was very grateful and her gaze towards me seemed to change.
I didn't know what Fatty had said to her, but as long as she was fine, that was all that mattered.
I asked her how she ended up inside the steel door when she went down earlier. She told me that the monster had taken her there.
"That thing took you in there?" I asked, puzzled.
Jiang Lingxi nodded. "Yes, when I encountered that monster, I thought I was done for... Later, I realized my grandfather's pocket watch saved me."
"Your grandfather's pocket watch?"
She took out a pocket watch and handed it to me. I took it and examined it closely. The pocket watch was finely crafted and appeared to be quite old.
On the outer casing of the pocket watch was a chrysanthemum, intricately detailed.
"When your grandfather gave you this watch, did he tell you where it came from?" I asked.
Jiang Lingxi replied, "My grandfather said that he once saved a school teacher. To thank my grandfather, that person gave him this watch. Later, he gave it to me, saying it was my dowry."
Such pure gold, finely made pocket watches were rare. It seemed the person her grandfather had saved back then must have had quite an extraordinary background.
As for whether that person was a Japanese pirate, it was impossible to know. However, I now roughly suspected that the monster was likely created from biological weapons by the Japanese pirates back in the day.
Whether it was human or a bat, I didn't know.
Perhaps no one could say for sure.
I offered Jiang Lingxi some words of comfort and told her to rest well. Then, I went to see Old Man Qu.
When I returned to the village, he had already sent someone to find me, asking me to see him.
I had checked on Jiang Lingxi first. Now that she was safe, I naturally had to meet with Old Man Qu.
Fu Honglang accompanied me. As for Yang Hanxue and Song Bing, they stayed at our lodging to tend to their wounds.
Along the way, I wanted to talk to Fu Honglang about smoothing things over and resolving the matter with minimal fuss. However, seeing his expression, I knew that even if I spoke, it would be useless. I could only wait and see the situation when we got there.